Armed Conflict Has Forced 661,000 People to Flee Their Homes During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Source: Time

May 22 2020

By Suyin Haynes

Armed conflict has forced at least 661,000 people around the world to flee their homes during the last two months of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report, as experts say world leaders are failing to protect displaced communities and leaving them more exposed to the impact of the virus.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said Friday that between March 23 and May 15, armed conflict in 19 countries has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, despite a call from the United Nations’ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a global ceasefire. Chad and Niger, Afghanistan, Syria, and Myanmar were among the countries that saw more than 10,000 people displaced, according to the report. The highest number by far was in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), where more than 480,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to clashes between armed groups and the country’s military, accounting for 75% of the total number of people displaced worldwide.

While these countries are currently towards the lower end of the global rankings for coronavirus cases and deaths, experts are warning that outbreaks could have potentially catastrophic effects in already unstable states. In Bangladesh’s densely populated Cox’s Bazar, where around 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are currently living, aid organisations have warned that the coronavirus “could spread like wildfire” after the first positive case was confirmed on May 14.

So far, there have been less than 2,000 confirmed cases and 61 deaths due to COVID-19 in DR Congo. And although there are few official cases of the coronavirus outside of the capital Kinshasa, Maureen Philippon, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, says it’s difficult for people in DR Congo not to feel worried when faced with the double crisis of the pandemic and ongoing armed conflict. As several countries around the world have enacted quarantine, lockdown and social distancing measures, the logistics on the ground make in DR Congo have made it near impossible to implement due to lack of shelter, overcrowding and lack of clean water in displacement sites. “People say they are hit twice in a row: first by the conflict making them lose everything, and now by the living conditions that are increasing their risk to the virus,” Philippon tells TIME.

“One of the men we spoke to [in Ituri province] had to flee his village on May 11. He left with $11 in his pocket and nothing else,” Philippon says. Another woman told Philippon that she had left her house for fear of an attack on May 12, and was separated from her husband and two sons in their escape — she has not seen them since. “What she wants is peace. And we are hearing this from many people: they want peace, they want to be able to make a living on their own.”

DR Congo has been the site of ongoing multiple, complex conflicts and human rights abuses since the end of its civil war in 2003, with tensions rising in the central Kasai region since 2016. “Almost each small set of conflicts has its own dynamic, making it difficult to tackle,” says Philippon. The number of challenges, the expanse of Africa’s second largest country and its challenging geographical settings, and a state that struggles to impose its governance have all contributed to the situation today. Over the course of 2019, 1.7 million people in DR Congo were displaced, the second highest country figure behind Syria.

Congolese people are already dealing with multiple public health crises including malaria, cholera and the world’s worst measles epidemic. In April, 6 new cases of the Ebola virus were reported in the country, after an outbreak was declared in August 2018 which has resulted in 2,279 deaths. “The outlook is grim,” says Philippon, emphasizing that DR Congo is home to the second-largest hunger crisis in the world after Yemen.

Al-Swaidah displacement camp in Yemen, though there is nothing to mark it as such: no running water, no toilets, no electricity. It is home for around 500 displaced families from Marib and Nihm. 

Hassan Al-Homaidi—NRC

More broadly, the coronavirus pandemic has hit the humanitarian sector hard: on Wednesday, Oxfam announced that it would withdraw its operations in 18 countries and lay off nearly a third of staff due to financial pressures. The Norwegian Refugee Council says that the crisis has also reduced access for aid organizations to areas on the ground, making data collection more difficult and therefore the figure of 661,000 displaced people is likely to be an underestimate.

The organizations’s new report comes with an appeal to the United Nations Security Council for stronger leadership, and to issue a clear call to halt hostilities and conflict around the world in order to focus on the pandemic response. “While people are being displaced and killed, powerful members of the UN Security Council squabble like children in a sandbox,” NRC’s Secretary General Jan Egeland said in a statement. “World leaders must rise to the occasion and jointly push parties to cease their fire and unite in protecting all communities from COVID-19. Now is not the time for kindergarten politics.”

EU Financial Support Only the First Step to Assisting Greece and Refugees

Πηγή: Amesty International
Aug 14 2015

Today’s move by the European Commission towards increasing support to Greece following a sharp increase in the arrival of refugees on Greece’s Aegean islands is a step towards supporting Greece and the many vulnerable people seeking refuge in Europe, said Amnesty International today.

The organization however also warned of the urgent need for the Commission to call for the European Union (EU) member states to increase safe and legal routes so those in need of protection can reach Europe safely.

“The crisis unfolding on the Greek islands shows how the authorities are incapable of meeting the needs and protecting the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, as the increase in arrivals by sea to the islands have pushed an already struggling reception system beyond breaking point,” said Iverna McGowan Acting Director for Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.

"The crisis unfolding on the Greek islands shows how the authorities are incapable of meeting the needs and protecting the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, as the increase in arrivals by sea to the islands have pushed an already struggling reception system beyond breaking point.'

Iverna McGowan Acting Director for Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.

“But we can’t forget that migration touches not just Greece but the entire European Union. As such, an EU response is urgently needed. Today’s measures announced by the Commission, if correctly channeled towards those in need, may help support the country and vulnerable people. But overall a broader rethink of EU asylum policies and practices is needed.”

Today the Commission recalled its approval last week of national funding programmes for Greece that amount to EUR474 million. However, with 124,000 refugees and migrants arriving by sea this year, mainly to the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Kos, Samos and Leros, financial assistance is not the overall solution. Amnesty International is urgently calling on the Commission and the EU member states to ensure that adequate operational assistance is provided to Greece and other frontline member states for the processing of asylum applications and to support the reception of refugees and asylum seekers. Beyond short term responses to the unfolding crisis on the Greek island, a longer term approach to responding to the world refugee crisis is needed.

“Whilst assistance measures to Greece, if correctly implemented, may take some pressure off the islands in the short term, what is urgently needed is a broader rethink of EU asylum responses to ensure that those in need of protection can access the wider European territory safely and securely. This means more safe and legal routes into Europe for refugees, including more resettlement places, together with the provision of greater freedom of movement for refugees” said Iverna McGowan.

According to UNHCR, as of 31 July, the number of arrivals had increased over of 750%. Lesvos is the island with the highest number of arrivals. Between 1 January and 10 August 2015, 70,374 refugees and migrants have arrived on the island. The majority of them come from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Amnesty International has just concluded a research mission on the island.

EU commissioner criticizes Greece for refusing Syrians asylum

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom

Πηγή: Yahoonews
By Renee Maltezou -Reuters
May 14 2013

The European Union's top immigration official criticized Greece on Tuesday for refusing asylum to Syrian refugees and detaining other migrants that flock to its borders under "unacceptable" conditions.

Greece, the main gateway into the EU for migrants from Asia and the Middle East, arrested more than 8,000 Syrian refugees last year for illegally crossing into the country.

Most hope to make their way to northern Europe, but many have ended up trapped in the financially-ravaged nation where rights groups say they face arrest, detention for long periods and even deportation.

Greece denies deporting Syrian refugees but says it is obliged to detain anyone who crosses it borders illegally.

After meeting Greek Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom said Greece's asylum system is still below EU standards and that access to it is "full of obstacles".

"We can all watch every day atrocities going on in Syria and in all other member countries there is almost 100 percent recognition rate of them as asylum applicants and they are given protection or some temporary permission to stay," she said.

"In Greece it is almost 0 percent. This of course has to change and I've been given assurances by the minister that this will change."

Greece rejected 150 asylum applications from Syrians last year and approved only two, the UN refugee agency has said, when thousands fled a conflict that has claimed 70,000 lives.

Malmstrom added that the Commission would be closely monitoring Greece's progress on this issue.

Greece has made progress by setting up a new asylum system and closing down some of the detention facilities criticized for shocking conditions but still needs to set up thousands of new centers forasylum seekers across the country, Malmstrom said.

"Many regular migrants and asylum seekers are still not treated in a dignified way and are kept under unacceptable conditions," she said. "In many detention centers the conditions there are still inappropriate and detention is applied to everybody without discrimination."

Greece's deep financial crisis has exacerbated its long-running struggle to handle the influx of migrants from Asia and Africa, and rising hostility towards migrants has prompted a surge in attacks against them and helped usher the far-right Golden Dawn party to parliament last year for the first time.

Turkey Brings Refugees Out of the Shadows

Πηγή: Foreign Policy in Focus
By Zaid Hydari
May 6 2013

More often than not, news coverage of Turkey’s treatment of refugees is negative. Whether commentary is focused on conditions for asylum-seekers waiting for their status to be determined, or on the problems facing those who have already been found to qualify for refugee status, most problems regarding Turkey's asylum policies link back to the Turkish state’s unique “geographical limitation” to its signing of the 1951 Refugee Convention. This clause says that only asylum-seekers from Europe may be granted refugee status and therefore have the possibility of full integration into Turkish society, while qualifying non-European refugees must await resettlement to a third country.

Last month, however, Turkey took a big step toward setting up a proper domestic legal framework and administrative infrastructure for asylum: the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, which was passed by the Grand National Assembly on April 4 and published in the Official Gazette on April 11.

The new law does not lift the “geographical limitation,” but it does take many steps in the right direction. While non-European refugees will continue to have to wait for UNHCR to find them one of the very limited resettlement opportunities to the United States, Canada, or Australia as their only long-term solution, the law brings the Turkish asylum system up to European standards. The patchwork system of circulars and directives that was used to inform Turkey’s treatment of asylum-seekers is now being replaced by comprehensive legislation that establishes legal procedures for the determination of refugees, their reception and accommodation, and their access to basic services. It is anticipated that the next step for Turkey could be the eventual lifting of the “geographical limitation.”

Turkey’s leading refugee advocacy NGO, the Helsinki Citizens Assembly (HCA), held a symposium in Ankara on April 19 with representatives from bar associations around the country, as well as representatives of UNHCR, IOM, the European Union Delegation, and other national NGOs working on refugee rights in Turkey. The conference was part of HCA’s ongoing efforts to mobilize lawyers across the country to prepare for the many changes that the new law will bring. Until now, NGOs have been the main legal assistance provider for asylum seekers in Turkey. Once the law is fully in force a year from now, it is expected that lawyers will play a much more active role in refugee legal assistance. HCA has been exploring how Turkey’s state-funded legal aid scheme can be adapted to facilitate legal assistance for asylum-seekers.

In addition to the Turkish and international organizations at the conference, representatives of the Dutch Legal Aid Board and the Dutch Council for Refugees were also in attendance. The Dutch government has been a strong supporter of Turkey’s efforts to build European-style reception and accommodation centers for asylum-seekers. Once the new law is fully in force, much of the processing of asylum applications will take place in these new large-scale centers. In parallel with this close cooperation between the two governments, HCA has partnered with the Dutch Council, the leading NGO working to protect the rights of refugees in the Netherlands, to help channel lessons from the Dutch experience on the organization of state-funded legal aid for asylum applicants.

The Foreigners and International Protection Law was conceived and adopted as part of Turkey’s legislative harmonization efforts to join the EU, and therefore its features governing access to free legal assistance have much in common with European countries. Compare this to the United States, which does not even recognize the right of those in immigration proceedings to have legal representation.

Nevertheless there are other valuable lessons the American legal community can share with their Turkish counterparts. The Refugee Solidarity Network (RSN) was established for exactly that purpose. RSN sets out to help build mechanisms for partnership between lawyers and civil society in Turkey—through the very things lawyers take for granted in the United States, like over 200 law school clinics that effect enough change to cause alarm, or pro bono programs that inspire feature length films and competition among the profession for prestigious awards. The new law and its guarantee of legal representation for asylum-seekers confirm that as the respective professionals engage, American lawyers can gain inspiration and lessons from Turkey, not just the other way around.

UN urges Greece to host more Syrian refugees

Πηγή: ABS - CBNnews
By AFP
April 19 2013

ATHENS - The United Nations' refugee agency on Wednesday urged Greece to host more Syrian refugees, saying it needs to pull its weight, despite its financial woes, in order to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

Greece -- a key entry point to the European Union -- has been criticised by several rights groups for its lack of humanitarian response to a crisis that has created an estimated 1.35 million refugees and displaced a further four million people since the conflict erupted over two years ago.

Only a small proportion of refugees have fled to Greece, with the bulk of them instead going to Jordan and Lebanon.

Nevertheless Greece should be prepared for more arrivals, warned the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"The situation is deteriorating, but we don't consider that we are in a crisis with the influx of Syrians here in Greece. But we should prepare for a crisis situation," said Giorgos Tsabropoulos, the head of the UNHCR's Athens office.

Panos Moumtzis, a regional UNHCR coordinator based in the Jordanian capital Amman, warned that the humanitarian situation risks becoming "explosive". The agency would have to revise its number of displaced Syrians when it meets in Geneva at the end of next month, he said.

"We're forecasting a possible tripling of the current figures," he said, noting a December estimate had forecast 1.1 million.

"At the time, we were accused of being too pessimistic, but at the end of March, we're already at 1.35 million," he said.

Moumtzis is due to meet this week with Greek authorities to discuss how to better deal with arriving refugees.

UNHCR said it regretted the absence "of a fair system that protects these people" in Greece, where few asylum requests by Syrians are approved.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that out of the 152 asylum applications by Syrians in 2012 decided in first instance, Greece rejected 150.

Emmanuil Katriadakis, a Greek government official, said that from now on Syrian refugees would be granted temporary six-month residency permits.

In October, Greece said it was ready to host 20,000 Syrian refugees on the islands of Rhodes and Crete.

UK experts blame Nato for Libya refugee tragedy

Experts used forensic oceanography to trace the exact movements of the dinghy 

Πηγή: EUobserver
BY NIKOLAJ NIELSEN
April 12 2012

BRUSSELS - A detailed 90-page forensic report by Goldsmiths, the University of London released on Wednesday (11 April) says Nato contributed to the deaths of 63 refugees in one boat of 72 fleeing Libya by attempting to cross the Mediterranean last year.

The study also links a British military helicopter and a French warship to the tragedy.

Four of the nine survivors have testified that 18 hours into the journey a military helicopter hovered overhead.

Thinking they would be rescued, the captain - suspected of being a smuggler - threw his sat phone overboard. The small chopper returned a few hours later and dropped water and biscuits. Survivors said it had the word "Army" or possibly "Rescue Army" written across it and was either grey or green in colour.

Experts at Goldsmiths used forensic oceanography technology to trace the exact location and movements of the inflatable rubber dinghy.

They say the chopper described by the survivors was most likely a British Westland Lynx helicopter, known to operate in the area during the conflict. But Britain's defence ministry denies that any of its helicopters made contact with the boat.

The new report also says that a warship which came in contact with the dinghy was most likely French. Survivors said they could see people in military uniforms on the vessel looking at them through binoculars and taking photos.

"At first the ship was very far. Maybe 700 metres. They then circled around us, three times, until they came very close, 10 metres. We were watching them, and they were watching us. We are showing them the dead bodies. We drank water from the sea to show them we are thirsty. The people on boat took pictures, nothing else," said Dain Haile Gerbre, a survivor who was later granted asylum in Italy.

The dingy also came in contact with two fishing boats, who did nothing to help.

Despite being spotted by the various boats and helicopters, it washed back up on the Libyan shore some 160km east of Tripoli 14 days later.

Eleven people had survived, but one died while arriving on shore. Another person died later of exhaustion and from lack of proper medical treatment by Libyan authorities.

The boat left Libya sometime after midnight on 26 March 2011 and made distress call 18 hours into its journey. Their call for help was picked up by the Italian Coastguard and passed onto Nato Command Naples a few hours later.

Nato denies that any of its ships or military vessels were near the boat despite having declared the region a military zone under its control.

The Council of Europe (CoE), the Strasbourg-based human rights watchdog, in a separate report last month also said that two Nato warships were most likely in the boat's vicinity.

Despite requests, Nato has not released to the CoE the data that reveals the exact locations of its ships around the time of incident.

The Goldsmith report says some 38 naval assets were in operation in waters off the coast of Libya between 27 March and 10 April.

"Combing the analysis of synthetic aperture radar data, we were able to demonstrate that between the 28 and 29 March 2011 a large number of ships were located in the area, some of which were at distance of between 20 and 38 nautical miles to the migrant's boat," it said.

Report: NATO shares blame over Libya migrant boat deaths

Πηγή: Local10
By Laura Smith-Spark (CNN)
March 29 2012

A catalog of failures by NATO and European coastguard and naval forces led to the deaths of 63 people fleeing the conflict in Libya by sea last March, a damning Council of Europe report said Thursday.

Vessels in the area failed to respond to distress calls, and a "vacuum of responsibility" meant no one assumed a duty to help the stricken boat as it drifted in the Mediterranean Sea, the report said.

As a result, only 9 of the 72 migrants who boarded the boat in Tripoli survived the 15-day voyage at sea. The boat eventually drifted back to the Libyan coast with a handful of survivors.

Italian search and rescue authorities, NATO, naval vessels in the area, the Libyan authorities and reckless smugglers are among those who share responsibility for the deaths, the report said.

It also highlights that this case is only one of many, with at least 1,500 lives lost last year as migrant boats tried to cross the Mediterranean.

Authored by Dutch lawmaker Tineke Strik and adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Thursday, the report is due to be debated by the assembly next month.

Called "Lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea: who is responsible?" it highlights gaps in the maritime legal framework and the failure of NATO and the nations involved in the Libya conflict to plan adequately for an exodus of refugees and asylum seekers.

In the case of the boat from Libya, the report pieces together what happened from credible witness testimony and other evidence.

The passengers, migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa who included 50 men, 20 women and 2 babies, were led to the small, rubber boat by Libyan militia members. Smugglers then removed much of the food and water on board to cram more people in.

After more than 18 hours at sea, with fuel and supplies running short and no land in sight, the boat's captain called a priest, who contacted the Italian maritime rescue service, which in turn alerted boats in the area, the report said.

"No one went to the aid of this boat, despite a distress call logged by the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, which pinpointed the boat's position," the report said.

"There were also a number of alleged direct contacts between the boat in distress and other vessels, including a helicopter that dropped biscuits and water, but never returned, two fishing vessels, both of which refused to provide assistance, and a large military vessel which came into close contact with the boat, but ignored obvious distress signals."

When the boat finally washed back ashore, the 10 people left alive were imprisoned. One later died after failing to receive medical care, the report said.

The report makes a series of recommendations to prevent future tragedies of this kind, adding: "In this case, many opportunities for saving the lives of the persons on board the boat were lost."

One recommendation is to ensure that European nations "fill the vacuum of responsibility" if the relevant authorities, in this case Libya, do not fulfill their search and rescue obligations off their shores, the report said.

Another is to ensure that there are clear guidelines on what constitutes a distress signal and a vessel in distress.

The report also recommends taking measures to tackle the issue of commercial vessels not wanting to help migrant boats out of fear of being caught up in criminal activities, losing out financially or falling foul of an ongoing dispute between Italy and Malta over where the refugees are taken.

NATO and its member states should also investigate why their vessels failed to respond, the report said.

The Council of Europe is an international organization bringing together 47 countries. It seeks to "create a common democratic and legal area throughout the whole of the continent," according to its mission statement.

The members of the Parliamentary Assembly are appointed by the parliaments of each member state.