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Mark Malan Weighs In On the Future of Peacekeeping
Wed, 04/30/2008 - 06:27
This past week, Foreign Policy Passport and U.N. Dispatch teamed up to host an online salon discussing the future of peacekeeping in light of current crises: UN Peacekeeping: Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Administration. Refugees International used this opportunity to discuss the challenges facing peacekeepers’ ability to bring about a stable peace so displaced people can return home.
President’s Corner: The Need to Reverse Rising Food Prices
Mon, 04/28/2008 - 04:41Everywhere I go, whether to church or to cocktail parties, people are talking about the global food crisis. It’s about time. While food prices have been rising for more than a year, it is only in the last few months, as food riots rippled through the developing world and the World Food Program began to warn of acute food shortages and budgetary shortfalls, that they began to attract the attention of policy makers in the West.
Burma: Humanitarianism on the rocks?
Thu, 04/24/2008 - 21:52
The following is an Alertnet blog post by Joel Charny, Refugees International’s vice-president who visited Burma to look at the growing lack of aid there.
DR Congo: Long Term Assistance Key to Stability in N. Kivu
Thu, 04/24/2008 - 03:41
Kirolirwe is a village situated in the mountains a few hours north of Goma, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a beautiful place, reminiscent of the Swiss Alps, with houses clinging to cliffs and cows balancing precariously on the steep hills. It is also currently home to several thousand internally displaced people who have sought refuge in an area controlled by the renegade forces of Laurent Nkunda.
President’s Corner: Off the Headlines, Death and Displacement Continues in Darfur
Mon, 04/21/2008 - 20:06
"I am extremely disappointed at the lack of progress on all fronts in the efforts to address the situation in Darfur,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon said last week in his quarterly report to the Security Council on the deployment of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID).
DR Congo and Iraq: Activism for Refugees on Capitol Hill
Fri, 04/18/2008 - 02:13
Over the past 3 weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to escort grassroots activists from around the country to meet with their elected officials and engage congressional staffers on the humanitarian crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq. On both a personal and professional level, working with the grassroots activists in forums like the Global Day of Action for Congo and the Iraq Advocacy Days is extremely encouraging and energizing.
Burma: Are solidarity and humanitarian response incompatible?
Wed, 04/16/2008 - 01:45
I am new to work on Burma, but in my eight weeks of involvement to date I am finding the world of Burma advocacy rigid and doctrinal. There is just one overarching narrative: the struggle of the Burmese democracy movement, led by Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, against the repressive Burmese generals. It is a classic tale of good vs. evil, and thus perfect for political mobilization on behalf of a just cause.
Uprooted in Iraq on NBC
Tue, 04/15/2008 - 03:34
Refugees International’s new report, Uprooted and Unstable: Meeting Urgent Humanitarian Needs in Iraq is getting nationwide media attention, including this clip on NBC's website. During a mission inside Iraq, researchers for Refugees International found that Iraqi militias are creating a Hezbollah-like dynamic by becoming major humanitarian providers of food, clothing, oil and other basic resources.
Watch the video, featuring an interview with Refugees International's Kristele Younes, below.
Watch the video, featuring an interview with Refugees International's Kristele Younes, below.
Aid workers face taxing time in Somalia
Mon, 04/14/2008 - 02:06
The following is an Alertnet blog post by Patrick Duplat, one of Refugees International’s advocates who visited Somalia in March to look at the growing humanitarian crisis there.
Sudan: The importance of being counted
Thu, 04/10/2008 - 02:09
Where will you be the night of April 14, 2008?
This question has taken on great significance for millions of Sudanese people. On a recent mission to south Sudan, I became aware of how important it is to ensure that people’s votes will be counted in the long-awaited Sudanese population census, which is expected to take place April 15 - 30.
This question has taken on great significance for millions of Sudanese people. On a recent mission to south Sudan, I became aware of how important it is to ensure that people’s votes will be counted in the long-awaited Sudanese population census, which is expected to take place April 15 - 30.
Iraqi Refugees: A Pledge for the Displaced
Wed, 04/09/2008 - 18:45
Recently I had the privilege of representing Refugees International at Colby College. Colby hosted the event titled ‘The Quiet Catastrophe’ to highlight both the magnitude of the Iraqi refugee crisis and the feeble response by the United States.
Somalia: Beyond the Brink
Mon, 04/07/2008 - 20:03
Somalia is frequently described as a country "on the brink." Some experts may tell you that this refers to Somalis being on "the brink" of disaster, or of collapse, as access to every life-sustaining service, such as food, water, and health care, is becoming more and more scarce, while the demand grows. But at a time when there are already roughly 700,000 Somalis internally displaced, an estimated 20,000 people leaving Mogadishu every month, and with insecurity so severe that the international humanitarian response
DR Congo: Conference Highlights Protection From Violence
Fri, 04/04/2008 - 01:25
On Monday we attended a day long conference on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) organized by Congo Global Action. The theme of the conference was "Connect for Congo: Working for Hope and Peace in the DRC."
Hmong: Ending the Incarceration In Nong Khai
Tue, 04/01/2008 - 23:16
Since December 2006, the government of Thailand has imprisoned 152 Laotian Hmong in a two-room immigration jail near the Laos border. This group of Hmong, many of whom had fought alongside the United States, threatened suicide rather than being forcibly returned to Laos. They feared being handed over to a government that credible reports indicate has detained, tortured, abused and killed Hmong for suspected involvement in an insurgency or for holding anti-government views.
