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Post-Quake “Voices of Haiti” Captures Haitian Resiliency
May 13, 2013 Guest Haiti, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Women & Children

Three decades ago, the Center for Disease Control famously created its own “4H Club” to signify the four groups most at-risk for HIV/AIDS: homosexuals, hemophiliacs, heroin users, and Haitians. For Haiti, the implications of the label were particularly high – a dramatic dip in tourism, a near halt of foreign importing of Haitian goods, and, fueled by subsequent poverty, a heightened prevalence rate among Haitians.

U.S. Immigration Reform May Finally Help Stateless People
May 09, 2013 Sarnata Reynolds Africa, Bangladesh, Burma, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Kuwait, Nepal, South Sudan, Sudan, Americas, Asia, Middle East, Statelessness

This post originally appeared on UN Dispatch.

The G8 Plan to Prevent Sexual Violence: Can It Work?
May 01, 2013 Guest Africa, Americas, Asia, Middle East, Women & Children

Last month, flanked by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Bangura on one side and spokesperson Angelina Jolie on the other, and with members of the G8 group of nations fanning out in support from behind, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague stood at a press podium to deliver a pledge on behalf of the G8 group of ministers to “end sexual violence in conflict.” 

The Climate Displacement Gap
April 17, 2013 Guest Africa, Burkina Faso, Climate Displacement, Colombia, Mali, Niger, Pakistan, Americas, Asia

Crisis after crisis, natural and climate change-related disasters such as floods, droughts, and storms have displaced people from their homes in countries around the world. Though a causal link between any weather event and climate change is difficult to prove, climatologists have long believed that climate change will result in an increase in extreme weather events. Floods, droughts, and storms almost always impact the lives of individuals, forcing them to flee their homes as a result of safety or reduced food supply, among other factors.
The Many Faces of Climate Displacement
January 08, 2013 Alice Thomas Africa, Burkina Faso, Climate Displacement, Mali, Niger, Americas, Asia, Middle East

The day Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast, I was in Mali, a country in West Africa’s Sahel region. As a native New Yorker, I was stunned and dismayed to see pictures of the flooded streets and tunnels of Manhattan, of destroyed homes and schools on Staten Island, and of thousands of my fellow New Yorkers displaced and in shelters. But I was even more struck by the indiscriminate nature of what I was witnessing both in Mali (one of the world’s poorest countries) and the United States (one of its richest): massive humanitarian emergencies resulting from more extreme weather.

Stateless in America: Part I
December 10, 2012 Avy Mallik Americas, Asia, Statelessness

Exactly one year ago, a historic summit took place in Geneva on the rights of refugees and stateless people. On December 9, 2011, the United States and 154 other nations met to discuss the importance of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions. But what made the conference historic was not the debate, but the pledges.

In Speech to a Challenged UN, Three Tasks for Obama
September 20, 2012 Michelle Brown Africa, Burkina Faso, Burma, DR Congo, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Asia, Middle East, Protection & Security

As the 67th General Assembly opens this week, and as the United Nations gears up for the countless high-level meetings and side events that follow, the enormity of the challenges facing the UN is striking.

RI Statement on Recent Events in Benghazi
September 12, 2012 Michael Boyce Libya, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Middle East, Protection & Security

Refugees International is deeply saddened by yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, three American consular staff, and several Libyan security personnel. While many details about the incident remain unclear, it is our firm belief that those who executed this attack in no way represent the Libyan people and their aspirations for peace.

Looking to Leave, Again
August 30, 2012 Garrett Bradford Climate Displacement, Colombia, Americas, Humanitarian Response

In February 2012, RI visited the riverside community of Gambote, in Colombia's Bolívar Department. We spoke with Manuel Suárez, a local indigenous leader who had been displaced by violence in neighboring Córdoba Department. But as Manuel told us in the video below, his community needed to be relocated again – this time because of devastating floods in the area.

"I Want to Work!"
August 24, 2012 Marc Hanson Colombia, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Protection & Security, Women & Children

Steady, gainful employment is an important part of of resolving Colombia’s IDP crisis. In most cases of forced displacement in Colombia, families flee their homes in rural areas for the relative safety (and anonymity) of larger cities. In the process, they leave behind their agricultural livelihoods, assets, and social networks.

Time for U.S., Colombia to Deliver for Conflict Victims
July 31, 2012 Marc Hanson Colombia, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Protection & Security

This post originally appeared at The Hill's Congress Blog.

“I will never be the same. I am not the same as before. That’s the hardest thing.” With these lines Paula, one of Colombia’s more than 4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), started to recount the most excruciating part of her life’s story.

Colombia: Can One Law Rebuild Millions of Lives?
July 23, 2012 Marc Hanson Colombia, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Protection & Security
Last week, an episode of heavy conflict in southwestern Colombia displaced several hundred people. This was followed by a short-lived revolt in an indigenous village, with farmers briefly forcing FARC militants and soldiers to vacate land they had occupied.
Women & Children: Equal Dignity, Equal Assistance
July 10, 2012 Marcy Hersh Africa, Americas, Asia, Middle East, About RI, Women & Children

As the new Senior Advocate for Women & Children’s Rights, I am thrilled to join the RI team and lead this important program to improve access to basic services and protection for women and girls displaced by conflict and crisis.

Rio+20: Connecting the Dots Between Disasters and Displacement
June 20, 2012 Davina Wadley Africa, Climate Displacement, Colombia, Americas, Asia, Middle East

Today, world leaders are gathering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). They will be joined by participants from the private sector, governments, non-governmental organizations, and other interested groups.

There's No Such Thing as a "Climate Refugee"
June 08, 2012 Davina Wadley Africa, Climate Displacement, Americas, Asia, Middle East
Earlier this week, I joined members of the DC chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and a group of climate-conscious Washingtonians at the DC venue Bloombars to view Michael Nash’s film Climate Refugees and discuss our impressions of the film. 

The discussion kicked off with my biggest criticism of the film – its title. 
Senate Bill Makes Displaced a Priority
May 23, 2012 Marc Hanson Africa, Climate Displacement, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Asia, Middle East, Protection & Security, Statelessness, Women & Children

Yesterday, we got a preview of a rare good-news story out of Congress: If the Senate has its way, America won’t abandon its commitments to the world’s most vulnerable and persecuted.

While President Obama recently received praise for reducing the rate of U.S. government spending, it’s Congress that must that must make the hard decisions about to how to prioritize funding trade-offs.

First, Do No Harm
May 17, 2012 Marc Hanson Colombia, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Women & Children

This afternoon’s House mark-up of the State, Foreign Operations spending bill will show the world just how far and how fast some in the U.S. are willing to retreat from assuming America’s traditional leadership role in global affairs.

The House GOP leadership has allocated the State, Foreign Operations budget 9 percent less funding than was appropriated for the same accounts last year. This put legislators in a challenging position. Cuts were inevitable.

Countering Climate Extremes Really Does Take a Village
May 11, 2012 Alice Thomas Climate Displacement, Americas, Asia

Newtok is a small Native American village on the northwestern coast of Alaska. Indigenous populations have inhabited Newtok for at least 2,000 years. But over the past two decades, unprecedented changes have taken place that threaten Newtok’s very existence.

Accelerated coastal erosion – exacerbated by thawing permafrost, declining sea ice protection, and warmer temperatures  – along with increased storm surges and salt water inundation of fresh water supplies, are making life here untenable. So the Newtok community has decided to move.

Cartagena Diary, Pt. IV: 19 Years Too Many
April 18, 2012 Marc Hanson Colombia, Americas, Humanitarian Response

Editor's Note: RI Senior Advocate Marc Hanson has been in Cartagena, Colombia, for the Summit of the Americas. This is his final diary entry from the trip, but do check out his first, second, and third entries as well.

Cartagena Diary, Pt. III: The Colombia Obama Won’t See
April 13, 2012 Marc Hanson Colombia, Americas, Humanitarian Response, Protection & Security

Editor's Note: RI Senior Advocate Marc Hanson is in Cartagena, Colombia, this week for the Summit of the Americas. Click here to read his final entry.