With the situation in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region at a dangerous turning point, the international community has yet to take decisive action. Refugees International lays out urgent steps to halt this downward spiral.

The situation inside Tigray, Ethiopia has all of the hallmarks of a major humanitarian crisis in the making. If hostilities continue unabated, the shockwaves of the emergency will be felt throughout the Horn of Africa and will have global implications.

Almost six months after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international public health emergency, COVID-19 cases globally total more than 13 million. In March, Refugees International laid out the main factors that make forcibly displaced people so vulnerable to the virus, along with recommendations for key measures to guide the response. This brief identifies five key areas of priority to help guide ongoing and future efforts to protect highly vulnerable populations over the next stage of the pandemic.

The world’s more than 70 million forcibly displaced people—including refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs, and other forced migrants—are among the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.

Turkey’s recent invasion of northeast Syria has displaced more than 200,000 people. The worst may be yet to come as President Erdoğan maintains his vow of resettling between 1 and 2 million Syrian refugees from Turkey.

The humanitarian situation in the northeast Syria remains extremely fragile and could deteriorate quickly. Those involved in the region must take steps to bolster stability, address humanitarian needs, and enhance community reliance.

The humanitarian situation in Syria is fragile—and a lot is at stake with a planned U.S. reduction in troops. Jesse Marks and Hardin Lang outline what must be done to respond to the current humanitarian crisis and to protect civilians.

Syria is in the midst of one of the largest and fastest displacement crises since the start of the country’s bloody civil war eight years ago. As many as 330,000 Syrians have been displaced and are fleeing toward Jordan and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights to escape the Syrian government’s rapid advance. But despite the worsening crisis, international borders remain closed.

The United States and other donors have an important opportunity to consolidate stability in northeast Syria, which has been largely liberated from the Islamic State. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have begun to return home, but much work remains to be done with major population centers like Raqqa still riddled with explosive devices and basic services still to be restored. Actions by the Trump administration, however, threaten to unravel fragile progress on the ground.

Over the last four years, a significant portion of U.S. financial obligations to the U.N. went unpaid. The American withholdings affected all parts of the U.N. system, especially peacekeeping, where unpaid U.S. commitments now top $1 billion.

Washington has already taken steps to help Uighurs facing persecution, but it must do more. Olivia Enos and Hardin Lang lay a path forward for the United States and Uighurs seeking for safety.

The unfolding crisis in northern Ethiopia bears all the hallmarks of a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe. Since November, more than 6 million people have been trapped between the guns of Ethiopia’s military forces, marauding Eritrean troops, Amharan militia, and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The vast majority are now in urgent need of assistance.

U.S. leadership is needed to help vulnerable countries respond tot he COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trump administration is close to designating Yemen’s Houthi militia as a foreign terrorist organization. The designation would prevent U.S. persons or organizations from almost any interaction with the Houthis and long-suffering Yemenis will pay the price.

As COVID-19 has brought about the worst global recession since the great depression, the World Bank has a critical role to play in ensuring that refugees, who are among the most vulnerable, are not left behind. In a piece for The Hill, Hardin Lang and Martha Guerrero Ble show how that can be done.

When world leaders take the virtual stage at the UN General Assembly, they should eschew diplomatic platitudes in favor of meaningful commitments to protect the world’s most vulnerable populations in the face of the pandemic.

As the world gathers aid for the people of Lebanon, it must ensure that it gets to those who need it.

While the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the semiautonomous areas where the Kurds reside remains relatively low, there is good reason for concern.

As 2019 comes to a close, a military offensive launched by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Idlib has killed at least 100 civilians and displaced more than 235,000, creating a new nightmare in a region already racked by humanitarian catastrophe.

Next year, the number of Venezuelans fleeing their country will overtake the Syrian exodus. To date, more than 4 million have left. One-third of these refugees and migrants are sheltering in Colombia, which has maintained a very generous open-door policy. However, the strain is beginning to show.

The announced withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria could open new fronts of conflict and displace hundreds of thousands of civilians across an area already in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.

A newly agreed ceasefire in Idlib, Syria's last opposition stronghold, could offer a welcomed respite for the province’s desperate civilian population. But if the agreement doesn't hold, its collapse could usher in the worst humanitarian chapter of the 8-year conflict.

Across the globe, the number of people forcibly displaced by conflict and persecution has risen to more than 70 million, almost double the number a decade ago, according to the latest annual report from the UN High Commission for Refugees.

With support from Russia and Iran, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, has regained control over most of the country’s territory. Yet, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. In the first eight months of 2018 alone, nearly 1.4 million people were displaced by violence. Now the warning lights are blinking red in Idlib and other areas outside of regime control. Many of the Syria’s 5.5 million refugees are under mounting pressure to return home before it is safe to do so.  

The sudden withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria that Trump has called for, potentially within as little as 30 days, would pose severe humanitarian risks. Read more by RI’s Vice President Hardin Lang.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthi-led rebel movement agreed to a cease-fire in the port city of Hodeidah and its surrounding governorate on Thursday, following a week of UN–sponsored peace talks in Sweden. If it holds, this agreement would mark a major diplomatic breakthrough. Here’s why it matters and what to watch moving forward.

While it is too early for optimism in Yemen, external pressure may be creating an opportunity to end the war.

If the United States decides Syria is not worth its attention, civilians will once again pay a high price.

Just back from a field mission in Syria, Hardin Lang writes that last week’s strikes against Syria won’t change the arc of the conflict, nor will they alleviate the suffering of the civilian population: chemical weapons are responsible for but a tiny fraction of that suffering. Their absence will not stop the Assad regime from continuing to press its military advantage.

The Assad regime continues to flout the UN Security Council’s resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria. Meanwhile, a Russian plan for a humanitarian corridor into Eastern Ghouta has collapsed amid renewed fighting, a sign that Moscow is not yet serious about reigning in their client in Damascus.

Vice President of Programs and Policy Hardin Lang spoke at GW Humanitarian Action Initiative and the Institute of African Studies’ panel discussion on migration in Ethiopia.

Vice President for Programs and Policy Hardin Lang testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the humanitarian crisis in Idlib.

The Trump administration’s decision to designate the Houthi movement in Yemen as a Foreign Terrorist Organization is both reckless and destructive.

The conflict in Tigray has all the hallmarks of a major humanitarian emergency in the making.

Refugees International Vice President of Programs and Policy Hardin Lang responds to news that the United Nations will convene a summit on COVD-19.

Vice President of Programs and Policy Hardin Lang reacts to reports that Jordan is forcing Syrians to return to Rukban camp.

The first official case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in the Idlib province in Syria.

Since the Syrian regime and its Russian ally stepped up their bombardment of Idlib province in February, more than 140,000 civilian men, women, and children have been forced to flee for their lives. It is difficult to overstate the urgency of this looming humanitarian disaster if nothing is done to protect these people who often have lost everything.  

Refugees International warns that an abrupt withdrawal of American troops from northern Syria will create a power vacuum that will likely lead to a new round of conflict. Renewed fighting will disrupt communities, displace additional populations, and could trigger another humanitarian crisis.