IRRI’s 2017 Annual Report highlights our work in a year of significant achievement for us, as we continued to work on our three main programmatic areas of: -identifying the violations that cause displacement and exile; -protecting the rights of those who are displaced, and -ensuring resolutions to their displacement are durable, rights respecting, safe and timely. The…
Exactly one year ago, hundreds of people were slaughtered in Yumbi, in western Democratic Republic of Congo. On 15 and 16 December 2018, assailants targeted members of the Nunu ethnic group in a deliberate and organised manner. The attack lasted less than 48 hours but left the area in total disarray. As attention is…
Il y a exactement un an, des centaines de personnes étaient massacrées à Yumbi, dans la partie occidentale de la République démocratique du Congo. Les 16 et 17 décembre 2018, des assaillants ont ciblé des membres de l’ethnie Nunu de façon délibérée et organisée. L’attaque a duré moins que 48 heures mais a laissé…
Joint civil society statement Ahead of the African Union (AU) High-Level Dialogue on displacement taking place from 4-6 December in Uganda, 15 African and international NGOs call on African leaders and regional organisations to urge the government of Tanzania to stop pressuring 163,000 refugees and asylum seekers into returning to Burundi, where there are…
“A stateless life is a worrisome life,” says Mohammed Suleiman Ali from Tanzania’s Comorian community. Mohammed is not alone. Tens of thousands are affected by, or at risk of, statelessness in East Africa. Discriminatory laws, legal gaps and problematic administrative practices have left a number of communities unable to access citizenship or prove their…
H.E Solomon Dersso, Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights CC: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Chairman of the African Union Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Smail Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union Commission Banjul, The Gambia, 25 October 2019 Your Excellency, We, a coalition…
Be a part of our editorial team! The Rights in Exile Newsletter (formerly the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter) is a free public resource for legal assistance providers, refugees, and others interested in refugee legal assistance. The newsletter is a monthly digital publication updating aspects of refugee legal aid so that legal aid providers can stay…
Forcing Burundian refugees in Tanzania to leave the country is not only problematic legally, it could also sow the seeds for renewed conflict and displacement in Burundi. At the end of August, the Burundian and Tanzanian governments jointly announced that the 183,000 Burundian refugees would be repatriated. While such a large-scale operation has yet…
Après des décennies de conflit et de violence, la région africaine des Grands Lacs demeure une des zones du monde les plus touchées par le déplacement forcé. La plupart des pays de cette région accueillent des réfugiés, mais voient aussi leurs propres ressortissants chercher refuge dans les pays voisins. Le rapatriement volontaire est généralement…
After decades of conflict and violence, the Great Lakes region of Africa remains one of the areas of the world most affected by forced displacement. Most of the countries in this region host refugees but have also seen their own citizens seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Voluntary repatriation is generally seen by regional and…
In February 2019, Ethiopia issued a National Refugee Proclamation, joining several of its neighbours in the Greater Horn of Africa region[1] in expanding the rights granted to refugees living in the country. Amongst other provisions, the new law allows refugees access to national health services on the same basis as Ethiopian nationals and contains…
Issue 105 In this issue: Announcing the new and improved Rights in Exile newsletter! Articles & Short Pieces Digital litter: The downside of using technology to help refugees EOIR’s troubling new regulations Lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security says new asylum policy violates child immigrants’ rights UN rights experts urge more protection for LGBTI…
This video (watch below) is a summary of the findings in our report “Understanding conflict dynamics around refugee settlements in northern Uganda” launched recently in Kampala in August 2019. Between December 2018 and May 2019, the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) undertook a study in Adjumani, Arua and Lamwo districts in northern Uganda to…
Ahead of the 42nd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, 17 civil society organisations have urged the Council to take action to address serious human rights violations and abuses that have been and continue to be committed in Sudan, and to support systemic reforms in the country. Noting that the Council has not…
While there are overall good relations, tensions between South Sudanese refugees and Ugandan communities around natural resources, livelihoods and land should not be ignored, a new report by International Refugee Rights Initiative highlights. Frictions have sparked violent incidents, and if not properly addressed could escalate into broader conflict in northern Uganda. Between December 2018…
Ahead of the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC42), the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) together with 40 other national, regional and international civil society organisations have called upon the Council to support a resolution to extend the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Burundi for a further year, until…
When talking about conflicts in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), people often think about the situation in the two Kivu provinces, or maybe the political situation in Kinshasa. But since 2016, violence has spread in the Kasai region in southern DRC, where a customary dispute quickly escalated into violent conflict. Attacks by a…
Issue 104, July 2019 ISSN 2049-2650 Editorial Team: Catherine Tyson, Nejla Sammakia, Christian Jorgensen, Cristina de Nicolas, Nicolas Parent, Taylor Brooks, Olivia Bueno, Sirak Akalu Iyassu and Lucia Slot. Chief Editor: Fiona McKinnon. Web links are in blue. In this issue: Articles Refugees’ self-reliance: The dilemma of implementing the Global Compact on Refugees in Africa…
Monday 8th July, 2019. RE: The Militarization of Public space in Rural and Urban areas in Sudan and the Corresponding Increase in Cases of Sexual Violence, Sexual harassment and Intimidation in the Aftermath of the Khartoum Massacre. We, the undersigned are a coalition of Sudanese and African civil society organizations working in and concerned with Sudan,…
[Kampala, 20 June 2019]: On the occasion of World Refugee Day, 16 non-governmental organisations call for urgent action to prevent and mitigate the impact of environmental degradation around refugee settlements in Uganda. Uganda currently hosts more than 1.25 million refugees, most of whom rely on natural resources in and around refugee settlements for domestic fuel, construction…
© Picture accessed via msn news The International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) together with 30 other civil society organisations from all over the world have appealed to the UN Security Council for urgent action to prevent further violence in Sudan and support the people’s efforts for democratic change. In a letter to the UN Security…
