#DigitALL Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality Digitalisation is a necessary tool for progressive development as it can streamline processes, increase data, access to information and services, and spur innovation, thereby increasing efficiency, access and social progress. Access to and ownership of digital devices as well as access to the internet, can offer additional employment,…
#BreakTheBias by giving equal value and recognition to women’s voice and spaces. The International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) is committed to equality and treating people fairly. We believe in non-discrimination and to levelling the playing field. We at IRRI, are cognisant of our duty to respond to intersectionalities within the communities we serve, ensuring cultural,…
People seeking safety are trapped at borders across Eastern Africa due to COVID-19 measures A coalition of international, national, and refugee-led organizations in the Horn, East and Central Africa (HECA) have today called on governments in the region to reopen borders for asylum seekers. The organisations are calling on governments to put in place measures…
IRRI Press Statement on World Refugee Day 2020 20 June 2020 is World Refugee Day. This year’s theme is Everyone can make a difference. Every action counts. Refugees can and do make a difference in the host communities where they seek refuge, and their actions count. This is most evident globally, where we have seen…
“Unfortunately, it is difficult to meet our needs. I did not receive any support, when we just came back from exile. […] The major problem we face is feeding our families. Even the members of my family who welcomed us are exhausted.”[1] This woman and thousands like her who have repatriated to Burundi are urgently…
Free or Charge Detainees; End Abuse of Critics (Nairobi, January 18, 2019) – Security officials in Sudan have killed dozens of protesters and rounded up hundreds since widespread anti-austerity protests began on December 19, 2018, four organizations said today. Sudanese authorities should immediately release or charge those detained in relation to the ongoing protests, four…
As South Sudanese and international actors evaluate the potential of the recently signed agreement to move the country towards peace, the International Refugee Rights Initiative has released a new report highlighting the views of South Sudanese citizens, both who have remained at home and the displaced, on dialogue and peace agreements. Although the research was…
Uganda’s refugee policy urgently needs an honest discussion, if sustainable solutions for both refugees and host communities are to be found, a new policy paper by International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) reveals. The paper, entitled Uganda’s refugee policies: the history, the politics, the way forward puts the “Ugandan model” in its historical and political…
Les dirigeants africains devraient déterminer comment relancer le dialogue sur le Burundi, a déclaré IRRI aujourd’hui, à l’occasion de la sortie de son dernier rapport sur le dialogue et les accords de paix dans le pays. Les conclusions du rapport montrent que malgré leur point de vue critique, de nombreux Burundais appuient la poursuite des…
African leaders should decide how to revive the dialogue on Burundi, IRRI said today, as it launches a new report on dialogue and peace agreements in Burundi. The report’s findings show that despite considerable skepticism, many Burundian citizens support a continuation of talks and strongly value previous peace agreements. “While criticising the parties and the…
“African States should seize the opportunity to set clear standards on the recognition of nationality and the eradication of statelessness”, urged a coalition of African civil society organisations working on the issue. Member States are meeting in Abidjan, 7-11 May 2018, to discuss the text of a draft protocol to the African Charter on Human…
International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) a publié un nouveau rapport sur les violences et les déplacements dans la région du Kasaï en république démocratique du Congo (RDC). Il montre que suite à des attaques commises par une milice, ont eu lieu des opérations militaires abusives et des massacres par une milice progouvernement, causant la mort…
International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) published a new report about violence and displacement in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It describes how attacks by a militia were followed by abusive military operations and mass killings by a pro-government militia, causing the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands. IRRI spoke…
Burundian asylum seekers and refugees, International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) said today. According to MONUSCO, on 15 September, Congolese government security forces killed at least 36 and injured over 100 Burundians in Kamanyola (South Kivu province), during demonstrations by Burundians against threatened expulsions. “The Congolese authorities must ensure that their investigation, into what appears to…
International Refugees Rights Initiative (IRRI) today launched a report about civilian perspectives on the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), whose mandate has been recently renewed. This report is based on interviews with 62 Somalis and is the third in a series on civilian perspectives of peacekeeping forces in Africa. The report highlights that many in Somalia…
(23 February 2017) We, the undersigned South Sudanese, regional and international non-governmental organisations, write to urge your delegation to renew and strengthen the mandate and capacity of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (the Commission) to address the continued lack of accountability for severe, widespread and on-going crimes under international law and…
(14 February 2017) Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, a prominent Sudanese human rights defender, has been unlawfully detained for over two months, held by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) at Khartoum’s Kober Prison without charge or access to legal representation, 39 human rights groups and activists said. Dr. Mudawi, who was arrested with his…
(23 June 2016) With the UNAMID mandate renewal under discussion at the UN Security Council, a new report released today by the International Refugee Rights Initiative provides an analysis of the joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) as seen by some of the civilians the force is mandated to protect. The report, “‘No…
The International Refugee Rights Initiative expresses grave concern over reports that the government of Botswana plans to repatriate ten Eritrean asylum seekers without ensuring access to refugee status determination procedures and respect for the right to seek asylum and urges the government to respect its commitment to refugee rights and its obligations under law, and…
The International Refugee Rights Initiative expresses grave concern over reports that the government of Botswana plans to repatriate ten Eritrean asylum seekers without ensuring access to refugee status determination procedures and respect for the right to seek asylum and urges the government to respect its commitment to refugee rights and its obligations under law, and…
