Press Release

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Press Statement on International Women’s Day 8 March #IWD2023

Published: 9 Mar 2023

#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,…

Press Statement on International Women’s Day 8 March 2022

Published: 8 Mar 2022

#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,…

Self-reliance as a contemporary ‘durable solution’ to forced displacement

Published: 20 Jun 2020

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…

Sudan: Hundreds of Protesters Arrested

Published: 18 Jan 2019

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…

“We Do not Honour Agreements” Dialogue and Peace Agreements in South Sudan

Published: 5 Nov 2018

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…

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Uganda’s refugee policies: the history, the politics, the way forward

Published: 17 Oct 2018

  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…

« Il faut qu’on parle » : Dialogue et accords de paix au Burundi

Published: 9 Jul 2018

  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…

“We need to talk” Burundi citizens supportive of regional dialogue

Published: 9 Jul 2018

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…

Meeting of AU Member States on the draft Protocol on the Right to a Nationality in Africa

Published: 7 May 2018

“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…

Conflit et déplacement au Kasaï: rapport sur la RDC

Published: 16 Jan 2018

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…

Violence and displacement in the Kasai: report on DRC

Published: 16 Jan 2018

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…

Accountability Needed for Killings of Burundian Exiles in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Published: 9 Sep 2017

  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…

“They Say They’re Not Here to Protect Us”: Civilian perspectives on the African Union mission in Somalia

Published: 31 May 2017

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…

Renewing the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan and addressing the need for accountability for past and on-going crimes under international law and human rights violations in South Sudan

Published: 23 Feb 2017

(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…

Sudan: Urgent concern for human rights defender on hunger strike over unlawful detention

Published: 14 Feb 2017

(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…

Now is not the time to walk away: UNSC needs to renew and strengthen UNAMID

Published: 23 Jun 2016

(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…

Botswana: Repatriating Eritreans Without Access to Asylum Procedure Would Violate International Law and Could Amount to Refoulement

Published: 16 Oct 2015

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…

Botswana: Repatriating Eritreans Without Access to Asylum Procedure Would Violate International Law and Could Amount to Refoulement

Published: 16 Oct 2015

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…