The Rohingya crisis has reached a dangerous tipping point, with refugees potentially never returning home to Myanmar if international leaders fail to chart a way forward, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Secretary General Jan Egeland warned today.

“From what I’m seeing on the ground, the Rohingya refugee community in Bangladesh is almost at the point of no return; they must be helped out of displacement now or it will be too late.

The undersigned Members of the Finnish Parliament are deeply disturbed by the high numbers of civilians, in particular children, killed and injured in the latest escalation of violence in Gaza from 5-7 August 2022.

According to the UN Human Rights Office the ‘pre-emptive’ strikes by Israeli army in Gaza killed 48 Palestinians of whom 22 were civilians, including 17 children. Of 360 Palestinians reported injured, nearly two-thirds were civilians, including 151 children, 58 women and 19 older people.

In the year that has passed since the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan we have seen daily and continuous deterioration in the situation of Afghan women and girls. This has spanned every aspect of their human rights, from living standards to social and political status. It has been a year of increasing disrespect for their right to live free and equal lives, denying them opportunity to livelihoods, access to health care and education, and escape from situations of violence.

Statement by Neil Turner, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Country Director, on the one-year mark of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan:

“We have witnessed shocking levels of poverty and suffering in Afghanistan over the past year. The economic restrictions imposed on the country and the unwillingness of both the de facto authorities and the international community to effectively engage with one another have pushed millions of Afghans into despair.

A devastating drought in Somalia has reached unprecedented levels, as the one millionth person displaced by the drought was registered this week.

More than 755,000 people have been internally displaced in Somalia because of the severe drought this year, bringing the total figure to 1 million people since January 2021 when the drought began, according to displacement figures released today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

Finland’s top fashion event, Helsinki Fashion Week, returns this month with a crucial message about the importance of sustainability in the industry. Since its inception, Helsinki Fashion Week has blazed a trail championing ethical fashion, including its landmark decision to ban leather from its catwalks from 2019 – a move for which it received worldwide praise. As a keynote speaker at this year’s event, I will be highlighting the reasons why we at PETA urged the organisers to make this change and why it’s time the rest of the fashion world followed their compassionate lead.

Statement by Neil Turner, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Country Director, on the situation in severely flood-hit Afghan provinces:

“This year’s unseasonal flooding is catastrophic for impacted communities in Afghanistan. The scale of destruction is unparalleled. Flash floods have swept away entire sections of roads and other critical infrastructure - bridges, wheat mills, hospitals and schools. People have lost their businesses, and the entire families have seen their homes and acres of farmland destroyed.

Up to half a million families in Afghanistan are now facing the prospect of homelessness following increasing pressure from the authorities to return internally displaced people to their areas of origin. Decades of conflict, droughts, political instability and economic collapse have driven displaced Afghans into enclaves around bigger cities that over time have grown into slum-like settlements.

Statement by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Yemen Country Director Erin Hutchinson in reaction to the announced extended two-month truce

“The announcement of the truce extension today shows a serious commitment from all parties to end the senseless suffering of millions of Yemenis.