Needs assessment in an IDP camp. IOM 2021/ Mohammed Muse
Over one year after the Taliban takeover, an estimated 24.4 million people – 59 per cent of the population in Afghanistan – are dependent on international aid and emergency relief in their day-to-day lives.
Since August 2021, nearly all Afghans have plunged into poverty and the country has been facing the risk of systemic collapse.
Khadiza watches her shelter burn. The fire in Camp 8E in 2021 left a trail of destruction and death. Photo: Yassin for NRC
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.
Mother kissing her child in Gaza, Palestine.
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.
Family in Balkh province, Afghanistan
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.
Kokogul remembers the recent flood which cost her everything, standing in her tent in Kabul’s slums. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/Norwegian Refugee Council
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.
Children from drought-affected households play outside of Qaydaradey IDP camp in Baidoa. Photo: Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC
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).
Sascha Camilli
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.
NRC staff assess flood damage in Barmal district of Paktika province. Photo: NRC assessment team
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.
Homes of internally displaced people demolished in Kabul. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC
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.
Destroyed house in the south of Sanaa
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.
Hugh Kinsella Cunningham / NRC
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is once again the world’s most neglected displacement crisis according to the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) annual analysis. For the first time, the top 10 list is comprised entirely of African countries.
The European Union is putting Palestinian lives at risk as it continues to delay disbursement of aid to vital sectors in the occupied Palestinian territory.
A large portion of EU funding committed to Palestine, valued at nearly €215 million, has been delayed since 2021 as the European Union continues to condition the release of the money on specific changes to Palestinian school textbooks.
Ukrainian refugees from 2022, crossing into Poland.
The number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution has now crossed the staggering milestone of 100 million for the first time on record, propelled by the war in Ukraine and other deadly conflicts.
Photo: State Archive of Florida
Sana'a airport which has been closed in front of commercial flights since 2016. Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC
Protection for refugee children in Mbera camp. Photo: ©EU/ECHO/José Cendon
Needs assessment in an IDP camp. IOM 2021/ Mohammed Muse
Over one year after the Taliban takeover, an estimated 24.4 million people – 59 per cent of the population in Afghanistan – are dependent on international aid and emergency relief in their day-to-day lives.
Since August 2021, nearly all Afghans have plunged into poverty and the country has been facing the risk of systemic collapse.
Khadiza watches her shelter burn. The fire in Camp 8E in 2021 left a trail of destruction and death. Photo: Yassin for NRC
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.
Mother kissing her child in Gaza, Palestine.
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.
Family in Balkh province, Afghanistan
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.
Kokogul remembers the recent flood which cost her everything, standing in her tent in Kabul’s slums. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/Norwegian Refugee Council
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.
