The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner has said the new decree forces humanitarian rescue ships to ignore distress calls from migrants at sea and delays adequate assistance to meet their basic needs.
A case against search and rescue volunteers Sarah Mardini and Sean Binder in Greece has been shelved for now. But hundreds more people across Europe still face charges such as migrant smuggling, despite growing calls to end the criminalization of humanitarian assistance.
According to the head of the German Development Agency GIZ, Germany has managed to bring around 24,000 people out of Afghanistan in the last few months.
The UN Security Council resolution which authorizes humanitarian aid for north-west Syria via Turkey will expire in a few days: should it not be renewed there will be "catastrophic" consequences for 4.1 million persons, is the warning issued by several humanitarian agencies to the UN in a joint press release.
UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi has appealed to the de facto Afghan authorities to revoke the directive limiting Afghan women's possibility to work with NGOs. The ban will "temporarily stop critical activities in support of Afghan people, especially women and children," UNHCR stated.
German NGOs have joined dozens of other humanitarian organizations in suspending their work in Afghanistan, after the Taliban banned women from working for the groups.
UNHCR has reiterated a call for a ban on forced returns, including of asylum seekers who have had their claims rejected, to the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The call comes amid attacks on civilians and an escalation of armed conflict after a resumption of fighting.
Over two million people have fled South Sudan due to fighting and extreme weather events; well over one million South Sudanese nationals have been internally displaced. One of them is Alok, whose story was recently recounted by IOM (UN Migration Agency).
The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR and UNICEF have reported that about 234,000 Ukrainian refugees were able to use protection and support services provided by 36 "Blue Dot" hubs across seven countries.
Many humanitarian operators working for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR have first-hand experience of being forced to flee their homes. One example is Mohamed, who fled from Mali to Mauritania and today works as a communications assistant for UNHCR in his country. Oleksandra, who was forced to flee twice, also currently works at UNHCR -- in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has announced that Italy has increased funds to support Ukrainian refugees in the country from €500 million to 800 million.
The humanitarian association Mediterranea Saving Humans has launched its third Safe Passage mission to take medicine, food and other aid to Ukraine and to bring refugees fleeing the war back to Italy.