At the end of April 2013, according to UNHCR data, there were 445,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, including both those who are registered and those waiting to be registered. There are also many thousands of refugees who have not tried…
The number of refugees in Kenya has grown from approximately 12,000 registered refugees in 1988 to 616,555 in 2012, the great majority originating from neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa. Expecting a safe haven in their country of asylum,…
Of the biggest emergencies needing emergency telecommunications support through the cluster system at the moment, two stand out. The first is Mali, where the lack of infrastructure in the areas where the humanitarian operations are taking place is stark, and…
Attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and issues are rapidly improving in the United States. Barriers to equal treatment and opportunity are coming down. Recognition that LGBT rights are universal rights is gaining ground. While much work…
At the centre of the 1951 Refugee Convention are human dignity, the richness and diversity of human life, and the full expression of individual freedoms. The very purpose of the Convention is the protection of those who manage to flee…
Guidelines on International Protection No 9: Claims to Refugee Status based on Sexual Orientation and/or Gender Identity within the context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees A new set…
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) forced migrants around the world report a history of multiple traumatic events across their lifespan. The range of events includes verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse and assault, harassment, shunning, spitting, discrimination in housing…
Growing up gay in Burma I did not really understand what being ‘gay’ meant but I believed that my feelings must be wrong. I think most LGBTI people who left Burma for refugee camps in Thailand were similarly confused about…
“It was the vigilante groups. It was the villagers. It was the uncles. It was the entire system. It was the guy I was working for who would scream in front of his clients: “kandu” [“fag” – pejorative term for…
