U.N. Fears More Closures of Syria Aid Groups in Turkey
Leaked documents show the U.N.’s humanitarian office are concerned that Turkey is planning to shut down more humanitarian groups delivering aid to Syria and Syrian refugees following the closure of Mercy Corps last week.
Turkey’s interior ministry “is planning on canceling all existing INGO registrations and asking INGOs to resubmit registration requests following new rules and regulations within three months,” said the internal OCHA “read-out,” which was leaked to Voice of America.
The process will likely be used as a “way to choose which organizations they want to keep in country,” the document said.
Voice of America reported that several large humanitarian groups – including the International Rescue Committee, CARE International and International Medical Corps – were inspected last week by Turkish officials who reviewed registration documents, staff lists and work permits.
At least two international NGOs have already been ordered to reregister in the country, the news report said.
More Legal Challenges to Trump’s Revised Immigration Order
A series of legal challenges against U.S. president Donald Trump’s revised executive order suspending refugee resettlement will go before the courts this week.
The order, which suspends visas for nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days and halts all refugee resettlement for 120 days, is due to take effect on March 16.
On March 15, judges will hear two cases against the order. The first case was brought by resettlement groups the International Refugee Assistance Project and HIAS. The second was brought by the state of Hawaii.
A third legal challenge to the order is also expected later this week, in which the state of Washington argues that a judge’s temporary restraining order on the previous January 27 order should also be applied to the revised order. The states of Minnesota, Oregon, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland are expected to join that case.
A limited legal challenge to the order was successful last week when a federal judge barred enforcement of the policy against a Syrian refugee whose wife and child applied to join him in the U.S.
Summit Tackles Central American Refugee Crisis in Mexico
The growing number of people fleeing violence in Central America and claiming asylum in Mexico necessitates a regional effort to protect vulnerable refugees, the U.N. protection chief said.
Central American displacement is approaching crisis levels, U.N. assistant high commissioner for protection Volker Türk said at the Protection Dialogue meeting in Mexico City.
Türk urged countries in the region to integrate refugees into the labor market, provide access to basic services, improve their asylum systems and seek alternatives to detention, especially for children.
Mexico has traditionally been a transit country for migrants making their way to the U.S., but the number of people claiming asylum in the country grew sharply last year. The U.N. expects at least 20,000 new asylum claims in Mexico this year.
Recommended Reads:
- The Intercept: By Any Means Necessary
- Refugees International: Getting It Right: Protection of South Sudanese Refugees in Uganda
- The New York Times: Uprooted by War, Threatened by Boko Haram and Desperate to Go Home
- The Guardian: U.K. Sending Syrians Back to Countries Where They Were Beaten and Abused
- Reuters: Decline in Migration Under Trump Could Quickly Reverse, History Shows