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Executive Summary for September 14th

We review the latest issues related to refugees, including a Human Rights Watch report on missing aid money for refugee education, the U.N. chief’s statement on ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Rohingya, and Germany’s resumption of deportations to Afghanistan.

Published on Sep. 14, 2017 Read time Approx. 2 minutes

Human Rights Watch Documents Missing Aid for Syrian Refugee Education

Human Rights Watch said it found “large discrepancies” between funding pledges and aid delivered for the education of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.

“Despite global concern about Syrian refugee children, it is still impossible to find answers to basic questions about whether their key educational needs are being met,” said Human Rights Watch’s Simon Rau.

The rights group tried to track donor funds pledged to refugee education at a London aid conference in February 2016, which resolved to enroll all Syrian children in school this year and pledged over $1.4 billion to get it done.

But Human Rights Watch said a lack of transparency and delays were hampering the response. Around half a million Syrian children remain out of school in the three countries.

“Of the education funding that was sent, much did not arrive until after the start of the school year – too late to enroll the children it was intended to help. In some cases, donors had double-counted the promised funds,” the report said.

U.N. Chief: Rohingya Face Ethnic Cleansing

The U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres backed his human rights chief in referring to the exodus from Myanmar’s Rakhine as “ethnic cleansing.”

Around 380,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar’s military offensive after militant attacks in late August.

“When one-third of the Rohingya population had to flee the country, can you find a better word to describe it?” Guterres said in response to questions about Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein calling the situation “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

In Bangladesh, authorities and aid groups are struggling to keep up with mass arrivals to already overcrowded camps, with aid distributions sparking chaos and panic. “There are acute shortages of everything, most critically shelter, food and clean water,” UNICEF’s country representative Edouard Beigbeder said.

Germany Resumes Deportations to Afghanistan

Germany deported the first Afghans to their country since halting the controversial deportations after an attack in Kabul in May.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the eight Afghan deportees were rejected for asylum and all had criminal records.

Germany began deporting failed Afghans asylum seekers last year, and has sent back over 150 people. The deportations were suspended after an attack near the German embassy in Kabul killed some 150 people. Germany also offers some asylum seekers money to return voluntarily.

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