Djibouti Allows More Refugees to Work and Study: UNHCR
New laws giving refugees in Djibouti better access to jobs, health and education have come into effect, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said.
Djibouti pledged to expand refugees’ ability to work and get health and education services at the New York refugees summit last year. President Ismail Omar Guelleh signed two decrees into law last week that will improve refugee status determination procedures and employment opportunities, according to UNHCR.
Djibouti’s location on the Horn of Africa’s coast has long made it a transit point for refugees and migrants heading to Yemen and on to wealthy Gulf countries. Since war broke out in Yemen in 2015, refugees have also flooded in the opposite direction, and the country hosts some 27,000 refugees including many from Yemen, Somalia and Eritrea.
The country is one of several nations piloting a new strategy for refugee response agreed in New York called the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF).
Denmark Faces Political Crisis Over Syrian Returns
The right-wing Danish People’s Party could bring down Denmark’s government by demanding reforms to make it easier to return Syrians in exchange for supporting a new budget.
The Danish People’s Party is not part of the ruling coalition but the government needs its votes to pass the budget by December 22. If the budget doesn’t pass, the government could be forced to call a snap election or hand power to the opposition.
The party conditioned its support on the government making it easier to revoke residence permits for Syrians who received temporary protection in the country. Around 10,000 Syrians are in Denmark under those rules, which provide weaker protection than full refugee status.
U.N. Warns Funding Shortfall Risks New Wave of Refugees to Europe
The U.N. refugee agency said funds for Syrian refugees in the Middle East have fallen short by around half this year. A spokesperson warned that the shortfall could result in a renewed flight of refugees to Europe.
UNHCR has received only 53 percent of its 2017 $4.63 billion appeal to assist Syrian refugees and the countries hosting them, leading to reductions in food, education and shelter programs.
The agency’s Middle East director Amin Awad warned donors that aid shortfalls in 2015 encouraged the mass flight to Europe. “We had the experience of 2015, we don’t want to repeat that,” he said.
Middle Eastern countries hosting millions of refugees “are the real donors,” he said. “Now the material assistance is left to the donors and international community … And that’s not coming through. So we have to be prepared for consequences,” Awad warned.
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