At least three in four countries – home to 91 percent of the global population – have imposed partial or complete border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and roughly one in two human beings is living under lockdown as governments try to slow the spread of the virus. While perhaps necessary from a public health standpoint, the limitations on movement make it more difficult for people fleeing wars and persecution to access protection, and raise pressing questions about what special steps governments need to take to safeguard asylum seekers and irregular migrants in these unusual times. But migration policy experts also warn that some governments are taking advantage of the crisis to push through legally dubious, hardline migration policies that can’t be justified by public health concerns and that could stay in place long after the COVID-19 outbreaks subside – in particular, ending or curtailing access to asylum. “You do absolutely have some governments who have exploited the situa...

  In a continued effort to curb the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), countries have been tightening borders and putting travel restrictions in place. These actions have affected refugees and migrants worldwide. The International Organization for Migration and UNHCR announced on March 10, 2020, that resettlement travel for refugees will be temporarily suspended, although the agencies have appealed to states to ensure emergency cases are exempted.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted some countries to take steps towards further reducing population movement that affects humanitarian corridors around the world.  At the same time, there could be cases of refoulement with asylum seekers being returned to their countries of origin, where they are at risk of persecution and in an apparent breach of international law. As of March 29, 2020, WHO reported 146 countries and territories with cases of COVID-19 from local transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavi...

Nearly one in four children growing up in conflict zones are missing out on education, with South Sudan, Niger, Sudan and Afghanistan the worst-affected countries, UN children's agency UNICEF says. An estimated 24 million children of school age were out of school in 22 countries affected by conflict, according to the agency's research. South Sudan has the largest proportion of children out of school, 51 per cent, followed by 47 per cent in Niger, 41 per cent in Sudan and 40 per cent in Afghanistan. "When children are not in school, they are at an increased danger of abuse, exploitation and recruitment into armed groups," UNICEF's head of education, Jo Bourne, said. "School equips children with the knowledge and skills they need to rebuild their communities once the conflict is over and, in the short-term, it provides them with the stability and structure required to cope with the trauma they have experienced." Attacks on Schools Schools and universities ...