Sex and the City co-stars Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon chat about their go-to films for inspiration and what the world needs to fight the coronavirus. 

Proud camels and peaceful doves: gifts with meaning

"This is why exile, refugee exile is so devastating, because it is the admission to oneself, that home is not safe anymore. There are very few decisions that a human being can make, that are as difficult as choosing the path of exile. And this is what displaced and refugees do.” Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is recovering from Covid-19, and says it's given him a sense of the fragility of life. He says the socio-economic effects of the epidemic, including  rising poverty, are especially dire for refugees and displaced people.

‘I want all Shona women to see that they can be anything they want’

As the pandemic surges, data visualization shows how displaced people have to contend with extreme overcrowding and limited access to basics such as soap and water.

Ties that Bind: Community Sponsorship in the UK

“Give us a space at the table and we’ll change the world,” said Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, an activist from Chad who advocates for environmental justice and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Established in 2007, the High Commissioner’s Dialogue facilitates an exchange of views between refugees, governments, civil society, the private sector, academics and international organizations on emerging challenges in humanitarian protection. This year, UN Refugee’s focus is on how the COVID-19 pandemic affects displaced and stateless people.

Senegalese musician, singer and UNHCR supporter calls for action to end world’s fastest growing displacement crisis: "My homeland – the Sahel – is on its knees, brought low by conflict, hunger and disease. I am called the ‘Voice of the Sahel’. For years, it has fed my poetry and music. Now I raise that voice to call on the world to stop the misery and suffering ripping this hard, but beautiful land apart." UNHCR says that across the region, over 2.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Shelter, water, sanitation, health, and other basic assistance needs are now immense.

Mentored by Grammy winner Ricky Kej, 24 refugee musicians in India came together in a song of hope and kindness.

There is only one word to describe Mohtas Anwar Modier’s current mood – overjoyed. The 28-year-old Sudanese refugee arrived in Italy to advance his education. In June, he learned he received a scholarship to study at the prestigious Luiss University in Rome. The initiative, with support from UNHCR and partners, offers refugee students the opportunity to pursue their academic goals. For refugees like Mohtas, graduating from university is a triumph over the odds and an inspiration to others.

Eighteen people died and others wounded in an overnight attack in Cameroon close to the Nigerian border, where thousands of internally displaced people have sought safety. Insecurity in the Far North region continues. 2,000 residents have adjusted their routines in fear of attack, making their lives even harder. UNHCR provides protection and assistance with water, food, shelter and other items to more than 400,000 refugees in Cameroon, mainly from Nigeria and the Central African Republic.

As we mark five years after Europe’s refugee crisis, we revisit Awake at Night's episode with Boris Cheshirkov, who worked for UNHCR as a spokesperson in his native Bulgaria when thousands of refugees were arriving at the border. 

She was 11 before she saw the inside of a classroom, so Parisa was not about to stop learning even under lockdown. “My sister and I followed our lessons on the television, but we had to borrow my older sister’s smartphone to do our exams,” she said. A decade ago, her family fled Afghanistan after the Taliban terrorized their neighbourhood in Herat. The extremists also threatened to kidnap any girls who dared to go to school. In Iran, where her family fled to, Parisa and her six siblings found safety, but during her first years in exile she couldn’t go to school. Based on UNHCR data, the Malala Fund has estimated that as a result of the coronavirus half of all refugee girls in secondary school will not return when classrooms reopen this month.

UNHCR assists in relocating many vulnerable refugee children to Luxembourg and Germany from insecure reception centres. The move came at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turkmenistan now champions universal birth registration