Refugees International

10/15/2026

The fall of the Assad regime prompted one of the most significant population movements since Syria’s war began in 2011.

As of June 2026, 1.7 million Syrians had returned to their homeland. Many millions more remain displaced abroad and within Syria.

But pressure to leave host countries is growing faster than Syria’s capacity to receive people. Returns are, therefore, often not fully informed or planned and are concentrated in some of the country’s most damaged or crowded areas.

A new report by Kinda Hawasli and Natasha Hall details ten key challenges to return and offers practical steps the Syrian government, host countries, and donors must take to enable returns.

Read the latest.

Pressure on displaced Syrians to return to Syria is colliding with continued volatility and major obstacles.

10/15/2026

🎙️New from our podcast, Forced From Home.

“Renewed” violence in northern Ethiopia has made headlines, but did the conflict in Tigray really ever end?

Resurgent fighting poses severe risks to a population already facing aid cuts and trauma from the 2020-2022 war. In this episode, Meaza Gebremedhin, Executive Director of the Harambee Collective, discusses conditions in Tigray and the toll that systematic sexual violence has had on women and girls.

Listen to the full episode:
https://www.refugeesinternational.org/actions/forced-from-home-episode-14-renewed-conflict-in-ethiopia/

10/09/2026

The "so-called" ceasefire in Gaza promised relief, civilian protection, and the beginnings of recovery. Nearly a year later, those promises remain out of reach.

Palestinians in Gaza are still being killed. Families are living in worn-out tents and damaged buildings. Parents still do not have access to clean water, medicine and a place where their children can learn.

Kholoud Jwefil, a Refugees International Refugee Fellow, is a Palestinian from Gaza and lived through displacement. We join her call for sustained humanitarian access and an end the genocide.

Read her full statement on our website.
https://www.refugeesinternational.org/perspectives-and-commentaries/gazas-ceasefire-has-a-human-test-it-is-failing/

10/08/2026

🇿🇲 NEW REPORT: As humanitarian assistance shrinks worldwide, has committed to pursuing a model of integration for refugees. But practical, administrative, and legal barriers stand in the way.

Zambia’s adoption of this progressive policy can provide a win-win for Zambia as a host country and the refugees it hosts.

A new report by Mark Wood, Program Officer at Refugees International, offers practical steps the Zambian government, the UN Refugee Agency, and the World Bank can take to realize this vision – and lead the larger Southern Africa region on a model for refugee response.

➡ Read the latest:

Zambia's National Refugee Policy can transform refugee resilience to dignified empowerment and self-reliance, if fully realized.

10/06/2026

Protection of healthcare is fundamental to International Humanitarian Law, but this key tenet of the Geneva Convention has been under steady assault all over the world.

Humanitarian workers are not targets.

We asked Tirana Hassan, CEO of Médecins Sans Frontières / MSF, how this is manifesting in the day-to-day work of Doctors Without Borders, and what must happen when IHL and human rights are violated.

🎙️ Listen to this full episode of Forced From Home, wherever you get your podcasts.
https://www.refugeesinternational.org/actions/forced-from-home-episode-13-live-from-unga-can-the-next-unsg-save-ihl/

10/01/2026

460 people. 39 nationalities. Sent to a country they've never known.

A new report today from Refugees International and the Global Strategic Litigation Council reveals challenges facing third country nationals the United States is sending to Costa Rica and calls for immediate action.

The report finds third country deportees in Costa Rica are denied their rights, unable to access adequate documentation, separated from family, and left in an uncertain limbo about their future that damages their mental health in a system that seems oriented to provide only temporary solutions to a growing number of people who cannot return home and may need to stay in Costa Rica long-term.

The report recommends the immediate termination of these U.S. agreements and interim steps the Costa Rican government and the IOM must take to uphold the rights of those affected.
https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs/left-in-limbo-emerging-challenges-for-third-country-nationals-forcibly-transferred-by-the-united-states-to-costa-rica/

10/01/2026

🎙️New from our podcast, Forced From Home.

The UN faces a pivotal moment: will its next Secretary-General in 2027 have the moral clarity to defend humanitarian law and restore faith in global cooperation?

In this live episode of Forced from Home, recorded on the margins of UNGA 2026 in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House, we hear from Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Tirana Hassan, CEO of Doctors Without Borders Bangladesh/Médecins Sans Frontières-MSF USA; and Rita French, Director of Policy and Diplomatic Engagement at Article 109.

They discuss the collapse of international humanitarian law, the need for UN reform, and key priorities for the next Secretary-General. Listen now.
https://www.refugeesinternational.org/actions/forced-from-home-episode-13-live-from-unga-can-the-next-unsg-save-ihl/

09/28/2026

📣 We are one month out from our 2026 fall fundraiser in New York!

Join us for an exclusive conversation on literature, food, and what connects us across communities and borders in this time of uncertainty.

Buy your ticket today!
https://give.refugeesinternational.org/a/refugees-international-2026-fall-fundraiser

09/28/2026

“We don’t need to wait for famine to be declared in Somalia for intervention to be started.”

Both the humanitarian and security situations in Somalia are at a precipitous point.

The withdrawal of U.S. assistance is causing immense, concrete harms that are measured in starving children, shuttered clinics, and rising security risks. The combined effect of prolonged drought, potential catastrophic El Niño flooding, and aid cuts could tip parts of Somalia into outright famine, even as the U.S.-forced withdrawal of UN peacekeeping support could undermine the security situation. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to drop bombs, while withholding food. The U.S. considers Somalia an unsuitable aid recipient but a suitable partner for military cooperation.

We brought these findings and concerns to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senior Advocate for East and Southern Africa Abdullahi Halakhe shares more.

09/23/2026

This Climate Week NYC, Refugees International is bringing the stories and demands of refugees leaders at the frontlines of the climate crisis to New York. Here’s a look back at our conversations with leaders facing climate impacts in Uganda:

A year ago, the Climate Displacement Program and the Government of Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment co-convened a three-day event in Kampala, Uganda, for refugee leaders, government representatives, civil society organizations, and United Nations agencies. The forum created the opportunity to better understand climate impacts on refugee communities across Uganda and to collaboratively strategize interventions.

As next steps, refugee leaders underscored the need for increased funding for RLOs to scale the interventions that are working already. They also emphasized that refugees must have improved access to land to strengthen livelihoods, food security, and climate resilience, and be included in adaptation efforts to ensure the resilience of this land.

Visit our website to learn more about how we are supporting efforts to build climate resilience with displaced communities.
https://www.refugeesinternational.org/climate-displacement/