GENEVA / MIGRANTS REFUGEES PROTECTION

UN humanitarians said that conflicts in Sudan and across the Sahel region have compromised protection for migrants who continue to face “unimaginable horrors” on major migration routes to Europe. UNTV CH

• Video Length: 00:01:55
• Production Date: 4 June 2024
• Asset Language: English; French
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGUEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES; SAHEL REGION SITUATION
• Geographic Subject: SUDAN; SAHEL
• MAMS Id: 3214019
• Parent Id: 3214019
• Alternate Title: unifeed240604c

Description

STORY: GENEVA / MIGRANTS REFUGEES PROTECTION
TRT: 01:55
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 4 JUNE 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, exterior, UN flag alley.
2. Wide shot, speakers at podium, journalists, press conference room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Vincent Cochetel, Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“Many don’t go to capital cities where humanitarian actors are based, well represented. They embark to secondary routes reaching smaller cities, smaller communities, in hard-to-reach areas. This is where services should be located.”
4. Wide shot, speakers at podium, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Vincent Cochetel, Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“Our capacity to partner directly with local authorities is missing. Yet, those local authorities are there, they are located on those routes that are used for migrants and refugees, they are located in places where humanitarian actors cannot be present, either because of safety concerns or because authorities don’t want humanitarian actors to be present. But the local authorities are there and they would be able to provide those immediate protection services.”
6. Med shot, speakers at podium, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Vincent Cochetel, Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“If we can't be present in the north of Agadez today, the local authorities are present: people who were born there, who were there before this route was used for migration to Libya. Let's work with these authorities. These authorities see the problem. These authorities would like to do something."
8. Wide shot, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Vincent Cochetel, Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“We continue to talk about rescue at sea. The concept of desert rescue is not very, very developed. Desert search and rescue, that's something we'd like to develop with these local authorities. Technologically, it is possible.”
10. Various shots, journalists, technicians, press conference room, control room

Storyline

UN humanitarians said today (04 Jun) that conflicts in Sudan and across the Sahel region have compromised protection for migrants who continue to face “unimaginable horrors” on major migration routes to Europe.

A new report from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirmed that each year, hundreds of thousands of people risk their lives to migrate from sub-Saharan countries in Africa without access to immediate assistance, shelter, or information about the dangers they may face, even though the location of major movement hubs is well known.

Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation, said that the absence of critical services placed refugees and migrants “at great risk of harm and death” and also triggered dangerous secondary onward movements.

“Our capacity to partner directly with local authorities is missing. Yet, those local authorities are there, they are located on those routes that are used for migrants and refugees, they are located in places where humanitarian actors cannot be present, either because of safety concerns or because authorities don’t want humanitarian actors to be present. But the local authorities are there and they would be able to provide those immediate protection services.”

To remedy the situation and save lives, the UNHCR official called on donors and stakeholders to support the agency’s humanitarian work and that of local partners in targeted locations.

“This includes better access to legal pathways to safety and improving protection services for victims, as well as those at risk of becoming victims along the routes,” Cochetel said.

As well as African migrants, those on the move come from Asia and the Middle East.

Many underestimate the risks and dangers and many die while crossing the desert or near borders, UNHCR said, noting that most also suffer serious human rights violations, including sexual violence, kidnappings, torture and physical abuse.

“Many don’t go to capital cities where humanitarian actors are based and well represented,” Cochetel told journalists in Geneva.

“They embark to secondary routes, reaching smaller cities in hard-to-reach areas” including in the Sahara Desert.

“This is where services should be located.”

With the right level of funding, supported services could provide immediate humanitarian assistance, shelter, referral mechanisms, information on the dangers involved in embarking on hazardous journeys, and access to justice.

Taking the example of Agadez in central Niger - a major migration hub towards Libya and where the security situation remains extremely dangerous for migrants - Cochetel emphasized that “the local authorities are present, people who were born there. Let's work with these authorities. These authorities see the problem and they would like to do something. Desert search and rescue, that's something we'd like to develop with these local authorities. Technologically, it is possible.”

According to the UNHCR, 108.4 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced. Most refugees - 76 percent - are hosted by low and middle-income countries.

In addition, the UN Migration Agency (IOM) reports more than 280 million international migrants worldwide - 3.6 percent of the global population.