UNHCR

Trump to meet China’s Xi as Congress mulls bill banning artificial superintelligence – US politics live

Congress has so far done little to rein in the AI industry even as some of its most prominent leaders warn about potentially catastrophic risks Sign up for US Breaking News emails The Trump administration is refusing to work with the newly appointed deputy head of the United Nations ⁠refugee agency, Reuters reported. Tressa Rae Finerty, an American who took up the role of deputy high commissioner at UNHCR earlier ⁠this month, has taken leave as she seeks a waiver from the US government that would allow her to carry out aspects of her duties, ​according to seven diplomatic sources. Speaking at the UN general assembly, Donald Trump re-issued his threat to “annihilate” Iran and “drive them into Hell” if the regime didn’t capitulate and make a deal.” He also said he was “working closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine ” to end the disastrous war, defended his administration’s actions in Latin America – including the midnight raid to arrest former Venezuelan president Nicólas Maduro , defended his drone strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, accused Mexico of being effectively controlled by the cartels, and said it was “unacceptable” for the US to share a border with a nation under such conditions, pointed to regime change in Cuba and said he would reject any calls for a “globalist scheme” to control artificial intelligence. Shortly after his UN address, Trump signed a Greenland deal, which Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederick Nielsen said “underlines the importance of the Nato alliance.” In tricky, carefully worded paragraphs, she said the agreement “recognises the US defining historical and ongoing contributions to the security and defence of Greenland,” but it also “respects the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark, as well as Greenland’s right to self-determination.” Trump told a CNN reporter at the UN general assembly on Tuesday that he was “surprised” the outlet was covering him, saying it ‘shouldn’t be here’ after he banned the network alongside Politico and MS Now from the White House on Friday. At a joint press conference on Tuesday, vice-president JD Vance and Mehmet Oz , administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced that the federal government was removing 760,000 enrollees from Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Tom Ambrose7h ago

• critical toward Congress · 98%

Cameroon: UNHCR RBWCA - Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Persons Presence - August 2026

Countries: Cameroon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached Map.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees9h ago

• neutral toward UNHCR · 99%

UNHCR RBWCA - Democratic Republic of the Congo refugees situation - August 2026

Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, World Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached Map.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees9h ago

• neutral toward UNHCR · 99%

UNHCR Ukraine Operational Update - 14 September 2026

Country: Ukraine Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. OPERATIONAL CONTEXT & HIGHLIGHTS: • Since late August, the Russian Federation (RF) has significantly intensified frequency of attacks, damaging infrastructure and civilian sites, disrupting daily life and causing growing casualties. One of the deadliest attacks occurred on 28 August in Kyiv region, where a Russian strike triggered explosions that killed at least 37 people. According to the UN HRMMU, at least 372 civilians were killed and 2,349 injured in Ukraine in August 2026 - the second highest monthly figure in 2026, after July, with 448 killed and 2,675 injured. • Strikes on Kherson on 27 August damaged the city’s combined heat and power plant, prompting the authorities to urge residents to evacuate. The situation reflects a broader trend across frontline areas, where escalating insecurity and damage to energy and water systems are driving new displacement, mostly within affected regions but also towards western Ukraine. • Humanitarian operations faced growing security risks. RF strikes repeatedly hit warehouses contracted by various UN entities, including UNHCR’s, damaging stocks of critical relief supplies. The increased frequency of attacks also made emergency response efforts more complex and dangerous. • Given security challenges, to ensure continuity of assistance, UNHCR is adapting its operational modalities, including through decentralizing humanitarian stock and exploring additional protective measures such as mobile bomb shelters for war-affected communities. • In the fifth year since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and more than 12 years since the war began, UNHCR’s programme in Ukraine increasingly aims to help war-affected people and communities to recover, and displaced people to find durable solutions, particularly through housing and strategic protection advocacy.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees10h ago

UNHCR Ethiopia | Public Health Factsheet January- June | 2026

Country: Ethiopia Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. UNHCR, in collaboration with government counterparts and implementing partners, provides primary healthcare services to refugees and neighboring host communities across Ethiopia, while facilitating access to secondary and tertiary referral services for refugees and asylum seekers. To strengthen equitable access to healthcare and support the integration of refugee health services into the national health system, UNHCR supports 26 health centers, 2 health posts, and 2 mobile health posts established at emergency refugee sites. These facilities deliver essential primary healthcare services to both refugee and host communities. ▪ UNHCR's public health programme is implemented across Gambella, Somali, Benishangul-Gumuz, Afar, Addis Ababa, Amhara, and South Omo regions. In partnership with government institutions and implementing partners, the programme supports the deployment of qualified healthcare personnel, ensures the continuous availability of essential medicines and medical supplies, and delivers comprehensive primary healthcare services to refugees while strengthening the capacity of the national health system.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees10h ago

UNHCR Ethiopia | WASH Factsheet I January - June 2026

Countries: Ethiopia, South Sudan Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. ▪ With reference to Makatet’s pillar-4- Access to basic and social services, the pillar pre-requisites the preparation of a baseline assessment tool/template, and as such, in association with the IM unit, the assessment tool has been prepared to measure the key milestones that the UNHCR country office has so far achieved and potentially assess the gaps through the implementation of water safety planning. ▪ Outlining the transition readiness table for different operations ▪ With the available funding and resource mobilization with operating partners, continue ensuring the WASH services in woredas and areas hosting forcibly displaced and stateless populations are improved and included in facilities managed by the regional water bureau and local water development Offices. ▪ Continue to strengthen fundraising efforts to complement targeted humanitarian assistance, while actively advocating for resource mobilization in collaboration with operating partners and other key stakeholders.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees10h ago

UNHCR Ethiopia | Housing and Settlement Factsheet January - June | 2026

Country: Ethiopia Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. UNHCR, in collaboration with FDRE Refugee Returnee Service (RRS) and partners, is supporting refugees, asylum seekers, and host communities to access safe, dignified, habitable shelter—addressing urgent humanitarian needs while advancing integrated, climate-resilient settlements aligned with the GCR, and Ethiopia’s human settlement pledge inline with Makatet Roadmap. Multi-Year Priorities ▪ Advancing a sustainable human settlements approach: In line with the Makatet Framework and the Government of Ethiopia’s Human Settlements Pledge Operational Plan. ▪ Protection-sensitive shelter and affordable housing: Advance area-based, climate-resilient shelter, housing, and settlement solutions that enhance protection outcomes, support self-reliance, and plans that address both immediate and long-term needs ▪ Community-led approaches: Scale community-driven and cash-based delivery to reinforce ownership and social cohesion. ▪ Information management: Strengthen Sectorial data and analysis to improve planning, targeting, and advocacy.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees10h ago

UNHCR Ethiopia | Housing and Settlement Factsheet I January - June 2026

Country: Ethiopia Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. UNHCR, in collaboration with FDRE Refugee Returnee Service (RRS) and partners, is supporting refugees, asylum seekers, and host communities to access safe, dignified, habitable shelter—addressing urgent humanitarian needs while advancing integrated, climate-resilient settlements aligned with the GCR, and Ethiopia’s human settlement pledge inline with Makatet Roadmap. Multi-Year Priorities ▪ Advancing a sustainable human settlements approach: In line with the Makatet Framework and the Government of Ethiopia’s Human Settlements Pledge Operational Plan. ▪ Protection-sensitive shelter and affordable housing: Advance area-based, climate-resilient shelter, housing, and settlement solutions that enhance protection outcomes, support self-reliance, and plans that address both immediate and long-term needs ▪ Community-led approaches: Scale community-driven and cash-based delivery to reinforce ownership and social cohesion. ▪ Information management: Strengthen Sectorial data and analysis to improve planning, targeting, and advocacy.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees10h ago

UNHCR Ethiopia | GBV Refugee Response Factsheet I April - June 2026

Country: Ethiopia Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. GBV interventions in Q1 2026 focused on prevention, risk mitigation, and response, with emphasis on survivor-centered services andcommunity-based prevention approaches, guided by the UNHCR GBV Strategy 2023–2026: ▪ Empowerment of women, girls and adolescents ▪ Strengthening survivor-centered multi-sectoral services ▪ Inclusion in national and local service systems ▪ GBV mainstreaming across protection, WASH, shelter, health, education and livelihoods ▪ Community-based prevention approaches, including women-ledstructures and male engagement

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees10h ago

• neutral toward UNHCR · 99%

UNHCR Ethiopia | GBV Refugee Response Factsheet I January - March 2026

Country: Ethiopia Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. GBV interventions in Q1 2026 focused on prevention, risk mitigation, and response, with emphasis on survivor-centered services andcommunity-based prevention approaches, guided by the UNHCR GBV Strategy 2023–2026: ▪ Empowerment of women, girls and adolescents ▪ Strengthening survivor-centered multi-sectoral services ▪ Inclusion in national and local service systems ▪ GBV mainstreaming across protection, WASH, shelter, health, education and livelihoods ▪ Community-based prevention approaches, including women-ledstructures and male engagement

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees10h ago

• neutral toward UNHCR · 99%

UNHCR - Pakistan Overview of Refugee and Afghans of other status in Pakistan (as of 31 August 2026)

Countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached Infographic.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees13h ago

• neutral toward UNHCR · 99%

UNHCR - Pakistan Voluntary Repatriation of Afghan Refugees (1 January to 31 August 2026)

Countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached Infographic.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees13h ago

• neutral toward UNHCR · 99%

World: Global Recommendations on Nationality and Statelessness in the Context of Climate Change

Country: World Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. New global recommendations help States safeguard nationality and protect stateless people amid climate crisis Joint press release: UNHCR and Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at the University of Melbourne GENEVA/MELBOURNE – The impacts of climate change worldwide are increasing risks of people becoming stateless and making those already without a nationality even more vulnerable. Yet solutions exist, according to the first-ever Global Recommendations on Nationality and Statelessness in the Context of Climate Change , launched today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at the University of Melbourne. As the global climate continues to warm, nearly 90 per cent of the 4.5 million people known to be stateless today live in countries highly exposed to increasingly extreme weather and creeping environmental degradation, such as heatwaves, droughts, cyclones, floods and sea-level rise. Because stateless people are not recognized as nationals by any country, they already face significant barriers in enjoying rights and accessing services such as going to school, seeing a doctor, getting a job or even getting married. Now climate change is reinforcing those barriers and making them even harder to overcome, deepening exclusion and insecurity. At the same time, climate-related displacement and migration, the loss of identity documents during disasters, disruptions to civil registration systems, and gaps in nationality laws are exposing more people to the risk of becoming stateless. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre the past decade has seen an average of 27 million displacements brought on by weather-related events each year, and climate change is expected to drive that trend upwards. “Climate change is an increasingly urgent protection crisis for people in vulnerable situations, including stateless people and those at risk of statelessness,” said Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “Nationality is far more than a legal status: it underpins a person's identity, rights, and sense of belonging. These Global Recommendations provide practical guidance for governments to safeguard the right to nationality in the face of growing climate impacts and ensure that those already stateless are not left even further behind.” The recommendations are grounded in international law and policy frameworks on the right to a nationality, the prevention and reduction of statelessness, climate change and human mobility. They are specifically guided by universally applicable principles in international law, including equality and non-discrimination, the right to life with dignity, the duty of international cooperation, and the right to participate. With the existential threats posed by sea-level rise currently on the global agenda, the recommendations are also timely in reflecting growing international recognition that the continuity of statehood should not be affected by sea-level rise and related loss of territory. “Climate change is reshaping every aspect of human life, and we know it places stateless people, who are among the most vulnerable, at extreme risk. Millions more will be at risk of becoming stateless if they are forced to move to survive and lose access to civil registration or proof of nationality that protect them and their rights as citizens,” said Associate Professor Radha Govil, one of the lead authors of the Global Recommendations. Among the key recommendations, States are encouraged to identify stateless people displaced in the context of climate change and include them in climate adaptation and response planning; strengthen birth registration and identity systems; establish procedures to identify and protect stateless persons in situations of climate-linked displacement; and ensure that all children impacted by climate change can acquire a nationality in order to prevent childhood statelessness. Timely finance and support should be directed to this concrete area of preventive, impactful action. As climate change impacts intensify, UNHCR and the Peter McMullin Centre call on governments, regional organizations, civil society and development partners to implement the recommendations and ensure that nationality systems, climate policies and human mobility frameworks are inclusive, resilient and capable of protecting those most at risk. For more information: UNHCR: In Geneva, Carlotta Wolf, wolf@unhcr.org, +41 79 546 6707 and Eujin Byun, byun@unhcr.org, +41 79 747 8719 Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness for interviews with lead author Associate Professor Radha Govil: In Melbourne, Karen Kissane, kkissane@unimelb.edu.au, +61 0448 286 084

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees17h ago

UNHCR Returns to Syria Regional Update - (September 2026)

Countries: Syrian Arab Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Türkiye Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. REGIONAL OVERVIEW As of 31 August 2026, an estimated 1.8 million Syrians had returned from neighbouring countries, alongside over 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) who returned to their areas of origin. Return movements continued across the region, although patterns and volumes varied by operation. This edition focuses on the role of cash assistance in supporting voluntary return and reintegration. Across host countries and inside Syria, cash assistance helps refugees and returnees address practical barriers before departure, during movement and after arrival, including transportation, documentation, baggage, food, shelterrelated costs and other immediate household needs. Cash assistance is one part of UNHCR’s broader protection and durable solutions response. It complements counselling, legal assistance, information provision, protection monitoring, in-kind support, referrals and community-based services. It is not designed as an incentive to return; rather, it supports refugees and returnees who have already made, or declared, an informed and voluntary decision to return.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees22 Sept

UNHCR Türkiye Monthly Operational Update (August 2026)

Countries: Türkiye, Syrian Arab Republic Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. Highlights UNHCR in Türkiye is working with 12 RLOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) across the country through grant agreements. UNHCR’s engagements with these RLOs aim to foster consultation, community outreach, participatory assessments, protection monitoring, safe identification and referral of persons at heightened risk, and dissemination of accurate information on rights, services and available referral pathways. UNHCR maintains close working relations with the RLOs, particularly from an accountability perspective, and to increase their participation in decision-making processes. In 2026, UNHCR's RLO grantees in Türkiye delivered a wide range of protection, empowerment and community-based services for refugees and host communities, reaching thousands of beneficiaries in various provinces including Istanbul, Gaziantep, Adana, Kayseri, Trabzon, Uşak, Mardin, and Şanlıurfa. Organizations such as ARSA , AHCSA , and ASA led awareness-raising workshops and life-skills trainings for children and youth on child rights, prevention of early/forced marriage, and peer bullying, alongside empowerment sessions for women and girls addressing self-protection, communication, and confidence-building. ULFED and SURIAD focused on institutional strengthening and economic inclusion, training RLO representatives in project management and safeguarding, and planning business-dialogue sessions to reduce fraud exposure and expand Syrian entrepreneurs' access to formal labour markets.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees22 Sept

UN warns of rising Yemen displacement as thousands flee to Djibouti

Renewed fighting could drive 10,000 across the Red Sea and displace more than 230,000 internally, UNHCR says.

Al Jazeera22 Sept

Escalating conflict in Yemen could fuel more displacement, refugee movement

Countries: Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Intensifying fighting in Yemen could drive more mass displacement, with growing numbers of people expected to flee both within Yemen and to Djibouti, Somalia and other countries, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is warning. Fighting in Yemen is expanding across multiple front lines, triggering a rapidly growing displacement crisis and driving more than 130,000 people to flee their homes since the beginning of September. Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict, with at least 110 casualties reported, including 28 lives lost. It is feared that casualty and displacement numbers are likely to grow, deepening humanitarian needs at a time when insecurity and access constraints are already hampering relief efforts. Taiz remains the epicentre of the crisis, accounting for more than 60 per cent of the overall displacement, with many families remaining within the governorate itself, unable to move to safer locations due to fighting, blocked roads or lack of transportation and fuel. Displacement is also being reported from Al Jawf, Marib and Al Hodeidah governorates, reflecting the expanding, multi-front nature of the conflict. Most newly displaced families have found refuge in Aden, Lahj, Abyan and Al Dhale'e governorates and even in Marib, with more than 90,000 people arriving in these areas. Conditions for displaced people are increasingly severe as they arrive at already congested displacement sites in urgent need of shelter, food, clean water, health care and protection, placing additional pressure on fragile services and infrastructure. Even before the recent escalation, more than 5.2 million people were internally displaced in Yemen, and the current fighting is deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis in the country. It is estimated that more than 22 million people require humanitarian assistance, including internally displaced people and around 65,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia. In response, UNHCR has declared an initial Level 1 emergency for Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia, enabling the rapid mobilization of resources and staff to scale up our response through cash assistance, shelter and protection. Emergency cash assistance has already been provided to 200 displaced families, with immediate support planned for 1,000. As more than 70 per cent of displaced families are in emergency or substandard shelters, funding has also been secured to provide cash-for-shelter assistance to 500 displaced families in Aden and Lahj, while preparations are underway to distribute 1,000 shelter repair kits to rehabilitate damaged houses. Protection assessments have been initiated to identify urgent needs and risks among 2,000 households. UNHCR is dispatching 3,000 packages of core relief items from its global emergency stockpile in Dubai to support families in Yemen, including sleeping mats, blankets, solar lamps, kitchen sets, jerry cans, mosquito nets and plastic tarpaulins. With partners, planning is underway for the voluntary return of some 150 Somali refugees from Aden to Mogadishu. Despite these efforts to scale up the assistance, humanitarian operations face severe constraints. Active front lines, insecurity, movement restrictions, telecommunications disruptions, and damaged roads and other infrastructure – including Al Mokha port – are limiting access and slowing the delivery of life-saving aid. Safe and unimpeded access to the affected populations is urgently needed to bring relief to families who fled with little. The response is also constrained by a severe funding shortfall. UNHCR's Yemen operation is only 18 per cent funded in 2026, with $34 million of the $194 million required even before this latest escalation generated new needs. An estimated $25 million is urgently needed for UNHCR to assist some 231,000 people with immediate humanitarian needs. Across the Gulf of Aden in Djibouti, Yemeni refugees continue to arrive daily. More than 3,000 have so far arrived in Djibouti – where UNHCR is working with the authorities and partners to assist the arrivals. Hundreds have also landed in Somaliland and Puntland. The daily number of refugee arrivals in Djibouti has already surpassed the highest daily number of Yemenis arriving since 2015. UNHCR and partners are planning for more than 10,000 arrivals in Djibouti, with sea conditions expected to improve by mid-October, potentially enabling further crossings. UNHCR’s Djibouti operation is 15 per cent funded, and UNHCR and humanitarian partners are urgently appealing for $13.5 million to ensure arrivals can access registration, reception, protection and other essential services. We are deeply concerned about the impact of the renewed conflict on civilians, including widespread displacement and suffering.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees22 Sept

Yemen Situation: UNHCR Emergency Update - External Update #1 (22 September 2026)

Countries: Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. Highlights § Escalating hostilities in Yemen have driven significant displacement within the country and cross-border movements across the Gulf of Aden, with close to 130,000 people internally displaced inside Yemen1 and over 3,000 people crossing to Djibouti2 . Arrivals in Somalia remain smaller but are gradually increasing, including Yemeni refugees and Somali refugee returnees. § In response to the evolving situation, UNHCR has declared a Level 1 emergency for Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia for three months and is scaling up preparedness and response across the affected operations. § In Yemen, UNHCR is taking part to the inter-agency response under the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP). In light of the recent escalation, UNHCR requires USD 25 million to support an estimated 231,000 people with protection services including monitoring, legal assistance and support for people at heightened risk, cash assistance, shelter and core relief items (CRIs) inside Yemen. § In Djibouti, UNHCR with the Government of Djibouti, developed an interagency appeal for a total amount of USD 13,27 million. The plan reflects a coordinated inter-agency approach covering activities among agencies (WFP, UNICEF, UNFPA, IOM and UNHCR) in support of 10,000 individuals (2,500 households) over a six-month period.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees22 Sept

Pakistan: UNHCR presence (as of 31 Aug 2026)

Country: Pakistan Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached Map.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees22 Sept

• neutral toward UNHCR · 98%

UNHCR Peru - Protection Spaces Factsheet 2026

Countries: Peru, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. Context UNHCR Protection Spaces (Espacios de Protección, EdP) are safe, community-oriented multi-service points where refugees, asylum-seekers, host community members and other vulnerable populations receive information, guidance and assistance on access to rights and services from UNHCR and its partners, including information on access to asylum procedures, documentation, legal orientation, case management, health and mental health services, livelihoods support and other protection interventions. As of August 2026, UNHCR Peru operates six fixed and five mobile Protection Spaces across Lima, Tacna and Tumbes, with each being strategically located in areas with high concentrations of forcibly displaced people. These spaces were first established in 2023 and have since expanded both geographically and in scope, with mobile units reaching peri-urban and border areas and services extended through continued collaboration with government institutions, municipalities and humanitarian actors. Peru remains the second largest destination country for Venezuelan nationals who have been forced to flee, with over 1.63 million residing in the country by June 2026. The capital, Lima, hosts over one million Venezuelans, making it the city with the largest Venezuelan population outside of Venezuela. Tumbes serves as the primary land border crossing for Venezuelan refugees, and Tacna, on the southern border with Chile, acts as a critical mobility corridor for forcibly displaced persons. By bringing vital services directly to the community level, Protection Spaces successfully reduce accessibility barriers, facilitate coordinated access to essential services, and improve protection outcomes for vulnerable populations.

ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees21 Sept