refugees

The EU's plans for 'controlled centers' for refugees and other migrants on European soil, as well as their proposed disembarkation arrangements in countries outside the EU for migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, are a recipe for failure.

Members of the British rock band, Editors, paid a surprise visit to hundreds of refugees living in a camp in Serbia. They gave encouragement to aspiring musicians living in the camp and witnessed Oxfam’s vital work supporting refugees.

European leaders at the EU summit in Brussels have failed to agree on reforms to the common European asylum system. Instead, they try to respond to internal rows by reducing the space for asylum seekers even further, and want to offload their responsibilities to countries outside the EU. Oxfam argues that European agreements on migration are welcome, but they should not have a negative impact on the lives of refugees and migrants.

A survey of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh has found that more than half are almost completely unprepared for the floods, landslides and disease that accompany the monsoon weather, with women most at risk.

Children as young as 12 are being abused, detained and illegally returned to Italy by French border guards, according to a new report by Oxfam.

On 17 May 2018, heads of state at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia will discuss cooperation in several areas, amongst them migration and security. A coalition of NGOs including Oxfam call on EU and Balkan leaders to address a number of concerns, such as humane border management, the protection of civil society, and the right to seek asylum. 

Oxfam is shocked by the ransacking of its office in Greece by a self-proclaimed anarchist group today. No Oxfam staff were hurt, but the office is trashed. No assault will stop Oxfam doing what we do: assisting vulnerable people.

In response to the UN Security Council's six month renewal of the mandate of the UN mission that has been monitoring a ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991 and its outline of steps for a return to negotiations, Oxfam says MINURSO must re-affirm and implement its full mandate.

The Greek Council of State's lifting of movement restrictions on asylum seekers arriving on the Greek Islands confirms the unlawfulness of the containment policy and its inefficiency. Nonetheless, the government rushed to reinstate them.

As the two-year anniversary of the EU-Turkey deal nears on March 18, 2018, thousands of asylum seekers are trapped on the Aegean islands in deplorable conditions and without access to adequate protection and basic services, nine humans rights and humanitarian organisations including Oxfam said today.The Greek government should act immediately to end the containment policy that traps asylum seekers in these conditions on the islands and move them to safety on the mainland.