Ambassador @MAshrafHaidari: "Ladies and gentlemen, we stand at a crossroads. As of April this year, the world counted more than 122 million people forcibly displaced — the highest in modern history. That means one in every 65 people on Earth has been forced to flee their home. Imagine for a moment if one-third of Indiana’s population were uprooted overnight, carrying only what they could on their backs, with no certainty of shelter, safety, or food. That is the daily reality for millions. Behind these numbers are children unable to attend school, parents separated from their families, and entire communities stripped of dignity and identity. And their displacement is driven not by one factor, but by three converging forces: conflict, climate, and poverty — the triple crises of our fragile world. Two and a half thousand years ago, Euripides wrote: 'There is no greater sorrow on Earth than the loss of one’s native land.' That remains true today. No one leaves home willingly. People flee only when staying becomes more dangerous than the perilous journey ahead." Watch full @WabashCollege President's Distinguished address: youtu.be/h9PdIt8ELTk?feature… Read full address: displacedinternational.org/a… @Refugees @UNmigration @RefugeesIntl @RefugeesMedia @UNRefugeeAgency @USCRIdc @UNHCRAfg @UNHCRPakistan @UNHCRIran @CNN @BBCWorld @AlJazeeraWorld @AFP @Reuters @AP @nytimes @washingtonpost @latimes @trtworld

This Refugee Week, we celebrate the courage that defines the refugee journey. Nearly two decades after arriving in the United Kingdom as a child refugee following a perilous journey across Europe, Gulwali Passarlay is once again on the move—but this time in freedom rather than fear. In this video, our Global Advisory Council Member reflects on his extraordinary journey as he walks Coast to Coast across England to raise awareness about forced displacement, migration, and the many challenges refugees face on their journeys to safety and in rebuilding their lives. His walk is a powerful reminder that behind every refugee statistic is a human story of courage, resilience, sacrifice, and hope. At a time of growing anti-refugee rhetoric and division, Gulwali's journey highlights the humanity and contributions of refugees everywhere while calling for greater compassion, protection, and solidarity. We are proud to stand with Gulwali and his uncle, Mama Rafeeq, as they undertake this inspiring journey during Refugee Week. Support the journey: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/… Purchase Gulwali's bestselling memoir, The Lightless Sky: My Journey to Safety as a Child Refugee: harpercollins.com/products/t… Read more from Displaced Voices: displacedinternational.org/d… #RefugeeWeek #WithRefugees #RefugeesWelcome #SolidarityWithRefugees #DisplacedVoices #Courage

Today, Ambassador Ashraf Haidari, Founder & President of Displaced International, reads an open letter from Afghan refugees stranded at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar to the 83 Republican and Democratic Members of the United States Congress who continue to advocate for their protection and safe resettlement. "Dear Members of Congress, Thank you. On behalf of the more than 1,100 Afghan refugees stranded at Camp As Sayliyah, many of them women and children, we thank you for standing with us when we need you most. Your bipartisan advocacy reminds us that we have not been forgotten. Many of us served alongside the United States as interpreters, contractors, security personnel, humanitarian workers, and partners. We supported a shared vision of freedom, human dignity, and equal opportunity. We stood with America, often at great personal risk to ourselves and our families. Today, we remain trapped in uncertainty. The deadline for our relocation has passed. We remain confined to the camp with no clear future and no confirmed destination. Reports of relocation to countries that may not be able to guarantee our long-term safety have only deepened our fears. Our greatest fear is being returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Many of us could face persecution, imprisonment, violence, or death because of our service, our beliefs, our work for human rights, or simply because we are women and girls whose fundamental freedoms have been denied. That is why your leadership matters. We welcome and strongly support your call for the United States to honor its commitments and provide a safe and durable solution for vetted and approved Afghan allies and refugees. We agree with your assessment that those who have completed rigorous screening should be resettled without further delay. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking that a promise be kept. Thank you for giving hope to families who often feel forgotten. Thank you for defending the values and commitments that brought us together in the first place. We stood with America when America needed us. Today, we ask America to stand with us. We trusted your promise. We still do. With profound gratitude, Afghans Stranded at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar" Read more from Displaced Voices: displacedinternational.org/o… #AfghanAllies #StandWithAfghanAllies #RefugeeProtection #KeepOurPromise #HumanRights @HouseForeignGOP @HouseForeign @SFRCdems @SenateForeign @HouseDemocrats @HouseGOP @SenateDems @SenateGOP @RepJasonCrow @ChrisCoons @SenatorShaheen @michaelgwaltz @SecRubio @StateDept @BarhamSalih @MAshrafHaidari @antonioguterres @realDonaldTrump @RapidResponse47 @AFIntlBrk @AmuTelevision

We thank the 83 Republican and Democratic Members of Congress for standing up for the 1,100 U.S. Afghan allies and Convention refugees still stranded at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar. Honoring America's commitments to those who stood with the United States is both a moral obligation and a national responsibility. Read our Open Letter to President Donald J. Trump and the UN Secretary-General: displacedinternational.org/o… #AfghanAllies #StandWithAfghanAllies #RefugeeProtection #KeepOurPromise #HumanRights #Afghanistan #USCongress #RefugeesWelcome @HouseForeignGOP @HouseForeign @SFRCdems @SenateForeign @HouseDemocrats @HouseGOP @SenateDems @SenateGOP @RepJasonCrow @ChrisCoons @SenatorShaheen @michaelgwaltz @SecRubio @StateDept @BarhamSalih @MAshrafHaidari @antonioguterres @realDonaldTrump @RapidResponse47

“Migration is not merely a policy challenge—it is a test of humanity’s conscience.” As Pope Leo XIV reminds us, countries of origin must create conditions for peace, justice, and development; transit countries must protect the vulnerable from exploitation; and destination countries cannot claim to uphold human dignity while accepting that seas and deserts become graveyards for those seeking safety. At Displaced International, we believe that forced displacement will persist unless the international community addresses its root causes: conflict, persecution, inequality, fragility, and the absence of durable peace. The answer is not indifference—it is effective, sustained, and compassionate global cooperation. Read more from Displaced Voices: displacedinternational.org/d… #Migration #ForcedDisplacement #Refugees #HumanRights #Peacebuilding #ConflictResolution #GlobalSolidarity #RefugeeProtection @VaticanNews @BBCWorld @BBCBreaking @CNN @cnni @Reuters @AP @AFP @AJEnglish @SkyNews @FRANCE24

"Refugee protection, human dignity, and international legal obligations must remain at the center of all policies affecting displaced populations. No one should be returned to persecution, discrimination, or harm." @displacedint @EU_Commission

Colombia carries one of the world’s largest internal displacement burdens—7M IDPs—while also hosting 2.8M refugees and migrants. Protection, peace, livelihoods, and durable solutions must move from promise to practice. Read DI: displacedinternational.org/c… #Colombia #IDPs #Refugees #DurableSolutions #Peacebuilding @Refugees @UNmigration @OIMColombia @ACNURamericas @UNOCHA @UNICEFColombia @WFP_Colombia @ICRC_co @hrw @amnesty @infopresidencia

DI Fellow Naqibullah Mashwani writes in Displaced Voices: "Many Afghan students in Pakistan were born or raised there, completed their schooling in the country, and built their futures around educational opportunities that now remain uncertain because of deportation, visa barriers, and financial hardship. While states retain the right to regulate migration and residency, international refugee and human rights standards require that such measures respect human dignity, due process, family unity, and the principle of non-refoulement. Students nearing graduation represent a particularly vulnerable group whose educational continuity deserves special consideration from governments, universities, UN agencies, and humanitarian partners. Interruptions in education do not affect only individual students. They can also deepen long-term economic hardship, social exclusion, psychological distress, and renewed displacement, especially for young Afghans who have already endured years of instability and uncertainty. For many Afghan refugee students, the issue is no longer only about visas or legal documentation. It is about unfinished degrees, interrupted dreams, and the fear that years of study and sacrifice may never reach completion." Read more: displacedinternational.org/i… @NaqeebuMashwani @BarhamSalih @UNHCRPakistan @IOM_Iran @UNHCRAfg @UNHCRAsia @GovtofPakistan @PresOfPakistan @CMShehbaz @GulwaliP @ForeignOfficePk @a_siab @JAC_Refugees @MAshrafHaidari

To lose one's homeland is to lose a part of oneself. Behind every refugee, asylum seeker, and displaced person is a story of separation, loss, resilience, and hope. The pain of displacement is not only physical—it is emotional, cultural, and deeply human. The world must do more to address the root causes of forced displacement and help people return home in peace, dignity, safety, and prosperity. Read more in: displacedinternational.org #Refugees #ForcedMigration #Displacement #HumanRights #RefugeeRights #Peacebuilding #Migration #GlobalSolidarity #RightToReturn @BBCWorld @Reuters @AP @AFP @AJEnglish @cnni @SkyNews @FRANCE24 @dwnews @VOANews @FinancialTimes @TheEconomist @washingtonpost @nytimes @guardian @ForeignPolicy @Newsweek @TIME @Bloomberg @WSJ

Ambassador @MAshrafHaidari reminded the Trump Administration of the United States' moral, strategic, and legal commitments to its Afghan allies, forged through two decades of partnership and shared sacrifice in the fight against global terrorism. He emphasized that America must not abandon those who stood alongside U.S. forces, diplomats, and institutions at great personal risk. He noted that many Afghan allies stranded in Qatar are Convention refugees with a well-founded fear of persecution under Taliban rule. Returning them to Afghanistan or transferring them to unsafe and unstable environments would be inconsistent with the principles of refugee protection and the commitments made to those who supported the United States. Ambassador Haidari therefore urged the Administration to facilitate their resettlement either in the United States or in safe third countries acceptable to the refugees themselves, where durable solutions, sustainable protection, and long-term human security can be guaranteed. Read Displaced International's statement: displacedinternational.org/d… @StateDept @DeptofWar @DeptVetAffairs @SecRubio @PeteHegseth @michaelgwaltz @antonioguterres @BarhamSalih @ChrisCoons @UNmigration @Refugees @HouseForeignGOP @SenateGOP @SenateDems @ABC @FoxNews @CNN @washingtonpost @nytimes @afghanevac

41.6 million refugees have fled across borders in search of safety, escaping the intertwined threats of war, violence, persecution, poverty, and climate-related shocks. Behind every statistic is a human story of loss, resilience, and hope. The world must do more to address the root causes of displacement while protecting the rights and dignity of those forced to flee. Read more from Displaced Voices: displacedinternational.org/d… #Refugees #ForcedDisplacement #HumanRights #RefugeeRights #Migration #ClimateMigration #Peacebuilding #ConflictResolution #GlobalDevelopment @BBCWorld @BBCWorld @CNN @cnni @Reuters @AP @AJEnglish @France24_en @SkyNews @dwnews @VOANews @guardianworld @nytimesworld @washingtonpost @NPR @TIME @Newsweek @ForeignPolicy @Diplomat_APAC

Humanitarian assistance and development are important, but they cannot replace UNHCR's core mandate: international protection and access to asylum. UNHCR was created to protect refugees, defend the right to seek asylum, and uphold the principle of non-refoulement, not to normalize policies that restrict protection responsibilities. At a time when record numbers are being displaced by protracted conflicts, state fragility, geopolitical rivalries, economic collapse, and climate shocks, protection must remain UNHCR's foremost priority. The reality is that the 1951 refugee framework was designed for a different era. International refugee law must evolve to reflect the complex and interconnected drivers of displacement today, while strengthening, not weakening, the rights of those forced to flee. Development support is valuable, but without protection, asylum, and legal rights, it is no substitute for UNHCR delivering on its fundamental mandate. @Refugees @RESCUEorg @NRC_Norway @displacedint @JFCrisp

Displaced International proudly supports our Global Advisory Council Member, Gulwali Passarlay, as he walks Coast to Coast across England during Refugee Week. Nearly two decades after arriving in the United Kingdom as a child refugee following a perilous journey across Europe, Gulwali is now crossing England in freedom rather than fear. His walk is a powerful act of solidarity with refugees worldwide and a reminder that behind every refugee story is a human being deserving of dignity, protection, and opportunity. At a time of growing anti-refugee rhetoric and division, Gulwali's journey reflects the courage, resilience, and humanity that define so many displaced people. We commend Gulwali and his uncle, Mama Rafeeq, and wish them strength and success every step of the way. Support the journey: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/… Read more from Displaced Voices: displacedinternational.org/d… #RefugeeWeek #WithRefugees #RefugeesWelcome #SolidarityWithRefugees #DisplacedVoices @GulwaliP @RefugeeWeek @Refugees @RCUSA_DC @UNRefugeeAgency @RefugeesMedia @amnesty @hrw @ICRC @RESCUEorg @DMiliband @BarhamSalih @NRC_Egeland @MAshrafHaidari @KarzaiH @cnni @BBCWorld @FRANCE24 @trtworld @Asylum_Speakers

Drawing on his lived experience as a former refugee, asylum seeker, and internally displaced person, Ambassador Ashraf Haidari, Founder & President of Displaced International, joins UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other human rights advocates in calling on the leadership of the European Commission to uphold and honor the principle of non-refoulement. In this message, he respectfully urges the European Union to reconsider its decision to invite a Taliban delegation for discussions concerning the return and deportation of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers. Millions of Afghans continue to face grave risks under Taliban rule, including persecution, gender apartheid, economic collapse, and humanitarian hardship—the very conditions from which many were forced to flee. Refugee protection, human dignity, and international legal obligations must remain at the center of all policies affecting displaced populations. No one should be returned to persecution, discrimination, or harm. Read more from Displaced Voices: displacedinternational.org/c… #NonRefoulement #RefugeeProtection #Afghanistan #HumanRights #StandWithAfghans @vonderleyen @kajakallas @EP_President @EU_Commission @Europarl_EN @EUCouncil @Refugees @UNHumanRights @amnesty @hrw @RenewEurope @EPPGroup @GreensEFA @EUHomeAffairs @BarhamSalih @IOMchief @Pontifex @heatherbarr1 @UNAMAnews @SR_Afghanistan @MAshrafHaidari

The latest UNHCR Global Trends Report shows a decline in the global refugee population. While any reduction in displacement is welcome, many returns to Afghanistan, Syria, and Sudan have taken place under adverse circumstances and should not be mistaken for durable solutions. Without peace, security, livelihoods, and adequate reintegration support, returnees often face deepening humanitarian crises, economic hardship, persecution, violence, and the risk of renewed displacement. For Afghan women and girls, return can mean living under a system of gender apartheid that denies fundamental rights and freedoms. The international community must look beyond the numbers and invest in conflict resolution, protection, recovery, and sustainable reintegration so that returnees can rebuild their lives in safety and dignity. Read more from Displaced Voices: displacedinternational.org/d… #GlobalTrends #Refugees #ForcedDisplacement #Afghanistan #Syria #Sudan #GenderApartheid #HumanRights #Peacebuilding @BBCBreaking @BBCWorld @ABC @Diplomat_APAC @AP @afpfr @AJEnglish @FoxNews @FRANCE24 @TRTWorldNow @ndtv @nytimes @washingtonpost @WSJ @guardian @japantimes @koreatimescokr @lemondefr

America has long been a place where people come to build a new life for themselves and their children. For the nation’s 250th anniversary, Forbes is honoring that legacy by ranking America’s 250 greatest living immigrants. forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2… #Forbes250 📸: Martin Schoeller for Forbes; Cody Pickens for Forbes (2); Joe Pugliese/August; Austin Hargrave/August; Illustration by Lina Jaradat for Forbes; Mike Coppola via Getty Images

Gender apartheid under the Taliban is not only a grave violation of human rights, it is a powerful driver of forced displacement and migration. When women and girls are systematically denied education, employment, freedom of movement, and participation in public life, many are left with no choice but to flee in search of safety, dignity, and opportunity. The international community must recognize gender apartheid as a crime under international law and address it as a root cause of displacement. Read more and sign DI's global petition: displacedinternational.org/e… #GenderApartheid #Afghanistan #AfghanWomen #ForcedMigration #ForcedDisplacement #HumanRights #Refugees @Refugees @UNHumanRights @UN_Women @UNAMAnews @amnesty @hrw @Malala @SR_Afghanistan @UN_HRC @heatherbarr1 @FLOTUS @antonioguterres @EU_Commission @eu_echo @EU_UNGeneva @EUCdAtoAFG @EUCouncil @Europarl_EN

Message from @Pontifex to all those on the move, fleeing the intertwined challenges of war, persecution, poverty, and climate shocks: “Dear migrants, before I say any other word to you, I want to bow before your dignity. “You are not numbers or case files. “You are people — with a family and a home left behind, with dreams that no one has the right to scorn.”

World Day Against Child Labour ilo.org/topics-and-sectors/c…

With 7 in 10 refugees living in long-term displacement, UNHCR chief calls for renewed push for solutions unhcr.org/news/press-release…