Newsroom

With a global staff of more than 1,500 worldwide, the Jesuit Refugee Service is a key source for journalists who seek information on the latest issues on forced displacement in the world. Journalists visiting this site have access to press releases, latest news affecting refugees and other forcibly displaced persons, updates from JRS projects and activities, speeches, special features and more.

JRS programmes are implemented through more than 50 country offices and a large network of partners, and annually benefit more than 500,000 people worldwide.

Our global network of regional communications officers, based throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, can provide updates in emergencies and access to field staff.

Regional staff can lend insight into JRS programmes and advocacy priorities and provide detailed information on current global crises.

For media inquiries or to arrange an interview, please contact our communications staff.

For all other inquiries, please call +39 06 689 77465

USA: JRS director underlines importance of Jesuit values
Spokane, 17 May 2013 – As they embark on the next stage of their lives university graduates should remember the Ignatian principle of pursuing aspirations both for oneself and our interconnected world, echoed Peter Balleis SJ, International Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, in a speech in Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
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Australia: Jesuit Refugee Service urges government to reinstate work rights and provide vulnerable families with adequate support
Sydney, 14 May 2013 – The government decision to release families on bridging visas is a positive step, but the omission of the right to work will put asylum seekers at high risk of destitution, according to a statement by the Jesuit Refugee Service Australia earlier this week.
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Colombia: increased displacement in Valle del Cauca in 2012, but government response ineffective
Bogota, 2 May 2013 – Significant increases in conflict between paramilitary, guerrilla and government forces have left more than 5,200 people displaced last year in Buenaventura, a district in southeastern region of Valle del Cauca. Despite increased forced displacement, the state has failed to guarantee assistance to the victims of violence in the region, according to a report by the Jesuit Refugee Service, Buenaventura: An Unanswered Humanitarian Crisis.
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USA: Jesuit Refugee Service aims for threefold expansion of higher education to refugees by 2018
Washington DC, 23 April 2013 – With less than one university-trained teacher for every 280 Darfur refugees in Chad, the case for greater access to higher education is clear. To meet these needs, JRS plans to expand its provision of higher education from three to 10 sites by 2018.
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Democratic Republic of Congo: unexploded ordnances in schools, students at risks
Goma, 27 March 2013 – Unexploded grenades, bullets and other unused munitions were found last month in sewage drains used by some schools in the North Kivu capital. For students in the area, school is not a place of protection, but a threat to their lives.
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Thailand: post-fire relief efforts underway in Mae Surin refugee camp
Bangkok, 26 March 2013 – A fire that swept through Mae Surin refugee camp in northern Thailand on Friday has been met with swift relief by NGOs and community-based organisations. According to JRS staff, 37 Burmese refugees and asylum seekers lost their lives and several thousands have been made homeless.
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Thailand: migrant workers face continued hardship
Bangkok, 22 March 2013 – Last January Thailand's estimated two million irregular migrant workers were granted a four-month extension, until April 2013, for work permits as they wait for their national governments to verify their nationalities. Although this is a welcome step as a temporary measure, after the new deadline passes, irregular migrants will face the same risks of arrest and deportation as they do currently, according to JRS Thailand Migrant Outreach Officer, Kohnwilai Teppunkoonngam.
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Pope Francis: protect humanity, the poorest, the weakest, the stranger
Rome, 19 March 2013 – In his inauguration homily, Pope Francis called on those in positions of responsibility and all men and women of goodwill to be protectors of creation and humanity, and not allow "hatred, envy and pride" to taint their lives.
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New Pope, son of a migrant, sign of hope and justice
Rome, 14 March 2013 – The white smoke signifying the election of a new Pontiff finally arrived at 7pm last night from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, just 300 metres from the offices of the Jesuit Refugee Service. Approximately an hour later, the announcement of Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina as Pope Francis was made public.
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USA: Jesuit Refugee Service Jordan Director to visit schools and parishes
Washington DC, 27 February 2013 – Jesuit Refugee Service Jordan Director Colin Gilbert will visit various Jesuit high schools, universities and parishes throughout the United States next month.
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Democratic Republic of Congo: local rebels sign historic peace agreement in Masisi
Masisi, 7 February 2013 – The Jesuit Refugee Service welcomes the peace agreement signed on 5 February 2013 by different armed groups to stop interethnic violence and bring peace in Masisi, in the mineral-rich North Kivu province. The agreement seeks to bring an end to inter-ethnic violence which has led to the death of 310 people since April 2012, the displacement of tens of thousands of others, and the destruction of villages and camps for displaced persons.
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Nepal: seventy-fifth thousandth refugee leaves camp in search of a bright future
New Delhi, 24 January 2013 – As the camp population decreases and the international resettlement effort continues, JRS celebrates the mass resettlement from Nepal. Six-year-old Yagandra Kami recently became the seventy-fifth thousandth Bhutanese refugee to leave Nepal for a new life with her family.
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India: livelihood training programmes promote self-sufficiency among Chin refugees
New Delhi, 2 January 2013 – Twenty women graduated from the first JRS-sponsored Chin women's tailoring course receiving not only new sewing machines for Christmas, but the know-how to make use of them in the new year.
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India: NGOs and government discuss gaps in the protection of young refugees
New Delhi, 28 December 2012 – Despite legislative improvements in the protection of children in India, young refugees continue to be particularly vulnerable to neglect and abuse. This was the subject of a meeting in mid-December between representatives from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the government, NGOs and advocates.
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Africa: African IDP Convention comes into force
Rome, 20 December 2012 – With the coming into force of the latest international treaty on 6 December last, African states are in a leading position when it comes to the establishment of a framework for protecting and helping internally displaced persons (IDPs). It is the first legally binding instrument to offer protection to the millions of Africans, who although forced to flee their homes, never cross an international border.
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Europe: repression without responsibility
Brussels, 12 December 2012 – Morocco and Algeria have become the enforcers of an expanded European border, while countries like Spain and the EU at large wash their hands of responsibility for the detrimental impact these borders have on migrants. This was the conclusion of Teresa Alonso, director of Ceuta-based NGO Asociación Elín, at a Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe press conference to release the new report, Lives in Transition: Experiences of Migrants in Morocco and Algeria.
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Europe: first EU workshop on immigration detention
Brussels, Athens, 29 November 2012 – With immigration detention a growing issue across Europe, NGOs from 15 European Union countries gathered in Greece to discuss ways to prevent the damaging and unnecessary detention of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. Greece was chosen to host the meeting due to international criticism of its migration and detention practices. The group concluded that immigration detention is widespread across the EU and that despite the existence and clear economic advantage of alternatives, they remain vastly unused.
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Democratic Republic of Congo: precarious lives of displaced persons in Masisi
Goma, 27 November 2012 – On the one hand displaced Congolese are living in constant fear of the imminent arrival of the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels, which have already taken control of Goma, the North Kivu capital in eastern Congo. On the other hand, day in, day out they are suffering the effects of the violent attacks of numerous rebel groups in the area.
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Global: hope through learning, higher education for refugees
Washington DC, 26 November 2012 – Georgetown University President Dr John DiGioia commemorated the 32nd anniversary of Jesuit Refugee Service this month by hosting a special panel discussion stressing the importance of higher education in refugee situations.
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Democratic Republic of Congo: despite ongoing insecurity, JRS teams return to Goma and re-establish activities in Masisi
Goma, 23 November 2012 – Only three days after the fall of Goma, the North Kivu capital, and the armed advance of the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23), the Jesuit Refugee Service resumed activities for internally displaced persons (IDP) and local communities in Masisi, about 100 kilometres from the eastern Congo provincial city.
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Democratic Republic of Congo: clashes in Goma leave thousands in urgent need of assistance
Bujumbura, 21 November 2012 – Tens of thousands of women, children and men are currently fleeing areas around the North Kivu capital Goma, in eastern Congo, as a consequence of a violent armed advance conducted by the rebel group, March 23 Movement (M23) which took control of the city yesterday.
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Turkey: refugees from Afghanistan face winter crisis
Ankara,19 November 2012 – Refugees from Afghanistan are facing a harsh winter in Turkey this year. According to information provided to JRS, more than 8,900 Afghans have arrived in the country since 31 May, mainly arriving in through Iran. It is believed that most are fleeing the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, but some may have been residing in Iran for some time.
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Philippines: Laguna Lake residents weather the storm
Laguna Lake, 13 November 2012 — Communities around Laguna Lake, just east of the capital, Manila, are still suffering from the aftermath of flooding from a succession of tropical storms, the latest of which, Typhoon Ofel, hit the country late last month.
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Haiti: exacerbation of humanitarian crisis following Hurricane Sandy
Bogotá, 9 November 2012 – The social impact of natural disasters in Haiti accumulate in a spiral of growing environmental vulnerability and worsening humanitarian crisis in the country.
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Europe: one size fits all immigration detention fails to deliver expected outcomes
Brussels, 26 October 2012 – Immigration detention is mostly unnecessary because governments can instead use more humane and cost-effective alternatives, argues JRS Europe in their newly adopted policy position on alternatives to immigration detention.
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