The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Niger - IOM calls for a humanitarian corridor to help stranded migrants home
The UN migration agency (IOM) strongly advocated on Friday for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to organize the safe, dignified and voluntary return of migrants stranded in Niger to their countries of origin and facilitate aid delivery to conflict-affected areas.
“We are appealing for resources to make sure that we can continue providing essential services to these stranded migrants,” said Chris Gascon, IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa, when briefing journalists at the UN in Geneva.
Following the 26 July military takeover, neighbouring countries closed their borders and flights were suspended.
According to the UN, Niger hosts more than 710,000 forcibly displaced people including refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons. The majority of the migrants staying at IOM's transit centres across the country are from western Africa: Mali, Guinea, Senegal and Nigeria.
In his call for the humanitarian corridor, Mr. Gascon stressed that at this time, “there are no possibilities for us to organize charter flights and consequently people will remain there for weeks and months.”
“Our capacity to assist them will, of course, depend a great deal on the resources that we can garnish to reach populations who are obviously vulnerable and in great need. At this time, we are somewhat limited in our capacity to do so,” Mr. Gascon said.
IOM’s operations in Niger are constrained by limited funding. The $430 million humanitarian appeal for Niger is currently only 30 per cent funded and to provide assistance to migrants in transit centers, the UN agency requires at least a million dollars a month.
Mr. Gascon underscored that the agency was managing seven transit centers, the main one being in Agadez in the northwest of the country. In total, IOM was hosting 4,800 migrants, he said, and the transit centres were 40 per cent over capacity.
The reported announcement of the country’s military leaders late Wednesday to bar UN agencies as well as non-governmental organisations from working in military operation zones will have further impacts on the aid delivery in Niger.
The UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday that it was reaching out to the de facto authorities in Niger to better understand the implications of this announcement.
Some 4.3 million people in Niger, mainly women and children, are dependent on aid.
-ends-
STORY: Urgent action for Niger crises - IOM
DURATION (TRT): 1’47”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH, NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 1 September 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FORMAT: HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley, UN Geneva
- Wide shot: speakers behind podium, attendees at the press conference, screens with attendees
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Chris Gascon, IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa: “We are appealing for resources to make sure that we can continue providing these essential services to these stranded migrants. In this vein as well, IOM is advocating for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor so that we can return people to their countries of origin. At this time, there are no possibilities for us to organize charter flights and consequently people will remain there for weeks and months.”
- Wide shot: attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Chris Gascon, IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa: “We are managing a number of transit centers, the principal one is in Agadez in the North-West of the country. We are presently hosting 4,800 migrants. This overwhelms pretty much the capacity that we have. The Agadez center itself can hold about a thousand people, the other transit centers are seven in total. We are all 40% over capacity at this point.”
- Wide shot: attendees at the press conference, screens with attendees, cameramen and sound engineers in the background
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Chris Gascon, IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa: “Our capacity to assist them will, of course, depend a great deal on the resources that we can garnish to reach populations who are obviously vulnerable and in great need. At this time, we are somewhat limited in our capacity to do so.”
- Wide shot: speakers and attendees at the press conference, screens with speakers
- Medium shot: cameramen and sound engineers at the press conference
- Close shot: attendee asking a question at the press conference
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk addressed the Human Rights Council during a meeting on the Israeli strike on negotiators in Qatar on Tuesday. “Israel’s strike on negotiators in Doha on 9 September was a shocking breach of international law, an assault on regional peace and stability, and a blow against the integrity of mediation and negotiating processes around the world,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: Thirsty and starving, war-battered families face ‘inhumane’ evacuation
As bombs continue to fall on Gaza City as part of the intensifying Israeli military operation, families with starving children are being pushed southwards from one “hellscape” to another, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
New UN Human Rights report finds 10 years of increased suffering repression and fear
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday published a report on the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 2014.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNICEF , UNHCR
The ongoing humanitarian response to the devastating Afghanistan earthquake disaster continued on Friday, although essential services have been cut for operational reasons following reinforced Taliban restrictions on women working with the UN, the global body said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Un nouveau rapport du Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme sur la République démocratique du Congo évoque le spectre de crimes de guerre et de crimes contre l'humanité dans le Nord et le Sud-Kivu.,
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
A high-level independent rights probe into the Sudan crisis on Tuesday condemned the many grave crimes committed against civilians by all parties to the war, citing disturbing evidence indicating that they had been “deliberately targeted, displaced and starved”.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Ukraine: ‘Relentless’ attacks rattle health system as winter approaches: WHO
Ambulances attacked, chronically ill patients lacking care and no peace in sight: for millions of Ukrainians, the run-up to another winter of war is just the latest life-or-death challenge they face, the UN health agency (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his report on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his global update to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN report on the Democratic Republic of Congo raises specter of war crimes and crimes against humanity in North and South Kivu, according to UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
As billions of people continue to breathe polluted air that causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths every year, UN climate experts on Friday highlighted how damaging microscopic smoke particles from wildfires play their part, travelling half-way across the world.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence made the following comment on the on-going presidential election process in Cameroon at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.