The rights of refugees in Niger are our collective responsibility
Landlocked in West Africa, Niger faces a tumultuous refugee crisis and brings many humanitarian challenges – food insecurity, internal displacement, and more. UNHCR reports that there are over 580,000 people of concern in Niger – including 48 per cent internally displaced people and 43 per cent refugees. UNHCR and UNV collaborated on the deployment of 100 online volunteers to raise awareness of our collective responsibility for the rights of refugees through a social media campaign.
One hundred Online Volunteers were deployed with UNHCR for almost two months on a campaign that ended this week. Almost all of them were nationals of Niger.
Through social media posts, they raised awareness of the rights of refugees in Niger and addressed Sustainable Development Goal 10, reducing inequalities. The posts further highlighted the urgent need to find solutions for refugees in the country – mostly from Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria.
Volunteers supporting UNICEF's mandate in Benin
Since 1979, UNICEF has been working in Benin to promote and protect children's rights. To support these efforts, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme deployed 15 dedicated UN Volunteers with diverse skills and backgrounds, 53 per cent of them women. They are deployed in Cotonou, Parakou, and Natitingou zone offices, where they contribute to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation interventions.
Meet Sabilou Ibrahim, a national UN Volunteer specialist responsible for monitoring and evaluation. Sabilou recalls his first week with UNICEF Benin, where he quickly felt welcomed and motivated to start his assignment. “It just took me 72 hours to be adopted by my colleagues” he states.