SIHMA Press Review for June 2025
South Africa
SCA sends home affairs minister packing in ZEP appeal
06 June 2025
TimesLive
The South African Court of Appeals has rejected an appeal by the Minister of Home Affairs against the Johannesburg high court order on Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs), which give about 180,000 Zimbabweans a special dispensation to lawfully remain in South Africa. In 2023, the Johannesburg high court set aside a decision by former minister Aaron Motsoaledi to terminate the ZEP regime and to reconsider his decision, following a fair process.
Read the full article here: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2025-06-06-sca-sends-home-affairs-minister-packing-in-zep-appeal/
Lobbyists call for speedy processing of refugees in SA
21 June 2025
Eyewitness News
The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA) is highlighting the challenges refugees face when fleeing to South Africa. They claim that migrants often go through lengthy processes to obtain a permit to stay in the country, and they believe that collaboration between government departments will ensure the rights of refugees in South Africa.
Read the full article here: https://www.ewn.co.za/2025/06/21/lobbyists-call-for-speedy-processing-of-refugees-in-sa
“We don't want to be in South Africa” – Refugees plead for relocation as CoCT moves to evict
23 June 2025
Eyewitness News
Hundreds of refugees in South Africa are pleading for relocation out of the country as the city seeks a court order to evict them. Around 360 asylum seekers moved into temporary camps in Bellville and Wingfield after being forced there when they protested to be moved to a third country. They call upon the UN to get them out of South Africa as they claim they do not want to live there, but they are also fearful of being deported back to their home country.
Read the full article here: https://www.ewn.co.za/2025/06/23/we-dont-want-to-be-in-south-africa-refugees-plead-for-relocation-as-coct-moves-to-evict
Southern Africa
UNHCR Southern Africa Regional External Update #18: Eastern DRC Situation
30 June 2025
UNHCR
The UNHCR has published a report that provides an overview of the current state of the war-torn Eastern DRC. Some highlights include Congolese and Rwandan officials signing a peace agreement on the 27 of June in Washington D.C., sparking hope that the fighting, which increased in January, will start to come to an end. The region still is experiencing instability as violence and insecurity have already caused losses of life just in this past week. With the violence potentially coming to an end, the UNHCR is ramping up its assistance efforts in the region.
Read the full article here:https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/unhcr-southern-africa-regional-external-update-18-eastern-drc-situation-27-june-2025
Malawi, Mozambique open first ever one-stop border post to boost trade
07 June 2025
Channel Africa
Malawi and Mozambique have just made an astonishing accomplishment, opening their first ever one-stop border post. This initiative follows up on current efforts to increase trade and relations between the two countries. The nature of the border post allows for a speedy crossing process, and consolidates migration, customs, and health checks all at one border post. At the opening ceremony, Malawi’s president Lazarus Chakwera urged other African countries to adopt similar measures, saying, “Let all borders across the continent become one goal, so that Africa’s integration can become a reality.”.
Read the full article here: http://web.sabc.co.za/sabc/home/channelafrica/economy/details?id=df232e5a-4455-46ae-81fc-b3498c43c20d&title=Malawi,%20Mozambique%20open%20first%20ever%20one-stop%20border%20post%20to%20boost%20trade
World Refugee Day: New UNHCR report showcases a shift towards sustainable refugee responses in Southern Africa
20 June 2025
UNHCR
As the world marks World Refugee Day, UNHCR has launched a new report highlighting how countries across Southern Africa are reshaping the way displacement is addressed, moving beyond short-term aid to invest in national systems, long-term resilience and inclusive development. Southern Africa is currently home to over 11 million forcibly displaced people , representing around nine per cent of the global total. Despite these challenges, the report highlights how national governments, communities and partners across the region are responding in new ways. Their efforts are grounded in national leadership, strong partnerships and local innovation. The report reflects a broader shift away from parallel humanitarian services and towards sustainable responses anchored in social protection, economic inclusion and climate resilience.
Read the full article here:https://www.unhcr.org/africa/news/press-releases/world-refugee-day-new-unhcr-report-showcases-shift-towards-sustainable-refugee
Africa
UNHCR highlights forced displacement trends, protection risks, and solutions in West and Central Africa
12 June 2025
UNHCR
The UNHCR is reporting a record number of displaced people in Central and Western Africa. The figure currently stands at 12.7 million people, representing a 48% increase from 2020, driven by a combination of heightened conflict, climate-related disasters, and traditional migration trends, which have formed a perfect storm of displacement. The UNHCR’s regional director for Central and Western Africa, Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, stated, “From conflict to climate shocks, protection risks are rising - particularly for women and children, who represent 80% of the forcibly displaced.”. This historic situation highlights a declining refugee situation in Africa that must influence change towards the current migration policies that are perpetuating these humanitarian disasters.
Read the full article here: https://www.unhcr.org/africa/news/press-releases/unhcr-highlights-forced-displacement-trends-protection-risks-and-solutions-west
UN Warns of Rising Hunger Among Sudan’s Refugees
30 June 2025
News Central
The UN World Food Program is reporting that millions of people displaced by the current war in Sudan face the risk of plunging into an even deeper crisis as funding for food aid is drying up. Since the conflict ramped up its violence over two years ago, over ten million people have become internally displaced in the country with an additional 4 million fleeing as refugees. With current worldwide aid cuts, the UN currently does not have adequate resources to provide sufficient aid to the Sudanese people and neighboring countries are running out of room in their refugee camps.
Read the full article here: https://newscentral.africa/un-warns-of-rising-hunger-among-sudans-refugees/
Fusion between culture and modernity as children dance in Kenya’s refugee camp
27 June 2025
The Independent
This article by The Independent gives insight to life inside of refugee camps, and the people that are forced to make it their new home. Inside the camp, children dance to distract themselves from their lack of an adequate food supply which forces them to skip lunch. The current funding cuts to the UN are only aggravating the current situation in the camp with a UN report claiming that the camp is only meeting 30% of the recommended food supply. This article reflects how the human spirit searches for light in dark hours, and how strong these children are, some of whom were born in the camp and have never had a real home.
Read the full article here:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/kenya-africa-happiness-uganda-south-sudan-b2778023.html
International
One in 67 people worldwide remain forcibly displaced: UNHCR Report
12 June 2025
Al Jazeera
The mid-year global trends report by the UNHCR stated that 123.2 million people were forcibly displaced, which is an astonishing one in 67 people worldwide. The number of forcibly displaced people has risen by 6 percent since 2023 and continues the current trend of annual growth in refugees for the past 13 years. The perpetuating conflicts involve Afghanistan, Syria, Palestine, and Sudan, with the latter’s refugees and IDPs growing at a terrifying rate. Resettlement efforts have been successful, but the current scale of displaced people is an impossible task to solve for the UNHCR.
UNHCR forced to make deep cuts, despite rising needs worldwide
16 June 2025
UN
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) announced that it is cutting global staffing costs by around 30 per cent, following a comprehensive review of its activities, spending, staffing and structure, prompted by major funding shortfalls. This will include cutting around half of all senior positions in the agency and with 3,500 staff posts being discontinued. According to the report, decisions on where to cut costs were guided by the priority to maintain operations in regions with the most urgent refugee needs.
Read the full article here:https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164446
Seeing the unseen: Disaggregating IDPs by sex and age
18 June 2025
IDMC
This article breaks down IDPs across the world by sex and age. The study shows that 34 million children are currently displaced which is almost half of all IDPS in the world with 6 million children displaced in Sudan alone. When broken down by sex, the study reveals that 58% of IDPs are women with sexual assault occuring frequently. This data can be a tool to influence government policies to better reflect the populations of IDPs they are serving and reinforces the idea of vulnerability when discussing forcibly displaced people.
Read the full article here:https://www.unhcr.org/europe/news/press-releases/refugees-generated-stunning-2-7-percent-poland-s-gdp-2024-study-shows
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