Since 2012, political instability, a coup and subsequent conflict in northern Mali has forced over 200,000 people to flee the safety of their homes. For many of those living within the northern states of Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao, conditions became unbearable as many of the the basic services, infrastructure and water supplies were destroyed.

The International Rescue Committee is preparing to open a reception center in northern Lesbos, often the first stop for thousands of exhausted refugees seeking safety in Europe. Built along the island’s coast, the site – “Windy Ridge” – is just steps from the beach where thousands of refugees from warring countries arrived this year. 

Like much of the sector, the International Rescue Committee increasingly operates not in camps, but in cities and towns. The urban environment presents a markedly different operating environment, to which the traditional humanitarian response architecture is not well suited. With estimates that more than half of the world’s displaced are in urban settings, the question of how we best respond to meet the needs of people who have fled natural disaster or conflict to urban settings has become critical

Alarming numbers of Ivorian women and girls have been raped, sexually assaulted, beaten and harassed by armed men at home or as they were fleeing violence and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) fears those who are reporting incidents represent a tiny fraction of the victims.

The International Rescue Committee’s Children of Peace multimedia exhibition in the Great Court of The British Museum Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG takes place Friday 24th June 2016 from 6.00pm – 8.30pm. The exhibition features a recreated classroom that reflects the realities of IRC’s work helping displaced children in north-east Nigeria to access quality education. Salamatu Usman Mohammed, a teacher from an IRC supported school in Yola, will be on hand to talk about what the average day is like in her classroom, and answer any questions you may have. Photography and video tell first hand stories of children like Ruth, 14, whose favourite subject is English. Through hand-painting and drawing help us to create classroom materials for students in Nigeria.

Raising funds for our vital work with Syrian refugees, the Star Boot Sale has got off to a flying start! The auction is live and will run up until 9pm on Sunday the 6th December.

An online auction of personal possessions and signed memorabilia donated by famous musicians, actors, artists and comedians has raised £65,000 for the International Rescue Committee to provide support for refugees driven from their homes by the violence in Syria.

On Tuesday 19th January Edelman was joined by David Miliband, CEO & President, International Rescue Committee, at the launch of the Edelman Trust Barometer 2016. Miliband delivered the annual Trust lecture alongside Richard Edelman, CEO & President, Edelman, and Ed Williams, CEO, Edelman UK, who presented the Trust Barometer global and UK findings respectively.

On Sunday 25th October, an array of London’s biggest stars from film, theatre, music and television came together for ‘A Song for Syria’, a one off performance at St. Paul’s Covent Garden to raise money for Syrian refugees. The event raised over £4,500 for the two beneficiary charities; the International Rescue Committee and Hand in Hand for Syria.

The refugee crisis on European shores has opened our eyes to a global refugee crisis that is unprecedented in scale. More people have been forced to flee their homes by conflict and crisis than at any time since World War II.