In the past five years, three countries in the Central Sahel—Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso—have undergone transformative political changes. All three countries are now led by military juntas. In January 2025, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso formally withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional economic bloc. ECOWAS also has a […]
Category: Policy and Advocacy
Sexual Violence: A Weapon of War in Sudan
On April 15, 2025, Sudan entered its third year of war. The following snapshot uses information from USCRI’s April 2025 Sudan Situation Update, as well as information as of April 28, 2025. * The following snapshot contains descriptions of sexual violence. Read with care. In under two years, the number of people at risk of […]
At Risk Twice Over: Displacement and Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is experiencing one of the most complex intersections of displacement and human trafficking globally. Political upheaval, armed conflict, human rights abuses, economic instability, and environmental degradation have uprooted millions across the region. Many displaced people live without legal status or adequate protections, making them highly susceptible to exploitation and trafficking. According to the […]
Backgrounder: Sahrawi Refugees and Western Sahara
Who are the Sahrawi People? The Sahrawi people are a primarily nomadic cultural and ethnic group of Arab and Amazigh (also known as Berber) descent. Many Sahrawi people trace their lineage to Beni Hassan Arabs, who settled in North Africa between the 11th and 14th centuries. They share cultural ties with other ethnolinguistic groups in […]
Displacement in Sudan
On April 15, 2025, Sudan entered its third year of war. The following snapshot uses information from USCRI’s April 2025 Sudan Situation Update, as well as information as of April 16, 2025. The Largest Displacement Crisis in the World There are over 11.3 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Sudan. Over 8 million of these […]
50 Years After the Fall of Saigon: Refugee Stories From Vietnam
Photo credit: Les Bird, Along the Southern Boundary On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell. In the years that followed, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fled the country. Families were separated in the chaos. At least 800,000 took to the seas in search of safety. Many would spend weeks at sea, denied rescue by passing ships. […]
2025 Country Conditions: Ecuador
Ecuador, wedged between Colombia and Peru, was once known as an island of peace in the Andes. In 2020, its homicide rate was 6.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the lowest in the region. Today, drug trafficking and associated gang violence have fractured this peace. In January 2024, cartel members, armed with explosives, took television […]
From Libya to Syria: Navigating Displacement Crises Post-Regime
Background The First Libyan Civil War and the Syrian Civil War were part of the broader Arab Spring uprisings that began in Tunisia in late 2010 and spread across the Middle East and North Africa. Both civil wars began in 2011 and emerged from a wave of protests demanding economic and social dignity, democracy, and […]
Situation Update: Sudan April 2025
The situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate as the country approaches two years in a civil war that has caused humanitarian catastrophe. War between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on April 15, 2023. Both sides have committed atrocities. In January 2025, the U.S. Department of State determined that […]
What is Climate Migration?
In 2024, extreme weather events forced more than 800,000 people from their homes—the highest year on record. Climate-related environmental disasters are becoming only more common. Despite this mounting crisis, there remains no reliable humanitarian immigration pathway for people seeking safety from environmental disaster. People forced to move because of climate-related environmental disasters lack legal […]
