Voice of America’s immigration news

UNITED NATIONS — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared on Friday that there is no alternative to the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, and 118 countries backed the relief organization as indispensable, amid stepped up efforts by Israel to dismantle it.  The U.N. Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, provides education, health care and aid to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Since war erupted nine months ago between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, U.N. officials have stood by UNRWA as the backbone of aid operations.  "My appeal to everyone is this: Protect UNRWA, protect UNRWA staff, and protect UNRWA's mandate — including through funding," Guterres told an UNRWA conference in New York on Friday. "Let me be clear: There is no alternative to UNRWA."  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long called for UNRWA to be dismantled, accusing it of anti-Israeli incitement. Israel's parliament is currently considering designating UNRWA as a terrorist organization.  Several countries halted their funding to UNRWA following accusations by Israel that some of the agency's staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war. Most donors have since resumed their funding, while the U.N. is conducting an internal investigation.   UNRWA has been hit hard during the conflict in Gaza: 195 staff have been killed.   "UNRWA is also being targeted in other ways," Guterres said. "Staff have been the subject of increasingly violent protests and virulent misinformation and disinformation campaigns.  "Some have been detained by Israeli security forces, and subsequently reported mistreatment and even torture," he said, adding that in the West Bank the presence and movements of UNRWA staff have been severely restricted by Israel.  The Israeli military has said that it acts according to Israeli and international law and that those it arrests get access to food, water, medication and proper clothing.  Israel accuses UNRWA of complicity with Hamas, saying the militant Islamist group was embedded within the U.N. agency's infrastructure.  UNRWA was created by the U.N. General Assembly in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war.   Jordanian U.N. Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud said on Friday ahead of the pledging event that 118 countries had signed on to a joint statement supporting UNRWA and its work.  

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Washington — The temporary pier set up to deliver needed humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza may have already made its last delivery. U.S. defense officials Friday said that no date has been set to re-anchor the pier after an attempt to connect it to the Gaza shore on Wednesday failed due to a combination of technical issues and bad weather. "It's something that we are assessing day by day," Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters. "We know for the next few days there are going to be higher sea states that would not allow a re-anchoring to be possible," she said. "I just don't have more information to provide on when and if a re-anchoring date has been or will be possible, if a re-anchoring does happen." The temporary pier, also known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, has been sitting at the Israeli port of Ashdod since late last month due to bad weather and rough seas. Despite weather and technical issues, the Pentagon credits the temporary pier with helping to deliver more than 8,000 metric tons of aid from the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus to Gaza since operations began in mid-May. "We're very proud of our service members and all those supporting this effort and who have enabled vital humanitarian assistance to get into those in Gaza who need it most," Singh said. "Without a doubt, lives have been saved because of their work and commitment under very challenging conditions." Still, the effort to get aid into Gaza using the temporary pier has generated some criticism, with delivery of the aid to civilians hampered by fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group. The United Nations suspended delivery of aid coming over the pier on June 9, following an Israeli hostage rescue operation that killed more than 270 Palestinians, pointing to a danger to its staff. Israel and the United States denied allegations that the pier was used during the rescue operation, but U.N. officials voiced concerns that even the perception that the pier was involved could endanger their humanitarian mission. As a result, much of the aid was stuck at a staging area on the beach, failing to get to hundreds of thousands of Gazans facing what humanitarian groups have described as a food emergency. There are also questions about what will happen to additional aid still sitting in Cyprus or on U.S. ships waiting to be taken into Gaza. The Pentagon said Friday if the pier does not resume operations, it will find other ways to get aid into Gaza. "What we are committed to is making sure that every single piece of aid, metric ton of aid, that is in Cyprus is moved into Gaza," Singh said. One option, according to the Pentagon, would be to get use the port of Ashdod, a delivery method Singh said is in a "proof-of-concept stage right now." Singh also said there would be ongoing coordination with the Israeli government on other ways to expand aid delivery. Pentagon officials have repeatedly portrayed the effort to deliver aid via the pier as a temporary solution to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and have characterized the mission as a success even though it has been in operation for a total of only about 20 days due to weather and technical issues. "[The pier] has enabled the development of Cyprus as a port for inspections and deliveries directly into Gaza," Singh said. "The deployment of this pier has also helped secure Israeli commitment to opening additional crossings into northern Gaza," she said. "Since the opening of these crossings, we've seen more trucks moving from Jordan directly into northern Gaza to help alleviate the dire humanitarian conditions." The pier was first shut down in late May due to storms, just days after it began operation. Deliveries resumed on June 8. But U.S. Central Command again detached the pier in late June to prevent expected rough seas from causing fresh damage.

KIGALI, RWANDA — Three candidates are vying for the presidency in Rwanda, where incumbent President Paul Kagame has won every election since 2000 and is widely expected to win again Monday. At a recent campaign rally, Kagame told supporters much has been done but more is possible if he is reelected. “There are roads, electricity and many other infrastructures that we have achieved,” Kagame said in Kinyarwanda, “but we still want to achieve more. We will do that with your help, starting with the elections we have on July 15.” The 66-year-old Rwanda Patriotic Front leader is expected to cruise to an easy victory. One reason, according to critics, is that he has ruled with a firm hand and stifled dissent. But another, say analysts, is the way he’s been able to guide the East African country toward internal peace since the 1994 genocide, when an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists. Eric Ndushabandi, a political science and international relations professor at the University of Rwanda and an associate researcher at the Louvain University in Brussels, said Kagame’s support has been buoyed by his efforts to address Rwandans’ need for security and stability after the genocide. “The language, practice and success around stabilization and security, mainly in internal politics, it is joining the expectations and aspirations of many Rwandans after this tragic and historical background,” Ndushabandi said. He also said there is a big gap between the presidential candidates in terms of popularity, ideology, means and capacity. The challengers Democratic Green Party candidate Frank Habineza said he is in the race again this year because the incumbent president has been in office too long. Habineza last ran against Kagame in 2017. He told VOA that he’s campaigned in 24 of the country’s 30 districts so far and that voters have been more enthusiastic this time around. “I am giving them hope that after 30 years, we really need to see a different way of living, different political programs, different thinking and a different vision,” he said. “We are not going to destroy the good things that have been done before, but we want to give them better hope and a better future.” Independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana, a journalist turned politician, also said he respects how far the country has come but wants to be seen as someone who can move it forward even more. This is also his second bid for the top job. He says the innovative ideas and initiatives in his campaign manifesto have received coverage in 50 articles. Other candidates were barred from the race by the National Electoral Commission for various reasons. One was a fierce Kagame critic, Diane Rwigara, who the commission said did not provide a criminal record statement and did not collect the minimum number of supporters’ signatures. Rwigara expressed her disappointment on the X social media platform, where she told Kagame, “This is the second time you cheat me out of my right to campaign, why won’t you let me run.” Critics and rights groups have long accused Kagame of silencing opposition voices and creating a climate of fear that discourages dissent in general. Issues, economy While support for Kagame remains generally strong on the streets of Kigali, some Rwandans say they’d like to see issues such as joblessness addressed. “You see the progress this country has achieved by the leader who’s in charge. We wish that whoever is elected should not destroy what has been achieved but to continue it,” Theoneste Gatari, a Kigali resident, told VOA in Kinyarwanda. Azabe Belton, another Kigali resident, said, “The youth make up most Rwandans. We want the person who’ll be elected to set up projects that help the youth get jobs because most of them are completely unemployed.” According to the World Bank, the unemployment rate in Rwanda was 14.9% in 2023. While the bank lauded the resiliency of the country’s economy, which boasted a 7.6% growth rate in the first three quarters of 2023, it also said that public debt had increased significantly in recent years. Teddy Kaberuka, an economic analyst, said Rwanda is a growing economy trying to attract industries and factories that can produce and provide jobs. But the challenge, he said, is that “we are still having huge portions of the population [that] may be educated but not qualified [for manufacturing jobs]. Those are long-term investments that any government needs to address because it’s not in one year that you can create a pool of skilled people.” Kaberuka said Rwanda is a country under construction that has gone through three economic phases since the genocide. The first 10 years, he said, were about laying a foundation for development by building security and institutions, providing basic needs for the population and allowing people to heal. The second phase was about investing in development. The third phase was about weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, which wreaked havoc around the globe. All that took place under the leadership of Kagame. Now, Kaberuka said, Rwanda is entering a new phase, one in which voters will decide who they trust to move the country forward.

geneva — The United Nations on Friday said delegations from both of Sudan’s warring parties turned up for a second day of cease-fire talks in Geneva aimed at protecting civilians and providing humanitarian aid to millions of people devastated by the conflict. The talks got off to a rocky start Thursday when one of the delegations failed to show up. Without revealing which party didn’t appear, U.N. spokesperson in Geneva Alessandra Vellucci told journalists that the talks now are underway. “I can confirm that some of the discussions are taking place,” she said. “I cannot give you the details on which warring party has showed up or not. What I can tell you is that the engagements continue today. So, we will see how it goes.” The U.N. spokesperson noted that the Sudanese delegations are not meeting face-to-face but are engaging in so-called “proximity talks,” with Ramtane Lamamra, the personal envoy of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, shuttling between the two delegations. Vellucci said that even though one delegation did not arrive on the first day, the U.N. mediator still was able to hold talks with representatives of the party that did appear. After 15 months of brutal warfare, Vellucci suggested that a day’s delay in the negotiations was less important than the fact that senior representatives from both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have accepted Lamamra’s invitation to get on with discussions. “We urged them to participate because, as you all know, we have also spoken about this here on this podium,” she said. “The humanitarian situation in Sudan is deteriorating by the day. So, we really need to look at the devastating impact that this has on the civilian population. And we urge the delegations to rise up to this challenge and engage in constructive discussions.” Since rival generals triggered the conflict in mid-April 2023, the United Nations reports nearly 19,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured. The war has also created the world’s worst displacement crisis. Latest reports find it has displaced 12.7 million people — 10.5 million still living inside Sudan and 2.2 million who have become refugees in five neighboring countries. The World Food Program warns that some 18 million people are suffering from acute hunger, with 755,000 people on the brink of famine. The World Health Organization reports nearly 15 million people need urgent health assistance, with many suffering from deadly infectious diseases and others from chronic ailments including cancer and diabetes. On-again, off-again cease-fire talks between the SAF and RSF in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah broke down at the end of last year, making these latest efforts to halt the catastrophic escalation of this brutal war more crucial than ever. In a Thursday briefing to journalists at United Nations headquarters in New York, spokesperson for the secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, warned against raising expectations about the talks. “We and others have been trying to move this process forward,” he said. “We need to give it a little bit of breathing room and that’s why we’re not trumpeting all of this.” The format of the talks is based on two Security Council resolutions that express concerns over the spreading violence in Sudan. Resolution 2724 calls for Personal Envoy Lamamra “to use his good offices with the parties” to coordinate regional peace efforts, while Security Council Resolution 2736 urges the parties to de-escalate in El Fasher and “allow and facilitate unfettered humanitarian access across the country and ensure the protection of civilians.” El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State and last SAF stronghold in the region, is the scene of a fierce battle being waged for its control by RSF fighters. The Security Council resolutions call on the parties to the conflict to seek “an immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to a sustainable resolution of the conflict, through dialogue.” Vellucci told journalists the focus of the talks is “to ensure the distribution of humanitarian assistance to all the Sudanese population in need and to ensure the protection of civilians across Sudan.” “The two delegations are comprised of senior representatives who have been delegated by the leaders of the warring parties to participate in the talks. And the delegations are composed of humanitarian, security and military experts,” she said. “So, that is what I can tell you about the delegation and the delegation level.” The U.N. spokesperson added that it was not clear how long the talks would last. “For the moment, the talks are continuing, and we will see how long they will continue,” she said. What is important, she added, is that “the warring parties identify and agree on ways to protect and assist the civilian population, possibly by agreeing on local cease-fires.”

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Nearly 4 million Ukrainians are internally displaced since Russia’s invasion. As of early May, nearly 150,000 of them were living in the Khmelnytskyi region, west of Kyiv. Some of them say they aren’t waiting for the war to end and are building new lives where they are. Tetiana Kukurika has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Sergiy Rybchynski.

President Biden wraps up the NATO summit in Washington with more pledges of arms for Ukraine, but no clear timeline for Kyiv to join the alliance. Hungary’s right-wing leader and Putin ally, Viktor Orban visits with Donald Trump. An update from Kyiv, deadly landslides in Nepal, the Pakistani military and a look at negotiations to end the Sudanese civil war.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Washington — Congressional Republicans joined by some Democrats this week passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.  During a media briefing Wednesday, voting and immigration rights advocates addressed concerns about the bill and false claims regarding noncitizens voting in state and federal elections.   “The reality is that states have multiple systems in place to deter noncitizen voting,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights program at the Brennan Center for Justice.  Morales-Doyle said voting by noncitizens is “exceedingly” rare.  “It is already a crime many times over for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. It's a state crime to register as a noncitizen. It's a federal crime to register as a noncitizen. It’s a state crime to vote as a noncitizen. It's a federal crime to vote as a noncitizen. There are severe penalties for those who violate these laws, they face prison time, they face deportation,” he said.  The Brennan Center for Justice, part of the New York University School of Law, is a member of a broad coalition that tracks election-related disinformation. One of the biggest myths, the center said in April, is that noncitizens are voting.   “Yes, people do things that are illegal sometimes, but they take into account the payoff and the consequences. And here, the payoff is minimal. It's the ability to cast one vote and in one election, or maybe even just to put your name on the rolls. And the consequences are extreme and severe. They include deportation, prison time, large fines, it just does not make any sense for someone to attempt this crime,” Morales-Doyle said.  In 2017, the Brennan Center reviewed 42 jurisdictions, encompassing 23.5 million votes from the 2016 presidential election, and identified only 30 possible incidents of noncitizen voting, or 0.0001% of the votes cast.   Citizen-only voting movement   In calling for the SAVE Act, Republicans partially rely on a discredited 2014 study that claimed noncitizen voting could influence congressional and presidential elections. The growing citizen-only voting movement combines election fraud concerns and illegal immigration, both key issues for Republicans this presidential election.   The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, maintains a database of election fraud cases showing 21 cases since 2003. The cases are detailed, including any criminal penalties paid.  The conversation about noncitizen voting grew in 2020 when House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans began advocating for the SAVE Act.  Johnson often cites data indicating that noncitizens are registered to vote in some municipalities, including New York City, Washington, Takoma Park, Maryland, and Montpelier, Vermont. These cities allow noncitizen residents to register and vote only in certain local elections.  In 2023, Takoma Park commemorated the 30th anniversary of the first noncitizen residents voting. An initiative, passed in 1992 by the Takoma Park City Council, gave immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, the right to vote in city elections for mayor and city council if they live within the city limits, are not registered to vote elsewhere, and are at least 16 years old.    Johnson said the SAVE Act would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote. In practice, this means that voters would have to produce one of several documents listed in the act.  “It's clear that our election process is worth protecting. It is our responsibility as members of Congress and concerned leaders of citizens groups and organizations who care about the integrity of our system and our elections,” Johnson said in a statement.   Critics argue the SAVE Act could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters who lack immediate access to citizenship documents, particularly the poor, women, and people of color.  A survey in January by the Center for Civic Democracy and Engagement at the University of Maryland shows that more than 9% of American citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, don’t have proof of citizenship readily available.    “There are myriad reasons for this — the documents might be in the home of another family member or in a safety deposit box. And at least 3.8 million don’t have these documents at all, often because they were lost, destroyed, or stolen,” according to the study.   The SAVE Act includes a process for those without proof of citizenship readily available.  The bill mandates that states create a process allowing citizens who lack proof of citizenship to submit alternative documentation and sign a document, under penalty of perjury, affirming their U.S. citizenship and eligibility to vote in federal elections, which mirrors the existing voter registration process but imposes additional administrative burdens on election officials.   "So, what does that mean to provide proof that you're a citizen, if you don't have documentary proof that you're a citizen? I just don't know. So, it's, there's the vagueness there that is problematic. I don't know what process they're contemplating or what that's going to look like,” Morales-Doyle said.   The act also establishes criminal penalties for election officials who mistakenly register noncitizens.  “So, no matter what that alternative path ends up looking like … you're hanging the threat of criminal prosecution over the head of any election official that allows someone to go into that alternative route,” Morales-Doyle said.   The House voted 221-198 to approval the SAVE Act. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it is likely to be rejected.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigeria's population is on track to hit 377 million people by 2050, highlighting the  need for reproductive health services. But cultural and religious barriers often complicate access to contraception, causing economic and maternal health issues.  Philomena Okoduwa knows this struggle well. Once against family planning, she now supports six children with her meager income from petty trading.  She regrets not embracing family planning sooner.  "Things are very bad for us, even to take care of basic needs is a struggle," she said. "I wished I knew about family planning earlier, I wouldn't have had so many children, but maybe two or three."  The World Bank reports Nigeria's fertility rate is 5.3 births per woman, much higher than the global average. Furthermore, 23% of married women lack contraception, according to the Guttmacher Institute.  Religion, culture, and limited access act as barriers.  Cannon Dauda, a Christian cleric, and Ejike Orji, a family planning advocate, explain how these factors impact decisions.  "Some believe that you give birth as much as you can and whatever God permits to be alive, he will provide for them," Dauda said.  Orji points out that Nigerians have a hard time finding contraceptives.  "Nigerian women are saying, 'I want family planning,' but they are not getting the services," he said. "As we speak now, because the federal government did not put money for commodity purchase, they are stocked out across the country."  The 2024 World Population Day promotes family planning as a human right.  Orji stresses that barriers to birth control violate women's rights and increase maternal health risks.  "Because of lack of proper family planning services, a lot of women are having pregnancies they don't want to have," he said. "We have also seen if women have frequent babies, their bodies do not recover properly because a lot of our women are sub-anemic. … The only thing that can stop all of these is appropriate planning services."  High fertility rates also strain Nigeria's economy.  Abuja-based economist Paul Alaje warns of the consequences.  "In the case of Nigeria, where resources are very scarce, poverty is high, where hunger and deprivation seem to be evident, continuing in high fertility rate may be a recipe for disaster," he said. "If you look at out-of-school children now, it's in millions, now tens of millions. And if you look at [the] poverty level, it is very high, especially among women and children."  Funding for family planning remains inadequate. The Nigerian government’s plan aims to raise the rate of contraceptive use from 19% to 27% in the coming years, but more resources are needed.  Experts say improved funding and access can significantly reduce maternal mortality and empower women, as well as the nation.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.