Rape, imprisonment, starvation, beatings – these are just some of the hardships revealed by people fleeing war and persecution to make the dangerous journey across northern Africa to get to Europe in our collection of photo stories from the Red Cross.
As world leaders prepared to meet for the UN summit on refugees and migration, we also heard from the charity War Child that children displaced by conflict are being “systematically denied” fundamental rights such as access to education or protection from forced marriage. Recent research by Unicef found that nearly half of all refugees are children, despite the fact that they account for less than a third of the global population.
Meanwhile, a US-driven immigration crackdown is forcing many Central American migrants to find alternative routes through Mexico, with some resorting to perilous sea crossings.
Plus we hear the courageous testimony of Khadidja Zidane, who was raped by Chad’s former dictator, Hissène Habré, and tells her story here for the first time. Ruth Maclean talks to Zidane and other women who bravely testified against Habré about the rape and torture they suffered under his regime, helping to secure his conviction.
Elsewhere on the site
Pakistan fights devastating malnutrition with mass food-fortifying programme
Summer of carnage on Nepal’s roads: ‘There was a big blast, then silence’
At a global forum of feminists, one thing is clear: it’s where you live that counts
Fear forces refugees in world’s largest camp to return to conflict zones
Angry clashes in Karnataka as India’s water wars run deep
UK development minister challenged over ‘wasted aid’ claim
UN calls on big pharma to reduce cost of life-saving medicines
Africa’s shortage of engineering skills ‘will stunt its growth’
Nigerians facing desperate hunger accuse officials of stealing food
World Health Organisation should outsource key duties, experts say
Global food crisis triggered cultural shift towards junk food, say researchers
‘Water is peace, life, dignity’: why the UN deputy chief has a thirst for saving lives
Sex trafficking victims forced to work in illicit Texas bars, claims study
Air pollution costs trillions and holds back poor countries, says World Bank
Opinion
Anton du Plessis: Corruption in Africa violates human rights. Why tolerate it?
Albert Kan-Dapaah: Our vision for aid? Help the poorest people help themselves
Blair Glencorse: Crowdfunding development aid would direct funds where they are needed most
Fiona Hodgson: War disproportionately affects women, so why so few female peacekeepers?
Nidhi Goyal: Why does the women’s rights movement marginalise women with disabilities?
Book extract
In an excerpt from The Political Origins of Inequality, Simon Reid-Henry examines the see-saw balancing act between a numerically tiny global elite and the masses, and the great impact each has on the other.
Multimedia
Dirty diesel from European companies fuels pollution in Africa – in pictures
Yellow fever in Congo: MSF vaccinates 710,000 people in 10 days – in pictures
Why are 63 million girls missing out on education? – podcast
Students Speak
What’s your verdict on Ban Ki-moon’s reign at the UN? What do you think Ban will be remembered for? Will it be his attempt to hold the world to account with the global goals, or the halving of child deaths inspired by the MDGs? Or has his term in office been overshadowed by the UN’s failures? We want your views. Submit a response of 250 words or fewer, and we’ll publish the best ones.
What you said
On John Vidal’s report on air pollution’s huge economic toll on poor countries, DrHugh said:
We need a balanced international approach to environmental issues. The danger is if we just push UK production to relocate to less strict regimes. We get a nice warm environmental feeling but the result is not just appalling damage to those counties but a net increase in international environmental damage. For example, if we push out a factory to India, we double the world air pollution caused by that factory. CO2 emissions (kg per PPP $ of GDP [a measure of the energy efficiency of a country’s economy, using purchasing power parity rates])
• UK: 0.2
• India: 0.4
Highlight from the blogosphere
WhyDev reports on how volunteerism is thriving as the international system is falling short. Pamela DeLargy writes that while leaders at the world humanitarian summit pledged their commitment to humanitarian principles, in the real world: “deterrence, not assistance, has been the primary goal of politicians across the continent. Meanwhile, poorer countries in regions that host the great majority of the world’s refugees are asking why they are expected to respect humanitarian standards and refugee law when wealthy Europe has chosen not to.”
And finally …
Poverty matters will return in two weeks with another roundup of the latest news and comment. In the meantime, keep up to date on the Global development website. Follow @gdndevelopment and @LizFordGuardian on Twitter, and join Guardian Global development on Facebook.
