UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, is calling on countries to lift remaining pandemic-related asylum restrictions.

More than two years on from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 20 countries across the world today still deny access to asylum for people fleeing conflict, violence, and persecution based on public health measures. Some of these countries apply exceptions for the entry of asylum seekers in an inconsistent or arbitrary manner, UNHCR said.

“With wars and violence raging across the world, and people fleeing from persecution, these measures deny the fundamental human right of people to seek asylum. Women, men and children continue to be turned away at land borders and sea; or are returned or transferred to countries where they may face threats to their life or freedom,” Grandi said.

In a recent interview with NPR’s Ari Shapiro, David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, discusses the Ukrainian refugee crisis and the global response.

When asked whether he thinks Ukrainians are being treated differently than other refugees, Miliband said, “Yes, they are, and that’s quite wrong. It’s actually formalized, which is that the European commitment that Ukrainian refugees can have the three years of work, residency, etc. – that’s not true if you’re not a Ukrainian. And, of course, globally, rights to work, rights to residency are much prized but not often given in the way that they have been.”

He said that there is both a moral and legal argument, “but also a geopolitical argument that this needs to be a learning moment for the way the world recognizes that a refugee is defined not by their nationality, but by their status. And that’s what it says in law, and that’s what should be played out, especially by richer countries who have no excuse, frankly, for the discrimination that exists.”

Click here for the full interview transcript.

An aggressive effort in St. Louis is trying to draw Afghan refugees to the city, reports Jim Salter of the Associated Press, who noted that about 600 refugees from that country have arrived so far and another 750 are expected later this year.

“Civic leaders are hopeful that over the next few years, thousands more will decide to relocate to the Midwestern city, helping to offset seven decades of population loss and rejuvenate urban neighborhoods — just as the arrival of Bosnian refugees did three decades ago,” wrote Salter.

He notes that in the 1990s, St. Louis “became America’s most popular landing spot for Bosnians displaced by war in the former Yugoslavia. Among the estimated 300,000 who fled to the U.S., some 40,000 now call St. Louis and the region home.”

Those refugees “revitalized an area of the city’s south side that is now often referred to as Little Bosnia. The area features Bosnian-owned markets, coffee shops, auto repair shops and other businesses. They have their own online newspaper, their own chamber of commerce.”

Click here for the full article.