SINGAPORE Passport Ranked World’s Most Powerful in 2024, Tied With 5 Other Countries

Posted by Asia Views | Jan 12, 2024 | 0 |

TODAY-Jan 11

Singapore retained its title of having the most powerful passport in the world for 2024, with five other countries’ passports also joining the top rank of the latest Henley Passport Index. The other passports in the top spot of the 2024 index are from France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain. The index ranks the travel documents based on how many destinations the travelers can go to without a pre-approved visa. In a press statement released on Wednesday (Jan 10), investment migration consultancy firm Henley & Partners noted that citizens of these six countries boast visa-free travel to 194 destinations out of 227 around the globe. Singapore and Japan have dominated the top spot on the index for the past five years. In the last five years, Japan has ranked as the top spot for the most powerful passport, except in 2023, where it ranked second place. Singapore was ranked first in 2019, 2021 and 2023, and second in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Last year, Singapore’s passport accorded visa-free travel to 193 countries for its holders and was awarded the world’s most powerful passport. Japan came in a close second with visa-free travel to 192 countries. Henley & Partners’ website states that the annual Henley Passport Index uses official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to come up with its ranking. This data is then supplemented and updated using in-house research from the firm, along with other open-source online data. This is to maintain the accuracy of the data provided by IATA, in the face of constant updates to visa policy. This research process is carried out throughout the year and coupled with a rigorous monitoring system by Henley & Partners to pick up relevant visa-policy shifts, the website states. In the 2024 index, the top 10 rankings are filled by passports from European countries. Afghanistan ranks the lowest on the list, at 104th position, with visa-free travel to 28 countries. Read more at: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-passport-ranked-worlds-most-powerful-2024-tied-5-other-countries-2340406

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

SINGAPORE Passport Ranked World’s Most Powerful in 2024, Tied With 5 Other Countries

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