Publications: Detention Toolkit, Health Barriers/S. Africa, Humanitarian Space/Somalia, Mapping Climate Change, Social Group/US, Spain & EU Presidency

Creating humanitarian space: a case study of Somalia, New Issues in Refugee Research no. 184 (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

From principles to action: UNHCR's Recommendations to Spain for its European Union Presidency (January - June 2010) (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change: Mapping emerging trends and risk hotspots (Care International and Maplecroft, Nov. 2009) [text]

No Healing Here: Violence, Discrimination and Barriers to Health for Migrants in South Africa (Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2009) [text]

Reviving the "Particular Social Group" (IntLawGrrls, Dec. 2009) [text]

Working with refugees and asylum seekers in places of detention: Tools and Resources for Legal Providers (International Detention Coalition, Dec. 2009) [text in WORD]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum Stats/EU, EXCOM Conclusions, IDPs/Colombia, Migrants' Rights, Zimbabweans/S. Africa

75 thousand asylum seekers granted protection status in the EU in 2008 (EUROSTAT, Nov. 2009) [text]

Asylum decisions in the EU27: EU Member States granted protection to 76 300 asylum seekers in 2008 (EUROSTAT, Dec. 2009) [text]

Conclusions Adopted by the Executive Committee on the International Protection of Refugees (UNHCR, Dec . 2009) [text]

Labor Market Effects of Migration-Related Supply Shocks: Evidence from Internally Displaced Populations in Colombia, HiCN Working Paper 69 (Households in Conflict Network, Nov. 2009) [text]

Slow Movement: Protection of Migrants’ Rights in 2009 (Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2009) [text]

Violence, Labour and the Displacement of Zimbabweans in De Doorns, Western Cape (Forced Migration Studies Programme, Dec. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Books of the Decade

Editor's note: Here is another installment in the "books of the decade" series. Many thanks to Dr. Shahira Samy at the University of Oxford for her contribution.

Records of Dispossession: Palestinian Refugee Property and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, by Michael Fischbach (Columbia University Press, New York, 2003). ISBN 0-231-12978-5

Michael Fischbach goes on an adventure. He flies to New York, disappears into the UN headquarters, locks himself up in the archives of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP), pours over some land deeds, leases and documents untouched for decades, and writes a book telling us the whole story. The Indiana Jones-style adventure is not entirely why I chose Records of Dispossession as my most favourite forced migration book for the first decade of the twenty-first century, although admittedly, its archival freshness is what makes it so valuable. The findings unravelled by this book will undoubtedly form the backbone of any peace agreement touching on the fate of the millions of Palestinian refugees, now well into their fourth generation of exile.

When over 700,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their lands in the late 1940s in the course of the establishment of the state of Israel and the first Arab-Israeli war, most of them were farmers whose livelihood much depended on land and property; assets now lost and subsequently expropriated by the Israeli government. Unlike its meek involvement in the present days, six decades ago, the UN was heavily involved in the politics of peace-making in Palestine. Specifically created to deal with the ramifications of the conflict, including the refugee issue, the UNCCP worked hard on identifying, evaluating lost property and even devising what might constitute viable compensation schemes. This estimation and evaluation work is the most accurate and comprehensive that has ever been undertaken. The problem is that we knew nothing about its scope, details and findings until Fischbach told us the story in his book.

These records form the backbone of any compensation package that will be offered to the refugees as part of a settlement to the conflict covering the displacement and dispossession issue. The international community often thinks of refugee matters in terms of humanitarian needs or within the regime of durable solutions weighing between options of return, resettlement and local integration. But what about losses? Restitution of property? Material reparations? Here is where the property issue and ensuing compensation schemes gain significance. Since the book also incorporates the story of the expropriation of the lost Palestinian property, it goes straight into how property restitution issues are incorporated into negotiating forms of redress to displacement problems and fostering demands for lost rights between parties to a conflict.

Decades on, the UNCCP is totally dead but not officially so. By telling the story, Records of Dispossession has reminded us of the history of its involvement, its early efforts, its struggle and why it has failed to achieve peace. With the records of these early efforts now out, the question arises as to whether this early failure may pave the way for a future success in redressing the displacement and dispossession of Palestinian refugees.

Dr. Shahira Samy
Jarvis Doctorow Junior Research Fellow in International Relations
and Conflict Resolution in the Middle East
St Edmund Hall & the Department of Politics and International Relations
University of Oxford

Access details:

- Publisher info
- Amazon
- Find the book in a library

Related posts:

http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-decade.html
http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-books-of-decade.html

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of Disasters, E&RS, Ref. Rts. News

Disasters, vol. 34, no. 1 (Jan. 2010) [free full-text]
- The editorial notes that in order to address the backlog of accepted articles, Disasters will be publishing longer issues and thematic supplements throughout 2010. This current issue includes a mix of 16 articles and a book review.

Disasters, vol. 34, supp. 1 (Jan. 2010) [contents]
- This first supplement of the year provides a "review of emerging patterns of reconstruction in post-conflict states."

Disasters, virtual ed. (Sept. 2009) [contents]
- This online-only edition focused on Ethiopia, bringing together previously-published articles from over 30 years of Disasters' history.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 33, no. 1 (2010) [contents]
- Special issue on "Migrant Politics and Mobilization: Exclusion, Engagements, Incorporation."

Refugee Rights News, vol. 5, no. 5 (Nov. 2009) [full-text]
- From the International Refugee Rights Initiative.

Note: Free articles are now available from Oxford University Press' three refugee journals: International Journal of Refugee Law (IJRL)*, Journal of Refugee Studies (JRS), and Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ).

*As of this writing, the links to the free access articles currently do not go to the full-text, but keep checking as I imagine the problem will be rectified at some point!

Tagged Periodicals.

More books of the decade

Following on from Jeff Crisp's recommendations for books from the 2000s that he admires, here are a couple of my own. They fall under two very different categories, however: children's books and reference books.

1. Children's books

Earlier in the year, I undertook a survey of kids' literature that relates to refugees and forced migration. I looked at both picture books for younger readers and chapter books for older readers. The bibliography I ultimately compiled included listings of both - 24 titles to be exact. However, one in particular has stayed with me: Home of the Brave (Feiwel and Friends, 2007), by Katherine Applegate. It's about Kek, who arrives in the middle of winter in Minneapolis, Minnesota from Sudan. He must contend with adjusting to the strangeness of his new home, anxiety about the fate of his missing mother, and feelings of sadness for all that he has lost. He finds comfort in a cow that he befriends, and in the memories of his family. The author wrote the story in free verse, producing a spare, but visually-rich and very accessible text. Here's an example, when Kek first meets the cow he eventually cares for:

She moos,
a harsh and mournful sound.
It isn't the fault of the cow.
She doesn't know another way to talk.
She can't learn
the way I am learning,
word
by slow, slow
word.

I stroke her cold, wet coat,
and for a moment I hold
all I've lost
and all I want
right there in my hand.

For more information, visit the publisher's web site; see also which libraries carry the book.

2. Reference books

As an information specialist, I regularly keep an eye out for new reference materials to include in my forced migration research guide. While not many have actually been published, I was most happy to learn about Immigration and Asylum: From 1900 to the Present, a three-volume encyclopedia edited by Matthew Gibney (Refugee Studies Centre) and Randall Hansen (Univ. of Oxford) and published by ABC-CLIO (2005). The editors approach immigration and asylum issues from an historical and political perspective. Entries were selected on the basis of the following themes: asylum law and procedures; immigration policy; refugee countries of origin; major migrant groups; historical movements; and the politics of migration focusing particularly on the U.S. The almost 200 essays are accompanied by "see also" references and bibliographies. The third volume reproduces major international and regional instruments, UN resolutions, and national legislation.

It's incredibly useful to have an authoritative resource that provides an introduction to or an explanation of so many of the issues that arise in the asylum context. It's also fascinating to browse through, to open a page randomly and learn something new about such a diverse and complex subject area.

For more information, visit the publisher's web site; see also which libraries carry the work.

Tagged Publications.

Multimedia: Climate Change Photos/Film, Doctors without Borders Film, FIC Photos, Harrell-Bond Lecture

Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture 2009: Beyond Blankets: in search of political deals and durable solutions for the displaced (FMO, Nov. 2009) [access]
- Podcast of the lecture.

"Climate change brings on refugees, exiles and terror? - slide show," Examiner.com, 12 Dec. 2009 [access]
- Focus is on Bangladesh. (HT: Seeking Asylum)

Climate Refugees Documentary Film [info]
- Info. about a film that will be screened at COP15. (HT: Seeking Asylum)

The First Week of COP15 (Towards Recognition, Dec. 2009) [access]
- Photos from various events attended in Copenhagen for the climate change conference.

Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors without Borders [info]
- Showing in select theatres on 14 Dec. 2009.

Traveling Photo Exhibition in the Karamoja Cluster (Feinstein International Center, Nov. 2009) [access]
- The exhibit "features the work of traditional seers in these pastoral communities" and is "part of a project titled 'Seers as War Makers, Peace Makers, and Leaders within the Karamoja Cluster'."

Tagged Events & Opportunities and Web Sites/Tools.

From "climate refugees" to "climate change-induced displacees"?

See IRIN's "Good news for climate change migrants" for an update on discussions in Copenhagen. Apparently, there is agreement on "the need to consider planned relocation for people displaced by climate change, with 'interstate cooperation' to respond to their needs."

The article also notes that the "term 'climate refugees' was first mentioned in the adaptation text at talks in Bonn, Germany, in June. The term has been dropped, but the need to help people who 'either cross an international border as a result of, or find themselves abroad and are unable to return owing to, the effects of climate change' has gained prominence." The new term under consideration to refer to such people is "climate change-induced displacees."

Worldbridge, Refugees International's blog, had an interesting post on the increased use in the media of the phrase "climate refugees." Noting that under international law one cannot be termed a "refugee" when natural disaster is the cause of flight, the author ponders possible alternatives and their acronyms: "People displaced by climate change (PDCCs)? Climate displaced people (CDPs)? People affected by climatic events (PACEs)?".

In contrast, an article I referenced earlier in the year highlights the fact that in Tuvalu and Kiribati, two Pacific nations under great pressure from climate change, there is a "a wholesale rejection of the 'refugee' label, at both the political and community levels."

[Photo credit: Mirwais Bezhan/IRIN]

Tagged Events & Opportunities and Publications.

Publications: Burmese/India, Climate Change & UNHCR, EU Asylum Directives, Information Technologies & Emergencies, Refugees/Israel

Asylum directives: scrutiny of the opt-in decisions (UK House of Lords European Union Committee, Dec. 2009) [text]

"Bracing for the Flood," NYT (10 Dec. 2009) [text]
- See also UNHCR's climate change web pages.

India: Close the Gap for Burmese Refugees (Refugees International, Dec. 2009) [text]

New Technologies in Emergencies and Conflicts: The Role of Information and Social Networks (UN Foundation, Dec. 2009) [text via ReliefWeb]

A promised land for refugees? Asylum and migration in Israel, New Issues in Refugee Research no. 183 (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

December 10: Human Rights Day

Today is Human Rights Day. The focus this year is on "non-discrimination," with the tag line "Embrace diversity, end discrimination." For more information on the day and its theme, visit the relevant pages and messages on the following web sites:

• Dag Hammarskjöld Library [access]
• Europa [access]
• Human Rights Watch [access]
• IntLawGrrls [access]
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [access]
• United Nations [access]

For more information on discrimination in the refugee context, browse Refworld's references.

Tagged Events & Opportunities and Web Sites/Tools.