27 February 2011

Publications: Climate Migration, Common Needs Assessmts., Detention, Disasters & Livelihoods, ECHR Decision, IDP Report

Climate Migration: Why It Is a Human Security Issue, RSIS Commentaries, no. 28/2011 (RSIS, Feb. 2011) [text]

Common Needs Assessments and Humanitarian Action, Network Paper, no. 69 (HPN, Feb. 2011) [text]

"European Court of Human Rights' Judgment on Expulsion of Asylum Seekers: M.S.S. v. Belgium & Greece," ASIL Insights, vol. 15, no. 5 (Feb. 2011) [text]

Examining Linkages between Disaster Risk Reduction and Livelihoods: Literature Review (FIC, Feb. 2011) [text]

Immigration Detention and Proportionality, Global Detention Project Working Paper, no. 4 (Global Detention Project, Feb. 2011) [text]

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Chaloka Beyani, UN Doc. no. A/HRC/16/43 (UNGA, Dec. 2010) [text via ReliefWeb]

Tagged Publications.

26 February 2011

Free articles via Wiley

Each year, Wiley makes the first journal issues within a new volume available for free. So, for example, Disasters, vol. 35, no. 1 (Jan. 2011) is freely available, as is International Migration, vol. 49, no. 1 (Feb. 2011). This means readers should watch out for another Wiley journal, International Migration Review; its first issue of the year hasn't appeared yet.

To discover other recently published articles in Wiley journals that are available at no cost, conduct a search of all content and then sort the results by date. Note the "free" icon next to certain titles.

Here are a few examples of items that popped up in my search results:
  • "Citizenship and Displacement," IDS Working Papers, vol. 2010, no. 354 (December 2010) [access]
  • "Education, Asylum and the 'Non-Citizen' Child: The Politics of Compassion and Belonging," Children & Society, vol. 25, no. 1 (January 2011) [access]
  • "Health and Social Needs of Traumatized Refugees and Asylum Seekers: An Exploratory Study," Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, vol. 47, no. 1 (January 2011) [access]
Tagged Periodicals and Web Sites/Tools.

Focus on the Middle East

New Publications:

Gender and Migration Research Reports (Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration, 2010-2011) [access]
- The papers cover thirteen countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East.

Images of the Lost Homeland: Palestinian Refugee Women Memories in Comparison to Refugee Means Before, During and After the Nakba of 1948, Birzeit University Working Paper No. 2011/21 [Arabic text via SSRN]

"Israel and the 'Holy Land': The Religio-Political Discourse of Rights among African Migrant Labourers and African Asylum Seekers, 1990-2008," African Diaspora, vol. 3, no. 1 (2010) [free full-text]

Palestinian Refugees' Rights in Light of 2010 Legislative Amendments: A Comparative Analytical Study, Birzeit University Working Paper No. 2011/12 [Arabic text via SSRN]

The 'Protection Gap' and the Palestinian Refugees of the Gaza Strip, IALIIS-BZU Working Paper Series No. 2011/11 [text via SSRN]

'Refugees' at Home: The Internally Displaced; Which Protection System? Birzeit University Working Paper No. 2011/25 [Arabic text via SSRN]

The Transformation of Political Identity of Refugees of the West Bank and Gaza Strip Camps, Birzeit University Working Paper No. 2011/10 [Arabic text via SSRN]

New Resources:

BADIL announced that it has a new Facebook page and a YouTube Channel.

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

25 February 2011

New Issue of RSQ

The latest issue of Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ) (vol. 30, no. 1, March 2011) has been published. Articles include:
  • US-Mexico Mixed Migration in an Age of Deportation: An Inquiry into the Transnational Circulation of Violence [abstract]
  • The Employment Integration of Resettled Refugees, Asylum Claimants, and Family Reunion Migrants in Sweden [abstract] [related book chapter]
  • Family Separation: The Policies, Procedures, and Consequences for Refugee Background Families [abstract]
  • Brazil and the International Refugee Organization (1946–1952) [abstract] [related article (in Portuguese)]
  • Mixed Migration – A Humanitarian Counterpoint [abstract] [conf. programme]
Tagged Periodicals.

Focus on North Africa

As events unfold in North Africa, recent news stories/blog posts have reported on those fleeing for safety, responses from receiving countries, and the plight of refugees caught in the middle.

Here is a sampling:
  • Egypt No Longer Safe Haven for Refugees (Huffington Post, Feb. 2011) [text]
  • Fleeing Turmoil in North Africa: Need for Shared Regional Response and Protection Urgent (ICMC, Feb. 2011) [text]
  • Italy: Fleeing Tunisia (UNHCR, Feb. 2011) [access to video]
  • Leaving Libya (IntLawGrrls Blog, Feb. 2011) [text]
  • Safe Haven for People Fleeing Bloodshed in Libya (ECRE, Feb. 2011) [text]
  • UNHCR Fears for the Safety of Refugees Caught in Libya's violence (UNHCR, Feb. 2011) [text]

For more information, check ReliefWeb's regular updates on the situations in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. The Migrants at Sea blog is a good resource for tracking Europe's response.

Tagged Publications.

24 February 2011

Focus on Statelessness

New maps:

These depict states parties to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, as of Jan. 2011 (from UNHCR):
New publications:

Blitz, Brad K. and Maureen Lynch, eds., Statelessness and Citizenship: A Comparative Study on the Benefits of Nationality (Edward Elgar, Jan. 2011) [info]
- See also earlier version.

Chaudhury, Anasua Basu Ray and Samir Kumar Das, "The Stateless Chakmas in Arunachal Pradesh" (Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, Feb. 2011) [text]

Kingston, Lindsey N., Legal Invisibility: Statelessness and Issue (non) Emergence, Social Science Dissertation (Syracuse University, 2010) [info]
- See also two earlier papers by same author from 2009 (abstract only) and 2010 (full-text).

Molnár, Tamás, "Stateless Persons under International Law and EU Law: A Comparative Analysis Concerning Their Legal Status, with Particular Attention to the Added Value of the EU legal order," Acta Juridica Hungarica, vol. 51, no. 4 (Dec. 2010) [abstract]

Sawyer, Caroline and Brad K. Blitz, eds., Statelessness in the European Union: Displaced, Undocumented, Unwanted (Cambridge University Press, Feb. 2011) [info]

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

New Issues of Dis. Prev. & Mgmt., Humanitarian Exch., JIRS, Women's Asyl. News

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 20, no. 1 (2011) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "Towards a humanitarian logistics knowledge management system."

Humanitarian Exchange, no. 49 (Jan. 2011) [full-text]
- Focus of this issue is on "Humanitarianism in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 9, no. 1 (2011) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "'AIDS Assassins': Australian Media's Portrayal of HIV-Positive Refugees Who Deliberately Infect Others," "International Migration and Social Work: A Review of the Literature" and "Dietary Intake, Food Security, and Acculturation Among Somali Refugees in the United States: Results of a Pilot Study."

Women's Asylum News, no. 99 (Feb. 2011) [full-text via Refworld]
- Lead article is entitled "UNHCR and the Drafting of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women."

Tagged Periodicals.

23 February 2011

Focus on Technology

Forced Migration Review (FMR) recently issued a CFP for its September 2011 theme issue on "Technology and Communications." Here are some other publications that have addressed/reported on aspects of this topic:

Blogs and Bullets: New Media in Contentious Politics, Peaceworks, no. 65 (USIP, Aug. 2010) [text]

Digital Technology as a Tool for the Integration of Refugees (Fondazione Mondo Digitale, Nov. 2010) [text via ePractice.EU]
- In Italian.

"Egyptians Find Their Power in Access to Information," American Libraries, 16 Feb. 2011 [text]

"Human Rights Defenders and New Technologies: The Challenging Impact of Information and Communications Technology on Human Rights Protection," Paper presented at New Technologies: Your Life? Your Health? Your Privacy? Our Human Rights, Nottingham, March 2010 [text]

The Influence of New Communication Technologies on the Acculturation of Bhutanese Refugees in an American Community, MA Thesis (Cleveland State University, Aug. 2010) [text]

New Skype Technology Keeps UNHCR Staff in Touch (UNHCR, Dec. 2010) [text]

"Refugees and Communication Technology," Report of a Workshop, Sydney, Nov. 2009 (Univ. of Technology Sydney, Jan. 2011) [text]

Refugees United Offers Mobile Hope for Loved-one Search (BBC News, Oct. 2010) [text]

Taking Refuge in Technology: Communication Practices in Refugee Camps and Immigration Detention, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 202 (UNHCR, Feb. 2011) [text]

"Telecommunications across Borders: Refugees' Technology Use during Displacement," Telecommunications Journal of Australia, vol. 60, no. 4 (2010) [open access]

[Photo credit/UNHCR: Community Technology Access, UNHCR]

Tagged Publications.

22 February 2011

Publications: Housing Rights, Humanitarian Assist./Haiti, Re-Trafficking, US Aid & Iraqi IDPs, Youth Employmt./DRC

The Causes and Consequences of Re-trafficking: Evidence from the IOM Human Trafficking Database (IOM, 2010) [text]

Forced Displacement and Youth Employment in the Aftermath of the Congo War: From Making a Living to Making a Life, MICROCON Research Working Paper, no. 38 (MICROCON, Jan. 2011) [text]

Humanitarian Assistance as Containment: New Codes for a New Order, Working Paper, no. 72 (RSC, Dec. 2010) [text]

Iraq’s Displaced: A Stable Region Requires Stable Assistance (Refugees International, Feb. 2011) [text]

"Title and Right: Scott Leckie Interviewed by Timothy Moore," Volume Magazine, vol. 26 (Dec. 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Multimedia: Photos, Podcasts, Screencasts, Videos

UNHCR's home page now more prominently features its latest videos and photos (view sidebar), providing quicker access to its regularly updated audiovisual collection.

Other recent multimedia resources include:

Photo Blog: Our Fuel and Firewood Team Visits Refugee Camps in Kenya (Women's Refugee Commission Blog, Dec. 2010) [access]

Photo Campaign: En Sus Zapatos (ACNUR, Jan. 2011) [access]
- "Put yourself in the shoes of refugees and the displaced... ."

Photos: No Peace of Mind – Stories of Displacement in the DRC (FMO, Jan. 2011) [access]

Podcast: Protecting Palestinian Children from Political Violence (FMO, Jan. 2011) [access]

Podcasts: RSC Seminar Series on "Conceptual Problems of Forced Migration" (FMO, 2011) [access]

Screencast: Urbanization in Sudan (HPG, Dec. 2010) [access via FIC]

[Photo credit/CBM 2010: "Photographs: No Peace of Mind," FMO Blog]

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

21 February 2011

New Issue of JRS

A new issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies (vol. 24, no. 1, March 2011) has just been published, with the following articles:
  • Laws, Policies, or Social Position? Capabilities and the Determinants of Effective Protection in Four African Cities [abstract]
  • Refugee Camp Security: Decreasing Vulnerability Through Demographic Controls [abstract]
  • ‘Let Me Go to the City’: African Asylum Seekers, Racialization and the Politics of Space in Israel [abstract] [related research report]
  • Why Certification Matters: A Review of State and Non-State Actions in Côte d’Ivoire for Promoting Schooling for the Displaced [abstract] [conf. paper] [author homepage]
  • Indivisibility of Accountability and Empowerment in Tackling Gender-Based Violence: Lessons from a Refugee Camp in Rwanda [abstract]
  • The Gotte Koya IDP Mystery: Tribal Identity and the IDP–Migrant Continuum in the Chhattisgarh–Andhra Pradesh Borderland (India) [abstract]
  • The Past if Past: The Use of Memories and Self-Healing Narratives in Refugees from the Former Yugoslavia [abstract]
  • From Refugee to Good Citizen: A Discourse Analysis of Volunteering [abstract] [UEL IR]
  • The Validity of Screening for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Other Mental Health Problems among Asylum Seekers from Different Countries [abstract]
  • ‘Garang’s Seeds’: Influences on the Return of Sudanese-Canadian Refugee Physicians to Post-Conflict South Sudan [abstract]

The issue also includes six book reviews.

Tagged Periodicals.

Focus on Climate Change and Displacement

Upcoming event:

The Nansen Conference: Climate Change and Displacement in the 21st Century, Oslo, 5–7 June 2011 [info]
- "The main focus of the conference will be on the vulnerability, resilience and capacity for adaptation of poor communities in disaster prone areas due to climate change and variability, protection of displaced people, and to stimulate action that can help manage or prevent displacement. The programme consists of a status of knowledge on the role and interaction of climate change and displacement, present case studies discussing vulnerability and adaptation options, and conclude with implications for policy and action."

Publications:

Climate Change and Human Rights Symposium, Utrecht, 11 Feb. 2011 [info] [brief report]

Human Rights in a Warmer World: The Case of Climate Change Displacement, LUP Working Paper (Lund University, Jan. 2011) [text via SSRN]

In Search of Refuge: Pacific Islands, Climate-induced Migration, and the Legal Frontier, AsiaPacific Issues, no. 98 (East-West Center, Jan. 2011) [text]

"Reducing Human Vulnerability: Helping People Help Themselves," Chapter 2 in World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change (World Bank, 2010), pp. 87-132 [chapter text] [complete report]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

19 February 2011

New Issues: Dev. in Practice, HR Law Rev., J. Immigrant & Minority Health, Monday Dev., REMI

Development in Practice, vol. 21, no. 1 (2011) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "'Humanicrats': the social production of compassion, indifference, and hostility in long-term camps" and "Analysing cultural proximity: Islamic Relief Worldwide and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh."

Human Rights Law Review, vol. 11, no. 1 (March 2011) [contents]
- Mix of articles. Includes review of Environmental Justice and the Rights of Ecological Refugees (Earthscan, 2009).

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, vol. 13, no. 1 (Feb. 2011) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "Vitamin D deficiency in refugee children from conflict zones" and "Knowledge of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in West African Refugee Women Living in Western Australia." The text of this article - "Under- and Over-Nutrition Among Refugees in San Diego County, California" - is freely available.

Monday Developments, vol. 29, nos. 1/2 (Jan./Feb. 2011) [full-text]
- Focus is on Haiti.

Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, vol. 26, no. 2 (2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.


Tagged Periodicals.

18 February 2011

Legal Items: Human Trafficking/US, Migration Law/EU, Public Health & Human Traff., Refugee Prot. Review, Tunisians/Europe

New opportunity:

EU Migration Law Discussion Group, Oxford [info]
- First informal meeting at Worcester College on 24 Feb. 2011 will discuss the recent ECHR ruling, M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece.

New publications:

Interpreting Judicial Interpretations of the Criminal Statutes of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act: Ten Years Later (bepress Legal Repository, 2011) [text]

"Looking Back, Moving Forward: The History and Future of Refugee Protection," Chicago-Kent Journal of International and Comparative Law, vol. 10 (2010) [full-text]

"Moving Upstream: The Merits of a Public-Health-Law Approach to Human Trafficking," North Carolina Law Review, vol. 89, no. 2 (Jan. 2011) [full-text]

People Power Meets Fortress Europe (IntLawGrrls Blog, Feb. 2011) [text]

[Photo credit: Worcester College, Wikipedia]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Citizenship/Scotland, IDP Protection/CAR, IDPs/Colombia, Sexual Orient. Tests, Unacc. Minors/UK, UNHCR Rejections

Becoming British Citizens? Experiences and Opinions of Refugees Living in Scotland (Scottish Refugee Council, Feb. 2011) [text]
- See also related policy briefing.

Consolidación de qué? Informe sobre desplazamiento, conflicto armado y derechos humanos en Colombia en 2010 (CODHES, Feb. 2011) [text]
- See also related news story.

Examen du cadre normatif de la République Centrafricaine relatif à la protection des personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur propre pays (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Nov. 2010) [text]

Landing in Kent: The Experience of Unaccompanied Children Arriving in the UK (Children's Commissioner, Feb. 2011) [text]

Testing Sexual Orientation: A Scientific and Legal Analysis of Plethysmography in Asylum & Refugee Status Proceedings (ORAM, Feb. 2011) [text]
- Updated version.

Vagueness and Credibility in UNHCR Rejection Letters (RSDWatch. org, Feb. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

17 February 2011

New Issues: GILJ, HR Brief, JEMS, Kanere, New Rts., Praxis


Georgetown Immigration Law Journal
, vol. 24, nos. 3&4 (Spring & Summer 2010) [contents]
- Special issue on the development of an "International Migrants Bill of Rights." Articles include "Reaffirming Rights: Human Rights Protections of Migrants, Asylum Seekers, and Refugees in Immigration Detention" and "Soft Law and the Protection of Vulnerable Migrants." See program for original symposium.

Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, vol. 25, no. 1 (Fall 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "Asking and Telling: Identity and Persecution in Sexual and/or Gender Orientation Asylum Claims—Immutable Characteristics and Concepts of Persecution Under U.S. Asylum Law."

Human Rights Brief, vol. 18, no. 1 (Fall 2010) [full-text]
- Mix of articles, including "Ten Years After the Palermo Protocol: Where are Protections for Human Trafficking?."

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 37, no. 3 (2011) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "'Transit' and 'Suspension': Migration Management or the Metamorphosis of Asylum-Seekers into 'Illegal' Immigrants."

Kakuma News Reflector (Feb. 2011) [full-text]
- Mix of articles in this blog-format news service from Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya.

New Routes, vol. 15, no. 4 (Dec. 2010) [full-text via ReliefWeb]
- Focus is on "protracted conflicts."

Praxis: The Fletcher Journal of Human Security, vol. 25 (2010) [full-text]
- Mix of articles, including "Harboring or Protecting? Militarized Refugees, State Responsibility, and the Evolution of Self-Defense" and "Darfur’s Displacement Dilemma: Operational Coordination and Aid Reform for IDP Returns."

Tagged Periodicals.

Metropolis Working Papers & Conference

The National Metropolis Conference will be held in Vancouver, 23-26 March 2011. The theme is "Immigration: Bringing the World to Canada." Topics of plenary sessions include "Contemporary Trends in Refugee Movements" and "Migration, the Environment and Climate Change". A number of workshops/roundtables will focus on refugees and asylum-seekers.

The Metropolis centre in British Columbia offers a working paper series. Relevant titles published in 2010 include:
  • Aceh-Malaysia-Vancouver: Settlement Among Acehnese Refugees Five Years On, Working Paper, no. 10-12 (Nov. 2010) [text]
  • (Dis)Advantages of Illegality: The Refugee Claimant Trajectories and Housing Experiences of Non-Status Migrants in Vancouver and Toronto, Working Paper, no. 10-11 (Oct. 2010) [text]
  • Religious Organizations and the Integration of Immigrants, Refugees, and Temporary Foreign Workers: An Annotated Bibliography and List of Community Organizations, Working Paper, no. 10-01 (Jan. 2010) [text]
  • Trafficking in Persons & Transit Countries: A Canada-U.S. Case Study in Global Perspective, Working Paper, no. 10-05 (April 2010) [text]
Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

16 February 2011

Publications: Asylum Seekers/Ireland, IDPs/Afghanistan, NGO Guidelines/US, Political Opinion/UK, Urban Refugees/Kenya

Don't Go to Ireland If You Need Asylum (Irish Refugee Council, Feb. 2011) [text via LGBT Asylum News]

General NGO Guidelines for Overseas Assistance (U.S. Dept. of State, Feb. 2011) [text]

Navigating Nairobi: A Review of the Implementation of UNHCR's Urban Refugee Policy in Kenya's Capital City, Evaluation Report, no. PDES/2011/01 (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [text]

Protesting Here and Risk of Persecution There (UK Human Rights Blog, Feb. 2011) [text]

Realizing National Responsibility for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Afghanistan: A Review of Relevant Laws, Policies, and Practices (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Nov. 2010) [text]

[Photo credit: UNHCR/B.Bannon; "Displaced people queue outside a police station in Nairobi for assistance," UNHCR, Jan. 2008]

Tagged Publications.

Update on Oxford Journals

Following on from my earlier post: It appears that this (short) period of free access has now ended. That said, it's always worth trying the links to full-text versions of journal articles on the off-chance that they have been made freely available for some reason, e.g., Oxford Open (whereby the author pays a fee to make his/her article open access), or promotion on the part of the publisher.

Tagged Periodicals and Web Sites/Tools.

Legal Items: Exec. Deference/US, Gender & Asylum/US, Ref. Narratives, Resettlement/Neth., Successful NGOs

"Assessing the Effectiveness of Human Rights Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from the Birth of the United Nations to the 21st Century: Ten Attributes of Highly Successful Human Rights NGOs," Michigan State Journal of International Law, vol. 18, no. 2 (2010) [full-text via SSRN]

"Contradictory Discourses of Protection and Control in Transnational Asylum Law," Journal of Legal Anthropology, vol. 1, no. 2 (2010) [full-text]

"Everything in Moderation: Why Any Gender Nexus Under U.S. Asylum Law Must be Strictly Limited in Scope," Boston University International Law Journal, vol. 29, no. 1 (Spring 2011) [full-text]

"Executive Deference in U.S. Refugee Law: Internationalist Paths Through and Beyond Chevron," Duke Law Journal, vol. 60, no. 5 (2011) [full-text via SSRN]

"'Quota Refugees', the Dutch Contribution to Global 'Burden Sharing' by Means of Resettlement of Refugees," International Journal of Legal Information, forthcoming (2011) [eprint via SSRN]

Tagged Publications.

15 February 2011

Europe: Case Law, ECHR Interim Measures, Human Trafficking, LGBTI Issues, Vulnerable Groups

Alarming Rise in Requests for Interim Measures (ECHR Blog, Feb. 2011) [text]

"EU Court to Rule on Gay Asylum 'Discretion Test'," Migration News Sheet (Feb. 2011) [text via LGBT Asylum News]

LGBTI Issues and EASO (EASO Monitor, Feb. 2011) [text]

M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece: When is a Group Vulnerable? (Strasbourg Observers, Feb. 2011) [text]

"States' Positive Obligations with Respect to Human Trafficking: The European Court of Human Rights Breaks New Ground in Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia," Boston University International Law Journal, vol. 29, no. 1 (Spring 2011) [full-text]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Cote d'Ivoire, Oromos/Kenya, Pakistan, Resp. for Ref. Prot./Middle East, Substance Abuse, Women Ref. & Rape

Côte d’Ivoire: Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation (IRIN, Feb. 2011) [text]

Ethiopia Exports More than Coffee: Oromo Refugees, Fear and Destitution in Kenya (Oromo Relief Association UK, Dec. 2010) [text]

Humanitarian Action in Pakistan 2005-2010: Challenges, Principles, and Politics (FIC, Jan. 2011) [text]

Insult to Injury: Women Refugees and the Stigma of Rape (MediaGlobe, Feb. 2011) [text]

"Six Rapid Assessments of Alcohol and Other Substance Use in Populations Displaced by Conflict," Conflict and Health 5:1 (Feb. 2011) [open access]

"We Live in a Country of UNHCR": The UN Surrogate State and Refugee Policy in the Middle East, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 201 (UNHCR, Feb. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

14 February 2011

Focus on Children

(updated)

Some recent articles and reports on young people. **Please note that access to content published in Oxford journals was freely available at the time of this posting, but this may change in the future.**

"Agency and Silence: Young People Seeking Asylum Alone in the UK," British Journal of Social Work, vol. 40, no. 7 (Oct. 2010) [full-text] [abstract]

"The Best Interests of the Child Principle in Swedish Asylum Cases: The Marginalization of Children's Rights," Journal of Human Rights Practice, Advance Access, 2 Feb. 2011 [full-text] [abstract]

Closing a Protection Gap: ‘If I were a guardian…’ - Separated children and guardians speak up (Daphne, 2010-2011) [access]
- See eight national reports. More info. on the project is available here.

"The Educational Rights of Asylum Seeking Children: Observing Failure," Public Space: The Journal of Law and Social Justice, vol 5. (2010) [open access]

Lives in the Balance: The Quality of Immigration Legal Advice Given to Separated Children Seeking Asylum (Refugee Council, Feb. 2011) [text]

Migrant Children Should not be Detained (Human Rights Comment, Feb. 2011) [text]

Something to Smile About: Promoting and Supporting the Educational and Recreational Needs of Refugee Children (Refugee Council, Feb. 2011) [text]
- See also related news story.

"Why Certification Matters: A Review of State and Non-State Actions in Côte d’Ivoire for Promoting Schooling for the Displaced," Journal of Refugee Studies, Advance Access, 22 Jan. 2011 [full-text] [abstract]

Tagged Publications.

12 February 2011

Focus on Destitution

New report:

Coping with Destitution: Survival and Livelihood Strategies of Refused Asylum Seekers Living in the UK (Oxfam, Feb. 2011) [text]

See also related items:
  • Degrading Asylum Seekers Holds a Mirror up to Society (WalesHome, Feb. 2011) [text]
  • UK: Destitution among Asylum Seekers (IRIN, Feb. 2011) [text]
  • What Happens to Asylum Seekers Who are Destitute? (UK Poverty Post, Feb. 2011) [text]
Other recent reports:
  • Australia's Hidden Homeless (Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, August 2010) [text]
  • Beyond the Edges of Health­care Pro­vi­sion: the Impact of Des­ti­tu­tion on the Health of Refused Asy­lum Seekers, PAFRAS Briefing Paper, no. 13 (PAFRAS, Sept. 2010) [text]
  • Bridging the Protection Gap: Immigration Detention and Forced Migrant Destitution," Working Notes (Dec. 2010) [text]
  • "From Persecution to Destitution: A Snapshot of Asylum Seekers' Housing and Settlement Experiences in Canada and the United Kingdom," Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, vol. 8, no. 1 (2010) [abstract]

Upcoming event:


The Invisible Borders: Forced Migrant Destitution in Europe, Brussels, 29 March 2011 [info]
- "Jesuit Refugee Service-Europe invites you to network with experts and practitioners from a variety of fields – migration, asylum, health, employment, education, social welfare, housing – to find concrete solutions for a pan-European problem. ..."

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

11 February 2011

Free Access to Oxford Journals?

As I was exploring various journals published by Oxford University Press, I discovered that I could freely access the full-text of all the articles I happened to be viewing. I have not seen an official announcement about this, but I would encourage you to have a look!

These are the three main titles of relevance to our field (take a look at the Advance Access articles too):
  • International Journal of Refugee Law (IJRL)
  • Journal of Refugee Studies (JRS)
  • Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ)
You can also conduct a search of all Oxford journals from here.

Tagged Periodicals and Web Sites/Tools.

Publications: Forced Marriage/US, Future of Humanit. Action, IDPs/Africa, Info. & Humanitarian Crises, Risk & Humanit. Action

"Forced Marriage and the Exoticization of Gendered Harms in United States Asylum Law," Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, vol. 19, no. 3 (2011) [full-text via SSRN]

L’Information dans les Contextes de Crises Humanitaires (Grotius.fr, Jan. 2011) [text]

"Managing Forced Displacement by Law in Africa: The Role of the New African Union IDPs Convention," Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, vol. 44, no. 1 (Jan. 2011) [full-text via SSRN]

Quel Futur de l’Action Humanitaire? (Grotius.fr, Jan. 2011) [text]

Risk in Humanitarian Action: Towards a Common Approach? (HPG, Feb. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Issues: Afr. Yrbk. Intl. Law, Citizen. Stud., Fahamu Ref. News, INSCAN, Intl. J. Migr. Health & Soc. Care, Local-Global, Rev. Humanit., RSC News

African Yearbook of International Law, vol 16 (2008) [contents]
- Includes a special focus on "International Migration in Africa," with an article on "The Protection of Refugees Between Obligations under the United Nations Charter and Specific Treaty Obligations: The Case of Egypt."

Citizenship Studies, vol. 15, no. 1 (2011) [contents]
- Mix of articles including "The unbearable rightfulness of being human: citizenship, displacement, and the right to not have rights."

Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter, no. 12 (Feb. 2011) [full-text]
- News and information for refugee legal aid providers.

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 6, no. 3 (Nov. 2010) [open access]
- Includes papers prepared as part of a research project on the "Bedouin in Lebanon: Migration, Settlement, Health Care and Policy."

International Settlement Canada (INSCAN), vol. 24, nos. 1&2 (Summer-Fall 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Local-Global Journal, vol. 8 (2010) [full-text]
- Special issue on "Beyond Border Control: Rethinking asylum and refugee protection in Australia and the region."

Revue Humanitaire, no. 27 (2011) [full-text]
- Theme is "Haïti: sortir de la dépendance humanitaire?"

RSC Newsletter, no. 11 (Winter 2011) [full-text]
- Includes feature on "Bedouin in Lebanon: statelessness and marginality," which describes the research project reported on in the above-mentioned issue of Intl. J. of Migration, Health & Social Care.

Tagged Periodicals.

10 February 2011

More Feb. & March Deadlines...

Access during Humanitarian Crises: Barriers to Protection and Assistance, Washington, DC, 15 February 2011 [info]
- Panel discussion hosted by the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement.

Human Rights Dimensions of Migration in Europe, Istanbul, 17-18 February 2011 [info via Migrants at Sea]
- Seminar held by the COE Commissioner for Human Rights and the Turkish Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.

CFP: Migration and Asylum in Europe and EU-Canada Relations, Ottawa, 22 March 2011 [info]
- Submit a paper abstract by 22 February 2011 for panel discussion at the EU-Canada Doctoral Student Training School.

CFP: International Settlement Canada (INSCAN) [info]
- Submit an article for the Winter-Spring 2011 edition on "information needs of, and services for, newcomers and prospective newcomers to Canada." Deadline is 3 March 2011.

Unsettling Resettlement: Summer Institute on Forced Migration Studies, Chicago, 10-17 July 2011 [info]
- Organized by the Center for Forced Migration Studies (CFMS) at Northwestern University. Topic commemorates the 60th anniversary of UNHCR and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Deadline for early bird registration is 15 March 2011.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

09 February 2011

Admin: Changes to the Blog (cont.)

I have now completed the various changes I needed to implement to the blog. The main difference, which is not visible, is that the upgraded template makes it much easier to change the layout, add new sections, change color schemes, etc. But that's for my benefit!

For readers, the basic elements of the old blog remain:
1) Posts on either new publications, periodical issues, events/opportunities, or web sites/tools; and
2) References to new journal articles, book titles or legal items listed in the sidebar.

New features include a photo highlight in the top right corner, links to recurring posts listed in the sidebar and a combined "recent posts/blog archive," also in the sidebar.

I hope you continue to find this service useful. Please pass along any comments!

CFP: World Conference on Humanitarian Studies

The second World Conference on Humanitarian Studies will be hosted by Tufts University and held in Medford, MA, from 2-5 June 2011.

A call for papers has now been issued. Abstracts must be submitted by 6 May.

The focus of the conference is "Changing Realities of Conflict and Crisis," which will be explored through four broad themes:
- Emerging from Protracted Crises
- New Directions in Policy
- Innovations in Humanitarian Practice
- Advances in Public Health and Food Security in Crises

Paper contributors are encouraged to review the accepted panels before initiating the submission process.

Registration for the conference is also open. If you become a member of the International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA), you can get a discount on the conference fee.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

08 February 2011

Admin: Changes to Blog

I plan to upgrade the template for this blog, so you'll notice some changes to the overall look and the arrangement of elements over the next day or so. Some things may disappear temporarily as I tinker, but they'll eventually return, along with a few new and/or improved features.

Thanks for your patience!

ISA 2011 Conference

The International Studies Association (ISA) is holding its annual conference in Montreal this year. The dates are 16-19 March 2011 and the theme is "Global Governance: Political Authority in Transition."

The programme lists a number of papers and panels that focus on forced migration-related issues. I have highlighted a number of them below, and provided links to abstracts. Eventually, many of the papers will be made available in full-text through the ISA Paper Archive, so it's worth checking back again after the conference if a paper addresses a topic of particular interest.

PAPERS

March 16:
- Brings Norms Entrepreneurs Back into the Picture: Role of Individuals in the Case of Protecting and Assisting the Internally Displaced
- Constructing Cooperation: Transnational Crime and the Case of Human Trafficking
- Delivering Health Services and Changing Health Systems in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
- Human Security as Practices of Governance and the Temporalization of Otherness in the Case of IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) Policies in Colombia
- Religion, Hospitality and Alternatives in Global Responses to Asylum Seekers and Refugees
- Sudanese Voices: I and We, and the Dominant Refugee Discourse(s)
- Whose Right to What Justice? Humanitarian Intervention and the Administration of Justice in Refugee Camps

March 17:
- Cheap Talk or Meaningful Communication? Assessing Humanitarian Governance through the Sphere Project
- Disastrous Encounters: Trafficking in Natural Disasters
- Forced Displacement in Africa: Challenges for Human Security and International Security
- The Impact of the Mass Influx of Zimbabwean Migrants and Asylum Seekers on South Africa's Conflict Resolution Efforts in Zimbabwe
- The Politics of Protection: Interest, Altruism, and the State Priorities that Shape UN Peacekeeping
- The Politics of Water Literacy: A Case Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Schools in a Palestinian Refugee Camp
- Rethinking Refugeehood: Statelessness, Repatriation and the Contributions of Hannah Arendt
- The Tragedy of Human Trafficking: Competing Theories and European Evidence

March 18:
- Development and Democracy: Forced Displacement and Resettlement in Hydropower Projects
- Displacing Subjectivities: Refugee Narratives in the City of Rio de Janeiro
- International Regime Complexity and the Fight against Human Trafficking
- Modern Day Slavery? Race and Gender in International Anti‐Trafficking Discourses
- The Refugee Regime Complex: Institutional Proliferation and International Organization Adaptation
- Transnational Networks in the Black Sea Region: Human Trafficking and NGOs That Transcend Borders

March 19:
- Activism and the Count: From Sanctuary to Spectacle in a Politics of Asylum
- Between Nation and Territory: Refugees and the Sovereign Impetus
- Loopholes in the Responsibility to Protect: Acknowledging Structural Violence in Relation to Internal Displacement and Statelessness
- Political Activism After Asylum
- Promoting Regional Cooperation without Local Capability: Combating Trafficking in Persons in Southeast Asia
- The Public/Private: The Rise of the Private Border Guard and International Refugee Law
- Re‐Connecting Histories: British Asylum Policy in Global Historical Perspective
- Worlds unto Themselves: Questioning State Governance of Refugee Camps

PANELS

For more information on the panels and their associated papers, check the programme (page numbers indicated below) or search the "panels" tab here.

March 16:
- Environmental Refugees (p. 67)
- Human Trafficking (p. 20)

March 17:
- The Way Home: Refugees, IDPs and Diaspora Social Networks (p. 118)

March 18:
- Humanitarianism and International Politics (p. 145)
- "There's No Home for You Here": Refugees, Transnational Networks, and the Spread of Conflict (p. 177)
- Trafficking Is Problematic: Reflections on Critical Analyses of Human Trafficking (p. 178)

March 19:
- The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees (p. 230)
- Humanitarianism and Human Rights (p. 199)


Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Africans/Israel, Building Stability, Ecol. Refugees, Env. & Mobility, Gender Equality

African Migration to Israel: Debt, Employment and Remittances (Feinstein International Center, Jan. 2011) [text]

General Recommendation on Gender Equality in the Context of Forced Displacement and Statelessness (UNHCR, Oct. 2010) [text]
- Draft submitted to CEDAW.

Not Only Climate Change: Mobility, Vulnerability and Socio-economic Transformations in Environmentally Fragile Areas of Bolivia, Senegal and Tanzania, Human Settlements Working Paper, no. 28 (IIED, Feb. 2011) [text]

Security, Humanitarian Action and Development, ODI Briefing Paper, no. 67 (ODI, Feb. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

07 February 2011

Last minute Feb. deadlines...

Euro-Africa Conference on Illegal Immigration, Human Trafficking, Drug Trafficking, and Terrorism, Napoli, 7-9 February 2011 [info via Migrants at Sea]
- Organized by the Italian Interior Ministry and the Direzione Centrale dell’Immigrazione e della Polizia delle Frontiere.

Live Online Discussion: Assessing the Impact of a Changing Climate on Human Displacement, 9 February 2011 [info via Towards Recognition]
- Register for the online discussion 20 minutes before the event.

(How) Will the 2012 Olympics Impact Trafficking in London?, London, 15 February 2011 [info]
- Organized by Young Professionals in Human Rights (YPHR).

Invitation to tender: Evaluation of UK Border Agency Country of Origin Information (COI) Reports [info via FM List]
- Submit tender by 16 February 2011.

International Refugee Law and Contemporary Challenges e-Learning Course, 16 February-29 March 2011 [info]
- A few places are still available in this course.

Palestinian Refugees and International Law, Damascus, 18-19 March 2011 [info]
- This workshop takes place in March but only 20 places are available so apply early.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Events & Opportunities: March Deadlines

A busy month ahead... .

International Summer School in Forced Migration, Oxford, 11-29 July 2011 [info]
- Apply by 1 March 2011 for a bursary; pay by 31 March 2011 for a reduced fee.

Increasing the Securitization of Borders and the Politics of Forced Migration: The Global Rise of Anti-Refugee Reform, Toronto, 29-30 April 2011 [info]
- Organized by the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS) Student Caucus; submit an abstract by 4 March 2011.

The Future of Freedom: Shaping Tomorrow’s Anti-Trafficking Movement, Washington, DC, 9-10 March 2011 [info]
- Organized by the Freedom Network, a coalition of 25 NGOs in the US. There is also a training on "Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery: Practical Tools for an Effective Response" that will take place 9 March.

MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, Oxford University, 2011-2012 [info]
- There are two application deadlines: 21 January 2011 and 11 March 2011.

CARFMS Graduate Student Essay Contest [info]
- Submit your paper by 15 March 2011.

Changing Nature of Forced Migration: Vulnerabilities and Responsibilities in South and South-East Asia, Chittagong, Bangladesh, 22-24 September 2011 [info]
- Submit an abstract by 15 March 2011.

The Invisible Borders: Forced Migrant Destitution in Europe, Brussels, 29 March 2011 [info]
- Register by 15 March 2011.

Centre for Refugee Studies Summer Course, Toronto, 8-15 May 2011 [info]
- Non-visa applicants registration deadline is 31 March 2011.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

04 February 2011

Publications: Asylum Law/Mexico, Children & Nationality, Ref. Law/US, Ref. Protection/Europe, Statelessness, Women & Intl. Criminal Law

"Asylum Rights and Wrongs: What the Proposed Refugee Protection Act Will Do and What More Will Need to Be Done," Fordham Urban Law Journal, vol. 38, no. 1 (Nov. 2010) [text]

Children's Right to Nationality (Open Society Justice Initiative, Feb. 2011) [text]
- See also related blog post.

From Principles to Process: Mexico's New Asylum Law (IntLawGrrls Blog, Feb. 2011) [text]

"Questioning Hierarchies of Harm: Women, Forced Migration, and International Criminal Law," International Criminal Law Review, vol. 11 (forthcoming, 2011) [text]

Suggested Reading on Statelessness (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [access]

A Victory for Refugee Protection in Europe (Open Society Blog, Jan. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

03 February 2011

New Web Sites/Online Tools

Here's a random assortment of web sites, blogs and online resources that I've come across recently:

Blogs:

Aid Buzz [access]
- InterAction's blog.

ISN Blog [access]
- From the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).

Resources:

Aotearoa New Zealand Refugee Research Directory [access]
- Provides access to research and researchers.

INEE Toolkit [access]
- Provides access to a "wide variety of tools to guide humanitarian aid workers, government officials and educationalists working in the field of education in emergencies."

Peace Terms: Glossary of Terms for Conflict Management and Peacebuilding [access]
- Developed by the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Web Sites:

Aid Professionals [access]
- Provided by the World Food Programme (WFP).

Asylum Research Consultancy [access]
- A country of origin information research service. Offers free COI Updates.

Center for Forced Migration Studies [access]
- Based at Northwestern University in Illinois, US.

Climate-induced Migration: Mitigating Risks, Creating Opportunities [access]
- Asian Development Bank project.

Re-Vamped Sites:

African Union [access]
- Now includes a page for the Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees and Displaced Persons Division.

International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ) [access]
- Cleaner look, with more highlights listed on the home page.

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) [access]
- Re-organized with more visuals; check the resources section for a variety of information pages, including one on "gang-related asylum resources." Archived World Refugee Surveys are tucked away in this section too; seven years' worth are supposed to be available but currently only the last three are.

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

02 February 2011

UNHCR Archives Projects

The Programme for the Study of Global Migration at the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies has been working on several projects in conjunction with the UNHCR Archives to not only facilitate access to the records of the refugee agency but also to better understand the historical context for UNHCR's actions and decisions. The projects include:

  • Records of the Office of the High Commissioner [info]
  • UNHCR and the Global Cold War, 1971-1984 [info]
  • UNHCR and the Globalization of Refugee Issues, 1951-1989 [info]
  • UNHCR Archival Project [info]
One of the planned outcomes from these projects is "the publication of a major book on the history of UNHCR from 1951 to 1989" to mark the 60th anniversary of the organization. Also in the works are a number of articles and working papers, the first of which is now available:

"Sadruddin Aga Khan and the 1971 East Pakistani Crisis: Refugees and Mediation in Light of the Records of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees," Global Migration Research Papers, no. 1 (The Graduate Institute, Dec. 2010) [text] [summary]

For more information on the paper, read the "History of the UNHCR."

[Photo credit: "Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan," Wikipedia]


Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Publications: Aid Workers, Latvia & Nationality, Palestinians/Lebanon, Southern Sudan & Nationality, Women

"Humanitarian Workers: Aid For The Aid Givers," The World Today, vol. 67, no. 2 (Feb. 2011) [full-text]
- Free access to articles in current issue.

Latvia: The Perilous State of Nationality Rights (Refugees International, Jan. 2011) [text]

Socio-Economic Survey of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon (American University of Beirut, Dec. 2010) [text]

Submission to the AU Peace and Security Council on the Right to a Nationality in the Context of the Referendum in Southern Sudan (Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative, Jan. 2011) [text]

Women in Need of International Protection (Caritas Internationalis, Dec. 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

01 February 2011

International Norms and IDP Protection

A recent special issue of the International Journal on Human Rights (vol. 15, no. 2, 2011) looks at "The Role of the Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the Development and Promotion of International Human Rights Norms." Papers included in this collection came out of a workshop held in June 2010. For more information, here's the programme and the workshop report.

One article in particular considers "Special rapporteurs as law makers: the developments and evolution of the normative framework for protecting and assisting internally displaced persons."

Here's the abstract:
This article examines the development and evolution of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and other relevant supplementary soft-laws prepared within the mandate of the special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons. By showcasing the increasing recognition and acceptance of the guiding principles as an authoritative framework governing the issue of internal displacement at the national, regional and international levels, the paper seeks to illustrate how the guiding principles exemplified the role of special procedures of the Human Rights Council in the development of international human rights law with respect to emerging and challenging human rights issues. Recent attempts by other special procedures of the Human Rights Council to develop relevant soft-laws within their mandate have partly been inspired by the success of these principles. The article specifically identifies how the mandate-holder has developed a successful and unique relationship with the United Nations and regional organisations to further augment the relevance and influence of the guiding principles. It discusses the ground-breaking codification of regional treaties on internal displacement in Africa as evidence of this unique collaboration and cooperation.
Other recent publications that address elements of this theme include:

  • "Brings Norms Entrepreneurs Back into the Picture: Role of Individuals in the Case of Protecting and Assisting the Internally Displaced," Paper to be presented at International Studies Association Annual Conference, Montreal, March 2011 [info]
  • "Implementing Protection: What Refugee Law Can Learn from IDP Law...and Vice Versa," Part I, Chapter 9 in Essays on Human Rights: In Honour of Professor Sir Nigel Rodley and Professor Kevin Boyle (Routledge, Oct. 2010) [info] [preview]
  • "Internal Displacement, the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the Principles Normative Status, and the Need for their Effective Domestic Implementation in Colombia," Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional, vol 2 (2009) [full-text]
  • "Law-Making Through the Operational Activities of International Organizations," The George Washington International Law Review, vol. 40, no. 1 (2008) [full-text]
  • "Protection of internally displaced persons: soft law as a norm-generating mechanism," Review of International Studies, vol. 36, no. 2 (2010) [full-text]
  • "Towards a 'soft law' framework for the protection of vulnerable irregular migrants," International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 22, no. 2 (2010) [article abstract] [working paper]
For more background on the development of the Guiding Principles, revisit this blog post of mine from January 2006.

Tagged Publications.