30 March 2015

Regional Focus: Americas

Publications:

Caracterización de la Población Retornada Centroamericana con Necesidades de Protección (ACNUR, 2014) [access]
- Two studies are currently available, one on the protection needs of El Salvadoran returnees, the other on the protection needs of Guatemalan returnees.

Development of a Resource Guide for the Worcester Refugee Population (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, March 2015) [text]

Diagnóstico sobre el Acceso al Procedimiento para la Condición de Refugiado en México (Programa Conjunto de Migrantes en Tránsito & ACNUR, 2014) [text]
- The results of this study were used to develop a "Manual para la Atención Integral de la Población Refugiada y Solicitante de la Condición de Refugiado en México."

Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Statistics Yearbook (Executive Office of Immigration Review, March 2015) [text]
- See also these posts on the ImmigrationProf blog which provide snapshots of the data on asylum grants by country of nationality, increasing immigration court caseloads, and asylum grant rates by immigration court.

Human Rights and Resettlement Processes in Colombia, Special Coverage of the 154th Inter-American Commission Hearings (Human Rights Brief, March 2015) [text]

In Defense of the Homeschoolers’ Asylum Bill (The Asylumist Blog, March 2015) [text]

Results of the UC Davis Asylum & Refugee Law National Moot Court Competition (ImmigrationProf Blog, March 2015) [text]

Web site:

Saving Stories [access]
- "A project to collect and ‘save stories’ from refugee community members in the suburban Pittsburgh boroughs of Baldwin and Whitehall. The Saving Stories project has united a broad range of community contributors who share a common commitment to enhance native and English literacy, archive native culture, and increase public awareness of their community’s unique diversity."


Related post:
- Regional Focus: Americas (4 March 2015)


Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

27 March 2015

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Innovation

ICTs:

App Helps Syrian Refugees Adapt to Life Away from Home (NPR, March 2015) [access]
- Follow link for audio and transcript.

"Charity Providing Refugees with Library-in-a-Box to Launch in UK," Newsweek, 19 March 2015 [text]

IST Researchers Explore Technology Use in Syrian Refugee Camp (Penn State, March 2015) [text]

Mobile Network Operators Commit to Supporting Local Communities in Humanitarian Crises (CDAC Network, March 2015) [text]

*Mobiles for Human Development: 2014 Trends and Gaps (UNDP, Feb. 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

"On Digital Crossings in Europe," Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture, vol. 5, no. 1 (Mach 2014) [open access]

Tackling the Digital Divide: What Does This Mean for Humanitarian Responders? (CDAC Network, March 2015) [text]

Third Humanitarian Congress, Vienna, 6 March 2015 [info]
- These panels focused on ICTs:  1) Social Media: Heaven or Hell? [video] (see also related conference news items) and 2) What’s App: Innovation and New Technologies Improving the Effectiveness of Humanitarian Action – Myth or Fact? [video] (see also related conference news items)

Innovation:

CFP: Humanitarian Innovation Conference 2015: Facilitating Innovation, Oxford, 17-18 July 2015 [info]
- Reminder! Abstract submission deadline is 31 March 2015.

Innovation Spaces: Transforming Humanitarian Practice in the United Nations, Working Paper, no. 107 (RSC, March 2015 [text]

UNHCR Innovation Section [web site] [blog] [facebook] [twitter]
- This section "works collaboratively with refugees, academia, and the private sector to creatively address challenges faced by uprooted or stateless people worldwide." It also coordinates the UNHCR Ideas crowdsourcing platform to "generate ideas from refugee communities, UNHCR staff, and partners. These ideas are voted on and vetted by the online community, end-users (refugees), and experts, and then piloted and tested in the field."

*UPDATED

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Information-related Items (6 March 2015)

Tagged Events & Opportunities, Publications and Web Sites/Tools.



Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance

Publications:

An Act of Faith: Humanitarian Financing and Zakat (Global Humanitarian Assistance, March 2015) [text]

Cautious Welcome for New OCHA Chief (IRIN, March 2015) [text]

Helpdesk Research Report: Relationship between Humanitarian and Development Aid (GSDRC, Feb. 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Humanitarianism and Return: Compromising Protection?, Policy Brief, no. 03/2015 (PRIO, March 2015) [text]

Making Development Work for Humanitarian Response – and Vice Versa (WhyDev, March 2015) [text]

NGO Perspective on Humanitarian Response in Level 3 Crises (ICVA, Jan. 2015) [text]
- See also this IRC blog post that discusses what a Level 3 crisis designation means.

Partnership: From Principles to Practice - Considering Partnerships in Preparation for the World Humanitarian Summit, 2015 ICVA Annual Conference, Geneva, 9 March 2015 [access]
- Follow link for program, concept, note, background paper, a presentation, and photos.

Turkey as a Humanitarian Actor: The Critical Cases of Somalia and Syria (Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Web site:

Acting, Fast and Slow Blog (International Rescue Committee) [access]
- This blog offers "critical insights into humanitarian action and development. Inspired by Daniel Kahneman's notion of Thinking, Fast & Slow, IRC and invited experts will analyze the effectiveness of aid delivery and explore the tension between acting immediately to address pressing problems and acting slowly to build an evidence base."

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance (6 March 2015)

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

26 March 2015

Regional Focus: Australia

Event:

Panel on Australia and Asylum Seekers, Montreal, 1 April 2015 [info]
- Chaired by Professor François Crépeau, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants.

Publications:

"Australia Makes a U-Turn with the Revival of the Pacific Solution: Should Asylum Seekers Find a New Destination?," Washington University Global Studies Law Review, vol. 13, no. 3 (2014) [open access]

"'Giving Back to Society What Society Gave Us': Altruism, Coping, and Meaning Making by Two Refugee Communities in South Australia," Australian Psychologist, vol. 49, no. 5 (Oct. 2014) [full-text via ResearchGate]

Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Juan E. Méndez - Addendum: Observations on Communications Transmitted to Governments and Replies Received, UN Doc. No. A/HRC/28/68/Add.1 (UN General Assembly, March 2015) [text via Refworld]
- Scroll to p. 7 for section relating to Australia and p. 72 for Papua New Guinea.

Review into Recent Allegations relating to Conditions and Circumstances at the Regional Processing Centre in Nauru (Govt. of Australia, March 2015) [access]
- Click on "Philip Moss Review."  See also related Guardian news story.

"Turning Back the Boats is a Moral and Legal Failure, say Academics," The Guardian, 12 March 2015 [text]
- Findings of the study referenced in this news story were presented at a recent seminar and will be reported in a forthcoming IJRL article.

Related post:
- Regional Focus: Oceania (4 March 2015)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 



News: Asylum Trends in 2014

UNHCR's latest statistical report, Asylum Trends 2014: Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, looks at asylum claims lodged in 38 European and six non-European countries. A total of 866,000 people applied for asylum, with Syrians remaining the top asylum-seeking group. The other main countries of origin for applicants were Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia/Kosovo and Eritrea. The top five countries of asylum were Germany, the United States, Turkey, Sweden, and Italy.

While the number of asylum applications have indeed increased in industrialized countries, it is important to keep in mind, as this IRIN news story points out, that "these figures only represent those asylum applications made in 44 developed countries that regularly supply UNHCR with statistics. Developing countries, such as Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon and Jordan hosted 86 percent of the world’s refugee population in 2013."

This press release summarizes the main trends, and provides access to the report and Excel tables.

Reports from previous years are available here.

Tagged Publications. 


Thematic Focus: Durable Solutions

Funding opportunities:

FY 2016 Notice of Funding Opportunity for Proposals for the Resettlement Support Center (RSC) Austria in Vienna, Austria [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 28 April 2015.

FY 2016 Notice of Funding Opportunity for Proposals for the Resettlement Support Center (RSC) Latin America [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 28 April 2015.

FY 2016 Notice of Funding Opportunity for Proposals for the Resettlement Support Center (RSC) East Asia in Bangkok, Thailand [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 5 May 2015.

Publications:

*Community Support for Newcomer Families: A Literature Review, RCIS Working Paper, no. 2015/1 (Ryerson Univ., Jan. 2015) [text]

"Critical Aspects of Social Networks in a Resettlement Setting," Development in Practice, vol. 25, no. 2 (2015) [full-text via Academia.edu]  

Home Sweet Home: Housing Practices and Tools that Support Durable Solutions for Urban IDPs (Displacement Research Action Network & IDMC, March 2015) [access]
- Follow link for full report and case studies.

*Humanitarianism and Return: Compromising Protection?, Policy Brief, no. 03/2015 (PRIO, March 2015) [text]

"Integration and Reintegration: Comparing Pathways to Citizenship through Asylum and Criminal Justice," Criminology and Criminal Justice, OnlineFirst, 16 March 2015 [postprint via Univ. of Edinburgh]

Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas, Webinar, 12 March 2015 [access]
- Follow link for video.

Protection Cluster Digest, no. 1 (2014) [full-text]
- This issue focuses on "Securing Durable Solutions for IDPs: Initiatives and Achievements."

"The Provision and Sharing of Information between Service Providers and Settling Refugees," Information Research, vol. 19, no. 2 (June 2014) [open access]

Q&A with Michael Casasola, Resettlement Officer at UNHCR-Canada (Global Views, March 2015) [text]

*UPDATED

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Integration, esp. in Europe (5 March 2015)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

25 March 2015

Events & Opportunities: Last Minute March/More April 2015

March:

Seminar: Does Expanding Non-refoulement Secure Greater Access to Asylum?, Melbourne, 26 March 2015 [info]

Job: Operations Manager, IRIN News, Geneva [info]
- Apply by 29 March 2015.

April:

Job: Joyce Pearce Junior Research Fellowship in Development Studies (Refugees and Forced Migration), Oxford University [info]
- Apply by 2 April 2015.

Online Discussion: Measuring Success in Protection Programming, 2 April 2015 [info]
- Read the briefing and participate in the exchange.

Jobs: Entry-Level Humanitarian Professional Programme, UNHCR [info]
- Deadline for application is 6 April 2015.

Webinar: Labour and Livelihoods in Urban Humanitarian Response, 8 April 2015 [info]

Job: Departmental Lecturership in the Politics of Forced Migration, Oxford University [info]
- Apply by 9 April 2015.

Lecture: Policy and Research Implications of the Recommendations from the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention, Melbourne, 15 April 2015 [info]

Course: Statelessness Summer Course, Tilburg, Neth., 3-7 August 2015 [info]
- Submit applications by 15 April 2015.

Seminar: Understanding Global Refugee Policy: The Case of Naturalization in Tanzania, Oxford, 29 April 2015 [info]

U.S. State Dept. Funding Opportunities:

FY 2015 Notice of Funding Opportunity for NGO Programs Benefiting Refugees in Chad and Cameroon [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 2 April 2015.

FY 2015 Notice of Funding Opportunity for NGO Programs Benefiting Refugees in Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 6 April 2015.

FY 2015 Notice of Funding Opportunity for NGO Programs Benefiting Malian Refugees in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 10 April 2015.

FY 2015 Notice of Funding Opportunity for NGO Programs Benefiting Burmese and Other Urban Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Malaysia and Thailand [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 13 April 2015.

FY 2015 Notice of Funding Opportunity for NGO Programs Benefiting Refugees in Ethiopia and Kenya [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 20 April 2015.

FY 2015 Notice of Funding Opportunity for NGO Programs Benefiting Sri Lankan Refugees and Returnees in South Asia [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 20 April 2015.

Related posts:
- Events & opportunities: April 2015
- Events & Opportunities: Even More March 2015

Tagged Events & Opportunities. 

Thematic Focus: General

"Book Review Symposium: Survival Migration," European Political Science, vol. 14, no. 1 (2015) [free full-text via RSC]
- Three reviews of Survival Migration: Failed Governance and the Crisis of Displacement (Cornell University Press, 2013) are provided, along with a response by the author.

Building Communities of Practice for Urban Refugees Project (UNHCR, 2015)
- This project is holding workshops in each of the five geographic regions "to broadcast and replicate good practices for urban refugee programmes." Reports of the workshops that have already taken place in Bangkok, Thailand and Pretoria, South Africa are now available.  More information about the project is provided in the first workshop report for Asia.

"Framing International Migration," London Review of International Law, vol. 3, no. 1 (March 2015) [free full-text]
- Review of three books: Foundations of International Migration Law (Cambridge UP, 2012), Border Vigils: Keeping Migrants Out of the Rich World (Verso, 2012), and Border as Method, or, the Multiplication of Labor (Duke UP, 2013). Note: This article is freely available for a limited time only.

The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (Oxford University Press, 2014) [info]
- Have you gotten your copy of this volume yet?  If not, you can view abstracts of each chapter via the info link above.  And here are a few full-text chapters to whet your appetite! Chapter 1: "Introduction: Refugee and Forced Migration Studies in Transition"; Chapter 3: "The International Law of Refugee Protection"; Chapter 15: "Forced Migrants as 'Illegal' Migrants"; Chapter 19: "State Controls: Borders, Refugees, and Citizenship"; Chapter 21: "Protection Gaps"; Chapter 29: "The Politics of Refugee Voices: Representations, Narratives, and Memories"; Chapter 30: "Children and Forced Migration"; Chapter 45: "Forced Migration in the Middle East and North Africa"; and Chapter 48: "Forced Migration in South-East Asia and East Asia."

Protection in Crisis: Forced Migration and Protection in a Global Era (Migration Policy Institute, March 2015) [text]
- First report launched in a planned "seven-report series that draws from a recent [MPI Transatlantic Council  on Migration] meeting, 'Refitting the Global Protection System to Meet the Challenges of Modern Crises'." More information about the series is available in this press release.

"Relocation and Resettlement from Colonisation to Climate Change: The Perennial Solution to 'Danger Zones'," London Review of International Law, vol. 3, no. 1 (March 2015) [full-text via Kaldor Centre]

Worldwide Protracted Refugee and IDP Populations (Migration Policy Centre, 2015?) [access via home page]

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: General (13 March 2015)

Tagged Publications.

24 March 2015

Regional Focus: Europe

"The Construction of 'Official Outlaws': Social-psychological and Educational Implications of a Deterrent Asylum Policy," Frontiers in Psychology, 6:382 (March 2015) [open access]

EU Legal Framework on Asylum and Irregular Immigration 'on Arrival' (EPRS, March 2015) [text]

[New Country Reports] (AIDA, March 2015)
- Updated reports available for Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland.

"Russia an Uncertain Future, both for NGOs and the Refugees They Help," ECRE Weekly Bulletin, 20 March 2015 [text]

*Ukraine One Year on: The Challenge of Preventing a New Migration Crisis in Central Europe (Debate Migration Blog, March 2015) [text]

Ukrainian Refugees Face Dwindling Options in Poland (IRIN, March 2015) [text]

What's in a Name? The Reality of First "Reception" at Evros (ECRE, Feb. 2015) [text via Refworld]

"Who Has the Right to have Rights? The Judgments of the CJEU and the ECtHR as Building Blocks for a European ‘ius commune’ in Asylum Law," Chapter 8 in Fundamental Rights in the EU: A Matter for Two Courts (Hart Publishing, March 2015) [full-text via ResearchGate]

*UPDATED

Related post:
- Regional Focus: Europe (19 March 2015)

Tagged Publications.

New Issue of IJRL

The latest issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law (IJRL) has been published. Contents of vol. 27, no. 1, March 2015 include:
  • Asylum as a General Principle of International Law [abstract]
  • The Internal Protection Alternative Inquiry and Human Rights Considerations – Irrelevant or Indispensable? [abstract] [postprint]
  • An Ongoing Anomaly: Pre- and Post-Second World War Palestinian Refugees [abstract]
  • The Application and Interpretation of International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law in the Exclusion of those Refugee Claimants who have Committed War Crimes and/or Crimes Against Humanity in Canada [abstract]
  • 'Climate Change Migrants’: Impediments to a Protection Framework and the Need to Incorporate Migration into Climate Change Adaptation Strategies [abstract] [preprint via Academia.edu]
  • ‘Systemic Flaws’ and Dublin Transfers: Incompatible Tests before the CJEU and the ECtHR? [abstract]

This issue also includes an obituary for Ivor Jackson, who passed away in Dec. 2014, case law summaries, introductory notes to two sets of UNHCR guidelines - on temporary protection and military service, respectively - and four book reviews.

Tagged Periodicals.

23 March 2015

Thematic Focus: Work/Economic Issues

Entrepreneurship: A New Front in the Refugee Crisis (Huffington Post, March 2015) [text]

"How Effective Are Cash Transfers in Reducing Poverty, Compared to Remittances?," Social Policy and Society, FirstView, 16 Feb. 2015 [full-text via Academia.edu]
- See also related working paper.

Interventions to Improve the Economic Self-sufficiency and Well-being of Resettled Refugees: A Systematic Review (Campbell Library, Jan. 2015) [text]
- The final review is now available.

New Report on Asylum Seeking Working Women in Israel (Kav LaOved, March 2015) [info]
- Note: The report is currently available in Hebrew, but an English version will be posted eventually.

Seeking Asylum Leads to Rewarding Job Pathway (On the Ground Blog, March 2015) [text]

Supporting Dignified Choices: ‘Paper Plus’ Cash Voucher Programming in Camps in Jordan (NRC, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Voucher-based Winter Support in Azraq Camp: Update (NRC, Feb. 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]


Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Work/Economic Issues (27 Feb. 2015)

Tagged Publications.

Regional Focus: MENA, incl. Syria

Displacement of Palestinians as a War Crime: Information for the Consideration of the Commission of Inquiry, Established under United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution S-21/1 (BADIL, Feb. 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

"EU Considering Plan to Outsource Mediterranean Migrant Patrols to Africa," The Guardian, 20 March 2015 [text]
- See also related Reuters news story.

Four Years on, Syria’s Refugees Search for a Future (Markaz Blog, March 2015) [text]

The Impact of Libyan Middle-class Refugees in Tunisia (Future Development Blog, March 2015) [text]

Municipal Needs Assessment Report: Mitigating the Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis on Jordanian Vulnerable Host Communities (UNDP et al., Dec. 2014) [text via ReliefWeb]

"Palestinian Refugees and Mediated Connections to Palestine," Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network, vol. 8, no. 2 (2015) [open access]

Preparatory Stakeholder Analysis: World Humanitarian Summit Regional Consultation for Middle East and North Africa (WHS, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Protection in the Windward: Conditions and Rights of Internally Displaced Girls and Women during the Latest Israeli Military Operation on the Gaza Strip (UNFPA, Oct. 2014) [text via ReliefWeb]

Women’s Involvement in UNRWA Family Planning Services: A Study of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan, Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection, Paper no. 1926 (SIT Graduate Institute, Fall 2014) [text]

Related post:
- Regional Focus: MENA, incl. Syria (4 March 2015)

Tagged Publications.

20 March 2015

Regional Focus: Asia

APRRN Newsletter (Feb. 2015) [full-text]
- "Twice per year, APRRN asks its members to submit an update on the situation for refugees and asylum seekers in their countries. In this edition of the APRRN Newsletter, we have edited and compiled the responses we received."

Building Communities of Practice for Urban Refugees: Asia Regional Workshop Report (UNHCR, March 2015) [text]

Forced Migration and the Myanmar Peace Process, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 274 (UNHCR, Feb. 2015) [text]

"Japan’s Asylum Laws: No Entry," The Economist, 14 March 2015 [text]

Meeting the Bare Minimum: Hong Kong's New Screening Process for Protection (Justice Centre Hong Kong, May 2014) [text]

Persecution of the Rohingya in Burma/Myanmar and the Responsibility to Protect, Policy Brief (Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

The Refugee Dilemma: Afghans in Pakistan between Expulsion and Failing Aid Schemes (Afghanistan Analysts Network, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

"Refugees: Inferno in the Bay of Bengal," The Diplomat, 18 March 2015 [text]

South-East Asia: Irregular Maritime Movements in 2014 (UNHCR, 2015) [text]
- Note: This report has been updated to cover all of 2014.  Earlier reports covered Jan.-June 2014 and Jan.-Nov. 2014.

Talking to Tamils: Sharing Research Findings with the ‘Researched’ (COMPAS Blog, March 2015) [text]

Related post:
- Regional Focus: Asia (4 March 2015)

Tagged Publications.

19 March 2015

Tip of the Week! How to Assess the Quality of Open Access Journals

Source: "Which way to go?" Waldec on Flickr
Are you an aspiring author venturing out for the first time into the world of Open Access journal publishing? This landscape can be confusing if you are not familiar with any of the titles out there. Where should you start your search for a relevant and reputable journal that is a good fit your research?

As I have mentioned in past blog posts, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a useful resource to use either for identifying relevant open access journals in a particular field of inquiry or for locating OA articles of interest.  Recently, the DOAJ has initiated a series of steps to weed out any questionable and poor quality journals that have been represented in its database to date.  The ultimate aim is to improve the overall reputation of open access journals as credible vehicles for publication.

Searching for journal titles in DOAJ is one means of assessing OA journals.  But aspiring authors can also take advantage of various lists of quality criteria to undertake their own assessments of journals that they come across or of publishers that send email solicitations inviting them to submit articles to them.

Here are a few examples:

1. The most well-known list was the now defunct Beall's List, the author of which was considered somewhat controversial because he maintained a "blacklist" of what he termed "Potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishers & journals."  That said, as this article notes, his assessment criteria could be used as a "starting point for thinking about the hallmarks of predatory publishers and journals."

2.  Walt Crawford undertook a lengthy investigation of OA journals, both those flagged on Beall's List and those represented in the DOAJ database (see here, here and here).  Based on his research, he developed his own list of suggested steps authors can take to identify an appropriate OA journal (these have been reproduced below in an appendix).

3.  Here is a shorter, easier-to-reference set of "Open Access Journal Quality Indicators" that was developed by librarians seeking to help their faculty identify high quality OA journals.  This article discusses how they came up with their indicators.

[added Oct. 2015] Finally, to learn more about the actual landscape of "predatory" open access journals, read this recent study.


Appendix: Steps for an Author to Take to Find the Right OA Journal

Source: Crawford, Walt, “Journals, ‘Journals’ and Wannabes: Investigating The List,” Cites & Insights, vol. 14, no. 7 (July 2014), pp. 23-24 (note: hyperlinks have been added)

“1. Look [Journal X] up in the Directory of Open Access Journals (doaj.org). Not there? Look for another journal…which you can do quite nicely at DOAJ: it’s got thousands of ‘em. A keyword or subject search should yield many more candidates.

2. If it is in DOAJ, take advantage of the listing to learn more about the journal and to explore the journal’s site. Note that, for those journals with APCs, DOAJ may provide a more direct link to the APC policy than the journal’s own site (although I’d argue against publishing with any journal that hides APCs). Thus, steps 3-9, using links and info from DOAJ.

3. Do the quality of English and the general appearance of the journal’s site give you confidence in its quality? If not, go back to step 1, looking for another journal.

4. If there is an APC, is it one you consider reasonable? If not, go back to step 1.

5. Is the journal a going concern—is it publishing a reasonable stream of articles (where only you can determine what’s reasonable)? If not, go back to step 1.

6. Do the article titles over the past few issues make sense within the journal’s scope? If not, go back to step 1.

7. Does one author show up over and over again within the past few issues? If so, I’d be inclined to go back to step 1.

8. Download and read at least one article in full text (which almost always means PDF), preferably one you think you can understand. If the download process doesn’t work, requires registration or yields a defective PDF, go back to step 1.

9. Does the article look good enough for your tastes (that is, are the layout and typography acceptable)? Does it seem to be at least coherent enough to be in a journal you’d want to be associated with? If the answer is “No” to either question, go back to step 1.

Steps 1-9 really shouldn't take more than 2-5 minutes (maybe a little longer to read the article). If [Journal X] still looks like a candidate, you may be done— or you may want to do two more steps, one in DOAJ (or, rather, on the journal’s site), one elsewhere.

10. Check the editorial board for plausibility and to see whether these are real people.

11. Check Retraction Watch—but be aware that excellent journals have retracted papers and that most journals don’t show up there.”

Tagged Tips.

Regional Focus: Europe

Event:

Workshop: The Meaning of Solidarity for Refugee Protection in the EU, London, 27 April 2015 [info]
- Note: This is an invitation-only event.

Publications:

AMIF, the EU Fund Devoted to Asylum and Migration Issues (EPRS, March 2015) [text]

The Common European Asylum System and Human Rights: Enhancing Protection in Times of Emergencies, CLEER Working Paper, no. 2014/7 (Centre for the Law of EU External Relations, 2014) [text]
- This volume includes seven articles.

The Development of EU Policy on Immigration and Asylum: Rethinking Coordination and Leadership, Policy Brief (Migration Policy Institute, March 2015) [text]

Joint Operational Team Launched to Combat Irregular Migration in the Mediterranean (EUROPOL, March 2015) [text]

Not Adding Up: The Fading Promise of Europe's Dublin System (Migration Policy Institute, March 2015) [text]

Outsourcing Asylum (IRIN, March 2015) [text]

Reception and Detention Conditions of Applicants for International Protection in Light of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (ECRE, March 2015) [text]

Related posts:
- Thematic Focus: Protection at Sea (12 March 2015)
- Regional Focus: Europe (9 March 2015)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

18 March 2015

Thematic Focus: Law/Policy Items

Protection-related events & opportunities:

Workshop: Exploring Exclusion in International Refugee Law: The Ethical, Moral and Legal Boundaries of "Complicity" in War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, London, 25 March 2015 [info]

Course: International Summer School on Refugee Law: Western Balkans in Focus, Sarajevo, 6-16 July 2015 [info]
- Deadline for early registration is 30 March 2015.

"Refugee and Asylum Law: Theory, Policy and Practice," Thematic stream at SLSA 2015 Conference: Socio-legal in Culture: The Culture of Socio-legal, Coventry, UK, 31 March-2 April 2015 [info]
- Visit the registration page for more details.

*Reminder*: Check the March & April 2015 protection-related events that were listed in this earlier post.

Publications:

Expert Meeting on Credibility Assessments in Asylum Procedures, The Hague, 8-9 Dec. 2014 [info]
- Follow link for meeting-related documents.

International Standards on Conscientious Objection to Military Service (Quaker United Nations Office, Jan. 2015) [text via Refworld]

"Refugee Protection under Islamic Law," Peace & Conflict Monitor, 6 March 2015 [full-text]

Oral Update on the Excom Conclusion, 61st Meeting of the Standing Committee, 5 March 2015 [text]
- Note: Many of you may have noticed that no EXCOM Conclusion was issued during last year's Executive Committee meeting.  The Standing Committee reports from the 59th and 60th meetings give some background on discussions that took place earlier in 2014 around identifying Conclusion themes, while the a/m oral update provides some suggestions regarding improving the selection process moving forward. See also related NGO statement.

"Self-Determination, Dissent, and the Problem of Population Transfers," Chapter in The Theory of Self-Determination (Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming 2015) [eprint via SSRN]

The Trouble with Relying on How People Speak to Determine Asylum Cases (The Conversation, March 2015) [text]

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Law/Policy Items (5 March 2015)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

Thematic Focus: Women

Last minute event:

Lecture: "The Battle for Equality in Refugee Law: The Resistance to Protection of Women and Children," New Orleans, 19 March 2015 [info]

Publications:

Consequences of Evicting Widows: Displacement and Women's Housing, Land and Property Rights in the Central African Republic (NRC, Feb. 2015) [text]

Gender and Migration: An Introduction and a Conversation (Border Criminologies & COMPAS Blogs, March 2015) [text]
- New joint blog series, with posts uploaded to both blogs every Friday until the end of June.  Posts are tagged "gender."

"Gender at the Intersection of International Refugee Law and International Criminal Law," Journal of International Criminal Justice, vol. 12, no. 5 (2014) [free full-text]

Towards Alternate Approaches for Assessing Domestic Violence Asylum Claims (SSRN, Dec. 2014) [text]

Violence against Women and Girls, Joint Committee on Human Rights (UK Parliament, Feb. 2015) [text]
- See esp. section 7 on "Immigration and Asylum."  See also related summary from Asylum Aid.

Women & Girls: Safe Spaces: A Guidance Note Based on Lessons Learned from the Syria Crisis (UNFPA, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Women Seeking Asylum: Closing the Protection Gap (openDemocracy, March 2015) [text]

Women’s Asylum News, no. 129 (Jan./Feb. 2015 [full-text]
- Lead article is "Set Her Free: Ending the Detention of Women who Seek Asylum."

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Women (12 Feb. 2015)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

17 March 2015

Thematic Focus: Persons with Disabilities

Publications:

1 Million Injured: But How Many More Lives Need to be Rebuilt? (Handicap International, March 2015) [text]

"Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place: Challenges of Refugees with Disabilities and their Families in Uganda," Chapter 24 in Crises, Conflict and Disability: Ensuring Equality (Routledge, April 2014) [full-text via Refugee Law Project]

"Ethics of Care in Supporting Disabled Forced Migrants: Interactions with Professionals and Ethical Dilemmas in Health and Social Care in the South-East of England," British Journal of Social Work, vol. 44, Suppl. 1 (2014) [eprint via ResearchGate]

Humanitarian Response: How to Include Everyone?, Briefing Paper (Handicap International, 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Making Every Life Count: Ensuring Equality and Protection for Persons with Disabilities in Armed Conflicts, Monash University Law Review, vol. 40, no. 1 (2014) [full-text]

Triple Jeopardy: Protecting At-Risk Refugee Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence - Older, Disabled, Male Survivors and Sexual Minority Refugees in Chad, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda (HIAS, Dec. 2014) [text]

"'We Find a Way': Challenges and Facilitators for Health Care Access among Immigrants and Refugees with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities," Medical Care, vol. 52, no. 10, Suppl. 3 (Oct. 2014) [free full-text]

Web site: 

Protection of Refugees with Disabilities Project (Univ. of Sydney) [access]
- The aim of this blog is to "share the work and experiences of researchers from a three-year project being funded by AusAID, entitled 'Protection of Refugees with Disabilities'."

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Disabled Persons (4 Dec. 2014)

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

CFP/New Issues of Crossings, IJMBS, Index on Censorship, Intervention, JIRS, JIANL, Migr. Pol. Pract., REMI, Social Analysis

CFP:

Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law [info]
- Articles sought for special issue to be published in 2016. Submit proposals by 1 June 2015.

New issues:

Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture, vol. 6, no. 1 (April 2015) [contents]
- Mix of articles including "Rites of passage: Experiences of transition for forced Hazara migrants and refugees in Australia."

Index on Censorship, vol. 44, no. 1 (March 2015) [contents]
- Special feature on "Across the wires: how refugee stories get told."

*International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, vol. 1, no. 2 (2014) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "Deterrence policies and asylum seekers: the case of Australia."

Intervention, vol. 13, no. 1 (March 2015) [contents]
- Includes special section on "Ebola: Reflections from the Field."

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 13, no. 1 (2015) [contents]
- Mix of articles including "Exploring Media Platforms to Serve the Needs of the South Sudanese Former Refugee Community in Southeast Queensland," "Cast Out: 'Gender Role Outlaws' Seeking Asylum in the West and the Quest for Social Connections," and "Exploring Mental Health Screening Feasibility and Training of Refugee Health Coordinators."

Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, vol. 29, no. 1 (2015) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including one on reception conditions in the EU and the ECHR's interim measures.

Migration Policy Practice, vol. IV, no. 5 (Dec. 2014-Jan. 2015) [full-text]
- Special issue with outlooks on migration in 2015 from various experts.

*Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, vol. 30, no. 2 (2014) [contents]
- The theme of this issue is "Composer (avec) la frontière. Passages, parcours migratoires et échanges sociaux = Negotiating Boundaries. Passage, Migratory Itineraries and Social Exchanges." Includes articles on Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and refoulement in the Aegean.

Social Analysis, vol. 59, no. 1 (Spring 2015) [contents]
- Special issue on "Uncertainty and Displacement." The introduction, "Flight and Exile: Uncertainty in the Context of Conflict-Induced Displacement," is free to read.

*UPDATED

Tagged Periodicals and Events & Opportunities.

Thematic Focus: Mental Health

"A Crisis of Anxiety among Aid Workers," New York Times, 8 March 2015 [text]

"Dynamics of Resilience in Forced Migration: A 1-year Follow-up Study of Longitudinal Associations with Mental Health in a Conflict-affected, Ethnic Muslim Population," BMJ Open, 5: e006000 (Feb. 2015) [open access]

"How Was Your Trip?" Self-Care for Researchers Working and Writing on Violence, DSD Working Paper on Research Security, no. 2 (SSRC, April 2014) [text]

Mental Health of Trafficking Victims Overlooked (SciDev.net, March 2015) [text]

"Seven-Year Follow-up Study of Symptoms in Asylum Seekers and Refugees with PTSD Treated with Trauma-Focused Groups," Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 70, no. 4 (April 2014) [full-text via ResearchGate]

Syria Crisis: Addressing Regional Mental Health Needs and Gaps in the Context of the Syria Crisis (International Medical Corps, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Mental Health (12 Feb. 2015)

Tagged Publications.

16 March 2015

Thematic Focus: Children

Events: 

Lecture: Child Refugees & Australian Internationalism: Past, Present, Future, Melbourne, 24 March 2015 [info]

Conference: None of Europe's Children Should be Stateless, Budapest, 2-3 June 2015 [info]
- Registration deadline is 1 May 2015.

Publications:

All Party Parliamentary Group on Protecting Children in Armed Conflict: Inquiry Findings and Evidence (APPG, Feb. 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Conflict in Syria and Iraq: 14 Million Children & Adolescents in the Region Affected (UNICEF, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

For Every Child, a Lawyer (The Asylumist Blog, March 2015) [text]

The Heart of the Matter: Assessing Credibility when Children Apply for Asylum in the European Union (UNHCR, Dec. 2014) [text]

"Young Paperless Lives: Understanding 'Illegality' through the Experiences of Young Undocumented Migrants," Discover Society, no. 17 (Feb. 2015) [text]

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Children (17 Feb. 2015)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

Thematic Focus: Climate Change

"Adaptation to Climate Change and Resettlement in Rwanda," Area, vol. 47, no. 1 (March 2015) [free full-text]

"Climate Change in the Fertile Crescent and Implications of the Recent Syrian Drought," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Early Edition, 2 March 2015 [full-text via ResearchGate]
- See also related commentary from the NYT and UKCCMC.

Climate Change Induced Displacement: Leveraging Transnational Advocacy Networks (TANs) to Address Operational Gaps (TechTank Blog, March 2015) [text]

"Displacement and Migration from Cyclone-affected Coastal Areas," Chapter 8 in Environment, Migration and Adaptation: Evidence and Politics of Climate Change in Bangladesh (AHDPH, Jan. 2015) [text via Academia.edu]
- Note: More information about the book is available here.

"Human Displacement and Climate Change in the Asia-Pacific," Chapter 6 in Environmental Law Dimensions of Human Rights (Oxford University Press, March 2015) [preprint via SSRN]

Integrating Human Mobility Issues within National Adaptation Plans, United Nations University-Nansen Initiative Joint Policy Brief, no. 2 (UNU, June 2014) [text]

Prejudice and Conflict in Forced-migration Issues: A Contest (UNU, Jan. 2015) [info]
- New research project that "investigates key human security and conflict issues associated with forced migration due to climate change or other factors; and strategies for preventing conflict and minimizing human insecurity in the Pacific and, mainly, in the Fiji Islands."

Related posts:
- Thematic Focus: Natural Disasters (13 March 2015)
- Thematic Focus: Climate Change & Natural Disasters (12 Feb. 2015)

Tagged Publications.


Regional Focus: Africa

Burundi: Guarded Optimism that Long-term IDPs May Achieve Durable Solutions (IDMC, March 2015) [text]

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Humanitarian Engagement and Programming in Promoting Local Integration of Refugees in Zambia, Tanzania, and Cameroon (Development & Training Services, Inc., Dec. 2014) [access]
- Follow link for the final report and three field evaluations of Central African refugees in Cameroon, and former refugees in Tanzania and Zambia.

The Expected Well-being of Urban Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Johannesburg, Working Paper, no. 507 (ERSA, March 2015) [text]

Hosts and Guests: A Historical Interpretation of Land Conflicts in Southern and Central Somalia, Research Paper, no. 2 (Rift Valley Institute, 2015) [text via Refworld]

Migration and Asylum Challenges in Eastern Africa: Mixed Migration Flows Require Dual Policy Approaches, Policy Brief, no. 2015/04 (Migration Policy Centre, March 2015) [text]

Reinforcing the Responsibility to Protect in the Central African Republic (Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

Related post:
- Regional Focus: Africa (3 March 2015)

Tagged Publications. 



13 March 2015

Thematic Focus: General

Opportunity:

CFP: "Bridging the Collaborative Gap," Second Conference in Disasters, Displacement, and Human Rights, Knoxville, Tennessee, 25-27 September 2015 [info]
- Abstract submission deadline extended to 1 April 2015.

Publications:

2014 Global Strategy Implementation Report: Public Health, Settlement and Shelter, Safe Access to Fuels and Energy, Livelihoods (UNHCR, March 2015) [text]

DSD Working Papers on Research Security (Social Science Research Council, 2014) [access]
- This series examines a "range of research security concerns, providing a framework to help those working in the [Latin American] region consider how they can enhance their own safety as well as the safety of their associates and research participants."

Human Rights and Democracy: The 2014 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report (UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, March 2015) [text via ReliefWeb]

"The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees," IOM presentation at OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Panel, General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions Meeting, Vienna, 19 February 2015 [text]  

Operational Guidelines on the Minimum Criteria for Livelihoods Programming (UNHCR, March 2015) [text]

Refugees – What's Wrong with History?, Oxford, 4 March 2015 [info]
- Follow link for podcast.

Web site/tool:

70 Years, 70 Documents (UN) [access]
- "To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library is presenting an exploration of the seventy key documents that have shaped the United Nations and our world." The exhibit includes General Assembly resolution 302 (IV), which established UNRWA, and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

MapFight: Your Classroom App [info]
- An app that allows you "to compare countries and states by size."

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: General (2 March 2015)

Tagged Events & Opportunities, Publications and Web Sites/Tools.