New Pubs. on Climate Change, Detention, Diaspora, IDPs/Uganda, Refugee Protection/Europe

A Climate of Conflict: The Links between Climate Change, Peace and War (International Alert, Nov. 2007) [access]

Climate Change and Forced Migration: Observations, Projections and Implications (UNDP, Dec. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb]

Defending Refugees' Access to Protection in Europe (ECRE, Dec. 2007) [text via Refworld]

Links between Natural Disasters, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Risk Reduction: A Critical Perspective (UNDP, Dec. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb]

Living Across Worlds: Diaspora, Development and Transnational Engagement (IOM, Dec. 2007) [access]

Migration-Related Detention: A Research Guide on Human Rights Standards Relevant to the Detention of Migrants, Asylum-seekers and Refugees (Amnesty International, Nov. 2007) [text]

Returning to uncertainty? Adressing vulnerabilities in Northern Uganda (Fafo, Dec. 2007) [report text] [presentation]

Posted in Publications.

Top Ten Lists

Today, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) released its 10th annual "Top Ten Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories" for 2007. The stories focused on the situations in the Central African Republic, Chechnya, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe, as well as the problems of acute malnutrition and TB. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) noted that the list includes "six crises facing populations displaced by conflict."

In its December issue, the Migration Information Source presented a Top Ten list of its own, highlighting some of the key migration issues of 2007. Number two is "Iraqi Refugees: Diminished Options and Little US Support."

Posted in Publications.

More on Iraqi Refugees

Addendum to UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-Seekers (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Iraqi Population Survey in Lebanon (Danish Refugee Council, Nov. 2007) [text]

Iraqi Refugees: Fresh Research Studies (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Iraqi Refugees: Seeking Stability in Syria and Jordan (Institute for the Study of International Migration & Center for International and Regional Studies, Nov. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Research Papers/Policy Briefs

Adepoju, A. et al., "Promoting integration through mobility: free movement and the ECOWAS Protocol," New Issues in Refugee Research No. 150 (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Gibson, J., "The removal of failed asylum seekers: international norms and procedures," New Issues in Refugee Research No. 145 (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Herz, M., "Refugee camps in Chad: planning strategies and the architect's involvement in the humanitarian dilemma," New Issues in Refugee Research No. 147 (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Lindley, A. and N. Van Hear, "New Europeans on the move: a preliminary review of the onward migration of refugees within the European Union," Compas Working Paper No. 57 (2007) [text]

Munteanu, A., "Secondary movement in Romania: the asylum-migration nexus," New Issues in Refugee Research No. 148 (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Refugee Law Project, "What about us? The Exclusion of urban IDPs from Uganda's IDP related policies and interventions," Briefing Paper (Dec. 2007) [text]

RMMRU, "Accessing Rights as Citizens: The Camp-based Urdu Speaking Community in Bangladesh," Policy Brief No. 2 (Sept. 2007) [text]

Saito, K., "International protection for trafficked persons and those who fear being trafficked," New Issues in Refugee Research No. 149 (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Zaat, K., "The protection of forced migrants in Islamic law," New Issues in Refugee Research No. 146 (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Education Resources

The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children recently released a new handbook entitled Your Right to Education: A Handbook for Refugees and Displaced Communities (2007). A companion User Guide and Activities Guide provide ideas on how to use the Handbook to raise awareness and stimulate discussion in individual communities.

An earlier book, Right to Education during Displacement: A Resource for Organizations Working with Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (2006), "was developed for international and local organizations, the United Nations and governments" to promote better access to education by displaced communities.

Other resources and tools that can be used to plan for and promote education during emergencies include:

Guidebook for Planning Education in Emergencies and Reconstruction (International Institute for Educational Planning, 2006)

UNHCR Education Standards and Indicators Handbook (UNHCR, 2006)

INEE Technical Kit on Education in Emergencies and Early Recovery (INEE, 2004)

Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, 2004)

Education Field Guidelines (UNHCR, 2003)

Education in Emergencies: A Tool Kit for Starting and Managing Education in Emergencies (Save the Children, 2003)

Posted in Publications.

New Issue of Refugees Magazine

The December 2007 issue of Refugees magazine has been published. Its theme is "Refugee or Migrant? Why It Matters." Both an HTML version and a PDF version of the magazine are available.

To coincide with the High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges, the UNHCR web site recently launched a new sub-section which examines many of the same concerns addessed in the Refugees magazine issue. It's called "Asylum & Migration - All in the Same Boat: The Challenges of Mixed Migration."

Posted in Periodicals and Web Sites.

New World Disasters Report

The 2007 edition of the World Disasters Report was launched today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The focus is on "tackling discrimination in disasters." Read the press release for an overview.

This is the first issue that the IFRC has made available online in full-text (by chapter or the whole report). French and Spanish versions are also available (individual chapter summaries and report summary), as well as a summary of the report in Arabic.

Posted in Publications.

Podcasts: Education in Emergencies, Humanitarian Work, Vulnerable Women

I noted earlier that Forced Migration Online (FMO) has started posting podcast interviews with forced migration experts. Examples of podcasts available from other humanitarian organizations include the following:

UNICEF has launched a new podcast series - "Beyond School Books" - that focuses on education in emergencies. The first in the series is "When Crises Strike Children: Education as a Human Right and Long-Term Development Tool," and features interviews with Radhika Coomaraswamy and Gene Sperling.

The UK Refugee Council's podcast series highlights the organization's work with vulnerable refugee and asylum-seeking women. It features interviews with different women about the difficulties they have faced.

The International Rescue Committee offers podcasts that provide updates on the humanitarian work of IRC staff around the world. The most recent one focuses on the situation in the DRC.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

Humanitarian Assistance Studies

Several humanitarian studies programmes with start dates in the new year are on offer:

Global Fields Institute, Diploma in Humanitarian Program Management, 13 weeks duration with opportunity to start in January
- Distance learning programme.

Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, Management of Humanitarian Interventions, January-March 2008 (application deadline is 18 January 2008)
- Part on-site, part distance learning programme.

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance, 25 February 2008 – 4 April 2008 (places are still available)
- On-site programme.

Sida, Introduction to Humanitarian Assistance, 3-14 March 2008 (apply by 8 February 2008)
- On-site programme.

Tufts University, one-year Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance (application deadline is 31 January 2008)
- On-site programme.

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

New Pubs. on Burma, COI, Refugee Integration, Return/Balkans, Sexual Violence/Darfur, Sovereignty, UNHCR & EU

1st COI Master Class, 19 – 21 June, Vienna: Final Report (Austrian Red Cross & ACCORD, Nov. 2007) [text]

Current Challenges for Returns in the Western Balkans: An NGO Perspective (ECRE, Oct. 2007) [text; launched at Nov. conference in Dubrovnik]

Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma (COHRE, Dec. 2007) [access]

Ending Sexual Violence in Darfur: An Advocacy Agenda (Refugees International, Dec. 2007) [text]

"Humanitarian Imperatives are Transforming Sovereignty," Northwestern Journal of International Affairs (Winter 2008) [text]

Refugees’ Experiences of Integration Policy related findings on employment, ESOL and vocational training (Refugee Council & Univ. of Birmingham, Nov. 2007 [access]

UNHCR’s Recommendations to the Slovenian Presidency of the European Union, January – June 2008 (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

December 10: Human Rights Day

Human Rights Day is commemorated on December 10, in recognition of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The official UN site for the event is located at http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2007/. As noted, the 2008 theme is "Dignity and justice for all of us." More information about the theme and year-long campaign to raise awareness about the relevance of the UDHR is provided by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR).


Posted in Events.

IDP Event/Reports

A USIP event scheduled for December 14 will focus on "Addressing Internally Displaced Persons in a Peace Process." The speaker will be Khalid Koser of the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, which recently published a report entitled "Addressing Internal Displacement in Peace Processes, Peace Agreements and Peace-Building" (Sept. 2007).

The linkage between internal displacement and peace processes was identified as one of a number of issues to include on an IDP research agenda during a meeting in Cairo held earlier in the year. (The complete report is available on the Brookings web site.) The latest Forced Migration Review includes an article summarizing the results of those discussions. It notes that talks will continue at the next IASFM conference in January 2008, also to be held in Cairo.

Posted in Events and Publications.

New Issues of Disaster Prev. & Mgmt., ERS, IJMHSC, Intl. Mig., JRS, MIS

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 16, no. 5 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of disaster-related articles.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 30, no. 6 (2007) [contents]
- Theme of this issue is "New Directions in the Anthropology of Migration and Multiculturalism."

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 3, no. 2 (Oct. 2007) [contents, sample article]
- Mix of articles, including one on the eating patterns of dispersed asylum seekers.

International Migration, vol. 45, no. 5 (Dec. 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including one on reintegration of ex-combatants.

Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 20, no. 4 (Dec. 2007) [contents]
- Includes articles on Afghan refugees, return from Sweden, self-settled refugees in Uganda, psychosocial issues for South Sudanese men, reintegration of formerly abducted boys in Uganda, and refugee reparations.

Migration Information Source (Dec. 2007) [full-text]
- Focus feature of this month's edition is the "Top 10 Migration Issues of 2007."

Posted in Periodicals.

Update on Iraqi Refugees

Several recent reports review the situation of Iraqi refugees generally and in neighboring countries:

General: "Iraq: Growing Needs Amid Continuing Displacement," Forced Migration Review, no. 29 (Nov. 2007) [text]

Egypt: "Iraqi Refugees in Egypt," Forced Migration Review, no. 29 (Nov. 2007) [text]

Jordan: Study of Iraqis in Jordan (Fafo, Nov. 2007) [access]

Lebanon: Rot Here or Die There: Bleak Choices for Iraqi Refugees in Lebanon (Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2007) [access]

Syria: Iraq: UNHCR cautious about returns (UNHCR, Nov. 2007) [text]

U.S. Resettlement: "Too Little Progress on Iraqi Resettlement," WorldBridge: Refugees International Blog (Dec. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Pubs. on Afghanistan, AIDS, Asylum/EU, Iraq, Migration/Africa, Public Health, Suicide, Women Asylum-Seekers

11th European Country of Origin Information Seminar, Vienna, 21-22 June 2007, Country Reports (Nov. 2007) [access]
- Country reports published on Afghanistan and Iraq.

African Migration Workshop, Accra, Ghana, September 2007, Papers (Nov. 2007) [access]
- Abstracts/full-text papers in English and French.

Asylum Deaths: What to do Next (Institute of Race Relations, Nov. 2007) [access]

Asylum is not gender neutral: Protecting women seeking asylum (European Women's Lobby & Refugee Women's Resource Project, Nov. 2007) [text]

Public health, conflict and human rights: toward a collaborative research agenda, Conflict and Health 2007, 1:11 (Nov. 2007) [text]

Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2007 (UNAIDS, Dec. 2007) [acesss via ReliefWeb]

Transposition of the Asylum Procedures Directive (European Commission, Dec. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.