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.

New FMR Issue on Humanitarian Reform

The theme of the 29th issue of Forced Migration Review (FMR) is "Humanitarian Reform: Fulfilling its Promise?" Some 25 articles from a range of contributors address the myriad facets of this issue, while another 10 discuss other non-theme issues, including Iraq, Darfur, Colombia, Bulgaria, Bhutanese refugees, accountability, protection, profiling IDP populations, and the role of the private sector.

Previous issues of FMR are available at http://www.fmreview.org/mags1.htm; other language editions - Arabic, French and Spanish - can be accessed at http://www.fmreview.org/OtherLanguageEditions.html.

Posted in Periodicals.

New Pubs. on Climate Change, Durable Solutions, EXCOM, Iraqi Refugees, Refugee Diet

Climate Alarm: Disasters Increase as Climate Change Bites (Oxfam, Nov. 2007) [text]

Human Development Report 2007/2008 (UNDP, Nov. 2007) [access]
- Focus is on the development impact of climate change.

Iraqi Refugees: A Lot of Talk, Little Action (Refugees International, Nov. 2007) [text]

Papers presented to UNHCR EXCOM 2007 (Australian Refugee Rights Alliance, Centre for Refugee Research, Oct. 2007) [access]

Refugee Diet in a context of Urban Displacement (Forced Migration & Refugee Studies Program, AUC, Oct. 2007) [Part one] [Part two]

Refugee Protection and Durable Solutions in the Context of International Migration (UNHCR, Nov. 2007) [text]

Réfugiés Climatiques (Collectif Argos, Nov. 2007) [access]

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

Posted in Publications.

Writing about Refugees: A Competition for Student Journalists

Yet another opportunity for university students to write about refugee and asylum issues is on offer, this time from the Jesuit Refugee Service Europe. Aspiring journalists are invited to compose an article on the theme of "Access to Asylum." Participants must be enrolled in an institute of higher education based in a Council of Europe member state. The deadline for submissions is 22 February 2008. For more information, visit the competition web site. The competition is sponsored by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and MediaWise.


Posted in Events & Opportunities.

New Issues of AJDTS, Asylons, CSD, Disasters, HRQ, Intl. Rev. of the RC, Intervention, JEMS, Yrbk. of IHL

Asylon(s), no. 2 (nov. 2007) [full-text]
- Theme of this issue is "Terrains d'ASILES."

Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, no. 2007-2 (Nov. 2007) [full-text]
- Mix of articles, with several on psychosocial aspects of disasters.

Conflict, Security & Development, vol. 7, no. 4 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including one on conflict-generated diasporas.

Disasters, vol. 31, no. 4 (Dec. 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including one on "Information technologies and the sharing of disaster knowledge."

Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 4 (Nov. 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 89, no. 866 (June 2007) [contents]
- Focus is on "catastrophic events."

Intervention: International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict, vol. 5, no. 3 (Nov. 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles, with two focusing on DDR in Colombia, two looking at programmes for conflict-affected youth, one on psychological support for Iraqi refugees, and one on giving evidence in the Dutch asylum process. Also included is a review of Internet resources relating to "Mental Health and Psychosocial Care for Children and Adolescents."

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 34, no. 1 (2008) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, vol. 8 (Dec. 2005) [contents]
- The year is not a typo! It's just a bit behind schedule, due to the scope of its coverage.

Posted in Periodicals.

Forced Migration Student Conference

The 5th Annual Forced Migration Student Conference will be held 1 March 2008 at the University of Oxford. The theme is "Rethinking Solutions for Forced Migrants." It's organized by postgraduates for postgraduates and practitioners. "The aim of this conference is to give postgraduates the opportunity to present their research in a supportive environment, to meet others researching similar topics, and to engender debate on research in this field."

See the Call for Papers at http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/PDFs/StudConf08.pdf.

Previous student conferences were held in/at:

2003 Oxford Univ.
2004 Warwick Univ.
2005 Oxford Brookes Univ.
2006 Univ. of East London

Posted in Events/Opportunities.

New Pubs. on Civilian Protection, COI Research, Humanitarian Aid, Refugee Children/Scotland, Refugees/Britain, Sri Lanka

Comparative Study on Country of Origin Information Systems: Study on COI Systems in Ten European Countries and the Potential for Further Improvement of COI Co-operation (ICMPD, April 2006) [text]

Country of Origin Information and Women: Researching gender and persecution in the context of asylum and human rights claims (Asylum Aid, Nov. 2007) [text]

Education and Schooling for Asylum-Seeking Refugee Students in Scotland: An Exploratory Study (Scottish Government Social Research, Nov. 2007) [text] [summary version]

From Refugee to Citizen: "Standing On My Own Two Feet" (Institute for Public Policy Research, Oct. 2007) [text]

Humanitarian Agenda 2015: Sri Lanka Country Study (Feinstein International Center, Oct. 2007) [text]

Learning to Read a New Culture: How Immigrant and Asylum Seeking Children Experience Scottish Identity through Classroom Books (Scottish Government Social Research, Nov. 2007) [text]

No Room for Humanitarianism in 3D Policies: Have Forcible Humanitarian Interventions and Integrated Approaches Lost Their Way? (Peacebuilding Development and Security Program, Nov. 2007) [access via ReliefWeb]

Report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, S/2007/643 (UN Security Council, Oct. 2007) [access via UN Pulse]

Posted in Publications.

Archival Collections: Human Rights, Peace Studies, Refugees

The Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research (CHRDR) at Columbia University formally opened its human rights archives to the public in early October. It serves as the official repository for Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights organizations.

Learn more about the human rights archive collection.

The Plowshares Digital Archive for Peace Studies is a repository of primary materials that document the peace and social justice efforts of the Quakers, Mennonites and the Church of the Brethren and of the three colleges that they founded: Earlham, Goshen and Manchester.

Learn more about the peace studies archive collection.

The Refugee Council Archive at UEL comprises four main collections: materials from the Refugee Council UK; photographs, slides and videos in the UNHCR Audio-Visual Collection; grey literature from the Northern Refugee Centre in Sheffield; and documents from Charter 87. Smaller archival collections include the East London Theatre Archive, the Diversity Art Forum Archive, and the Gender, Sexualities and Ethnic Studies Collection.

Learn more about the refugee archives.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

Health-related Resources

Several recently produced and/or newly updated health-related manuals include:

Clinical Guidelines: Diagnosis and Treatment Manual, 7th ed. (Médecins Sans Frontières, updated Sept. 2007) [access to English, French and Spanish versions]

Find the Help You Need: A Guide to Services for Disabled Refugees and Asylum Seekers (National Information Forum, 2007) [text]

Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations: An Inter-Agency Field Manual (Inter-Agency Working Group for Reproductive Health in Crises, Aug. 2007) [text]
- List of corrections to the Inter-agency Field Manual.

Resource Guide for Serving Refugees with Disabilities (U.S. Committee for Refugees, July 2007) [text]

WHO Ethical and safety recommendations for researching, documenting and monitoring sexual violence in emergencies (Aug. 2007) [text]

In addition, the most recent issue of the Coping with Crisis newsletter includes a brief literature review focusing on "Children and Trauma in Areas of Disaster," pp. 16-17.

Posted in Publications.

Measuring and Monitoring Conflicts

Behind the Numbers: Assessing Indices of Peace, Conflict and Instability, USIPeace Briefing (U.S. Institute of Peace, Nov. 2007) [text]
- This briefing summarizes the panel discussions that took place during a USIP event that looked at the utility of conflict indices.

Several other resources can help you monitor new and unfolding conflicts and determine whether existing conflicts are improving or deteriorating.

Barómetro (Escola de Cultura de Pau) [access]
- Quarterly; brief analyses provided of events which occurred during the past quarter in nine sectors: armed conflicts, tensions, peace processes, post-war rehabilitation, humanitarian crises, militarisation and disarmament, human rights, development and gender. More complete report provided in Spanish.

Boletin (Escola de Cultura de Pau) [access]
- Monthly; each issue also includes analysis of an issue which received only limited media coverage.

CrisisWatch (International Crisis Group) [access]
- Monthly, in PDF or Word; subscribe to an email alert to be notified of new issues.

Major Episodes of Political Violence, 1946-2006 (Center for Systemic Peace) [access]
- Updated Sept. 2007; while not a regularly produced publication like the resources above, this site provides perspective on the enduring nature of many of the conflicts that are continuing today.

Posted in Periodicals and Publications.

New Pubs. on ACHPR, Asylum, IDPs/Colombia, IDPs/Ethiopia, Legal Research, Refugees/Thailand, Stateless/Kuwait, Zimbabweans

About Being Without: Stories of Stateless in Kuwait (Refugees International, Oct. 2007) [text]

Asylum Rights Watch: Summary of responses June – September 2007 (Asylum Aid, Oct. 2007) [text]

Ethiopia: Addressing the rights and needs of people displaced by conflict (IDMC, Oct. 2007) [text]

A guide to the African Commission on human and peoples’ rights (Amnesty International, Nov. 2007) [text]

Researching the Legal Aspects of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom (GlobaLex, Nov. 2007) [text]

Resisting displacement by combatants and developers: Humanitarian Zones in north-west Colombia (IDMC, Nov. 2007) [text]

The Situation of the Lao Hmong Refugees in Petchabun, Thailand (Doctors without Borders, Oct. 2007) [text]

Zimbabwe Exodus: Too Little, but Not Too Late (Refugees International, Nov. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal

The plight of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal may soon be resolved. UNHCR announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached to resettle as many as 60,000 Bhutanese refugees to the United States. Over 100,000 refugees have been living in camps in eastern Nepal for an extended period of time, some for as long as 17 years. Those who wish to leave and who are accepted for resettlement may be slated to travel beginning in January 2008.

Some background on this protracted refugee situation is provided in the following resources:

"Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal," State of the World's Refugees 2006 (UNHCR) [text]

Last Hope: The Need for Durable Solutions for Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal and India (Human Rights Watch, May 2007) [text]

Nepal: Time for Bhutanese Refugees to Choose Their Future Path (Refugees International, Oct. 2007) [text]

"Unending Limbo: Warehousing Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal," World Refugee Survey 2004 (U.S. Committee for Refugees) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Issues of ASR, Dev. in Practice, Disasters, NICS, Women's Asylum News

African Security Review, vol. 16, no. 3 (Sept. 2007) [full-text]
- Theme of this issue is "Conflict Prevention and the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ in Africa."

Development in Practice, vol. 17, no. 6 (2007) [contents]
- Focus is on violence and development in Central and South America. Includes article on "Violence in development: the logic of forced displacement on Colombia's Pacific coast."

Disasters, online early articles (Nov. 2007) [contents]
- Includes article on "The sexual and reproductive rights of internally displaced women: the embodiment of Colombia's crisis."

Nutrition Information in Crisis Situations, no. 14 (Sept. 2007) [full-text]

Women's Asylum News, no. 70 (Nov./Dec. 2007) [full-text]
- Includes feature article on "FGM in Kenya."

Posted in Periodicals.

New Pubs. on Asylum/EU, Disaster Law, Persecution of Women, Refugees/China, Refugees/Greece, UNHCR

Asylum in the European Union: A Study of the Implementation of the Qualification Directive (UNHCR, Nov. 2007) [text]

Law and legal issues in international disaster response: a desk study (IFRC, Nov. 2007) [text]

Persécutions des femmes: Savoirs, mobilisations et protections (Editions Du Croquant, Nov. 2007) [access contents, summary, preface and full-text of the introduction]

Refugee Issues relating to China, Statement by Roberta Cohen (Oct. 2007) [text]

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNGA 62nd Session, Supplement No. 12, A/62/12 (UN, 2007) [access via UN Pulse]

"The Truth May be Bitter, but It Must be Told": The Situation of Refugees in the Aegean and the Practices of the Greek Coast Guard (Pro Asyl & Greek Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants, Oct. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Issues of AJCR, APMJ, JHA, IJMS, IJRL, IMR, RSQ

African Journal on Conflict Resolution, vol. 7, no. 1 (2007) [full-text]
- Mix of articles, including "The Case against Taylor’s Asylum: A Review of Nigeria’s Domestic and International Legal Obligations."

Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, vol. 16, no. 3 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (28 Oct. 2007) [full-text]
- Two new articles posted: "Local and Regional Procurement of Food Aid in Africa: Impact and Policy Issues" and "Reversing food insecurity: Linking global commitments to local recovery needs."

International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 19, no. 3 (Oct. 2007) [contents]
- Includes articles on international refugee protection, separated children, Eritrean asylum seekers in Norway, and refugee legislation in Belarus.

International Journal on Multicultural Societies, vol. 9, no. 1 (2007) [full-text]
- The focus of this issue is on migrant integration in rural versus urban areas in new settlement countries; includes an article entitled "Changing Places: Voluntary Sector Work with Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Core and Peripheral Regions of the UK."

International Migration Review, vol. 41, no. 4 (Dec. 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "Darfurian Livelihoods and Libya: Trade, Migration, and Remittance Flows in Times of Conflict and Crisis."

Refugee Survey Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 3 (2007) [contents]
- Theme of this issue is "Researching Refugees: Lessons, Challenges and Way Forward."

Posted in Periodicals.

New RSQ Issue and Blog

A new issue of Refugee Survey Quarterly is out. The theme is "researching refugees." I contributed the article entitled "Keeping up with refugee research" as well as the bibliography of refugee research resources.

I also created a companion blog for my article which I plan to use to report on new services and tools that are available to help researchers keep up with information developments in their field. Hope you find it useful!

Posted in Web Sites/Tools and Periodicals.

EU Developments: Asylum, Human Trafficking, Migration Policy

Asylum:

Comments on the European Commission's Green Paper on the Future of the Common European Asylum System (CEAR) have been gathered together and made available online. Replies through 30 September 2007 were received from member governments, other governments, regional authorities, NGOs, and IGOs.

A recent New Issues in Refugee Research paper, entitled "Fortress Europe and the Iraqi ‘intruders’: Iraqi asylum-seekers and the EU, 2003-2007," contends that the influx of Iraqis seeking asylum has presented the EU with a test of their desire to implement a CEAR through the harmonization of their asylum systems. According to the author, the data "show that so far there is little indication of better convergence in national asylum practice or increased sharing of responsibility to accept asylum-seekers among EU states."

Human Trafficking:

The first EU Anti-Trafficking Day was held 18 October. The aim of the meeting was to endorse "recommendations on identification and referral to services of victims of trafficking in human beings" and "to debate an assessment manual comprising recommended indicators to evaluate and measure the results of anti-trafficking policy in all EU Member States." The web site for the meeting provides access to the various documents that were up for discussion and EU directives concerning steps already taken to combat trafficking.

In addition, a number of NGOs that work on trafficking issues presented a joint statement supporting the call for action made at the meeting.

Migration Policy:

The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) measures how successfully EU countries integrate immigrants.

The European Migration Network's latest annual policy report was issued recently. It includes a brief update on 2006 policy developments relating to refugee protection and asylum in EU Member States.

Posted in Events and Publications.

Redhum

La Red de Información Humanitaria, or Redhum, was officially launched on the last day of the Global Symposium on Humanitarian Information. Redhum is a Spanish-language site that provides information on natural disasters and complex emergencies in Latin America and the Caribbean. It disseminates news, sitreps, maps, vacancy and training announcements, and serves as a regional counterpart to ReliefWeb.

For more information, read this UN news report and OCHA's press release.

Posted in Web Sites.

Conference Presentations: European Ministers of Justice, Global Symposium, Intl. Metropolis Project

Researchers can read reports and statements and, in some cases, even view presentations from several conferences that have recently concluded.

The 12th International Metropolis Conference, which met 8-12 October 2007 in Melbourne, has PowerPoint presentations for many of its presenters at http://www.metropolis2007.org/.

The 28th Conference of European Ministers of Justice, which met 25-26 October 2007 in Spain and focused on "Emerging issues of access to justice for vulnerable groups, in particular migrants and asylum seekers, and children," has statements and reports at http://www.coe.int/t/dg1/legalcooperation/minjust/mju28/default_en.asp.

The Global Symposium +5 ‘Information for Humanitarian Action’, which met from 22-26 October 2007 in Geneva, has video webcasts, PowerPoint presentations and photos at http://www.reliefweb.int/symposium/.

Posted in Events and Publications.

New Pubs. on Children, Darfur, Human Trafficking, Irregular Migration, Press Freedom, Sexual Health

EXCOM Conclusion on Children at Risk, no. 107 (Oct. 2007) [text]

Human Trafficking: Update (House of Lords & House of Commons, Oct. 2007) [text]

Humanitarian advocacy in Darfur: the challenge of neutrality (Humanitarian Policy Group, Oct. 2007) [text]

The myth of invasion: Irregular migration from West Africa to the Maghreb and the European Union (International Migration Institute, Oct. 2007) [text]

Press Freedom Index 2007 (Reporters without Borders, 2007) [text]

Sexual health, asylum seekers and refugees: A handbook for people working with refugees and asylum seekers in England (FPA, 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Pubs. on EXCOM, Human Rights/Iraq, Integration, Palestinian Refugees/Lebanon, Peace Efforts, Reconstruction

Addressing Internal Displacement in Peace Processes, Peace Agreements and Peace-Building (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Sept. 2007) [text]

Developing Media in Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations (USIP, Oct. 2007) [text]

Exiled and Suffering: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon (Amnesty International, Oct. 2007) [text]

Human Rights Report, 1 April to 30 June 2007 (UN Assistance Mission for Iraq , Oct. 2007) [text]

Refugees' Experiences of Integration (Refugee Council and Univ. of Birmingham, Oct. 2007) [access]

Report of the fifty-eighth session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme, A/AC.96/1048, 10 October 2007 [text]

Posted in Publications.

Journal News/New Issues of IFIR, JRS, Resettlement News, Transcult Psych.

Journal News:

Disasters now offers access to articles published online prior to their inclusion in the print edition; visit the OnlineEarly page for titles and abstracts.

Health and Human Rights will become an open access journal online as of the issue Vol. 10, No. 1, January 2008. For more information, visit the journal's web page.

New Issues:

Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 20, no. 3 (Sept. 2007) [contents]
- Includes report of the 10th International Association for the Study of Forced Migration conference, a debate on forced migration studies, and articles on refugees in Glasgow, Melbourne, and Michigan, Japanese asylum policy, the economy of a refugee camp, and UNHCR's Convention Plus initiative.

Newsletter of the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, no. 1 (Sept. 2007) [text]

Resettlement News, no. 16 (July 2007) [text]
- News and reports relating to development induced displacement and resettlement.

Transcultural Psychiatry, vol. 44, no. 3 (Sept. 2007) [contents]
- Focus of this issue is "refugees and forced migration."

Posted in Periodicals.

Humanitarian Information Symposium

The first Symposium on Best Practices in Humanitarian Information Management and Exchange, held in 2002, endorsed a set of principles "now recognised as standards for the collection, processing and dissemination of humanitarian information." The aim of the second Symposium, scheduled for 22-26 October 2007 in Geneva, is to build on the foundations laid five years ago by continuing to identify, discuss and make recommendations for information management approaches in the humanitarian community.

A recent article in Information Management Journal reviews ReliefWeb and its recent redesign process. Other articles that focus on humanitarian information practices can be found in ReliefWeb's documents collection.

Posted in Events and Publications.

New Pubs. on Asylum/EU, Conflict Costs/Africa, Early Warning, Iraqis/EU, Livelihoods/Darfur, Peace Agreements, Refugees, Statistics

Accountability and Peace Agreements: Mapping Trends from 1980 to 2006 (Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Sept. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb]

Africa’s missing billions: International arms flows and the cost of conflict (Oxfam, Oct. 2007) [text]

"Asylum applications in the European Union," Statistics in Focus 110/2007 (Eurostat, Sept. 2007) [text]

Fortress Europe and the Iraqi ‘intruders’: Iraqi asylum-seekers and the EU, 2003-2007, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 144 (UNHCR, Oct. 2007) [text]

Global Survey of Early Warning Systems: Report of the Secretary-General,
A/62/340 (Sept. 2007) [text via UN Pulse]

"Refugee Generating States, Global Inequalities, Feminization, and Individual Strategies: An Assessment at the Beginning of the 21st Century," Refuge and Rejection: The Humanities in the Study of Forced Migration (ASU, Oct. 2007) [text]

Sharpening the Strategic Focus of Livelihoods Programming in the Darfur Region: A report of four livelihoods workshops in the Darfur region (June 30 to July 11, 2007) (Feinstein International Center, Sept. 2007) [text]

Statistics on Displaced Iraqis around the World (UNHCR, Sept. 2007) [text]

Submission from the European Council on Refugees and Exiles in response to the Commission’s Green Paper on the Future Common European Asylum System (COM (2007) 301) (ECRE, Sept. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Event Podcasts

Following on from yesterday's post, podcasts represent yet another tool that can be used to share conference discussions with a wider audience. The Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN) recently posted a podcast of "Can journalists and aid workers trust each other," a meeting held with "ALNAP and Reuters Alertnet to look at the relationship between journalists and aid workers, and the lack of trust that is often a central characteristic of this relationship." For more information about the meeting and access to the podcast, visit HPN's meeting page for the event.

Posted in Events and Web Sites/Tools.

Monitoring Conferences

How can people monitor conferences that they are not able to attend? Here are a few newly available resources:

The International Metropolis Conference is currently under way in Melbourne. Christopher McDowell, the director of the Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK (ICAR), is attending the conference and, in the process, providing brief summaries and assessments of the debates taking place through postings to ICAR's Policyblog. The first was posted on October 8th. The conference continues through the 12th. Presentations from past conferences are available on the Metropolis Project's web site.

The latest issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies has been published. It includes reflections on the last International Association of Forced Migration Studies (IASFM) conference, which was held in Toronto in 2006. A conference blog also provided summaries of quite a few of the discussions. Unfortunately, IASFM does not provide abstracts of past meetings on its web site.

Posted in Events and Web Sites/Tools.

New Periodical Issues: Harvard Human Rights J., JEMS, Migration Lett., Researcher, Torture

Harvard Human Rights Journal, vol. 20 (Spring 2007) [full-text]

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 33, no. 8 (2007) [contents]

Migration Letters, vol. 4, no. 2 (Oct. 2007) [full-text]
- Special issue on "Migration and Human Security in the Balkans."

The Researcher, vol. 2, no. 3 (Sept. 2007) [full-text]

Torture Journal, vol. 17, no. 2 (2007) [full-text]
- Shared reports from the IRCT Symposium on Torture, the theme for which was "Providing Reparation and Treatment, Preventing Impunity."

Posted in Periodicals.

New Pubs. on Asylum-Seekers/Malta, Evaluations, Expulsion/Russia, Famine Relief/Zimbabwe, Health, HIV/AIDS, IDPs, Iraqis, Peace Efforts, Women

Access to health care and human rights of asylum seekers in Malta: Experiences, results and recommendations (Médecins du Monde, 2007) [text]

Fighting HIV/AIDS together with refugees and internally displaced populations: Summary of 2006 UNHCR Missions (UNHCR, Sept. 2007) [text]

Impact Assessment of the Gokwe Integrated Recovery Action Project Zimbabwe (Feinstein International Center, August 2007) [text]

Real-time Evaluations of UNHCR's Involvement in Operations for Internally Displaced Persons and the Cluster Approach: Analysis of Findings, EC/58/SC/CRP.23 (EXCOM Standing Committee, August 2007) [text]

Report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security, S/2007/567 (12 Sept. 2007) [text via UN Pulse]

Singled Out: Russia’s Detention and Expulsion of Georgians (Human Rights Watch, Oct. 2007) [text]

"Where to Now? Decreasing Options for Displaced Iraqis," by A. Harper, Migration Information Source (Sept. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

UNHCR Executive Committee, 58th Session

The 58th session of UNHCR's Executive Committee began yesterday and will continue through Friday, October 5th.

Relevant documents:

- See the provisional agenda for more details of topics that will be addressed throughout the week.

- Consult the schedule for when and where events take place.

- Read the opening speech of the High Commissioner, Mr. António Guterres.

- Browse the reports and documents that will be discussed during the session.

The Nansen Refugee Award ceremony was held the evening of October 1st, honoring Katrine Camilleri, a lawyer with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Malta.

Posted in Publications and Events.

New Pubs. on Drug Donations, Intl. Law, Palestinian Refugees/Iraq, Post-Conflict, ReliefWeb, Separated Children

Dealing with the Past in Post-Conflict Societies: Ten Years after the Peace Accords - in Guatemala and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Swiss Peace Annual Conference, Sept. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb]

Determining the Best Interests of Unaccompanied and Separated Children: Lessons from Guinea (International Rescue Committee, Sept. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb]

"Drug Donations in Emergencies, the Sri Lankan post-tsunami experience," by R. Hechmann, Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (26 Sept. 2007) [text]

International Law Commission: Report on the work of its fifty-ninth session (7 May to 5 June and 9 July to 10 August 2007), A/62/10; see esp. Chapter 6, “Expulsion of Aliens” (UN, 2007) [text]

Iraq: Human rights abuses against Palestinian refugees (Amnesty International, Oct. 2007) [text]

"Redesigning the ReliefWeb," by S. Naidoo, in Information Management Journal (Sept. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

2007 UNHCR/NGO Consultations

The annual consultations between UNHCR and NGOs began yesterday and will continue through the 28th. Discussions will focus on a variety of themes, including: partnership and accountability, durable solutions, protection in mixed migration flows, creating safe schools, delivering humanitarian assistance and protection in complex emergencies, and refugee resettlement. The agenda provides more details.

One aim of the consultations is to consider promoting an EXCOM Conclusion on refugee self-reliance. Background documents relating to this session can be retrieved here.

Several side meetings are also taking place; these are described in a separate agenda.

A profile of the NGOs participating in this year's consultations is available for review.

A final report of the meeting will eventually be issued. Reports from previous years' meetings can be accessed via UNHCR's NGO web page.

For more information and a complete overview of events occurring during these three-day consultations, please visit http://www.unhcr.org/ngo-consultations/.

Posted in Publications and Events.

New Pubs. on Asylum Decisions/U.S., Children in Armed Conflict, Good Governance/Africa, IDPs/Sri Lanka & Uganda, Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Asylum Disparities Persist, Regardless of Court Location and Nationality (TRAC, Sept. 2007) [text]

The building blocks of sustainable peace: The views of internally displaced people in Northern Uganda, Oxfam Briefing Paper 106 (Sept. 2007) [text]

Civilians in the way of conflict: Displaced people in Sri Lanka (IDMC, Sept. 2007) [text]

Getting the Policies Right: The Prioritization and Sequencing of Policies in Post-Conflict Countries, by A. R. Timilsina (RAND Dissertation, 2007) [access]

Ibrahim Index of African Governance (Sept. 2007) [access]
- Assessment of governance quality in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict,
A/62/228 (Aug. 2007) [access via UN Pulse]

Posted in Publications.

New Reports on Iraqi Displacement Crisis

Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries: Second Quarter 2007 (UNHCR, Sept. 2007) [text]
- See also the related UNHCR press release entitled, "Almost 20,000 Iraqis seek asylum in industrialized world in first half of 2007" (21 Sept. 2007).

IOM Emergency Needs Assessments: Post Feb. 2006 Displacement in Iraq (15 Sept. 2007) [text]

Meeting the Health Needs of Iraqis Displaced in Neighbouring Countries: Joint Appeal by UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (18 Sept. 2007) [text]

Millions in Flight: The Iraqi Refugee Crisis (Amnesty International, 24 Sept. 2007) [text] [press release]

Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2008: Report to Congress (U.S. State Dept., Sept. 2007) [text]
- Includes figures for and information re. Iraqi refugee admissions and processing.

Posted in Publications.

New Pubs.: Education, Human Trafficking, Indonesia, Peace, Return, Standing Comm., Zambia

Asylum from Trafficking: A Failure of Protection, Immigration Briefings (July 2007, posted by DocuTicker, Sept. 2007) [text]

Country of Return Information (CRI) Project, Country Sheets (Aug. 2007) [access]
- See the Project web site for more info.

Documents from the 19-20 September 2007 Standing Committee Meeting (UNHCR, Sept. 2007) [access]

Dynamics of Conflict and Displacement in Papua, Indonesia: A collection of papers developed in conjunction with a one-day workshop held on the 26th October 2006 at St. Antony’s College, Oxford, RSC Working Paper no. 42 (RSC, Sept. 2007) [text]

New Policy Solutions for Closing Educational Gaps for Immigrant Children (Migration Policy Institute, Sept. 2007) [access]
- Announcement of three new policy papers that focus on education for immigrant children.

"Peace operations: The clash of moral and strategic demands," Enjeux Internationaux, no. 16 (2007) [text]

Rights Here, Rights Now: Recommendations for Protecting Trafficked Children (ECPAT UK & UNICEF UK, Sept. 2007) [text]

Zambia: Analysis of the Gaps in Protection of Refugees (UNHCR, Sept. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Peace Publications

Following up on my post yesterday about measuring peace trends, some of the data cited in the CDH report came from the School for a Culture of Peace in Barcelona. The specific source referenced is the 2007 Peace Process Yearbook (available in English and Spanish).

Other information resources the School makes available include:
- Semáforo, fortnightly news service;
- Monthly newsletter;
- Barómetro, a quarterly analysis of trends in nine areas: armed conflicts, tensions, peace processes, post-war rehabilitation, humanitarian crises, militarisation and disarmament, human rights, development and gender; and
- Alert, an annual state of the world assessment of the above areas.

Posted in Publications.

New Issues of Disaster Prev. & Mgmt., E&R Studies, EJML, Hom. & Mig., Intl. Mig.

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 16, no. 4 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 30, no. 5 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

European Journal of Migration and Law, vol. 9, no. 3 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Hommes et Migrations, no. 1266 (mars/avril 2007) [contents, selected full-text]
- Focus is on "Nouvelles figures de l’immigration en France et en Méditerranée."

International Migration, vol. 45, no. 4 (Oct. 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Posted in Periodicals.

Measuring Trends in Peace, Conflict and Refugee Protection

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue recently published Charting the Roads to Peace: Facts, Figures and Trends in Conflict Resolution (Sept. 2007), which provides a statistical overview of global peace developments. As the introduction notes, this reflects a growing movement in the use of quantitative data to analyze and interpret trends in conflicts and peace processes.

Mirroring this trend, UNHCR undertook a pilot project to represent the organization's protection activities from a quantitative perspective. The result, Measuring Protection by Numbers (Nov. 2006), "provide[s] valuable indicators of protection gaps, illustrate[s] emerging trends and developments over time, and serve[s] as a measure of the impact of our protection activities."

The U.S. Institute of Peace just convened a panel to discuss "Behind the Numbers: Assessing Indices of Peace, Conflict, and Instability" (17 Sept. 2007). The primary question posed was "Can peace and stability be measured?." The following indices were examined as part of the discussion:
- Failed States Index
- Global Peace Index
- Peace and Conflict Instability Ledger

Posted in Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Developments in Europe

The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) offers a useful weekly round-up of news on developments in Europe, at both the regional and national levels. The service was discontinued temporarily during the summer, but has now resumed operation once again with a September 15 update.

Here are links to some of the reports referenced in the update:

Country Reports (European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 2007) [access]
- Latest reports are highlighted on the CPT's home page; others can be accessed through the CPT database.

Forced to Flee: frequently asked questions about refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland (Refugee Action Group, June 2007) [text]

Forgotten without Reason: Protection of Non-Refugee Stateless Persons in Central Europe (Hungarian Helsinki Committee, June 2007) [text]

Report on Racism and Xenophobia in the Member States of the EU (EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, August 2007) [text]

Third Annual Report on Migration and Integration (European Commission, Sept. 2007) [text]

Unwelcome Responsibilities: Spain’s Failure to Protect the Rights of Unaccompanied Migrant Children in the Canary Islands (Human Rights Watch, July 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

New Pubs.: Children/Sudan, IDPs/DRC, Mental Health/Sri Lanka, Religious Freedom, Somalis/Kenya

2007 Report on International Religious Freedom (U.S. Dept. of State, Sept. 2007) [text]

"After the Wave: A Pilot Project to Develop Mental Health Services in Ampara District, Sri Lanka Post-Tsunami," Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (Sept. 2007) [text]

Protracted displacement and remittances: The case of Somalis in Eastleigh, Nairobi, New Issues in Refugee Research Paper No. 143 (UNHCR, Aug. 2007) [text]

Real-time evaluation of UNHCR's IDP operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, PDES/2007/02 - RTE 5 (UNHCR, Sept. 2007) [text]

Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in the Sudan, S/2007/520 (UN Security Council, Aug. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Periodical Issues: Archives Focus, FEX, Monday Dev., Women's Asylum News

Archive Focus, vol. 1, no. 1 (Sept. 2007) [text]
- Inaugural issue from the Refugee Archives, UEL.

Field Exchange, no. 31 (Sept. 2007) [text]
- From the Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN).

Monday Developments, vol. 25, no. 8 (Aug. 2007) [text]
- From InterAction; focus is on climate change.

Women's Asylum News, no. 69 (Sept./Oct. 2007) [text]
- From the Refugee Women's Resource Project (RWRP).

Posted in Periodicals.

New Pubs.: Burmese Refugees, IDPs/Somalia, Migration, Refugees/Zambia, Returnees/Sudan

Gaining from Migration: Towards a New Mobility System (OECD, Sept. 2007) [text]

Information Services for Refugee Communities in Zambia, Paper presented at 73rd IFLA General Conference (15 Aug. 2007) [text]

Library Services for Displaced People: Activities in Burmese Refugee Camps, Paper presented at 73rd IFLA General Conference (15 Aug. 2007) [text]

The long road home: Opportunities and obstacles to the reintegration of IDPs and refugees returning to Southern Sudan and the Three Areas. Report of Phase I (Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI, Aug. 2007) [text]

Real time evaluation of UNHCR's IDP operation in Somalia, PDES/2007/02 - RTE 4 (Sept. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Survey of Palestinian Refugees & IDPs

The 2006-2007 edition of BADIL's Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons was released today. This resource begins with an historical overview of Palestinian displacement, provides facts and figures about the current Palestinian refugee/IDP population and their status, reviews assistance and protection measures, and concludes with a discussion of attempts to find durable solutions for this longstanding displacement crisis. A glossary, statistical tables, and maps are included.

Posted in Publications.

Highlighting New Books

I recently inserted a new feature into the right-hand sidebar of this blog: New Books. The titles are sourced from Amazon.com. The listing is compiled from RSS feeds that I have generated using this tool. Basically, I enter various keywords, create the feeds, and copy and paste them into Google Reader (the application I use to read my RSS feeds). When relevant titles that have recently been published show up as matches to my keywords, I mark them to "share" (a feature in Google Reader) and in turn they display in the "new books" box on my blog.

While the listing is certainly not an exhaustive inventory of all new book titles for a given month, I hope it is a useful mechanism for alerting researchers to some of the work that has been done in their field of interest.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

New Pubs. on Civil-Military Guidelines, Economic Opps., EU Asylum, IDPs, Migration Policy

Expert Seminar on Protracted IDP Situations (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, June 2007; posted August 2007) [text]

Guidelines for Relations between U.S. Armed Forces and Non-Governmental Humanitarian Organizations in Hostile or Potentially Hostile Environments (InterAction, posted August 2007) [text]

On Migration and the Policy Process, Working Paper no. T20 (Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation & Poverty, August 2007) [text]

Rebuilding Lives: Refugee Economic Opportunities in a New Land (Women's Commission, August 2007) [text]

Response to the European Commission’s Green Paper on the Future Common European Asylum System (UNHCR, Sept. 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Periodical Issues: CSD, DPR, ICRC Review, SDI

Conflict, Security and Development, vol 7, no. 3 (2007) [contents]
- Focus is on disarmament, demobilisation & reintegration (DDR); includes an article on protracted refugee situations.

Development Policy Review, vol. 25, no. 5 (Sept. 2007) [contents, selected full-text]
- Special issue focusing on the "developmental state": "the issue seeks to inform the process of rethinking how more effective and responsive states can be (re)built – and what the role of the international assistance community may be in that process." Note: This issue will be launched at an ODI event in October.

International Review of the Red Cross, no. 865 (2007) [full-text]
- The theme of this issue is "humanitarian actors," with a particular focus on the role of private miliary companies in armed conflict situations.

Security Dialogue, vol. 38, no. 3 (Sept. 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Posted in Periodicals.

New Publications/Event relating to Displacement in Iraq

"Escape into insecurity: Iraqi refugees find a precarious home in Jordan," National Catholic Reporter (3 August 2007) [text]

The Ongoing Plight of Iraqi Refugees, 10 September 2007 [info.]
- This panel will be hosted by the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, DC. The speakers are scheduled to discuss their recent mission to the Middle East "to observe the plight of refugees fleeing the conflict in Iraq." A press release regarding the mission was recently issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Security, Displacement and Iraq: A Deadly Combination (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, August 2007) [text]

UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-Seekers (August 2007) [text]

Update for partners on the situation of children in Iraq (UNICEF, August 2007) [text]


Posted in Publications and Events.

More on the Media and Humanitarian Crises

I posted recently on the role of the media in humanitarian crises. Another aspect of these topic will be explored in an ALNAP/HPN/ODI/AlertNet-hosted panel entitled, "The blame game: Can journalists and aid workers trust each other?," scheduled for 24 September at ODI in London. Sign up to attend at ODI's events page.


Posted in Events.

New Issues of Disasters, HRQ, JHA, Refugees; new migration journal

New Issues:

Disasters, vol. 31, no. 3 (Sept. 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 3 (August 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (August 2007) [full-text]
- New article posted on humanitarianism and the Muslim world.

Refugees Magazine, no. 147 (August 2007) [full-text]
- Special issue on stateless people.

New Journal:

Migrations & Identities, Liverpool University Press [access]
- Published twice a year, inaugural issue in Spring 2008.

Posted in Periodicals.

Child Soldiers

A few recent reports/articles relating to child soldiers:

Child Soldiers: New Evidence, New Advocacy Approaches, USIP Briefing (August 2007) [text]

Report of the International Forum on armed groups and the involvement of children in armed conflict: Summary of themes and discussions, Château de Bossey, Switzerland, 4-7 July 2006 (August 2007) [text]
- Background documents prepared for the forum and referenced in the report are available on the web site of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

"Violence and Human Rights: A JAMA Theme Issue," Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 298, no. 5 (1 August 2007) [abstracts]
- Several articles focus on the mental health consequences of exposure to war trauma, with one focusing on former Ugandan and Congolese child soldiers.

Posted in Publications.

The Media and Humanitarian Crises

The Brookings Institution recently launched a series of meetings on "the relationship of the media, relief agencies and the US government in determining humanitarian response. The purpose of the series is to analyze trends in media coverage of world-wide humanitarian crises and the impact this coverage has on government policies, relief operations, and ultimately on the victims of the crises." The first seminar focused on reporting crises, and included discussions of the problem of forgotten emergencies. The next two seminars, to be held in the fall 2007, will focus on "Bloggers, buzz and soundbites" and "Public diplomacy, military involvement, humanitarian response and the media."

The interplay among the media, NGOs, and governments in humanitarian crises and conflict situations can be complex. A recent report from the Instituto de Estudios sobre Conflictos y Acción Humanitaria (IECAH) attempts to analyze and shed light on these relationships.

In May the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a meeting on "The Role of the Media in Conflict," which looked at the impact the media can have both on conflict prevention as well as on the escalation of conflict. A briefing note summarizing the discussions was issued in July.

Reporting in conflict situations is inherently risky. The International News Safety Institute and the International Federation of Journalists Africa Office teamed up to produce "Live News Africa: A Survival Guide for Journalists" (July 2007), to help journalists learn how to reduce risks when covering wars and other conflicts.

Posted in Publications and Events.

Southern Refugee Legal Advocates Network

The Southern Refugee Legal Advocates Network (SRLAN) was established in January 2007 with the aim of being able to "advocate more effectively on behalf of refugees as a collective." The FMO blog announced that the network's Charter, Code of Ethics and report of the January meeting are now available in the forced migration digital library. The report includes a listing of legal aid clinics and resource persons based in Southern Africa.

SRLAN will hold its first annual meeting in September 2007, in conjunction with the UNHCR/NGO Consultations.

Posted in Publications and Web Sites.