Opportunities: Employment, Writing

Job vacancies:

Amnesty International: Researcher/Adviser - Refugee and Migrants' Rights [info]
- Apply by 26 Sept. 2010.

Forced Migration Review: Part-time Promotion and Funding Assistant [info]
- Apply by 15 Sept. 2010.

Refugee Studies Centre: Part-time Communications and Publications Assistant [info]
- Apply by 15 Sept. 2010.

Writing opps.:

Article on Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Minors [info]
- No deadline specified.

Essay Competition for Young Scholars on "The politics of climate change and population movement/displacement in the Middle East and North Africa" [info]
- Submit abstract by 1 Oct. 2010.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Articles: Child Soldiers, Ecol. Ref., Influenza/Thail.-Myan., Lang./Switz., R2P & Natural Dis., Terrorism & Persec., Zimb. Unacc. Minors/S. Africa

"Does the Fear of Terrorists Trump the Fear of Persecution in Asylum Outcomes in the Post-September 11 Era?," PS: Political Science, vol. 43, no. 3 (July 2010) [text]

"Ecological Refugees, State Borders, and the Lockean Proviso," Journal of Applied Philosophy, forthcoming (SSRN, July 2010) [preprint]

"Influenza in Refugees on the Thailand–Myanmar Border, May–October 2009," Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 19, no. 9 (Sept. 2010) [text]

"Is the Failure to Respond Appropriately to a Natural Disaster a Crime Against Humanity? The Responsibility to Protect and Individual Criminal Responsibility in the Aftermath of Cyclone Nargis," Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, vol. 38, no. 2 (Spring 2010) [text]

"The plight of Zimbabwean unaccompanied refugee minors in South Africa: a call for comprehensive legislative action," Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, forthcoming (Sept. 2010) [text]

"Sinners or Saints: Child Soldiers and the Persecutor Bar to Asylum after Negusie V. Holder," Boston College Third World Law Journal, forthcoming (SSRN, July 2010) [text]

"What do language barriers cost? An exploratory study among asylum seekers in Switzerland," BMC Health Services Research 10:248 (Aug. 2010) [open access text]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Climate Displ./Pakistan, Conflict/Uganda, Human Traff. Res., ILO Crisis Resp., North Koreans/US, Refugee Children/Europe

Foraging and Fighting: Community Perspectives on Natural Resources and Conflict in Southern Karamoja (Feinstein International Center, Aug. 2010) [text]

Humanitarian Assistance: Status of North Korean Refugee Resettlement and Asylum in the United States (GAO, June 2010) [text]

ILO's Role in Conflict and Disaster Settings: Guides and Toolkit (ILO, 2010) [text]

Ready or not, climate change, and climate displacement, is happening (World Bridge Blog, Aug. 2010) [text]
- Focus is on Pakistan.

Refugee children should have a genuine chance to seek asylum (Human Rights Comment Blog, Aug. 2010) [text]

United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, A/RES/64/293 (UN General Assembly, Aug. 2010) [text via UN Pulse]

Tagged Publications.

New Issue of Journal of Refugee Studies

A new issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies is now available. The contents of vol. 23, no. 3 (Sept. 2010) include:

• Stranded Migrants and the Fragmented Journey [free full-text]
• Muslim Asylum-Seekers and Refugees: Negotiating Identity, Politics and Religion in the UK [abstract]
• Where and When is Home? The Double Displacement of Georgian IDPs from Abkhazia [abstract]
• Hospitality: Becoming ‘IDPs’ and ‘Hosts’ in Protracted Displacement [abstract]
• Exploring the Impact of Displacement and Encampment on Domestic Violence in Kakuma Refugee Camp [abstract]
• Explaining the Refugee Gap: Economic Outcomes of Refugees versus Other Immigrants [free full-text]

Also included are seven book reviews.

Tagged Periodicals.

New Issues of Dev. in Pract., EJML, Med. Confl. & Surv., Ref. Watch, RSQ, Women's Asylum News

Development in Practice, vol. 20, no. 7 (2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

European Journal of Migration and Law, vol. 12, no. 3 (2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "Judicial Protection and the New European Asylum Regime."

Medicine, Conflict and Survival, vol. 26, no. 2 (2010) [contents]
- Focus is on "Health, Peace and Conflict: Roles for Health Professionals." Includes "Feelings of betrayal by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and emotionally distressed Sudanese refugees in Cairo."

Refugee Survey Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 4 (2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles on migration, governance and human rights.

Refugee Survey Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 1 (2010) [contents]
- This issue reproduces presentations from a panel entitled "Governance Beyond Boundaries," that was organized for the 12th Conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration, held in Cyprus, 28 June to 2 July 2009. Articles include "The Refugee Regime Complex," "The Perils of Humanitarianism: Refugee and IDP Protection in Situations of Regime-induced Displacement," "Governance and Prima Facie Refugee Status Determination: Clarifying the Boundaries of Temporary Protection, Group Determination, and Mass Influx," "Refugees, Europe, Camps/State of Exception: “Into The Zone”, the European Union and Extraterritorial Processing of Migrants, Refugees, and Asylum-seekers (Theories and Practice)," "Global Governance and International Migration: A Case Study of Trafficking of Human Being," "The Refugee–Trafficking Nexus: Making Good (The) Connections," among others.

Refugee Watch Online (Aug. 2010) [full-text]
- This online supplement to the print version of Refugee Watch has just uploaded several new articles including "Internally Displaced Persons in Sri Lanka: Catering for their Special Needs for Protection and Assistance" and "Local Initiatives in Bridging & Strengthening Relationship among IDPS and the Host in the District of Puttalam, Sri Lanka."

Women’s Asylum News, no. 94 (August 2010) [full-text]
- Lead article is "New research by Rights of Women expresses serious concerns about how the UK Border Agency responds to violence against women."

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Annual Consultations Rpt., Livelihoods/OPT, Natural Dis./Haiti & Pakistan, Protection/Southern Africa, Stateless Persons, Uzbekistan

Between the Fence and a Hard Place: The Humanitarian Impact of Israeli-imposed Restrictions on Access to Land and Sea in the Gaza Strip (OCHA OPT & WFP, Aug. 2010) [text]

Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons: Introductory Note (UN Audiovisual Library of International Law, Aug. 2010) [text]

Earthquakes and Floods: Comparing Haiti and Pakistan (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Aug. 2010) [text]

Refugee protection and international migration: A review of UNHCR's role in Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa (UNHCR, Aug. 2010) [text]

Report on the Annual Consultations with Non-Governmental Organizations (UNHCR, Aug. 2010) [text]
- See also NGO Rapporteur's Report.

Uzbekistan: Committed Leadership on Refugees and Asylum Key to Regional Protection Efforts (Refugees International, Aug. 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Admin.: Summer Break

This blog will be quiet over the next couple weeks. Posts will resume the last week of August.

World Humanitarian Day

August 19th is World Humanitarian Day. This day honors "all humanitarian and United Nations and associated personnel who have lost their lives in the cause of duty and those who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause." It was established after the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other people. Over 100 humanitarian workers died on duty during 2009.

To learn more, please visit the web site set up by OCHA. You can access a Q&A, information on security trends, a film, and other resources.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Asylum Procedures, Climate Change Impact, Intl. Youth Day, Peace Educ., Protection/Uzbekistan

Climates, Crops, and Migration (IntLawGrrls Blog, August 2010) [text]

Graduate Education and Professional Practice in International Peace and Conflict (USIP, August 2010) [text]

Improving Asylum Procedures: Comparative Analysis and Recommendations for Law and Practice - Detailed Research on Key Asylum Procedures Directive Provisions (UNHCR, March 2010) [text]
- A companion piece to Improving Asylum Procedures: Comparative Analysis and Recommendations for Law and Practice - Detailed Research on Key Asylum Procedures Directive Provision.

International Youth Day (Women's Refugee Commission Blog, August 2010) [text]

Uzbekistan: Committed Leadership on Refugees and Asylum Key to Regional Protection Efforts (Refugees International, August 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Focus on Portugal & Spain

Portugal and Spain are serving as venues for overlapping events in September. Here are the details along with links to a few refugee-related resources. (Note: Both countries have recently established resettlement programmes.)

Events:

"European Migration and Asylum Policies: Coherence or Contradiction? - An Interdisciplinary Evaluation of the EU Summits of Tampere (1999), The Hague (2004) and Stockholm (2009)," Madrid, 8-10 September 2010 [info]
- This meeting will cover the right to asylum and irregular migration, among other topics.

50 Years of African Independencies: Challenges to Modernity, Lisbon, 9-11 September 2010 [info]
- Includes a panel on "The Suffering of Migrants and Refugees of/in Africa and their Caregivers: New Models, New Practices, New Actors."

Refugee Councils:

• CEAR: Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado [access]
• Portuguese Refugee Council [access]

Refugee Profiles:

• Informe 2010: La situación de las personas refugiadas en España (CEAR, 2010) [text]
• Portugal (UNHCR, 2010 update) [text]
• Spain (UNHCR, 2010 update) [text]

[Map Source: WikiTravel]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

CFP & New Issues of Childhood, HRQ, J. Hum. Sec., JHA, RSC News

CFP:

Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration [info]
- Graduates of the MSc of Forced Migration program at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, have launched a new e-publication and are soliciting contributions. The deadline is 24 October 2010.

New Issues:

Childhood, vol. 17, no. 2 (May 2010) [contents]
- Special issue on "Childhood and migration: mobilities, homes and belongings." Includes "Successful adaptation among Sudanese unaccompanied minors: Perspectives of youth and foster parents" and "Home journeys: Im/mobilities in young refugee and asylum-seeking women’s negotiations of home."

Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 3 (August 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Journal of Human Security, vol. 6, no. 2 (July 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (August 2010) [full-text]
- Latest article posted is "International Peace Mediators and Codes of Conduct: An Analysis."

RSC Newsletter, Summer Update (2010) [full-text]
- News from the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford, UK.

Tagged Periodicals and Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Asylum Policy/EU, Counselling, Detention/US, Human Trafficking/NY, Justice/CAR

"Approaches to Counselling Resettled Refugee and Asylum Seeker Survivors of Organized Violence," International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, vol. 1, no. 3/4 (2010) [open access text]

Building Peace, Seeking Justice: A Population-based Survey on Attitudes about Accountability and Social Reconstruction in the Central African Republic (Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley, August 2010) [text] [related video, press release and article]

Immigration Detention and the Law: U.S. Policy and Legal Framework (Global Detention Project, August 2010) [text]

"The Next Step: The Future of New York State's Human Trafficking Law," Journal of Law & Policy, vol. 18, no. 2 (2010) [text - scroll down to p. 817]

Updated UNHCR Observations on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council Amending Directive 2003/109/EC Establishing a Long-Term Residence Status to Extend its Scope to Beneficiaries of International Protection (UNHCR, August 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Refugees in the UK

The UK Home Office recently completed analysis of findings from a Survey of New Refugees in the United Kingdom. The survey focused on refugee integration. Research Report 35 provides a "Summary of the Survey of New Refugees: December 2005–March 2009." More detailed findings are found in Research Report 36, "Helping new refugees integrate into the UK: baseline data analysis from the Survey of New Refugees" (see also Key Implications and the Executive Summary) and in Research Report 37, "Spotlight on refugee integration: findings from the Survey of New Refugees in the United Kingdom" (see also the Executive Summary).

The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees (ICAR) has launched a new population guides series: "They provide a summary of the population's history of settlement in the UK, the issues that face this population, demographic data, country of origin information, and existing resources and projects." Currently, two have been compiled, one on Afghans in the UK and the other on Zimbabweans. Future guides are planned for Iranians, Chinese and Pakistanis.

Tagged Publications.

Forthcoming information resources

Dictionaries:

After multiple delays, it looks like Tim Allen's A Dictionary of Humanitarianism is now due to be published in February 2011. Here's the blurb from Routledge.

Handbooks:

Global Refugee Crisis: A Reference Handbook is in the process of being revised. The volume was first published in 1994, and was compiled by Gil Loescher and Ann Dull Loescher. Mark Gibney is preparing the second edition.

The Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere Handbook) is also undergoing revision. Learn more about the process from the web site.

Working paper series:

The Disaster Studies programme at Wageningen University has initiated a new occasional paper and a working paper series. Both can be accessed in their publications section.

Yearbooks:

World Migration Report 2010 will focus on "The Future of Migration: Capacities for Change." Here's a description. This list of background papers that will be included gives a good sense of what the report will cover.

Access to these resources will be provided in due time via my forced migration research guide.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum Policy/EU, Employers Guide/UK, Human Trafficking/EU, Humanitarian Aid/EU, IDPs/Georgia, TIP Review

Guidance for Employers on Preventing Illegal Working: Asylum Seekers and Refugees (UK Border Agency, August 2010) [text]

Humanitarian Aid Report (Eurobarometer, July 2010) [text via ReliefWeb]

In the waiting room: Internally displaced people in Georgia (Amnesty International, August 2010) [text]

The Protection Project Review of the Trafficking in Persons Report (Protection Project, June 2010) [text]

Study on the Assessment of the Extent of Different Types of Trafficking in Human Beings in EU Countries (ICMPD, April 2010) [text]

UNHCR comments on the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection and the content of the protection granted (COM(2009)551, 21 October 2009) (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Writing Opportunities

Here are a few new opportunities for sharing your insights and analyses:

• Contribute a chapter to Comparative Studies of the Basic Need of Urban Refugees [info]
• Prepare an article, briefing note, book review, or resource summary for the June 2011 issue of Africa Peace & Conflict Journal that focuses on "Forced Migration, Refugees, Conflict and Peacebuilding" [info] [previous issues]
• Submit a manuscript to the Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law [info] [previous issues]
• Summarize legal developments for the ABA's International Refugee Law News [info] [previous issues]

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Multimedia: Podcasts, Videos

Forced Migration Online (FMO) is building up a nice collection of podcasts. Two new items have just been added: the first recording of the Oxfam Archive Oral History project, which focuses on Sudan in the late 1980s, and the endnote lecture for RSC's summer school, given by Dennis McNamara on "protection."

The Audiovisual Library of International Law has made two lectures of its own available, one on "The Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council and Its Interaction with other Human Rights Procedures" and the other on "Climate Change and Population Movements."

And on the subject of climate change, Towards Recognition recently blogged about a new movie entitled "Sun Come Up" that focuses on the relocation of Carteret Islanders, whose community is succumbing to rising sea levels, to Bougainville.

[Photo credit: Oxfam / Maurice Herson]

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

Focus on Human Trafficking

The UN General Assembly just adopted by resolution a Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The official version of the resolution is not yet available but you can view the draft text by going to the official document system of the UN (ODS), and entering the document symbol A/64/L.64 in the relevant field of the simple search box. The plan of action is included as the annex.

One of the strategies called for in the plan is for member states to "Conduct research and collect suitably disaggregated data that would enable proper analysis of the nature and extent of trafficking in persons." Human trafficking has been a growing focus of research, as witnessed by the recent publication of two special issues in the following journals:

International Migration, vol. 48, no. 4 (August 2010) [contents]
- Articles include "Untold Stories: Biases and Selection Effects in Research with Victims of Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation," "Trafficking in Persons and Development: Towards Greater Policy Coherence," "Biopolitical Management, Economic Calculation and 'Trafficked Women'," "Economics of Human Trafficking," "Trafficking and Contract Migrant Workers in the Middle East," and "Minors Travelling Alone: A Risk Group for Human Trafficking?."

Women and Criminal Justice, vol. 20, nos. 1&2 (2010) [contents]
- Articles include "Human Trafficking: The Local Becomes Global," "International News Coverage of Human Trafficking Arrests and Prosecutions: A Content Analysis," "Measures Against Human Trafficking in Japan," "Taking Trafficking to Court," "Victims of Sex Trafficking in Turkey: Characteristics, Motivations, and Dynamics," "Pimp Control and Violence: Domestic Sex Trafficking of Chicago Women and Girls," "Understanding the Complexities of Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation: The Case of Southeast Asia," "T Visas: Prosecution Tool or Humanitarian Response?," "Doors Wide Shut: Barriers to the Successful Delivery of Victim Services for Domestically Trafficked Minors in a Southern U.S. Metropolitan Area," "Methodological and Ethical Challenges to Conducting Human Trafficking Studies: A Case Study of Korean Trafficking and Smuggling for Sexual Exploitation to the United States," and "Human Sex Trafficking: The Global Becomes Local."

Note: The latter set of articles will be published in book form by Routledge in October 2010.

Undertaking appropriate and methodologically sound research remains a challenge in this subject area, as highlighted recently in this blog post, "South African trafficking report with no methodology: is this an epidemic?" The report referred to is "Tsireledzani: understanding the dimensions of human trafficking in southern Africa" and the critique is "Of Nigerians, albinos, satanists and anecdotes: A critical review of the HSRC report on human trafficking."

Tagged Publications and Periodicals.

Looking ahead to the fall...

International Refugee Law and Contemporary Challenges, 11 October-21 November 2010 [info]
- E-learning course offered by HREA and UPEACE; apply by 15 Sept. 2010

61st Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, Geneva, 4-8 October 2010 [EXCOM web site]
- No info. currently available, although some preliminary documents are.

15th International Metropolis Conference, The Hague, 4-8 October 2010 [info]
- Theme is "Justice and Migration: Paradoxes of Belonging."

First International Conference on Human Rights in Southeast Asia, Bangkok, 14-15 October 2010 [info]
- Organized by the Southeast Asian Human Rights Studies Network.

Refuge: General Call for Papers [info]
- Refuge is seeking articles for its first issue under the new editor-in-chief. "Although the issue will include papers dealing with a variety of topics, submissions regarding Canada’s recent attempt to reform its asylum system and the humanitarian response to the recent earthquake in Haiti are particularly welcome." The deadline for submissions is 29 October 2010.

IASFM13: Governing Migration, Kampala, 3-6 July 2011 [info]
- Hosted by the Refugee Law Project. Paper abstracts are due by 31 October 2010.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

World Conference on Humanitarian Studies

The second World Conference on Humanitarian Studies will be held 2-5 June 2011, in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. This event is organized by the International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) and hosted by Tufts University in collaboration with Harvard University, Columbia University, and the Social Science Research Council. The IHSA was established during the first conference, which took place in 2009 in Groningen. Its aim is "to strengthen and advance a global network of universities, specialised research centres, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations in order to enhance a better alignment between knowledge, policy and practice in resolving humanitarian crises." The IHSA seeks to accomplish this goal in part through its World Conferences.

The second meeting will focus on "Changing Realities of Conflict and Crises." Discussions will center on four broad themes: Emerging from Protracted Crises, New Directions in Policy, Innovations in Humanitarian Practice, and Advances in Public Health and Food Security in Crises. The official call for papers/panels is not yet available, but interested parties can join a mailing list to be notified when it is issued.

Related posts:
International Humanitarian Studies Association (12 Feb. 2009)


Tagged Events & Opportunities.

New Issues of Fahamu Refugee News, Focaal, Mig. Soc., Vienna J. Intl. Const. Law

Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter, no. 6 (July 2010) [full-text]
- News and information for refugee legal aid providers. Includes article on UK reception of asylum seekers.

Focaal, no. 57 (Summer 2010) [contents]
- Includes special section on "Beyond reconciliation: Social reconstruction after the Bosnian war." The introduction to this feature is free.

Migrations Société, vol. 22, no. 129/130 [contents]
- Special thematic section on "Mineur isolé étranger: une nouvelle figure de l'altérité?"; includes "Pour une application du droit commun dans la prise en charge des mineurs isolés étrangers en quête d'asile et de protection."

Vienna Online Journal on International Constitutional Law, no. 4 (Dec. 2009) [full-text]
- The "Constitutional Developments in Austria" section focuses on the establishment of the Asylum Court.

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Citizenship, Financial Services/Haiti, Iraqi Asylum-Seekers, Kyrgyzstan, Professionalism, Repr. Health/Haiti, Separated Children/UK & US

"Citizenship-lite," The Broker, no. 20 (July 2010) [text]

Four Months On: A Snapshot of Priority Reproductive Health Activities in Haiti (Women's Refugee Commission, July 2010) [text]

Humanitarian Assistance: Turning Commitment and Competence into Professionalism (Health Affairs Blog, July 2010) [text]

Kyrgyzstan: Ensuring Security and Human Rights Required to Put Country Back on Course (Refugees International, July 2010) [text]

Note on the Continued Applicability of the April 2009 UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-Seekers (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

A Place to Call Home: The Situation of Stateless Persons in the Kyrgyz Republic: Findings of Surveys Commissioned by the UNHCR (UNHCR, 2009) [text]

Savings and Chance: Learning from the Lottery to Improve Financial Services in Haiti (Feinstein International Center, July 2010) [text]

Separated Children Fleeing Persecution: A Comparative Study of Asylum Policies in the U.K. and the U.S. (Connecticut College, May 2010) [text]
- Thesis submitted to Government Department.

Tagged Publications.

Focus on Women and Asylum

The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly issued a report recently on gender-related claims for asylum that invites "member states to ensure that gender-based violence and gender-related persecution is appropriately taken into account in any asylum determination process. They are also called upon to set up their asylum system in such a way as to ensure gender sensitivity." The Assembly also plans "to carry out a study on the approach of member states to gender-related claims in the asylum process and provide them with guidelines." (Note: See this page on the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies site for examples of gender guidelines that have already been enacted in other countries.)

Other recent reports/analyses of this issue include:

"Am Only Saying It Now": Experiences of Women Seeking Asylum in Ireland (AkiDwa, March 2010) [text]

"Crimes Without Punishment: Violence Against Women in Guatemala," Hastings Women's Law Journal, vol. 21, no. 2 (Summer 2010) [text]

"The Development of Gender as a Basis for Asylum in United States Immigration Law and Under the United Nations Refugee Convention: Case Studies of Female Asylum Seekers From Cameroon, Eritrea, Iraq and Somalia," Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, vol. 24, no. 2 (Winter 2010) [citation]

Forced Marriage and Asylum: Making Invisible Harm Visible (BePress, 2010) [text]

Ruling favors gender asylum claimant (IntLawGrrls Blog, July 2010) [text]

[Picture credit: Playbill for Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Ruined," that was inspired by refugee women from the DRC. The play is currently showing in Seattle, WA, through 15 August 2010 (source: City Arts, July 2010)]

Tagged Publications.