New Issue of Refugee Survey Quarterly

A new issue of Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ) (vol. 29, no. 4, 2011) is now available. The focus is on terrorism and refugee protection. Contents include:

• Terrorism, Torture, and Refugee Protection in the United States [abstract]
• Anti-Terrorism Measures and Refugee Law Challenges in Canada [abstract]
• The European Convention on Human Rights, Counter-Terrorism, and Refugee Protection [abstract]
• Refugee Protection, Counter-Terrorism, and Exclusion in the European Union [abstract]
• Counter-Terrorism Measures and Refugee Protection in North Africa [abstract]
• Complicity and Culpability and the Exclusion of Terrorists From Convention Refugee Status Post-9/11 [abstract]

Tagged Periodicals.

New Issues of AWR, Global Governance, ICRC Rev., Ref. Watch Online, Traumatology

AWR Bulletin, vol. 48, no. 4 (2010) [contents]
- Reproduces more papers from the 60th AWR Congress, Berlin, 29 Sept. - 1 Oct. 2010 (see program). The theme of the conference was "Migration as a Challenge for the Social Welfare State."

Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, vol. 16, no. 3 (2010) [contents]
- Special issue on "International Migration," with articles on "The Historical Roots of Cooperation Between the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration," "Survival Migration: A New Protection Framework," and "Climate Change, Migration, and Governance."

International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 92, no. 879 (Sept. 2010) [full-text]
- The full-text of this issue is now available on the ICRC web site; the theme is "environment."

Refugee Watch Online (Jan. 2011) [full-text]
- Mix of news, views and reports, including "Care and Protection of Refugees and IDPs in Nepal."

Traumatology, vol. 16, no. 4 (Dec. 2010) [contents]
- Special issue on "Culture and Trauma." Includes four articles on refugees and forced migration.

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Asylum Procedures, Climate Migrants & IOM, ECHR Rule 39, Tamils/Canada, Teaching Statelessness, Wikileaks & Migration

Asylum Procedures: Report on Policies and Practices in IGC Participating States (IGC, 2009) [info] [preview]
- This report is now available for free.

Climate Migrants and the IOM at Cancun Conference on Climate Change (Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law, Jan. 2011) [text via Towards Recognition]

A Guide to Teaching on Statelessness (UNHCR, Sept. 2010) [text]

Mystery Ships and Risky Boat People: Tamil Refugee Migration in the Newsprint Media (Metropolis British Columbia, Jan. 2011) [text]

Preventing Harm to Refugees and Migrants in Extradition and Expulsion Cases: Rule 39 Indications by the European Court of Human Rights (PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, Nov. 2010) [text]

Wikileaks, the US Embassy Cables and Migration Issues (Franck Duvell: Diary on Human Migration Research, Jan. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Events Commemorating 1951 Convention

(revised)

Here are a few more events that will be convened in 2011 to reflect on the role of the refugee convention and the nature of international protection. Previous ones were noted here and here.

All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugees: Reflecting on our responsibilities; 60 years of the UN Refugee Convention, London, 7 February 2011 [info]
- "2011 is the sixtieth anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention. The Convention has saved thousands of lives and no country has ever withdrawn from it. This meeting marks the beginning of the sixtieth anniversary year, reflecting on Britain's historic role in providing protection to refugees, and the continuing importance of refugee protection in the 21st century."

"The Refugee Convention at 60: Closing the Gap between Aspirations and Practice," International Law Discussion Group, London, 24 March 2011 [info]
- "To mark the 60th anniversary of the Refuge Convention, the speakers will discuss whether the existing arrangements are adequate to meet new challenges and old."

"Looking to the Future, Learning from the Past: A Conference to Mark 60 Years of the Refugee Convention," UNSW Centre for Refugee Research, Sydney, 14-17 June 2011 [info]
- "The Conference will provide a timely opportunity to reflect on the strengths and achievements of the Refugee Convention and refugee protection system, and to consider what further action is needed to secure the rights of refugees during flight, in countries of asylum and in resettlement." Early bird registration closes 28 February 2011.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Events & Opportunities: Looming Jan. Deadlines, Looking Ahead to Feb.

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

International Conference on Migration, Development and Human Security, Bangkok, 29-31 March 2011 [info]
- See the CFP for topics; submit papers by 31 January 2011.

Recent International Developments in Human Trafficking: A Discussion with Dr. Anne Gallagher, Legal Expert and Former United Nations Adviser on Human Trafficking, Washington, DC, 8 February 2011 [info]
- Hosted by the Protection Project.

"The Right to Seek Asylum: Interception at Sea and the Principle of Non-Refoulement," Brussels, 16 February 2011 [info]
- Inaugural lecture delivered by Prof. Guy Goodwin-Gill at Fondation Philippe Wiener-Maurice Anspach.

Country of Origin Information (COI) Training Course, Vienna, 28 February-30 March 2011 [info]
- A blend of e-training and a face-to-face meeting; register by 18 February 2011.

"Hierarchies, Regime Interaction, Penguins and the Protection of Refugees in International Law," Cambridge, 18 February 2011 [info]
- Lecture by Prof. Geoff Gilbert; part of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law lecture series.

Job Announcement: Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network Programme Officer, Bangkok [info]
- Closing date is 18 February 2011.

"Between Border Control, Security Concerns and International Protection: A Judicial Perspective," 9th World Conference of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ), Bled, Slovenia, 7-9 September 2011 [info]
- Register by 21 February 2011.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Asylum System/Greece, Child Soldiers/US, GBV Handbook, Good Governance/Haiti, Zimbabweans/S. Africa

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Challenges Facing Former Child Soldiers of the War on Terror in Seeking Asylum in the United States (Birdsong's Law Blog, posted Jan. 2011) [text]

From Relief to Recovery: Supporting Good Governance in Post-Earthquake Haiti (Oxfam, Jan. 2011) [text]

Greek Asylum System in Disarray (EuropeanVoice.com, Jan. 2011) [text]
- See also related article.

Handbook for Coordinating Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings (GBV Area of Responsibility Working Group, July 2010) [text]
- See also this page for access to zipped versions of the Handbook.

The Zimbabwean Documentation Process: Lessons Learned (African Centre for Migration & Society, Jan. 2011) [text]
- Note: The African Centre for Migration & Society was formerly the Forced Migration Studies Programme at Wits.

Tagged Publications.

New Issue of IJRL

A new issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law (IJRL) has been published (vol. 23, no. 1, March 2011). Contents include the following:

- Swimming against the Tide: Why a Climate Change Displacement Treaty is Not the Answer [abstract] [preprint]

- Dissecting Discrimination in Refugee Law: an Analysis of its Meaning and its Cumulative Effect [abstract]

- The Growing Culture of Exclusion: Trends in Canadian Refugee Exclusions [abstract]

- The CJEU and Subsidiary Protection: Reflections on Elgafaji - and After [abstract] [conf. paper]

Tagged Periodicals.

Periodical News: Free Access, Writing Opportunities

Free access:

The content of several law yearbooks published by Oxford University Press (OUP) can be freely accessed for a limited period of time. Search the British Year Book of International Law, Current Legal Problems, Yearbook of European Law, and Yearbook of International Environmental Law to locate and download relevant articles before 28 February 2011.

CFPs:

Africa Peace and Conflict Journal [info]
- Theme for June 2011 issue is "Governance and Human Security"; articles due 1 March 2011. (Note: Originally, the focus of the June issue was on "Forced migration, Refugees, Conflict and Peacebuilding." While this theme has been deferred to a later issue, articles on these topics are still welcome.)

Journal of Internal Displacement [info]
- Articles focusing on Africa are sought for the July 2011 issue; the deadline is 25 February 2011.

The Latin Americanist [info]
- Theme for a special December 2011 issue is "Latin American Immigration"; submissions, including those on "Latin American refugees," are due 1 May 2011.

Refuge: Canada's Periodical on Refugees [info]
- Theme for a special issue to be published Summer 2011 is on "Iraqi Refugees"; submit contributions by 31 March 2011.

Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ) [info]
- RSQ has issued a general CFP; articles representing a wide range of disciplines and topics are welcome.

Tagged Periodicals and Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Asylum/Israel, Detention, Mortality/Darfur, Non-Discrim. & Compl. Protection, Unaccomp. Minors

The Issue of Immigration Detention at the UN Level: Recent Developments Relevant to the Work of the International Detention Coalition (IDC) (Jan. 2011) [text]

A Matter of Definition: On 'Infiltrators' and 'Asylum Seekers' in Israel (bepress Legal Repository, Jan. 2011) [text]

Mortality in Darfur: Lessons for Humanitarian Policy, Policy Briefing, no. 7 (MICROCON, Jan. 2011) [text]

"Treating Like Alike: The Principle of Non-Discrimination as a Tool to Mandate the Equal Treatment of Refugees and Beneficiaries of Complementary Protection," Melbourne University Law Review, vol. 34, no. 1 (2010) [open access text]

"Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: A Growing Phenomenon with Few Easy Solutions," Migration Information Source (Jan. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Events, after the fact

Australian National University YouTube Channel [access]
- Select "politics" from the playlists located on the right, then scroll through to find the following presentations: "Australia's Role in Refugee Protection," "Australia's Treatment of Refugees and Asylum Seekers," and "Beyond the Spin 2010 election forum: Asylum seekers, immigration and citizenship."

Dynamics of Conflict and Forced Migration in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Oxford, 30 Nov.-1 Dec. 2010 [workshop report]

"Haiti: One Year After the Earthquake," Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Washington, DC, 20 Jan. 2011 [access]
- Video, audio and a transcript of the event are available.

"Human Rights in Transit: Issues of Forced Migration," Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights, 20-22 Jan. 2011 [info]
- The conference site offers a blog with postings summarizing the presentations. See also this blog post from Andy Rasmussen, one of the panelists.

"Refugees and Asylum Seekers: Whose Responsibility?," Herbert & Valmae Freilich Foundation & ANU Centre for European Studies Summer School, Canberra, 16-19 Jan. 2011 [info]
- The program includes not only a list of sessions, but also a number of links to further readings and useful resources.

Round Table on the Social Rights of Refugees, Asylum-Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons: A Comparative Perspective, Strasbourg, 7 Dec. 2009 [summary; posted 24 Jan. 2011]
- Organized by UNHCR and the Council of Europe's Department of the European Social Charter.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Human Rights Watch World Report 2011

Human Rights Watch issued its 21st World Report today. The report is an "annual review of human rights practices around the globe, [and] summarizes major human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, reflecting the extensive investigative work carried out in 2010 by Human Rights Watch staff."

Readers can download the full report or browse by country chapter. Also available are photos and audio reports on human rights issues in specific countries.

Previous editions are available here.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Env. Degrad., Irreg. Movements/Africa, Microfinance/Ethiopia, Peace Glossary, Returns/Cote d'Ivoire

Environmental Degradation, Climate Change, Migration and Development (International Network on Migration and Development, 2010) [access]
- Available in .doc; select title from list of working papers.

In Harms Way: The Irregular Movement of Migrants to Southern Africa from the Horn and Great Lakes Regions, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 200 (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [text]

Linking Poor Rural Households to Microfinance and Markets in Ethiopia (Feinstein International Center, Nov. 2010) [text]

Peace Terms: Glossary of Terms for Conflict Management and Peacebuilding (USIP, 2011) [text]

UNHCR Position on Returns to Côte d'Ivoire (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

ECHR Judgment: M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece

I reported last year on a case heard before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) called M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece. The case involved the expulsion of an Afghan from Belgium to Greece. The court has now issued its decision, sparking numerous reactions from legal analysts and commentators. Here are a few of them:

- Decision from Grand Chamber of ECtHR: Returning Asylum Seekers to Greece Violates European Conv. on Human Rights (Migrants at Sea Blog, Jan. 2011) [text]

- Dublin II Grand Chamber Judgment - Expulsion within EU (ECHR Blog, Jan. 2011) [text]

- The European Court of Human Rights condemns Belgium and Greece (ECRE, Jan. 2011) [text]

- European Court of Human Rights: Stop transfers to Greece (Danish Refugee Council, Jan. 2011) [text]

- Returns to Greece Unlawful, Says Strasbourg (Free Movement Blog, Jan. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Opportunities: Express your views on humanitarian assistance

Are Masters degrees valid qualifications for humanitarian workers? [access]
- ALNAP Forum topic.

Survey of Perceptions of Accountability in Humanitarian Action [info] [access]
- The survey closes on 21 Jan. 2011.

World Conference on Humanitarian Studies, Tufts University, 2-5 June 2011 [info]
- Looks like the CFP will be coming out soon... .

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

New Journal on Internal Displacement

The inaugural issue of the Journal on Internal Displacement has just been published. The aim of the journal is to raise "the profile of internally displaced persons through discussions, critical dialogue, emerging themes, reflections and explorations on a wide range of topics and regions around the globe." The theme is "Definitions, Scopes, Theories and Concepts."

Contents include:

• Forced or Development Induced Displacement? Occupied Palestinian Territories and International Conscience
• Environmentally-Induced Displacement: Identifying the Complexities and Finding Solutions Under the Current International Protection Regime
• Around the Fringes of Internal Displacement: Trending Mass Movements of Aboriginals Canada
• The Health Consequences of Migration: Meeting the Health Needs of Displaced Populations
• The Kampala Convention and Its Contribution in Filling the Protection Gap in International Law
• Internal displacement in Africa: African solutions to African problems? Challenges and Prospects
• Protecting women displaced by conflicts in the Horn and Eastern Africa: The role of regional laws and institutions
• Environmental Displacement within Kenya: A Search for Legal Protection Frameworks
• The Rights-based approach (RBA): Implications for Sudanese Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Refugees
• Internal Displacement and Post-Conflict Peace-building in Liberia
• Three Steps Forward, One Look Back: The Protection of Internally Displaced Persons Twenty Years On

This journal is an open access title, so content is both free of charge and free of copyright/licensing restrictions. However, you must first register. To do so, complete the "sign-up" form and wait for a confirmation email. After you click on the confirmation link that is sent to you, you will receive another email granting your membership. Then you can login with your email and password, and view the articles in the "current issue" section.

Note: A call for papers for the second issue has also just been released; the focus is on Africa and the deadline for submissions is 25 February 2011.

Tagged Periodicals and Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Filing Deadlines/US, IASC Guidelines & Natural Disast., NGO Coordin., Preventing Sexual Exploit., Protection Gaps/Europe

Change starts with us, talk to us! Beneficiary perceptions regarding the effectiveness of measures to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian aid workers: a HAP commissioned study (HAP, Dec. 2010) [text]

IASC Operational Guidelines on the Protection of Persons in Situations of Natural Disasters (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Jan. 2011) [text]
- "Revised version of the 2006 IASC Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters."

Protection Gaps in Europe? Persons fleeing the indiscriminate effects of generalized violence (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [text]
- See related press release.

"Rejecting Refugees: Homeland Security's Administration of the One-Year Bar to Asylum," William and Mary Law Review, vol. 52 , no. 3 (Dec. 2010) [full-text]

Strength in Numbers: A Review of NGO Coordination in the Field (ICVA, Jan. 2011) [text]
- Case studies are available on the ICVA site.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum/North Africa, FIW2011, Microfinance, Ref. Registr./Ecuador, Witchcraft & Children

Breaking the Spell: Responding to Witchcraft Accusations against Children, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 197 (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [text]

Enhanced Refugee Registration and Human Security in Northern Ecuador, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 198 (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [text]

Etude sur la migration et l’asile dans les pays du Maghreb (Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l’Homme, 2010) [text]

Freedom in the World 2011: The Authoritarian Challenge to Democracy (Freedom House, 2011) [access]

Microfinance and Refugees: Lessons Learned from UNHCR's Experience, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 199 (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Blogs: Asylum-Network, CDP Watch, EASO Monitor, New ReliefWeb, Saharawi Voice

Asylum-Network [access]
- Part of an ESRC-funded research project entitled "Making Asylum Seekers Legible and Visible," which will look at the "experiences of different pro-asylum organisations in the US and UK." Look under "Latest News" for postings.

CDP Watch [access]
- Blog companion for the Working Group on Displaced Populations at George Mason University.

EASO Monitor [access]
- Provides news and commentary on the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).

The New ReliefWeb [access]
- Set up to keep visitors updated on developments relating to the upcoming launch of the newly revised ReliefWeb site.

Saharawi Voice [access]
- Part of a project to introduce young Saharawis to computers, film and social media.

[Photo credit: "Board Exercises," FMO Photo Collection: Refugees from Western Sahara by Danielle Van Brunt Smith]

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

Facebook

UNHCR's Policy Development and Evaluation Service (PDES) has created a Facebook page so that people who are interested in the work of PDES can stay updated and connected.

Other organizations that have jumped on the social networking bandwagon include:

• Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN)
• Asylum Access
• Badil
• Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR)
• Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS)
• Center for Migration & Refugee Studies (CMRS)
• Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
• Displacement Solutions
• European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
• Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter
• Forced Migration Review (FMR)
• Human Rights First
• Humanitarian Policy Group
• Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)
• International Refugee Rights Initiative
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)
• IRIN News
• Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
• Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration (OxMo)
• Program on Forced Migration and Health
• Refugee Council (UK)
• Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA)
• Refugee Studies Centre (RSC)
• Refugees International
• Refugees United
• ReliefWeb
• Statelessness Programme
• UNHCR 
• UNRWA
• Urban Refugees
• US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)
• Women's Refugee Commission

I'm sure there are many more, and no doubt those of you who are already on Facebook know better than I how to connect with them! As for everyone else, the above-mentioned pages are public, so you don't have to be on Facebook to access them. But note that some Facebook features are only available if you sign up.

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

New Issues of ICRC Rev., JPS, New Dir. Eval., Revue Humanit., Third World Q., Women's Asyl. News

International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 92, no. 879 (Sept. 2010) [contents]
- Focus is on the environment. Includes "Climate change, natural disasters and displacement: a multi-track approach to filling the protection gaps."

Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 40, no. 1 (Autumn 2010) [contents]
- Includes two articles and an essay on refugees; titles are "UNRWA and the Refugees: A Difficult but Lasting Marriage," "(In)Security and Reconstruction in Post-conflict Nahr al-Barid Refugee Camp," and "In the Ruins of Nahr al-Barid: Understanding the Meaning of the Camp." Also includes a book review of Refugees and Rescue: The Diaries and Papers of James G. McDonald 1935-1945 (Indiana University Press, 2009).

New Directions for Evaluation, no. 126 (2010) [contents]
- Special issue on "Enhancing Disaster and Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Through Evaluation."

Revue Humanitaire, no. 26 (2010) [full-text]
- Theme of this issue is "Partenariat: pour une coopération sans compromission."

Third World Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 8 (2010) [contents]
- Special issue on "From War on Terror to War on Weather? Rethinking humanitarianism in a new era of chronic emergencies."

Women's Asylum News, no. 98 (Dec. 2010/Jan. 2011) [full-text via Refworld]
- The lead article discusses Asylum Aid's latest research report, "Unsustainable: The quality of initial decision-making in women’s asylum claims." Also includes review of Refugee Women in Britain and France (Manchester University Press, 2010).

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Asylum Decisions/UK, Children & Mental Health, ECRE Memo/EU, Family Unity, Sphere Standards/Chad

ECRE Memorandum to the Hungarian Presidency of the EU (ECRE, Jan. 2011) [text]

For the Sake of the Children (IntLawGrrls Blog, Jan. 2011) [text]

"Paternal Predictors of the Mental Health of Children of Vietnamese Refugees," Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 5:2 (10 Jan. 2011) [full-text]

"Sphere and Sustainability: A Matter of Time," Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (13 Jan. 2011) [full-text]

Unsustainable: The Quality of Initial Decision-making in Women's Asylum Claims (Asylum Aid, Jan. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum/Israel, Boat People/Australia, Haiti Research Trip, Human Traff./US, Hum. Action & R2P, Refugee Definition, Selective Feeding

Asylum and the Australian Way (Global Brief, Oct. 2010) [text]
- Debate between Michael Barutciski and Catherine Dauvergne on "The 'Australian approach' to boat people and asylum is the correct one."

"The Evolving Definition of the Refugee in Contemporary International Law," Berkeley Journal of International Law, vol. 30, no. 1 (2012) [full-text]

Guidelines for Selective Feeding: The Management of Malnutrition in Emergencies (UNHCR, Jan. 2011) [text]

"Humanitarian Action – A Scope for the Responsibility to Protect: Part II: Responsibility to Protect – A Legal Device Ready for Use?" Göttingen Journal of International Law, vol. 2, no. 3 (2010) [full-text]

A More Promising Promised Land: Israel Copes With an Influx of Asylum Seekers by Implementing the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol (Selected Works of Aliyah M Phillips, 2011) [text]

A Research Trip to Haiti: Personal Reflections, Foreign Policy Trip Reports, no. 19 (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Jan. 2011) [text]
- See also related blog post.

Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress (Congressional Research Service, Dec. 2010) [text via Refworld]

[Map credit: UNHCR, 2003]

Tagged Publications.

One more January event

The Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights (NUCHR) will hold its annual conference on 20-23 January 2011. The theme is "Human Rights in Transit: Issues of Forced Migration." Here's the blurb:

We hope to utilize this theme to analyze the role of borders on the universality of human rights, and more specifically to discuss the obligation of the country of origin and the host country to protect and preserve the rights of migrants. Speakers and delegates will examine forced migration from the perspective of multiple actors to highlight all who are affected by this phenomenon. We hope to question responsibility in the application of human rights (i.e. who is obligated to ensure the rights of refugees and what measures of enforcement do and should exist). Through our case study panel that will explore the issues of migration across the US-Mexico border panelists will be asked to challenge conventional definitions of refugees and forced migration while examining human rights violations in our own country. Finally, delegates will break up into small groups throughout the three-day conference to discuss specific case studies of forced migration and apply the framework developed by the panels of the conference to these individual scenarios.

Barbara Harrell-Bond and Rose Mapendo are slated to give keynote addresses. A number of other migration and human rights experts will also be speaking at the event. For more information, contact conferenceonhumanrights@u.northwestern.edu.

Related posts:
- January & February Events & Opportunities
- January Events & Opportunities
- Looking Ahead to January...

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Admin: Checking in on email subscribers

It's been about nine months since I implemented an email subscription feature for distributing updates to this blog, and about 100 people have now signed up. I have not received any reports of problems, so I assume that this service is functioning as it should! But please let me know otherwise... .

Thanks!

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Today, 11 January, is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the U.S. This post includes some helpful links to events around the country. See also information on a new campaign launched to urge lawmakers to give priority to anti-trafficking efforts.

Elsewhere, the EU recently launched a new policy web site - Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings - to support European efforts to combat this problem.

For other resources, including those that focus more on the specific linkages between human trafficking and refugees, see:

• Forced Relocation/Human Trafficking (Refworld) [access]
• UNHCR and Human Trafficking (UNHCR) [access]
• Victims of Trafficking (SRLAN) [access]

See also my Delicious bookmarks for current resources on human trafficking.

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

January & February Events & Opportunities

Refugees' Diasporic Memories and the Politics of Democratisation, Oxford, 18 February 2011 [info]
- Convened by the International Migration Institute and the Refugee Studies Centre; register for the conference by 17 January 2011.

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

Geographical Imagination and Migration, London, 31 August-2 September 2011 [info]
- Session of the Royal Geographical Society conference organized by the University of Neuchâtel; deadline for abstracts is 28 January 2011.

Disasters–Mobility–Communications: Exploring the Links, Bielefeld, Germany, 16-17 May 2011 [info]
- This workshop is an activity of the "Communicating Disaster" research group. Abstracts due 31 January 2011.

Beyond Camps and Forced Labour: Current International Research on Survivors of Nazi Persecution, London, 4-6 January 2012 [info]
- Fourth Imperial War Museum conference; send abstracts by 28 February 2011.

Call for Nominations: Nansen Refugee Award [info]
- Deadline for submissions is 28 February 2011.

Conference on Displacement and Reconciliation, Ottawa 9-10 June 2011 [info]
- Organized by the Conflict Research Centre at St. Paul University; submit abstracts by 28 February 2011.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Case Law/US, Health Care/EU, Non-refoulement & Security, Parental Rights & Detention, Protracted Situations & Lessons, Sudan Referendum

Are Undocumented Migrants and Asylum Seekers Entitled to Access Health Care in the EU? A Comparative Overview in 16 Countries (HUMA Network, Nov. 2010) [text]

Most Important United States Supreme Court Case in Refugee Law: I.N.S. v. Elias-Zacarias (Marquette University School of Law Faculty Blog, Dec. 2010) [text]

Responding to Protracted Refugee Situations: Lessons from a Decade of Discussion, Forced Migration Policy Briefing, no. 6 (RSC, Jan. 2011) [text]

To Transfer or Not to Transfer: Identifying and Protecting Relevant Human Rights Interests in Non-Refoulement, Cardozo Legal Studies Research Paper, no. 319 (Cardozo School of Law, Dec. 2010) [text]

Sudan: The 30-Day Countdown (Refugees International, Dec. 2010) [text]
- See also related blog post.

Torn Apart by Immigration Enforcement: Parental Rights and Immigration Detention (Women's Refugee Commission, Dec. 2010) [text]
- See also related blog post.

Tagged Publications.

Book Reviews

I plan to make a more concerted effort to highlight book reviews, both in full-text and in bibliographic form (e.g., like those that are published in newly available journals). Below are some reviews I came across recently. They can be found via a variety of sources including:

Book Review Sites:

Excluded from the Record: Women, Refugees and Relief, 1914-1929, by Katherine Storr. Peter Lang Publishing, 2010 [text]
- Posted on H-Net Reviews; use search to locate additional reviews; general RSS feed available.

Refugees, Asylum Seekers and the Rule of Law: Comparative Perspectives, ed. by Susan Kneebone. Cambridge University Press, 2009 [text]
- Posted on Law & Politics Book Review; use search to locate additional reviews; general RSS feed available.

Journals (although note that these tend to require a subscription to access the full-text):

Materialising Exile: Material Culture and Embodied Experience among Karenni Refugees in Thailand, by Sandra Dudley. Berghahn Books, 2010 [citation]
- Reviewed in the Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies.

Social Work with Immigrants and Refugees: Legal Issues, Clinical Skills, and Advocacy, ed. by Fernando Chang-Muy and Elaine Congress. Springer, 2008 [text]
- Reviewed in the Journal of Global Social Work Practice.

News Sources:

Climate Refugees, by Collectif Argos. MIT Press, 2010 [text]
- Article in the National Catholic Reporter.

Repositories:

The Human Rights of Non-Citizens, by David Weissbrodt. Oxford University Press, 2008 [text]
- Posted on bepress Legal Repository.


And if you would like to review a book yourself, consider one of the titles listed on the Human Rights & Human Welfare site!

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Border Monitoring/Hungary, Haitians/US, IDPs/Mexico, Mental Health Services, Terrorism & Humanit. Agencies

Briefing Paper by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre on Forced Displacement in Mexico due to Drug Cartel Violence (IDMC, Dec. 2010) [text via Refworld]

Is Terrorism an Issue for Humanitarian Agencies? (European Interagency Security Form, Nov. 2010) [text via Human Security Gateway]

Report on the Border Monitoring Program 2008–2009 (Hungarian Helsinki Committee et al., Jan. 2011) [text]

Rights-based Approaches to Mental Health Services with Refugees: An Annotated Bibliography (ChangeMakers Refugee Forum, 2010) [text]

Speaking (Soft) Law to Power (IntLawGrrls Blog, Jan. 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum Denials/US, Gender Persecution, Human Trafficking/Baltics, Iraqis/Turkey, Palestinian Refugees, Refugee Protection

"Affirmatively Denied: The Detrimental Effects of a Reduced Grant Rate for Affirmative Asylum Seekers," Boston University International Law Journal, vol. 27, no. 1, 2009 (posted Jan. 2011) [full-text]

Away from Iraq: Post 2003 Iraqi Migration to Neighboring Countries and to Turkey (ORSAM, Nov. 2010) [text]

Baltic Sea Region: Information Management to Prevent Trafficking (Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk, Dec. 2010) [text]

Gender related persecution and the Refugee Convention Art 1A(2) (IARLJ, Dec. 2010) [text]

The Palestinian Refugees on the Day After "Independence" (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Dec. 2010) [text]

Protecting Refugees Information Pack (CoE & UNHCR, Dec. 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

January Events & Opportunities

Assistance with Statelessness Research [info]
- Project undertaken by UNHCR and Asylum Aid on statelessness in the UK. Submit information sheet by 10 January 2011.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day (U.S.), 11 January 2011 [info via ImmigrationProf]
- Conduct a search to locate more events that have been planned around the country.

Reminder of Vacancy: Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) Director [info]
- Applications for this position must be submitted by 14 January 2011.

International Refugee Law Seminar Series, London, 18 January 2011 [info]
- Lecture topic will be "Implications for refugee law of the HJ (Iran) judgment on homosexuality as a ground for international protection."

Humanitarian Space: 16th International Humanitarian Conference, Webster University, Geneva, 27‐28 January 2011 [info]
- Four themes include "aid worker security," "military actors in humanitarian space," "interagency relations in humanitarian space," and "the blurring of humanitarian and public agendas."

Related posts:
- Looking Ahead to January...

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Commemorations during 2011

As has been noted in past postings, 2011 is a year of anniversaries. Three in particular are the focus of a series of planned commemorative events put on by UNHCR:

- 60th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
- 50th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
- 150th Anniversary of the birth of Fridtjof Nansen, First League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR has compiled a tentative calendar of some of these events. This presentation, concept note and guidance note explain what the organization hopes to accomplish in commemorating these milestones. Another paper sets forth ideas for roles that NGOs can play in helping to realize these goals.

Related posts:
- Anniversary-related events
- Commemorating Refugee Protection Milestones

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Current Awareness Bibliography

The latest issue of the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter (no. 11, Jan. 2011) introduces a new resource I developed for the Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network (SRLAN): the Current Awareness Bibliography.

This new resource, to which pages are added daily, is available via the sidebar on the right side of the website and was set up to supplement SRLAN’s Library and resource pages by providing access to online information that relates to the work of refugee legal aid providers. Because the bibliography highlights new resources, it serves as a current awareness or alerting service, rather than as a compendium or comprehensive inventory of background information on a particular subject. The structure of the bibliography essentially mirrors that of the SRLAN website. It is divided into two overall parts: 1) Law and Policy, which is further sub‐divided into a general law section and specific legal issues including detention, resettlement and social/economic rights; 2) Refugee Status Determination, which is broken down into the following sections: general, evidence/country of origin information, legal assistance, and special issues.

To ensure that readers can be kept up-to-date, I have provided RSS feeds for each section and sub-section of the bibliography. Or users can simply subscribe to a feed for all new additions.

A couple of caveats: The references I include in the bibliography are all culled from this blog. However, the focus is on legal materials that address refugee and asylum issues, and I include links not only to full-text items but also to bibliographic citations. Therefore, those of you who are only interested in this subset of the forced migration subject area might find the bibliography particularly useful. Everyone else, keep reading this blog!

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

New Issues of Conflict Tr., Coping w/ Crisis, Fahamu Ref. News, Intercult. Human Rts. Law Rev., Italian Yrbk. Intl. Law, J. Intl. Humanit. Legal Stud.

Conflict Trends, no. 3 (2010) [full-text]
- Mix of articles including "Sustainable Peace Processes: Addressing the Status of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons."

Coping with Crisis, no. 3 (2010) [full-text]
- Mix of articles on psychosocial support.

Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter, no. 11 (Jan. 2011) [full-text]
- Lead article is "A new approach to age assessment of unaccompanied and separated children: current practices and challenges in the UK."

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review, vol. 5 (2010) [contents; see p. 31]
- Special issue on "U.S. Immigration Detention: Policy and Procedure from a Human Rights Perspective."

Italian Yearbook of International Law, vol. 19 (2009) [contents]
- Includes section on "Treatment of Migrants" with several articles on the right of asylum.

Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, vol. 1, no. 1 (Oct. 2010) [free full-text]
- New journal title. Mix of articles; now available on a complimentary basis.

Tagged Periodicals.

Commentaries: Asylum in Europe, Refugees, Stateless Persons

Commentaries analyze and interpret the original meaning of provisions in treaties or other legal instruments. Two new commentaries relevant to our field include:

European Immigration and Asylum Law: A Commentary, edited by Kay Hailbronner. Oxford: Hart Publishing, November 2010 [publisher info]. Here's the blurb from the publisher:

The EU has usurped essential parts of the national laws of immigration and asylum. Hence, European Directives and Regulations have become more important for the immigration departments and administrative tribunals. From German Courts alone, more than five referrals on the interpretation of Directives, especially in the area of the so-called Qualification-Directive (criteria for the recognition as a refugee,) have been made to the European Court of Justice. The immigration departments, too, are obliged to interpret national law, according to European Directives and Regulations. Accordingly, in most of the European member states numerous courts are required to decide on the basis of the European law in the field of immigration and asylum.

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol: A Commentary, edited by Andreas Zimmermann. Oxford: Oxford University Press, January 2011 (UK ed.) [publisher info]. Here's the blurb from the publisher:

This Commentary provides for a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol on an article-by-article basis, exposing the interrelationship between the different articles and discussing the latest developments in international refugee law. In addition, several thematic contributions analyse questions of international refugee law which are of general significance, such as regional developments and the relationship between refugee law and the law of the sea.

Previous commentaries on the refugee convention include the following:

• Commentary on the Refugee Convention 1951, Articles 2-11, 13-37, by Atle Grahl-Madsen. Geneva: UNHCR, 1997 [full-text] (note: Article 1 is not included)
• Convention relating to the Status of Refugees: Its History, Contents and Interpretation. A Commentary, by Nehemiah Robinson. New York: Institute of Jewish Affairs, World Jewish Congress, 1953 [info]
• The Refugee Convention, 1951: The Travaux Préparatoires Analysed, with a Commentary, by Paul Weis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995 [info] [full-text] (note: Article 1 is not included; see also reviews in J. Conflict & Sec. Law 2(2): 209-212; JRS 9(1): 103-104; and Nordic J. Intl. Law 66(2&3): 416-418.)

The Travaux Préparatoires for the refugee convention are available on the UNHCR web site in reverse chronological order.

For a commentary on the stateless persons convention, see:

• Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Its History and Interpretation, by Nehemiah Robinson. New York: Institute of Jewish Affairs, World Jewish Congress, 1955 [full-text]

Finally, two helpful introductory notes on the refugee convention and the stateless persons convention are available via the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum-seekers/UK, Climate Change & Displ., Human Trafficking/Americas, Intl. Criminal Law, Kosovar Asylum-seekers, Legal Aid/UK

Climate Change and Displacement: Identifying Gaps and Responses, Expert Roundtable, Bellagio Conference Centre, 22-26 February 2011 - Concept Note (UNHCR, Dec. 2010) [text]

Complementarities between International Refugee Law, International Criminal Law and International Human Rights Law: Concept Note (UNHCR, Dec. 2010) [text]

Excluding Migrants from Justice: The Legal Aid Cuts (Institute of Race Relations, Dec. 2010) [text]

Refugee Council Client Experiences in the Asylum Process (Refugee Council, Nov. 2010) [text]

"Toward a More Individualized Assessment of Changed Country Conditions for Kosovar Asylum-Seekers," Cornell International Law Journal, vol. 43, no. 3 (2010) [full-text via SSRN]

Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Congressional Research Service, Dec. 2010) [text via Refworld]

Tagged Publications.