Focus: Americas

At a recent meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil, the member countries of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela) plus two other countries (Bolivia, Chile) signed the Mercosur Declaration of Principles on International Protection of Refugees, and pledged to "adopt common policies for the protection of asylum seekers and refugees and strengthen the humanitarian space in the region."  They also discussed plans for commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Cartagena Declaration, which will take place in 2014.  More information is available in this news story from ACNUR (in Spanish).

Other news:

Changes to Canada's RSD system went into effect on 15 December 2012.  For more information about the new provisions, visit CCR's "Refugee Reform" page, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers' (CARL) site, and the CIC's "Protecting Canada’s Immigration System" page.

Publications:

Canadian Compassion Towards Refugees: A Case for Open Borders (Students for Liberty, Dec. 2012) [text]

"Gang and Cartel Violence: A Reason to Grant Political Asylum from Mexico and Central America," Yale Journal of International Law Online, vol. 38 (Fall 2012) [full-text]

Haiti: A Humanitarian Crisis in Need of a Development Solution (IDMC, Dec. 2012) [text]

IDP Registration in Haiti: Update and Analysis of the Population Remaining in IDP Sites (IOM & Govt. of Haiti, Dec. 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

Event after the fact:

Lessons from Haiti: Innovations in Tracking and Housing Internally Displaced Persons, Washington, DC, 13 Dec. 2012 [access]
- Audio for this event is available along with handouts and presentations.

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