New Issue of JRS

The latest issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies (JRS) has been published.  The theme is "Forced Displacement, Refugees and ICTs: Transformations of Place, Power and Social Ties."  Contents for vol. 26, no 4 (Dec. 2013) include the following:

• Introduction [free full-text]
• Remote Telephone Interpretation in Medical Consultations with Refugees: Meta-communications about Care, Survival and Selfhood [abstract]
• Bosnian Austrians: Accidental Migrants in Trans-local and Cyber Spaces [abstract] [related paper]
• Precarity, Affect and Problem Solving with Mobile Phones by Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Migrants in Naples, Italy [abstract]
• Digital Escapes? ICTs, Settlement and Belonging among Karen Youth in Melbourne, Australia [abstract]
• Asylum, Identity Management and Biometric Control [abstract]

Eight book reviews are also included.

Tagged Periodicals.

Regional Focus: Syria

"The Conflict in Syria," Special Issue of Humanitarian Exchange, no. 59 (Nov. 2013) [full-text]
- 14 articles explore all facets of the humanitarian crisis created by the conflict in Syria.

The Future of Syria: Refugee Children in Crisis (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [access]
- Includes videos and photographs.  See also related press release.

Lebanon: Women Refugees from Syria Harassed, Exploited (HRW, Nov. 2013) [text]

Refuge at Risk: The Syria Crisis and U.S. Leadership (Human Rights First, Nov. 2013) [access]

"Syria Seen as Most Dire Refugee Crisis in a Generation," New York Times, 24 Nov. 2013 [text]
- Includes maps and photos.

"Syria's Palestinian Refugees: No Place to Call Home," The Economist, 28 Nov. 2013 [text]

"A Violent Year in the Life of the Syria-Turkey Border," Wall Street Journal, 20 Nov. 2013 [access]
- Interactive video chronicle of a year on the Syria-Turkey Border.

Tagged Publications. 

Thematic Focus: Urban Aspects

Publications:

Civitas, Polis, and Urbs: Reimagining the Refugee Camp as the City, Working Paper, no. 96 (RSC, Nov. 2013) [text]

Finding the Urban Crisis Tipping Point (IRIN, Nov. 2013) [text]

Hidden and in Need: Urban Displacement in Southern Mali (Refugees International, Nov. 2013) [text]

Thailand: Marginalization in the Metropolis (JRS USA, Nov. 2013) [text]

Thinking Outside the Camp: Urban Profiling & Assessment (JIPS, Oct. 2013) [access]
- NGO side panel during UNHCR’s Executive Committee meetings.  Follow link for JIPS presentation.

Web resources:

Cash Programming in Urban Areas: What's New?, ALNAP Webinar, 21 Nov. 2013 [access]
- The four previous webinars in this series can be accessed here.

Good Practices for Urban Refugees is now on Facebook and Twitter.

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Regional Focus: Americas

Upcoming event:

Strengthening the Congolese Community: Background, Resettlement, and Treatment, Webinar, 11 December 2013 [info]
- Free event but registration required.

Resources:

10th Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference, Washington, DC, 31 Oct. 2013 [info]
- Follow link for video.

Advocates for Human Rights: 2013 Annual Asylum Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 8 Nov. 2013 [info]
- Follow link for programme and speaker materials on alternative forms of relief, gender-based asylum claims, children's asylum claims, LGBTI claims, working with torture survivors, social group, and more.

Bordering on Failure: Canada-U.S. Border Policy and the Politics of Refugee Exclusion (Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic, Nov. 2013) [text]
- See also the HIRC blog.

Will Filipinos be Granted Temporary Protected Status in the Wake of Typhoon Haiyan? (Immigration Impact, Nov. 2013) [text via ImmigrationProf Blog]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.  

Regional Focus: Asia Pacific

Opportunity:

CFP: Forced Migration Review [info]
- Articles sought for a theme issue on "Afghanistan’s Displaced People: 2014 and Beyond." The submission deadline is 3 February 2014.

Publications:

Analysis: How Bangladesh Aid Restrictions Impact Rohingyas (IRIN, Nov. 2013) [text]

Failure of the Immediate Response to Typhoon Haiyan (UpFront Blog, Nov. 2013) [text]

Pakistan: New Refugee Law Should Meet Global Standards (HRW, Nov. 2013) [text]

Typhoon Haiyan’s Aftermath: Testing Resilience in Complex Emergencies, Commentaries, no. 211/2013 (RSIS, Nov. 2013) [text]


Image credit: Wikipedia

UNHCR Monitoring Visit to Manus Island, Papua New Guinea:  23 to 25 October 2013 (UNHCR Canberra, Nov. 2013) [text]

UNHCR Monitoring Visit to the Republic of Nauru:  7 to 9 October 2013 (UNHCR Canberra, Nov. 2013) [text]
- Note: See also related press releases for these two reports from UNHCR HQ and UNHCR Canberra.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.  

Thematic Focus: Children

Upcoming event:

Children and Young People in Search of Safety in the UK, London, 12 February 2014 [info]
- Register by 6 December 2013 for early bird rate.

Publications:

"Criminal Alien or Humanitarian Refugee? The Social Agency of Migrant Youth," Children's Legal Rights Journal, vol. 33, no. 1 (Spring 2013) [free full-text]

'Future Citizens of the World'? The Contested Futures of Independent Young Migrants in Europe, Working Paper, no. 97 (Refugee Studies Centre, Nov. 2013) [text]

Mental Health/Psychosocial and Child Protection Assessment for Syrian Refugee Adolescents in Za’atari Refugee Camp, Jordan (Unicef & International Medical Corps, July 2013) [text via ReliefWeb]

Protection Risks for Children as a Result of Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) (Unicef, Nov. 2013) [text via ReliefWeb]

Settling or Surviving? Unaccompanied Young Adults Aged 18-25 Years (Centre for Multicultural Youth, Oct. 2013) [text via BroCAP]

Stand with Me: Ending the War on Syria’s Children (World Vision, Nov. 2013) [text]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.  

Tip of the Week: ReliefWeb Topic Pages!

As many of you are no doubt aware, ReliefWeb rolled out a Topics feature earlier in the year. "Topics" are thematic pages that bring together not only content from ReliefWeb's collection, like in-depth reports (similar to the "Policy & Issues" section in the old ReliefWeb), the latest media stories, jobs, and training programmes, but also links to external content such as related tweets and videos.

To accomplish the latter, ReliefWeb created topical lists on Twitter and YouTube that collate tweets and videos provided by third parties.  ReliefWeb also has its own separate Twitter feed, which it uses to share information about the resources in its collection.

What you may not know is that a "Protection and Human Rights"-focused page was launched in October.  One unique aspect of this page is the ability to filter the reports by vulnerable group.  So if you just want to view items that relate to refugees and IDPs, you can simply tick the boxes provided to indicate your interest.  Other vulnerable groups include "aged persons," "children," "persons with disabilities," and "women." Note, though, that the application of the filter does not change the external content that is displayed on the page or the overall Protection & HR content in the associated RSS feed.

It's great to be able to access so much information via these pages, and all from one central location!

Tagged Tips.

News: 16 Days against Violence

November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, as established by GA Resolution 54/134.  The day also officially launches the annually-held "16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence" campaign, which ends on Human Rights Day, December 10th.

You can locate resources that have been referenced on this blog relating to "violence against women," "sexual violence," and "gender-based persecution" by following the links and browsing accordingly.

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

Regional Focus: Africa

Opportunity:

FY 2014 Funding Opportunity Announcement for NGO Programs Benefiting Refugees in Rwanda and Tanzania [info]
 - The proposal submission deadline is 13 December 2013.

Publications:

From Refugee to Returnee to Asylum Seeker: Burundian Refugees Struggle to Find Protection in the Great Lakes Region (International Refugee Rights Initiative, Nov. 2013) [text]

Hidden and in Need: Urban Displacement in Southern Mali (Refugees International, Nov. 2013) [text]

High-level Panel on Somali Refugees, Geneva, 13-14 Nov. 2013 [info]
- Follow link for list of readings.

"Preliminary Observations from the Field: Rwandese Refugees’ Perceptions of 'Voluntary' Repatriation from Uganda," Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, vol. 3, no. 2 (Nov. 2013) [full-text]
- Scroll to p. 48.

Repatriation Pact: Insufficient Progress (Heritage Institute, Nov. 2013) [text via NCHS blog]

"Towards Durable Solutions for Protracted Congolese Refugees in Rwanda," Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, vol. 3, no. 2 (Nov. 2013) [full-text]
- Scroll to p. 58.

When Hosts go without: How to Aid Refugee Camp Hosts (IRIN, Nov. 2013) [text]

[Map credit: IRRI]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

Thematic Focus: General

Publications:

10 Observations on the Future of Migration, ICMPD 20th Anniversary Symposium, Vienna, 7 Nov. 2013 [info]
- Follow link for keynote speech.

Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2012: The Numbers and Trends (CRED, Aug. 2013) [text]

Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, First Half 2013: Statistical Overview of Asylum Applications Lodged in Europe and Selected Non-European Countries (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [info via ImmigrationProf Blog]
- Data in Excel tables can be accessed via zipped files from UNHCR's statistics page.

Armed Non‐state Actors and Displacement in Armed Conflict (Geneva Call, Oct. 2013) [text via ReliefWeb]

Durable Solutions to Displacement: Development and Peacebuilding Dimensions, Washington, DC, 25 Oct. 2013 [text]
- Follow link for event report.

Migrant Assistance: Assisted Voluntary Return & Reintegration, Counter Trafficking & Assistance to Vulnerable Migrants - Annual Review 2012 (IOM, Nov. 2013) [text]

Migration Myths Debunked (IRIN, Nov. 2013) [text]

Philosophies of Migration (openDemocracy, Nov. 2013) [text]

UNHCR Global Appeal 2014-2015 (UNHCR, 2013) [access]

News:

Global Migration Centre [info] [access site]
- Formerly the Programme for the Study of Global Migration at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

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

Thematic Focus: Law/Policy - Pt. 2 (Events...)

Upcoming events and opportunities:

High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges - Protecting the Internally Displaced: Persisting Challenges and Fresh Thinking, Geneva, 11-12 December 2013 [info]
- Follow the a/m link for the schedule.  See this earlier post for updated links to resources.

CFP: Second Postgraduate Workshop on Refugee Law, London, 25 April 2014 [info]
- Submit abstracts by 24 December 2013.

Course: International Refugee Law, Cairo, 2-6 February 2014 [info]
- Tuition waiver deadline is 6 January 2014; deadline for all others is 10 January 2014.

Call for Applications: 2014 Arthur C. Helton Fellowship Program [info]
- Applications will be accepted until the first 50 completed applications are received OR 13 January 2014, whichever comes first!

Events after the fact:

Global Expert Roundtable on Temporary Protection, San Remo, Italy, 15-16 July 2013 [text]
- Follow link for concept note.  See also list of participants.

"Refugee Rights: Beyond the 1951 Convention," Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture, Oxford, 20 Nov. 2013 [access]
- Follow link for podcast.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

Thematic Focus: Law/Policy - Pt. 1

Publications:

Clarifying UNHCR Resettlement:  A Few Considerations from a Legal Perspective, New Issues in Refugee Research, Paper no. 264 (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [text]

Postmillenial UNHCR Refugee Resettlement: New Developments and Old Challenges, New Issues in Refugee Research, Paper no. 265 (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [text]

"The Role of Foreign Authorities in U.S. Asylum Adjudication," New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, vol. 45, no. 2 (2013) [full-text]

"A Safe Country to Emulate? Canada and the European Refugee," Chapter in The Global Reach of European Refugee Law (Cambridge University Press, Oct. 2013) [eprint via SSRN]

"Second-hand Emotion? Exploring the Contagion and Impact of Trauma and Distress in the Asylum Law Context," Law & Society, vol. 40, no. 4 (Nov. 2013) [open access text]

Web site:

Interest Group on Migration and Refugee Law [access]
- An interest group of the European Society of International Law.

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Regional Focus: Europe

Asylum and Migration in Turkey: An Overview of Developments in the Field 1990–2013, MIM Working Paper Series, no. 13:3 (Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, 2013) [text]

Asylum Applications from the Western Balkans, Comparative Analysis of Trends, Push-pull Factors and Responses (EASO, Nov. 2013) [text]
- See also related press release.

Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Ukraine: Recognition, Social Protection and Integration, CARIM-East Explanatory Note 13/99 (MPC, Aug. 2013) [text]

Cultuurlijn: A Project that Paves the Way for Social Inclusion and Empowerment of Asylum Seekers? (Göteborgs universitet, Nov. 2013) [text]

Migration Flows in the Southern Neighbourhood and Their External Relations Perspective: Possible Avenues for Dialogue and Cooperation with Partner Countries, including Options for a CSDP Operation (Council of the European Union, Nov. 2013) [text]

New Irish Law on Subsidiary Protection Comes into Force (AIDA, Nov. 2013) [text]

Refugees and Forced Migrants in Azerbaijan: the Political Context, CARIM-East Explanatory Note 13/115 (MPC, Sept. 2013) [text]

Social and Economic Rights of Refugees and Displaced Persons in Azerbaijan, CARIM-East Explanatory Note 13/141 (MPC, Oct. 2013) [text]

Watch for:

Greece-Turkey: 'The route is dangerous, people are dying' - The Tragic Limits of European Migration Policies (EMHRN, Nov. 2013) [info]
- The report of a joint fact-finding mission to Greece and Turkey undertaken by FIDH, EMHRN, Migreurop will be released in early 2014.

Tagged Publications. 

Last Minute Event: MPI Conversation with UNHCR's DHC

The following livestream webcast will take place today at 9:30 AM EST:

A Conversation with the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees T. Alexander Aleinikoff about Syrian Crisis, Other Work

"More than two and a half years of violent conflict in Syria have left between one-quarter and one-third of the Syrian population displaced internally or seeking refuge abroad, with many still departing the country. UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees T. Alexander Aleinikoff will join Kathleen Newland, who directs MPI's refugee protection work, for a discussion on what is now considered one of the biggest humanitarian emergencies in a generation. In addition to discussing the key concerns UNHCR has identified in the Syrian crisis and the regional and international responses, Mr. Aleinikoff and Ms. Newland will discuss some of UNHCR’s other priorities and areas of action."

Tagged Events & Opportunities.  

Revised Edition of COI Training Manual

The second edition of Researching Country of Origin Information: Training Manual was launched by ACCORD on 28 October 2013 in Vienna.  I had the good fortune to be present at the event, and to learn about the extensive process undertaken to revise the manual. This involved a lengthy consultation period for the editorial team, comprised of Andrea Jakober, Reinhold Jawhari, Anna Ladurner and Boris Panhölzl. Once they had a draft document in hand, they circulated it to a wide variety of external experts, whose substantial feedback was subsequently incorporated - not an easy task!

While the same core quality standards remain the focus of the manual, readers will notice significant changes to the readability of the text, the addition of more diagrams and visuals, a new chapter on social media, and of course, many updated URLs and references to information sources.

I have a particular soft spot for country conditions information.  It has been an interest of mine since my UNHCR days when I conducted Refworld trainings for field staff and NGO partners.  Shortly after leaving UNHCR, I drafted my own Guide to Country Research for Refugee Status Determination (2001), which I understand was actually used in various COI trainings once upon a time!  Fortunately, COI practitioners and RSD decision-makers were soon able to benefit from the release of the first edition of the ACCORD training manual in 2004.  And they now have a very worthy successor resource with the 2013 volume!

You can learn more about the new edition from the article by Reinhold Jawhari in the latest issue of The Researcher or by viewing the video of the launch event.  The first edition can be accessed here, in several different languages.

Tagged Publications. 

Thematic Focus: Human Trafficking/Smuggling

Upcoming event:

Trafficking and Smuggling: A European Perspective, Oxford, 2 December 2013 [info]

Publications:

"Disparate Protections for American Human Trafficking Victims," Cleveland State Law Review, vol. 61, no. 1 (2013) [full-text]

"Migrant Smuggling, Criminal Fault and the Legal Status of Australia: PJ v The Queen," Monash University Law Review, vol 39, no. 1(2013) [full-text]

Migrants Smuggled by Sea to the EU: Facts, Laws and Policy Options, MPC Research Report 2013/09 (Migration Policy Centre, 2013) [text]

One Million Human Trafficking Victims are Used as Slave Workers across Europe," ECRE Weekly Bulletin, no. 70 (Oct. 2013) [text]

Voodoo, Witchcraft and Human Trafficking in Europe, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 263 (UNHCR, Oct. 2013) [text]

"Without Consent: Forced Marriage in Australia," Melbourne University Law Review, vol. 36, no. 3 (2013) [full-text]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

30th Anniversary of the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees

Adopted in 1984, the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees will turn 30 next year.  The upcoming anniversary has already spurred the organization of events, launching of initiatives, and publication of materials that reflect on the state of refugee protection in the Americas.  Here are a few examples:

2014:

1) The 15th Conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) will be held 14–17 July 2014 in Cartagena Bogotá, Colombia. The theme is "Forced Migration and Peace: 30 Years of the Cartagena Declaration on Asylum Seekers."  The call for panels/papers is available here; the deadline for both has been extended to 15 January 2014. In addition to the general CFP, see also info on these two IASFM15 panels and their calls for papers (please let me know if you are aware of any others!):
- Critical Engagements with the Role of Humanitarianism in Durable Solutions for Forced Migrants, abstract deadline is 28 November 2013;
- Sanctuary without Refugee Camps, abstract deadline is 28 November 2013.

2) UNHCR's specific plans for commemorating the 30th anniversary have not yet been officially announced, but the organization has laid out some general objectives for 2014 in the following documents:

- "Americas: Regional Summary," Chapter in UNHCR Global Appeal 2014-2015 (UNHCR, Dec. 2013) [text]
- Update on UNHCR's Operations in the Americas (EXCOM, Sept. 2013) [text]

2013:

1) XI Curso Regional de Derecho Internacional de Refugiados en América Latina, Mexico City, 9-13 Sept. 2013 [info]
- "El 30º aniversario de la Declaración de Cartagena (como proceso para ampliar la protección de personas necesitadas de protección internacional y su importancia hoy para consolidar avances y enfrentar desafíos) será la cuestión medular del Curso." Follow the link above for the course agenda.  This news story provides an overview of the presentations, while this news story focuses particularly on the discussions relating to statelessness in Latin American countries.

2) IV Seminário Nacional da Cátedra Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Curitiba, Brazil, 30 Sept.-1 Oct. 2013 [info]
- This seminar, organized under the auspices of the "Sérgio Vieira de Mello Chair," brought academics in Brazil together to discuss, in part, the progress made since the adoption of the Cartagena Declaration and the protection challenges that remain.

3) Regional Advocacy: Cartagena +30 Civil Society Initiative (Asylum Access Ecuador) [info]
- Led by Asylum Access (Ecuador), Sin Fronteras (Mexico) and the Asociación de Consultores y Asesores (Costa Rica), this research project was set up "to identify and propose strategies to improve the protection and social inclusion of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and stateless persons in the Americas."

Resources:

The Cartagena Declaration on Refugees and the Protection of People Fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence in Latin America, Legal and Protection Policy Research Series, no. 32 (UNHCR, June 2013) [text]

Memoria del Vigésimo Aniversario de la Declaración de Cartagena sobre los Refugiados (1984-2004) = Memoir of the Twentieth Anniversary of the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees (1984-2004) (UNHCR, 2005) [spanish text] [english text]

Protección de Refugiados en América Latina: Buenas Prácticas Legislativas (ACNUR) [access]
- "Este trabajo comenta y destaca treinta buenas prácticas legislativas, por considerar que estas disposiciones jurídicas constituyen buenos ejemplos a seguir. La compilación no es exhaustiva y aprovechando las celebraciones por los 30 años de la Declaración de Cartagena, por el momento la primera buena práctica que se pone a disposición está dedicada a la definición regional de refugiado."  Thirty "good practices" are discussed.  Links to the legal texts from which the good practices are drawn are provided on the right.

"Revisiting Cartagena: Lessons from Ecuador’s Refugee Policy," Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, vol. 3, no. 2 (Nov. 2013) [full-text]
- Scroll to p. 32.

[Image credit: "Salvadorian refugees en route home from Honduras, 1987," FMO]

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

Events & Opportunities: More Last Minute November 2013 & More December 2013

Immigration Detention: The Grounds Beneath our Feet, Oxford, 21 November 2013 [info]
- Free event, but please register.

Palestinians in Latin America: Between Assimilation and Long-distance Nationalism, Washington, DC, 21 November 2013 [info]
- Free event, but please register.

The Oslo Accords at 20: The Humanitarian Reality and Ways Forward, Brussels, 22 November 2013 [info]
- See also related IDMC blog post.

The Defector - Escape from North Korea, Toronto, 26 November 2013 [info]
- CRS Seminar Series.

Political Influences on Refugee Status Determination in Australia, 1978 to 1983, Oxford, 27 November 2013 [info]
- RSC Public Seminar Series.

Problematizing International Discourses on Displacement and Sexual Violence in Central Africa, Toronto, 28 November 2013 [info]

Responding to the Humanitarian Consequences of the Conflict in Syria: Have We Failed the Test?, London, 28 November 2013 [info]
- Launch event for next issue of Humanitarian Exchange; will also be live streamed; free but registration required.

Migrant Detention in Europe and Beyond: What Perspectives?, Paris, 6 December 2013 [info]
- Register by 3 December 2013.

Gangs, Drugs and the New Dynamics of Forced Displacement in Latin America, London, 5 December 2013 [info]
- Free event, but registration required.

Refugee Congress, Washington, DC, 9-11 December 2013 [info]
- "Refugee Congress is an advocacy and advisory organization comprised of refugees from across the United States who seek to champion domestic and international refugee issues."

FY 2014 Funding Opportunity Announcement for NGO Programs Benefiting Refugees in Ethiopia and Kenya [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 10 December 2013.

FY 2014 Funding Opportunity Announcement for NGO Programs Benefiting Refugees in Rwanda and Tanzania [info]
- Proposal submission deadline is 13 December 2013.

Survey on Education Response to the Syrian Crisis, INEE [info]
- Contribute to survey by 15 December 2013.

CMRS Winter Short Courses, Cairo, 12 January-6 February 2014 [info]
- Two courses have December deadlines: 1) Demographic Methods for Measuring International Migration, 12-16 January 2014; apply by 10 December 2013 for tuition waiver or by 15 December 2013 for all others. 2) Immigration Detention: Challenges of a Growing Trend, 19-23 January 2014; apply by 24 December 2013 for tuition waiver or by 31 December 2013 for all others.

Related post:
- Events & Opportunities: Last Minute November 2013, December 2013

Tagged Events & Opportunities.  

Regional Focus: More MENA

(I circulated a MENA post yesterday, but the following references just appeared on my radar so I thought I'd share them sooner rather than later!)

Event & opportunity:

Responding to the Humanitarian Consequences of the Conflict in Syria: Have We Failed the Test?, London, 28 November 2013 [info]
- Launch event for next issue of Humanitarian Exchange; will also be live streamed; free but registration required.

Survey on Education Response to the Syrian Crisis, INEE [info]
- Contribute to survey by 15 December 2013.

Publications:

Camp New Iraq (Formerly Camp Ashraf) Residents and the Processing of Their Cases for Solutions, Update no. 8 (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [text]

Libya: Displaced Camp Residents Need Immediate Protection (HRW, Nov. 2013) [text]

"Middle East and North Africa: Regional Summary," Chapter in UNHCR Global Appeal 2014-2015 (UNHCR, 2013) [text]

Unwelcome Guests: Iran’s Violation of Afghan Refugee and Migrant Rights (HRW, Nov. 2013) [text]

Yemen: Review Saudi Woman’s Refugee Claim (HRW, Nov. 2013) [text]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

Regional Focus: Australia

Asylum Seeker and Refugee Policy in Australia under the Abbott Government (e-International Relations, Oct. 2013) [text]

"Asylum Seekers," Chapter in Mapping Social Cohesion 2013 (Scanlon Foundation, 2013) [text]
- Scroll to p. 40.

"The Case of Christmas Island: How International Law Affects the Australian-Malaysian Refugee Deal," Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs, vol. 2, no. 2 (2013) [full-text]

"The Dream Boat," New York Times Magazine, 17 Nov. 2013 [text]
- First-hand account by an undercover journalist and a photographer who posed as asylum-seekers to document what people go through on the arduous boat journey from Indonesia to Australia.

Outsourcing Refugee Policy: The Australia-Indonesia 'People Swap' (The Conversation, Nov. 2013) [text]

A Return to Temporary Protection Visas? (FlagPost, Nov. 2013) [text]

Will the New Government Continue to Spend Overseas Aid Money on Australia’s Own Asylum Seeker Policies? (Human Rights Law Centre, Nov. 2013) [text]

Tagged Publications. 

Regional Focus: MENA

Upcoming event:

The Oslo Accords at 20: The Humanitarian Reality and Ways Forward, Brussels, 22 November 2013 [info]
- See also related IDMC blog post.

Publications:

Bridge over Troubled Desert: Review of the UNHCR Confidence Building Measures Programme in Western Sahara and Tindouf, PDES/2013/17 (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [text]

Etrangers et Droits de l’Homme au Maroc: Pour une Politique d’Asile et d’Immigration Radicalement Nouvelle - Conclusions et Recommandations (Conseil national des droits de l’Homme, 2013) [text via Oppenheimer Chair]

"Healing through Sharing: An Outreach Project with Iraqi Refugee Volunteers in Syria," Intervention, vol. 11, no. 3 (Nov. 2013) [free full-text]

[Migrant Workers in Qatar] (Amnesty International, Nov. 2013)
- Two new reports: "The Dark Side of Migration" and "'Treat us like we are human'"

Realities from the Ground: Women’s Housing, Land and Property Rights in the Gaza Strip (Norwegian Refugee Council, Nov. 2013) [text]

Regional Conference on Asylum and Migration from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, Sana'a, 11-13 Nov. 2013
- More than 62,000 People, Mostly Ethiopians, Risk Lives to Cross Gulf of Aden This Year (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [text]
- Welcome Remarks, Ministerial Session of the Regional Conference on Asylum and Migration from the Horn of Africa to Yemen (IOM, Nov. 2013) [text]
- Yemen Meet Agrees on Regional Cooperation to Tackle Asylum and Irregular Migration (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [text; includes link to statement by UNHCR's Director of International Protection]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance

Upcoming event:

Launch: The Contribution to Change Guide, London, 22 November 2013 [info]
- "The Contribution to Change Guide was produced to assist evaluators and those commissioning evaluations to measure the contribution that an agency makes to the changes to people's lives through humanitarian programmes." This event will also be live streamed.

Publications:

"The Budget Myth That Just Won’t Die: Americans Still Think 28 Percent of the Budget Goes to Foreign Aid," Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2013 [text]

Disaster as Opportunity? Building Back Better in Aceh, Myanmar and Haiti, HPG Working Paper (ODI, Nov. 2013) [text]

Famine and Forced Relocations in Ethiopia 1984-1986 (MSF, Nov. 2013) [text]
- Latest case study posted on MSF's Speaking Out web site.

Foreign Aid Workers and Local NGOs – Mending the Relationship (IRIN, Nov. 2013) [text]

How to Hijack an Aid Program: An Open Letter to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (McLeod Group Blog, Oct. 2013) [text]

"The Logistics of the Last Mile," Forced Migration Review 25th Anniversary Collection (Oct. 2013) [open access text]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

Regional Focus: Africans in Europe, Israel

African Migrants aren't just Fleeing to Europe, They're Fleeing from Europe's Legacy in Africa (Think Africa Press, Nov. 2013) [text]

Horn Migrants Risk New Routes to Reach Europe (IRIN, Nov. 2013) [text]

"Is Preventing Coerced Repatriation Ethical and Possible? The Case of NGO Repatriation of South Sudanese in Israel, International Migration, Early View, 11 Nov. 2013 [abstract] [eprint via Academia.edu]

Somalis in Europe: Their Stories, in Words and Illustrations (Open Society Foundations, Nov. 2013) [text]
- Follow link to access "'Meet the Somalis,' a collection of illustrated stories about the real-life experiences of Somalis in Europe... ."

"Testing for Unconscionability: The Case of Repatriation of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel," International Journal of Refugee Law, Forthcoming, 2013? [eprint via Academic.edu]

The Third Way: Israel can't Solve its Asylum Seeker Issue that Easily (Think Africa Press, Nov. 2013) [text]

Tagged Publications. 

Tip of the Week: Google Site Search!

Image credit: "Search!," by J. Beall

Have you ever visited a web site whose search feature didn't work?  It's quite frustrating, especially if you know that something of interest is located somewhere on the site, and you can't get at it just by browsing.  One alternative is to use Google's "site:" command.

Here's an example: Let's say you wanted to locate the last Tip of the Week I shared.  Go to Google Search, and enter a search constructed as follows:

[search term/s] site:[URL of the site you want to search]

Example:

tip site:fm-cab.blogspot.com

You can include more than one search term:

tip week site:fm-cab.blogspot.com

And you can add double quotes to conduct a phrase search:

"tip of the week" site:fm-cab.blogspot.com

Note: Make sure there is no space between "site:" and the URL you enter.  You don't have to include http:// in front of the URL

This will not work if you are trying to conduct a search within a database or other parts of the web that aren't/can't be crawled and indexed by Google (or other search engines). 

Tagged Tips.

Reflections on the Forced Migration Information Landscape: Monitoring & Managing Information

A second challenge that results from the increased availability of forced migration information online:  How do we monitor it all?  In the past, we used to have to go to it, i.e., bookmark web sites and then remember to visit them to see if anything new had been uploaded.  Now, even though we still actively seek information through web searches, we increasingly are passive recipients of information that simply comes to us.

Back in 2007, I wrote an article for Refugee Survey Quarterly on "Keeping up with Refugee Research" through the use of email alerts and RSS feeds.  But over the years, I have tried to shift as much as possible to RSS since I find it makes my life a lot easier.  RSS ("Really Simple Syndication") is an XML file format that delivers "headlines" to you directly so that you can peruse news and information from one central location. Content is distributed via RSS in the form of a feed that must be read by an application called a newsreader or news aggregator.  (If you want more of an overview, here is a brief intro.)

I am currently subscribed to over 200 RSS feeds.  Most are standard feeds associated with web sites and blogs.  But I also have a number of customized feeds for search results.  So, for example, instead of visiting ReliefWeb to run the same search over and over again, you can generate an RSS feed for that specific search.  Any time new items are added to ReliefWeb that match the parameters of your search, your feed will be updated. In addition, I have feeds for Facebook pages, even though I'm not on Facebook.  And I have feeds for sites that don't even offer them; I use a service called Page2RSS to generate feeds for me.

I (and millions of others!) used to use Google Reader to read my RSS feeds, but the application was discontinued by Google in July. After trying several alternatives (Digg, FeedReader, NetVibes,The Old Reader...), I settled on AOL Reader.  It's free, web-based and does almost as good a job as Google Reader did at organizing and managing my feeds, allowing me to quickly check for new, relevant information. RSS is a huge time-saver, and I wouldn't be able to do what I do without it!

We also have information coming to us via our social media connections: our Facebook walls, Google Plus circles, Twitter feeds... .  And a lot of people feel that they are able to access a better and broader base of information through these connections.  Now, I am not on Facebook, Google Plus, or Twitter, largely due to time management and information overload concerns.  However, I do visit a number of public FB pages and browse certain Twitter feeds because for some organizations and individuals, these have become their exclusive or predominant means of disseminating information, and I don't want to miss out.

So a third challenge is managing all the information that comes our way.  I wrote about this in Sept. 2011, but things have changed even since then. We all know that user-generated content is growing exponentially, and it's not going to stop.  After all, if Mark Zuckerberg gets his way, the four billion people in the world who currently don't have Internet access will all have Facebook pages in the near future! We will definitely need to take advantage of social media filtering and management tools that can help us zero in on relevant information and keep us from becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it all.  So time to update that blog post!

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

Regional Focus: Syria

Egypt: Syria Refugees Detained, Coerced to Return (Human Rights Watch, Nov. 2013) [text]

Humanitarian Crisis: Impact of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, Washington, DC, 29 Oct. 2013 [access]
- Follow link for a summary and video of this event, as well as one of the presentations.

Is Resettlement a Solution for Syria’s Refugee Crisis? (UpFront Blog, Nov. 2013) [text]

More Syrians take Desperate Measures as Crisis Grinds on (RI Blog, Nov. 2013) [text]

Syrian Aid in the Tech Age (IRIN, Nov. 2013) [text]

Turkey and Syrian Refugees: The Limits of Hospitality (Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement & USAK, Nov. 2013) [text]

UNHCR Concerned at Reports that Asylum Seekers, including Syrians, Denied Entry to Some EU Countries (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [text]

Tagged Publications. 

Thematic Focus: Health

Better off as a Refugee? Civil Status as a Determinant of Public Health Outcome (Developing Countries, 1998-2013), Presentation at the European Public Health Conference, Brussels, 13-16 November 2013 [free full-text via European Journal of Public Health]

Health Changes of Refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Somalia: Role of Residence Status and Experienced Living Difficulties in the Resettlement Process, Presentation at the European Public Health Conference, Brussels, 13-16 November 2013 [free full-text via European Journal of Public Health]

"Brief Mental Health Interventions in Conflict and Emergency Settings: An Overview of Four Medecins Sans Frontieres-France Programs," Conflict and Health 7:23 (Nov. 2013) [open access text]

"Counselling in Humanitarian Settings: A Retrospective Analysis of 18 Individual-focused Non-specialised Counselling Programmes," Conflict and Health 7:19 (Sept. 2013) [open access text]

"A Narrative Synthesis of the Impact of Primary Health Care Delivery Models for Refugees in Resettlement Countries on Access, Quality and Coordination," International Journal for Equity in Health 12:88 (Nov. 2013) [open access text]

UNHCR’s Essential Medicines and Medical Supplies: Policy and Guidance 2013 (UNHCR, Nov. 2013) [text]
- Updates the 2011 version.  "The Essential Medicines and Medical Supplies Policy and Guidance will remain valid until 2020 . The essential medicines and medical supplies lists will be updated biennially, with the next update in 2015."

Tagged Publications.