Thematic Focus: Climate Change & Disasters

Short pieces:

The Americas, a Region Committed to Better Protect the Human Rights of People Displaced in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change (PDD Perspectives, March 2024) [text]

The ECtHR’s potential role in African climate change displacement (RLI Blog, Sept. 2024) [text]

Legal Pathways for Climate and Disaster Displacement: Consolidating Case Law to Support Litigation around the World (RID Blog, Sept. 2024) [text]

- Introduces the Climiglaw Database, currently in beta.

The Missing Refuge for "Climate Refugees" in the International Legal Framework: A Dialogue with Caitlan M. Sussman (GJIA Dialogues, Sept. 2024) [text]

"Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice," AFP, 27 Sept. 2024 [text]

Reports & journal articles:

"Advancing Tort Law for Climate Displacement Compensation," Arizona Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, vol. 14, no. 3 (Summer 2024) [full-text]

Climate Change, Vulnerability, and Migration: Impacts on Children and Youth in Southeast Asia (World Vision, Sept. 2024) [access]

_ "Climate change impacts, compounded in some cases by infrastructure development such as dam construction, are deepening poverty and inequality and making people ever more vulnerable to distress migration and, through it, to exploitation and abuse." Follow link for executive summary, short report and policy brief.

"Desplazamiento climático en México y justicia ambiental crítica: hacia una nueva línea de investigación," Perfiles Latinoamericanos, vol. 32, no. 64 (2024) [open access]

Displacement and International Protection in a Warming World (Migration Policy Institute, Sept. 2024) [text]

Impacts of displacement: Displacement linked to sea level rise on Plantain Island, Sierra Leone (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Sept. 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

Mainstreaming a climate, peace and security approach: Challenges and entry points for humanitarian action (UN System Staff College & adelphi, Sept. 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

Social cohesion and forced mobility in a changing climate: Data from Ghana and Niger, DIIS Working Paper, no. 3 (Danish Inst. for International Studies, Sept. 2024) [access]

Water security and climate resilience in the Somali Region, Ethiopia: An assessment of the vulnerabilities of refugee and host communities (CGIAR, Sept. 2024) [text]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Climate Change & Disasters (17 Sept. 2024) 

Regional Focus: Africa

Short pieces:

The Government of the Republic of Rwanda, the African Union Commission (AUC), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Extend Agreement to Continue Evacuation of Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Libya (UNHCR, Aug. 2024) [text]

Reports:

Africa Forum on Displacement: Private Sector Solutions, Accra, 1-3 Nov. 2023 [text]

Building Evidence to Enhance the Welfare of Refugees and Host Communities in Kenya (World Bank, UNHCR & Univ. of California, Aug. 2024) [text]

- See also related project info.

Forced Displacement Survey: South Sudan 2023 (UNHCR, July 2024) [access]

- Note: "The Forced Displacement Survey (FDS) is a programme designed to streamline and standardize surveys that collect data on forcibly displaced people." South Sudan is the first country where it has been implemented. More info is available via the a/m link.

Implementing migration policies in Ghana: navigating externalization and local realities (Externalizing Asylum, July 2024) [text]

Livelihoods Lost: Findings from two rounds of the Somalia Displacement Phone Survey (2022) (Joint Data Center, June 2024) [text]

The meeting of humanitarian and civic space in Sudan: lessons for localisation (Humanitarian Practice Network, Aug. 2024) [text]

The Nuba Mountains: A Window into the Sudan Crisis (Refugees International, Aug. 2024) [text]

'Working with humanitarians is a nightmare': dynamics surrounding locally led peacebuilding in Somalia (ODI, Aug. 2024) [text]

Journal articles:

"(De)coloniality of 'Tethered Mobilities' in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Nyarugusu Refugee Camp, Tanzania," Migration and Society, Online First, 1 Dec. 2023 [open access]

"Integrated health services for refugee and host populations in Uganda: A qualitative study of stakeholder’s perspectives," Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 19, no. 1 (2024) [open access]

"UNHCR Synergy with Nigerian Government and the Security Concerns of Vulnerable Cameroonian Anglophone Refugees in Cross River State, Nigeria, 2017-2023," Journal of Contemporary International Relations and Diplomacy, vol. 5, no. 1 (2024) [open access]

"Violent Conflicts, Forced Migration and Internal Population Displacement in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, 1999-2011," Journal of Identity and Migration Studies, vol. 18, no. 1 (2024) [open access]

Multimedia:

Sudan at a Crossroads: Addressing the Largest Internal Displacement Crisis in the World, 18 July 2024 [access]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Africa (12 Aug. 2024)

Regional Focus: Africa - Pt. 2

Reports:

Between Reconciliation, Resignation and Revenge: (Re-)integration of Refugees, Internally Displaced People and Ex-combatants in Sierra Leone in a Long-term Perspective, BICC Working Paper, no. 8 (Bonn International Center for Conversation, 2019) [text]

Bridge Builders: Strengthening the Role of Local Faith Actors in Humanitarian Response in South Sudan (Islamic Relief et al., June 2020) [text via ReliefWeb]

“Hard and Unbearable”: COVID-19 Induced Challenges as Told by Refugee and Host Support Group Leaders (Refugee Law Project, May 2020) [text via ReliefWeb]
- Focuses on Uganda.

Refugee Resilience in Kenya (USAID Research Tech. Assistance Ctr., March 2020) [access]
- Follow link for a desk review, policy brief, and political economy report. See also related blog post and Univ. of Notre Dame news release.

South Sudan's Changing Tastes: Conflict, Displacement and Food Imports (Rift Valley Institute, June 2020) [text via ReliefWeb]

The State of Research on Internal Displacement in Africa, IDRP Working Paper, no. 2 (Refugee Law Initiative, June 2020) [text]

Multimedia:

Why the Energy and Food Nexus is Critical in Refugee Context (Forests News, June 2020) [access]
- Follow link for podcast. Focus is on East Africa.

Related post:
- Regional Focus: Africa - Pt. 1 (4 July 2020)

New Issue of JRS

A special issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies (JRS) has been published. The theme is "Rethinking Refugee Self-Reliance."* Contents of vol. 33, no. 1, March 2020 include:

• Old Concepts Making New History: Refugee Self-reliance, Livelihoods and the ‘Refugee Entrepreneur’ [free full-text]
• Refugees as Actors? Critical Reflections on Global Refugee Policies on Self-reliance and Resilience [abstract]
• Assessing the Jordan Compact One Year On: An Opportunity or a Barrier to Better Achieving Refugees’ Right to Work [abstract]
• Self-reliance and Social Networks: Explaining Refugees’ Reluctance to Relocate from Kakuma to Kalobeyei [abstract]
• Measuring the Self-Reliance of Refugees [abstract] [ResearchGate]
• Fostering Refugee Self-reliance: A Case Study of an Agency's Approach in Nairobi [abstract] [full-text via RefugePoint]
• Towards a Refugee Livelihoods Approach: Findings from Cameroon, Jordan, Malaysia and Turkey [abstract] [related ODI report]
• Warriors of Self-reliance: The Instrumentalization of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan [abstract]
• Self-reliance as a Concept and a Spatial Practice for Urban Refugees: Reflections from Delhi, India [abstract] [Academia]
• The Kalobeyei Settlement: A Self-reliance Model for Refugees? [abstract] [related RSC report]
• Towards a Neo-cosmetic Humanitarianism: Refugee Self-reliance as a Social-cohesion Regime in Lebanon’s Halba [abstract] [Academia]
• From Refugee to Entrepreneur? Challenges to Refugee Self-reliance in Berlin, Germany [abstract]
• Refugee Entrepreneurship and Self-reliance: The UNHCR and Sustainability in Post-conflict Sierra Leone [abstract]

*Some of these issues were explored in an RSC research brief, Oct. 2017.

Tagged Periodicals.

Thematic Focus: Development-induced Displacement - Pt. 2

Africa:

"Challenging the Risks-based Model of Involuntary Resettlement Using Evidence from the Bui Dam, Ghana," International Journal of Water Resources Development, vol. 35, no. 4 (2019) [ResearchGate]

"Developing against Development: Resistance as Participation in Development Induced Displacement in Kenya," Mambo!, vol. XV, no. 6 (2018) [full-text]

"Effects of Conservation-induced Displacement on the Bacha of Southwest Ethiopia," Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities, vol. 14, no. 2 (2018) [open access]

Left with Nowhere to Go: Stories of Survivors of Forced Evictions in Nigeria's Mega City (Amnesty International, Nov. 2018) [text via ReliefWeb]

The Legitimation of Expulsion in Development Discourse: A Comparative Analysis of World Bank Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, Development & Postcolonial Studies Working Paper, no. 6 (Univ. of Kassel, April 2019) [text]

"The Livelihood Challenges of Resettled Communities of the Bui Dam Project in Ghana and the Role of Chinese Dam‐builders," Development Policy Review, vol. 36, no. S1 (March 2018) [open access]

"Livelihood Impacts of Displacement and Resettlement on Informal Households: A Case Study from Kigali, Rwanda," Habitat International, vol. 86 (April 2019) [open access]

"The Merowe Dam in Northern Sudan: A Case of Population Displacement and Impoverishment," Chapter in Refugees and Forced Migration in the Horn and Eastern Africa (Springer, May 2019) [abstract]
- See also related thesis.

"Mining-induced Displacement and Resettlement: The Case of Rutile Mining Communities in Sierra Leone," Journal of Sustainable Mining, vol. 18, no. 2 (May 2019) [open access]

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Development-induced Displacement - Pt. 1 (13 Nov. 2019)

Tagged Publications.

Thematic Focus: Health

"Exposures to War-related Traumatic Events and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms among Displaced Darfuri Female University Students: An Exploratory Study," BMC Public Health 12:603 (Aug. 2012) [open access text]

"High Initiation and Long Duration of Breastfeeding Despite Absence of Early Skin-to-skin Contact in Karen Refugees on the Thai-Myanmar Border: A Mixed Methods Study," International Breastfeeding Journal 7:19 (Dec. 2012) [open access text]

"HIV/AIDS and Associated Conditions among HIV-Infected Refugees in Minnesota, 2000–2007," International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 9, no. 11 (Nov. 2012) [open access text]

"In the Face of War: Examining Sexual Vulnerabilities of Acholi Adolescent Girls Living in Displacement Camps in Conflict-affected Northern Uganda," BMC International Health and Human Rights 12:38 (Dec. 2012) [open access text]

"Insecticide-Treated Plastic Sheeting for Emergency Malaria Prevention and Shelter among Displaced Populations: An Observational Cohort Study in a Refugee Setting in Sierra Leone," American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 87, no. 2 (Aug. 2012) [open access text]

Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers (WHO et al., Dec. 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

"A Retrospective Study of Demographic Parameters and Major Health Referrals among Afghan Refugees in Iran," International Journal for Equity in Health 11:82 (Dec. 2012) [open access text]

"Validation of a French Adaptation of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire among Torture Survivors from Sub-Saharan African Countries," European Journal of Psychotraumatology 3:19225 (Dec. 2012) [open access text]

Tagged Publications. 

Focus on Health

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently published an article entitled "The State of the World's Refugees: Adapting Health Responses to Urban Environments," which "argue[s] that traditional responses to the healthcare needs of refugees are no longer adequate and that new and more innovative approaches are required."

Other health-related articles:

"Comparative Study of Mental Health and Quality of Life in Long Term Refugees and Host Populations in Oru-Ijebu, Southwest Nigeria," BMC Research Notes 5:394 (July 2012) [open access text]

"Evaluation of a Surgical Service in the Chronic Phase of a Refugee Camp: An Example from the Thai-Myanmar Border," Conflict and Health 6:5 (Aug. 2012) [open access text]

"Health in Colombia: Treating the Displaced," CMAJ, vol. 184, no. 6 (April 2012) [full-text]

"Insecticide-Treated Plastic Sheeting for Emergency Malaria Prevention and Shelter among Displaced Populations: An Observational Cohort Study in a Refugee Setting in Sierra Leone," American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 87, no. 2 (Aug. 2012) [open access text]

"Neonatal Survival Interventions in Humanitarian Emergencies: A Survey of Current Practices and Programs," Conflict and Health 6:2 (July 2012) [open access text]

Tagged Publications.

New Book: Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa

(This note is by Jennifer Moore; it was first published on IntLawGrrls and is cross-posted with permission.)

I’m happy to share news of my book Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa, soon to be released by Oxford University Press.

The book is the culmination of a four-year project that started with a panel presentation on the relationship between criminal justice and restorative justice in countries coming out of armed conflict. Slowly a book evolved. It explores the interrelationships between humanitarian law, human rights, international criminal law, and refugee law, as rules and tools for conflict resolution and social reconstruction.

The book compares the experiences of people in Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Burundi in the ongoing work of transitional justice in each of their countries.

My book has two parts:

► Part 1 is more “legal” – with individual chapters devoted to international law, and its four sister sub-fields. This part is designed to be a bit of a primer for academics who might specialize in one but not all of the various disciplines, and for practitioners who know the law in application but might want more of a conceptual framework.

Part I is global in scope and afro-centric in emphasis, with lots of examples from the region, and comparisons to other regions.

► Part II is focused on implementation, and explores five realms in which international law is tested on the ground – by courts, (peacekeeping) troops, the media, development efforts, and communities – all within countries emerging from civil war.

This section starts with a chapter that looks at each mechanism. Included are criminal trials, human rights education programs, efforts to empower women and engage youth through social programs and law reform, and grassroots dispute resolution traditions, and their incorporation into national truth commissions. Examples from each country help illustrate how these different mechanisms work – in collaboration, or at cross-purposes, or both.

Part II also has three country chapters, one each devoted to Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Burundi. I went to each country in 2010 on short, intensive field visits, interviewing folks from academia, from non-profits, and from government. Only in Sierra Leone did I spend time in the provinces – otherwise I was in Kampala, Bujumbura, and Freetown.

My short trips to the three countries built on prior experience in Africa, including two years in the early 1990s when I worked with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Conakry, Guinea. There I worked with Sierra Leonean refugees. In addition, I spent six months in 2002-03 teaching international law at the University of Dar es Salaam, and did peace education work with Burundian refugees in western Tanzania. The trips I took in 2010 were vital – for the human connection and the chance to test ideas and listen to stories.

In a future blog post, I plan to share more coherent thoughts on the subject of women in war and peace and women’s role in transformative justice. Women’s suffering, perseverance, and agency, realized and unrealized, are themes that run through the book. At the same time, these are themes that need much more exploration, by all of us.

I close today’s post by thanking these women, of Ugandan, Sierra Leonean, Burundian, French and American and nationalities: Agnes Jattu Carew-Bah, Libby Hoffman, Binta Mansaray, Kassie McIlvaine, Zahara Nampewo, Agnes Nindorera, Rachel Odoi-Musoke, Maud Roure, and Mary Turay.

Their words contributed to Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa, and their work continues.

Tagged Publications.

Publications relating to Assistance

A Catalyst and a Bridge: An Evaluation of UNHCR's Community Empowerment Projects in Sierra Leone, PDES/2012/01 (UNHCR, Jan. 2012) [text]

The Future of Aid? (humanitarian.info, Feb. 2012) [text]

HRI 2011 Field Research: Colombia, Somalia, Sudan (DARA, 2011) [info]
- Research carried out in preparation for the next Humanitarian Response Index (HRI).

IASC Evaluation of the Humanitarian Response in South Central Somalia 2005-2010 (DARA & IASC, Dec. 2011) [text via ReliefWeb]

Local to Global Protection in Myanmar (Burma), Sudan, South Sudan and Zimbabwe (Humanitarian Practice Network, Feb. 2012) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Research Papers: Environmentally-induced Migration, IDP Women/Sierra Leone, Subsidiary Protection, Sudanese Migrants/Egypt

Internally Displaced Woman: The Gendered Economy of Return Migration in Sierra Leone, Paper prepared for Development Studies Association Annual Conference, London, 8 Nov. 2008 [access]

Pandemic Preparedness among Sudanese Migrants in Greater Cairo (AUC Center for Migration and Refugee Studies & IOM, Oct. 2008) [text]

Preliminary Findings from the EACH-FOR Project on Environmentally Induced Migration (EACH-FOR Project Consortium, Oct. 2008) [text]

Salah Sheekh is a refugee: New insights into primary and subsidiary forms of protection, Working Paper no. 49 (RSC, Oct. 2008) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Pubs: Asylum Policy/Greece, Bhutanese Refugee Children, Detention/Turkey, North Korean Children/China, Peace Processes, Protection, Youth/Sierra Leone

Anuario 2008 de procesos de paz (Escola de cultura de paz, April 2008) [Spanish text]

Country at a Crossroads: Challenges Facing Young People in Sierra Leone (Women's Commission, April 2008) [text]

Denied Status, Denied Education: Children of North Korean Women in China (Human Rights Watch, April 2008) [text via Refworld]

A Gamble with the Right to Asylum in Europe: Greek Asylum Policy and the Dublin II Regulation (NOAS, Norwegian Helsinki Committee & Greek Helsinki Monitor, April 2008) [text]

"Malnutrition and Micronutrient Deficiencies Among Bhutanese Refugee Children - Nepal 2007," MMWR Weekly, vol. 57, no. 14 (April 11, 2008), pp. 370-73 [text]

Refugee Protection and Durable Solutions in the Context of International Migration: Report on the High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges, December 2007 (UNHCR PDES, April 2008) [text]

Unwelcome Guests: The Detention of Refugees in Turkey’s "Foreigners' Guesthouses" (Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, April 2008) [text]

Posted in Publications.