Regional Focus: Africa

Opportunity:

Webinar: Between Commitment and Implementation: Refugee Protection in East Africa, 21 April 2026 [info]

Short pieces:

Amid Shaky Ceasefire, War in Iran is Starving Sudan (Just Security, April 2026) [text]

Basic Services and Humanitarian Support Amidst Conflict: To Whom to Turn as a Congolese IDP? (RID Blog, April 2026) [text]

"DRC joins US list of third-country deportation destinations," DW, 6 April 2026 [text]

Funding shortfalls put lifelines at risk for Sudanese refugees in Chad (WFP, April 2026) [text]

Three years on, war-weary Sudanese remain on the move (UNHCR, April 2026) [text]

Trade in all directions: How wars, crime and instability are fueling and expanding migration routes across Africa (InfoMigrants, April 2026) [text]

"Uganda receives first US deportation flight under third-country agreement," The Guardian, 2 April 2026 [text]

New open access book:

Refugee-Led Organizations in Uganda: Agency, Gender, and Politics of Self-Organizing in Exile (McGill-Queen’s University Press, April 2026) [open access]

- "Self-organization plays an essential yet often overlooked role in the everyday lives of refugees in exile. By self-organizing, they challenge restrictions, claim political representation, foster social relations and belonging, and create ongoing economic opportunities. While government authorities and aid organizations are supposed to provide protection and assistance, refugees often continue to face adversities, restrictions, and risks, prompting them to establish and maintain their own support systems. Refugee-Led Organizations in Uganda offers nuanced insight into the problems arising from the aid system and especially the significance of the spectrum of informal and formalized self-organizations. [The authors] draw on a gender-sensitive understanding of relational agency and situated knowledge and use empirical research in Uganda’s camp Kyaka II and the capital, Kampala, to reveal how individuals collectively contribute to their own support in times of emergency and in everyday life."

Reports:

The case for large cash transfers: supporting refugees to meet basic needs and build resilience (ODI Humanitarian Policy Group, April 2026) [text]

- Focuses on Uganda.

Exhausted: Three years of displacement and the collapse of survival systems in Sudan and the region (Norwegian Refugee Council, April 2026) [text]

- See also related news release.

Somali systems: from aid-centred to state-led crisis response (ODI Humanitarian Policy Group, April 2026) [text]

Journal articles:

"Authoritarian legacies: how 1970s African dictators shaped contemporary refugee policies," Third World Quarterly, Latest Articles, 14 March 2026 [open access]

"Forced migrant arrivals can reduce political trust in African host communities," World Development, vol. 203 (July 2026) [open access]

"'Human beings should not be deported': The Horn of Africa’s hegemon contests the EU’s norm to readmit," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 27 March 2026 [open access]

"Nigeria Aims to Capitalize on Regional Integration amid Evolving Emigration Patterns," Migration Information Source, 8 April 2026 [open access]

"Trajectories of migration aspirations through urban and temporal lenses: rethinking (im)mobility decision-making in Dakar, Senegal," Comparative Migration Studies, 14:21 (April 2026) [open access]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Africa (27 March 2026)

Regional Focus: United States

Short pieces:

The Bodily Remainder: Chicago Organisers after the Immigration ‘Blitz’ (Border Criminologies Blog, Jan. 2026) [text]

Collection: ICE and CBP Operations in Minnesota and Other States (Just Security, Jan.-Feb. 2026) [access]

Expert Survey on DHS, CBP, and ICE Reforms (Just Security, Feb. 2026) [text]

ICE and Border Patrol in Minnesota − accused of violating 1st, 2nd, 4th and 10th amendment rights − are testing whether the Constitution can survive (The Conversation, Feb. 2026) [text]

I’m a former FBI agent who studies policing, and here’s how federal agents in Minneapolis are undermining basic law enforcement principles (The Conversation, Jan. 2026) [text]

Migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border are at their lowest level in more than 50 years (Pew Research Center, Feb. 2026) [text]

More Asylum Seekers Are “No Shows” in Immigration Court (The Asylumist Blog, Feb. 2026) [text]

**Visit the Americas Migration Brief and ImmProf Blog for a much more extensive round-up of news and publications.**

Reports: 

Development of the U.S. Asylum System: In Brief (Congressional Research Service, Jan. 2026) [text]

Do Border Policies Deter Migrants? (SSRN, Jan. 2026) [text]

- See also related Just Security post.

Immigration Enforcement in the First Nine Months of the Second Trump Administration (Deportation Data Project, Jan. 2026) [text]

Oversight of the Use of Force by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Law Enforcement Officers (Congressional Research Service, Feb. 2026) [text]

Journal articles & book chapters:

"Empty Justice: Ethnographic Court-Witnessing in Authoritarian Times," Journal for the Anthropology of North America, vol. 29, no. 1 (Jan. 2026) [open access]

- "This article investigates the operations of United States immigration courts ethnographically, examining how law, politics, and bureaucracy converge in the everyday production of immigration adjudication."

"The Far-Reaching Impacts of Trump’s Anti-Immigration Offensive," Current History, vol. 125, no. 868 (Feb. 2026) [free full-text]

"For the Sake of Migrant Futures: Historicizing Migrant Deaths in Shipping Containers on the U.S. – Mexico Border in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries," California History, vol. 103, no. 1 (Spring 2026) [free full-text]

"Immigrant and refugee experiences in the Utah WIC program: a qualitative study," International Journal for Equity in Health, 27 Jan. 2026 [open access]

"Inventing a New Order of Uncertainties: Trump’s Anti-Immigration Policy and the Dilemmas of African Deportees," Chapter in African Perspectives on Trump 2.0: United States Foreign Policy and the New World (Re)Order (Univ. of Pretoria, 2025) [ResearchGate]

"Trump’s Immigration Policy and United States Foreign Relations," Chapter in African Perspectives on Trump 2.0: United States Foreign Policy and the New World (Re)Order (Univ. of Pretoria, Dec. 2025) [ResearchGate]

Multimedia:

Unsettled: Immigration in Turbulent Times (Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility) [access]

- Podcast series that "examines Trump administration policies and actions affecting immigration and migrants and their communities." Season 2 episodes are now being posted.

Resource:

ImmigrationLawHelp.org [access]

- "A searchable online directory of over 1,000 free or low-cost nonprofit immigration legal services providers in all 50 states."

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: United States - Pt. 1 (26 Jan. 2026)

- Regional Focus: United States - Pt. 2 (26 Jan. 2026)

Regional Focus: Africa

Short pieces:

"Boko Haram is back, and Nigeria’s IDP return policy is in trouble," The New Humanitarian, 5 Nov. 2025 [text]

Escalating Crisis, Rising Floods: Insecurity, Conflict, and Displacement in South Sudan (RID Blog, Nov. 2025) [text]

"UN faces scrutiny over refugee transfers from rebel-held DR Congo to Rwanda," The New Humanitarian, 13 Nov. 2025 [text]

UNHCR: Displaced civilians fleeing Sudan’s Darfur, Kordofan regions navigate serious violations, deadly routes (UNHCR, Nov. 2025) [text]

- See also related TNH article and MSF press release.

"Why it’s a bad idea to triage refugee food aid when everyone's hungry," The New Humanitarian, 7 Nov. 2025 [text]

- Focuses on Kenya.

Reports:

Flooded and Forgotten: Informal Settlements and the Right to Housing in South Africa (Amnesty International, Nov. 2025) [text]

A New Expanded Dataset to Study Refugee Camps in Sub-Saharan Africa 1999–2024, HiCN Working Paper, no. 442 (Households in Conflict Network, 2025) [text via EconPapers]

- See also related LinkedIn post.

No rain, no food, no animals: The human rights impact of drought and displacement in Somalia (Amnesty International, Nov. 2025) [text]

A Region on the Move: Mobility Trends in West and Central Africa (2022-2023) (International Organization for Migration, Oct. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Journal articles:

"After the funding stops: the human cost of aid dependency in Côte d’Ivoire," Alternatives Humanitaires = Humanitarian Alternatives (Nov. 2025) [full-text]

"Strangers into Kin: Affinity, Deservingness and Gratitude in ‘Everyday Humanitarianism’ between Locals and Refugees/Migrants in Kigoma, Tanzania," Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, vol. 6, nos. 2-3 (Nov. 2025) [open access]

"The value of migration corridors in studying health of displaced persons in West Africa," Discover Public Health, 22:691 (Nov. 2025) [open access]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Africa (29 Oct. 2025)

Regional Focus: United States - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Defending ‘Sanctuary’ Principles During the Chicago Crackdown (Just Security, Nov. 2025) [text]

DHS Admits It Provided “Erroneous” Information on Texts of Noem and DHS Brass, Hasn’t Confirmed It Followed Law (American Oversight, Nov. 2025) [text]

Explainer on Termination of Parole (Refugees International, last update 27 Oct. 2025) [text]

- Available in multiple languages.

From the Field: At the Border of Language and Law. Translating Indian Journeys to the U.S. Asylum System (Border Criminologies Blog, Oct. 2025) [text]

How America's Retreat from Refugee Protection Undermines Global Stability (Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Oct. 2025) [text]

National Immigrant Rights Organizations Sue the Federal Government Over Withheld Records on ICE Arrests in Immigration Courts (American Immigration Council, Oct. 2025) [text]

"Refugees will be among the first to lose food stamps under federal changes," ABC News, 30 Oct. 2025 [text]

The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant housing policy reflects a long history of xenophobia in public housing (The Conversation, Oct. 2025) [text]

"Trump put a new fee on asylum seekers. Many say they don’t know how to pay," Politico, 21 Oct. 2025 [text]

Trump-Proofing Your Asylum Application (The Asylumist Blog, Oct. 2025) [Part 1] [Part 2]

**Visit the the ImmProf Blog for a much more extensive round-up of news and publications.**

Reports:

Changing Origins, Rising Numbers: Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States (Migration Policy Institute, Oct. 2025) [text]

Immigration is Not Invasion, Legal Studies Research Paper, no. 19 (George Mason Univ., Nov. 2025) [text]

Maine’s Immigrant Communities: Diverse Origins, Characteristics, and Challenges (Migration Policy Institute, Oct. 2025) [text]

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: United States - Pt. 1 (15 Oct. 2025)

- Regional Focus: United States - Pt. 2 (15 Oct. 2025)

Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance - Pt. 2

Reports: 

Applying the HDP Nexus Approach to better respond to Forced Displacement (GIZ & UNHCR, Oct. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

- "Field missions and follow-ups were conducted in Mexico, Mauritania, and Mozambique. Desk-based research covered Niger, Ethiopia, and Uganda."

Coordination in Transition: How NGOs are Navigating and Adapting beyond the IASC (ICVA, Oct. 20250 [text]

Global Protection Update: Protection in a Prioritised Humanitarian Response (Global Protection Cluster, Oct. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Humanitarian Complementarity: Rebalancing Power for a People-Centred System – “As local as possible, as international as necessary” (ICVA, Oct. 20250 [text]

A lifeline at risk: food assistance at a breaking point (WFP, Sept. 2025) [text]

UNHCR Guidelines on Localization: Engaging and Partnering with Local and National Actors (UNHCR, Oct. 2025) [text]

- See also related executive summary.

Journal articles:

Disasters, vol. 49, no. 4 (Oct. 2025) [contents]

- Mix of articles, including five contributions to a debate on "Future of humanitarian and development aid" which are all either freely available or open access. Note: These articles are also part of the virtual issue on "Critical perspectives on the future of aid."  

Voice Out Loud, no. 39 (Sept. 2025) [full-text] 

- Issue theme is "The Challenge of Humanitarian Communication: Bridging Principles and Public Perception."

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance - Pt. 1 (31 Oct. 2025)

Regional Focus: Africa - Pt. 2

Reports: 

2024 Regional Population Data Analysis (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Southern Africa.

Accelerating Localization: A Roadmap for The Sudan Humanitarian Fund (Refugees International, Sept. 2025) [text]

Asylum policy under threat: The case of Uganda (Danish Refugee Council, Sept. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Beyond Survival: Reimagining Humanitarian Action in Nigeria (Nigeria INGO Forum, Aug. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Enhanced Protection and Solutions for Refugees through Inclusion in Ethiopia's National Digital ID Program (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

Guidance Note on Guinea (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

"If I had known it would be this hard, I wouldn’t have taken the risk": Examining onward and mixed movements along the Western Indian Ocean Route (Mixed Migration Centre & UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

*Investing in development responses to forced displacement in Africa (African Development Bank & UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

A lifeline at risk: food assistance at a breaking point (World Food Programme, Sept. 2025) 

- Niger country report

- Refugees in Uganda country report

- South Sudan country report (not yet published)

The most common routes used by refugees and asylum-seekers in 2025 in Southern Africa (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

[Regional Updates on UNHCR Operations], 76th Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (Sept. 2025) 

- East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes

- Southern Africa

- West and Central Africa

Southern Africa and Western Indian Ocean Routes: Route Based Approach (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Africa - Pt. 1 (8 Oct. 2025)

Regional Focus: MENA

Short pieces:

"International aid agencies hold secret collaboration meeting with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation," The New Humanitarian, 8 Aug. 2025 [text]

- See also related follow-up article. 

"Lebanon’s UN refugee agency chief hopes at least 200,000 Syrian refugees return under new plan," AP News, 31 July 2025 [text]

- See also related UNHCR/IOM press release.

More of the Same, But Worse: Netanyahu’s “New” Plan in Gaza (Just Security, Aug. 2025) [text]

"Refugees without refuge: Afghans in Iran," The New Humanitarian, 5 Aug. 2025 [text]

"A tipping point in Israel’s genocide in Gaza?," The New Humanitarian, 1 Aug. 2025 [text]

The Unyielding Right to Assist Civilians in Gaza (EJIL: Talk Blog, Aug. 2025) [text]

- See also related Human Rights Watch news release and MSF report.

Reports: 

The Principle of Non-Refoulement for Refugees Facing Real Risks: An In-Depth Analysis of a Contemporary Iraqi Judicial Precedent, Publication Series, no. 1 (Strategic Center for Conflict Resolution, 2025) [text via SSRN]

A route-based approach to migrant deaths and disappearances in the Middle East and North Africa region: Enhancing data driven responses (International Organization for Migration, Aug. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Journal articles:

"Community health workers for mental health care in refugee camps: a scoping review," International Journal for Equity in Health, 24:217 (Aug. 2025) [open access]

- Focuses on the MENA region.

"Cradles of resilience: fertility and the fear of erasure among Syrian refugees in Lebanon," Comparative Migration Studies, 13:58 (Aug. 2025) [open access]

"Forced Evacuations and the Politics of Return in South Lebanon: Legal and Identity Implications," Journal on Migration and Human Security, OnlineFirst, 12 Aug. 2025 [full-text]

Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies, vol. 12, no. 2 (2025) [open access] 

- Mix of articles.

"Migration in the Maghreb: Introduction," Journal of North African Studies, Latest Articles, 16 July 2025 [info] [postprint]

- Provides an overview of the articles that will appear in a forthcoming special issue. Note: This article has since been retracted; it's not clear what the status of the special issue is. The postprint version is still available.

"Trauma-Informed Participatory Research in Displacement Studies: Ethical and Methodological Considerations from Lebanon and Beyond,"International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 12 June 2025 [open access]

"Universal public health insurance for Afghan refugees in Iran: a contextual analysis," Globalization and Health, 21:46 (Aug. 2025) [open access]

"Urban Citizenship During a Protracted Crisis: Syrian Refugees’ Access to Rights and Services in Izmir, Turkey," Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 23, no. 3 (2025) [open access]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: MENA (29 July 2025)

Regional Focus: Africa

Short pieces:

As Global Aid Abandons Ugandan Refugees, Refugee-led Organizations Present a Promising Path Forward (Refugees International, July 2025) [text]

The Impact of the Presence of Refugees in North Western Tanzania (LERRN, July 2025) [text]

"In Darfur’s displacement epicentre, community kitchens shoulder the load," The New Humanitarian, 22 July 2025 [text]

Trump's Deportation Deals Signal a Troubling Shift in U.S.-Africa Relations (ISS Today, Aug. 2025) [text]

Urgent support needed as over 1.3 million war-displaced Sudanese begin to return home: Joint IOM-UNHCR-UNDP press release (July 2025) [text]

Reports & journal articles::

"Building a Professionally Socialized Immigration Bar in Nigeria: A Case Study," Fordham Law Review, vol. 94 (Forthcoming, 2026) [preprint]

- Note: The final published version will be freely available on the law review's website.

Documentation Campaign: Report from the multi-stakeholder meeting with RLOs, civil society, human rights actors, & legal experts (Re:BUILD, July 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Kenya and Uganda.

"Handwashing with soap and influencing factors in crisis-affected refugee populations in Kenya and Uganda," Conflict and Health, 19:53 (July 2025) [open access]

"The integration of migration into municipal development planning in the city of uMhlathuze in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa," Comparative Migration Studies, 13:59 (Aug. 2025) [open access]

"Irankunda v. Director of Asylum Seeker Management: Strengthening Non-Refoulement and Sur Place Protections in South Africa," Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law, vol. 33, no. 3 (2025) [full-text]

- Focuses on Burundians.

"Refugees like us: Arab African encounters at a migratory crossroads," HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, vol. 15, no. 2 (2025) [free full-text]

- Focuses on Ethiopian and Yemeni refugees in Djibouti.

"The Rippling Effects of European Migration Governance in Africa: A Critical Research Agenda and Analytical Approach," International Migration Review, OnlineFirst, 1 Aug. 2025 [open access]

- Introduction to forthcoming special issue.

"The Role of Art in the Liminal Setting of Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda," Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, vol. 41, no. 1 (2025) [open access]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Africa (18 July 2025)

Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance

Short pieces:

Deploying frozen assets for humanitarian needs? Responding to the ODA crisis (HPN, July 2025) [text]

Fixing the Spending Crisis at the Department of State (CGD Blog, Aug. 2025) [text]

"State Department addresses decision to destroy 500 tons of emergency food," ABC News, 17 July 2025 [text]

- See also related Reuters article.

"What does a crisis look like? The ethics of humanitarian imagery," The New Humanitarian, 15 July 2025 [text]

"What the spread of the 'great replacement' conspiracy theory means for humanitarian aid," The New Humanitarian, 24 July 2025 [text]

What will rescission do to foreign aid? Details are murky. Here's what we found out (Goats & Soda Blog, July 2025) [text]

- Focuses on the US. See also related CGD blog post.

Reports & journal articles:

Alternatives Humanitaires = Humanitarian Alternatives, no. 29 (July 2025)  [Eng. full-text] [Fr. full-text]

- Issue theme is "Communication challenges in the era of fake news and 'post-truth' = Communication : les défis à l’ère des fake news et de la 'post-vérité'."

Coordinating in Crisis: Strengthening NGO coordination and collective response in rapid onset humanitarian emergencies (ICVA, June 2025) [text]

- See also related blog post.

"Humanitarian virtue: identifying ethics and values in humanitarian thinking," Disasters, vol. 49, no. 4 (Oct. 2025) [open access]

IASC Policy on Protection in Humanitarian Action: An Aide Memoire (Global Protection Cluster, Oct. 2024) [text]

On the brink: The devastating toll of aid cuts on people forced to flee (UNHCR, July 2025) [text]

- See also related briefing note.

The Power of Flexible Funding in Enabling Adaptive Programing (Re:BUiLD program, July 2025) [access]

Strengthening Leadership of Local and National Actors in Humanitarian Coordination: Practical Case Studies (UNICEF, Feb. 2025) [access]

- Follow link for English and Arabic versions; also available in French and Spanish.

Multimedia:

When USAID Freezes, Who Pays? The Dangerous Myth of Remittances in Global Crises, 12 March 2025 [access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance (10 July 2025) 

Regional Focus: Americas

Short pieces:

"Argentina orders immigration crackdown with decree to 'make Argentina great again'," NPR, 15 May 2025 [text]

Bolsonaro’s paradox: a far-right leader’s pro-immigration strategy? (Migration Mobilities Bristol Blog, May 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Brazil.

Governing through expulsion: rise in U.S. deportations quiets the Darién Gap, shifting burdens south (Bliss Blog, May 2025) [text]

IACHR urges States to guarantee the rights of returned, deported, or expelled people (OAS, May 2025) [text]

- See also Spanish version.

Migration: A worldwide crisis of solidarity (Doctors without Borders, May 2025) [text]

**Visit the weekly Americas Migration Brief for a much more extensive round-up of news and publications.

Reports:

Facing New Migration Realities: U.S.-Mexico Relations and Shared Interests (Migration Policy Institute, May 2025) [text]

Haiti: Conflict escalation and increasing internal displacement (ACAPS, May 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Limited Aid and Impossible Choices for People Seeking Refuge: The Human Impact of Trump Administration Policies in Costa Rica (Refugees International & Women’s Refugee Commission, May 2025) [text]

- See also related statement.

"The Strategy is to Break Us": The US Expulsion of Third-Country Nationals to Costa Rica (Human Rights Watch, May 2025) [access]

- A Spanish version is also available.

Journal articles & book chapters:

"Feeding migrants to cultivate a moral self: an analysis of food relief in U.S. and Mexican migration control," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 16 May 2025 [open access]

"Irregularized Transits to the South: A Social Force in the Cross-Border Spatial Dispute in South America," Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, Early View, 12 May 2025 [open access]

- Focuses on Venezuelans.

"The Theoretical and Practical Potential of Acompañamiento for Research with People Marginalized through Immigration Controls," Chapter in Migration and Racialization in Times of “Crisis”: The Making of Crises and Their Effects (Univ. of Ottawa Press, May 2025) [open access]

- "Drawing on illustrative examples from the work of two members of an interdisciplinary research team working with Indigenous migrant communities in Mexico, Guatemala, and the United States, this chapter explores the concept of acompañamiento and considers its theoretical and practical relevance in shaping modes of enquiry and action."

"The Venezuelan 'Migratory Crisis' in the Ecuadorian Context: Problematizing Immigrants as Victims and Threats," Chapter in Migration and Racialization in Times of “Crisis”: The Making of Crises and Their Effects (Univ. of Ottawa Press, May 2025) [open access]

Multimedia:

Governing Migration and Mobility: Military-Humanitarianism at Brazil’s Northern Frontier, 14 May 2025 [access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: Gender-related Issues - Pt. 2 (Americas) (23 May 2025)

- Regional Focus: Americas (14 May 2025)

Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance

Short pieces:

"Aligning" aid: Which interests and whose interests? (The Interpreter Blog, April 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Australia.

Can Innovation Help Blunt the Impact of Foreign Aid Cuts on Migration Management Programs? (Migration Policy Institute, April 2025) [text]

Global First Responders: What UNHCR does when emergencies strike (UNHCR, April 2025) [text]

The New Washington Dissensus: Trump’s Five Principles for Global Development Policy (CGD Blog, April 2025) [text]

"OCHA, the UN’s emergency aid coordination arm, to cut staff by a fifth," The New Humanitarian, 11 April 2025 [text]

Shelter from the Storm: Building Dignified and Resilient Shelters for Refugees (Wilson Center, April 2025) [text]

Tracking Anticipated Deaths from USAID Funding Cuts (Boston Univ., March 2025) [text]

- See also related Nature report ($).

"Trump cuts leave aid agencies with pivotal decisions on humanitarian logistics," The New Humanitarian, 3 April 2025 [text]

"UN High Commissioner for Refugees warns that deprioritising international aid will lead to global 'insecurity and instability'," King’s College London News, 11 April 2025 [text]

- Includes video recording of the HC's address.

"The US ends lifesaving food aid for millions. The World Food Program calls it a ‘death sentence’," AP News, 8 April 2025 [text]

- See also related NYT and Reuters articles and comment published in Nature .

The USAID Fait Accompli (CGD Blog, April 2025) [text]

- See also related Goats and Soda blog post.

"What new funding data tells us about donor decisions in 2025," The New Humanitarian, 17 April 2025 [text]

"White House proposes drastic cuts to State Department and funding for UN, NATO and other groups," AP News, 14 April 2025 [text]

- See also related NYT article. 

"Why a reset is not reform," TNH Inklings Newsletter, 16 April 2025 [text]

Reports & journal articles:

"Effects of COVID-19 on international organizations, humanitarian action, and human rights," Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 10:7 (April 2025) [open access]

Humanitarian Organisations’ Use of Money Service Providers (Norwegian Refugee Council, April 2025) [text]

Lives in Dignity: Lessons from Applying Development-Oriented Approaches in Forced Displacement Contexts (European Commission & UNOPS, April 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Our interconnected humanitarian data and analysis ecosystem: resilience, reckoning? (HPN, April 2025) [text]

Practice Note: Continuity of Protection in Humanitarian Coordination Transitions (Norwegian Refugee Council & Protection Cluster, April 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

The Triple Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus: In Context and Everyday Perspective (Wiley, 2025) [access]

- Chapters from this forthcoming e-book are being serialised on Global Policy.

UK aid: Reducing spending to 0.3% of GNI by 2027/28 (UK House of Commons Library, April 2025) [text]

- See also related CGD blog post and article in The Independent.

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance (1 April 2025)

Regional Focus: Africa - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

East, Horn, and Great Lakes of Africa: Leveraging Data for Sustainable Refugee Responses (UNHCR Blog, Feb. 2025) [text]

"Sudan mutual aid groups face survival battle amid army abuse and US aid freeze," The New Humanitarian, 26 Feb. 2025 [text]

Reports:

[ACAPS Reports on Implications of USAID Cuts and Funding Freeze]

- Democratic Republic of Congo

- Ethiopia

- Sudan

Emergency Food Assistance in Ethiopia: Gaps in USAID’s Award Administration, Monitoring, and Incident Reporting Hindered Its Ability to Detect Widespread Food Diversion (USAID Office of Inspector General, Feb. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Enhancing community-based social protection for sustainable use of aid in South Sudan: Guidance for conflict and context sensitive aid (Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility, Feb. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Les impacts de l'afflux de déplacés sur les 'centres urbains': analyse des dynamiques plurielles dans les chefs-lieux de commune et région (Danish Refugee Council, Jan. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Removing Red Tape to Get Kenya’s Refugee Act Right (Refugees International, March 2025) [text]

Rôles du HCR et du CNAR dans la détermination du statut de réfugié (UNHCR, Feb. 2025) [text]

UNHCR Position on Returns to North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Update IV (UNHCR, March 2025) [text]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Africa (19 Feb. 2025)

Regional Focus: Africa

Short pieces:

Ethiopia: Fighting, Abuses Putting Sudanese Refugees at Risk (HRW, Oct. 2024) [text]

Unrelenting violence in Sudan drives continued refugee exodus (UNHCR, Nov. 2024) [text]

"'We live in fear': forced expulsions taint Kenya's safe haven image," BBC News, 6 Nov. 2024 [text]

- See also related BBC News article.

Reports:

Key Considerations: Food Assistance Prioritisation in Refugee Settlements in Uganda and its Impacts (Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform, Oct. 2024) [text]

Key considerations: Mutual aid lessons and experiences from Emergency Response Rooms in Sudan (Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform, Oct. 2024) [text]

Understanding the socio-economic profile of refugee arrivals in Mauritania since 2023: Analysis of UNHCR and WFP data on Malian refugees living in Mauritania (UNHCR & WFP, Oct. 2024) [text]

- See also related blog post.

Journal articles:

"Engaging Data Literacies in Displacement," Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, vol. 5, no. 3 (Oct. 2024) [open access]

- Focuses on Nigeria and South Sudan.

"Experiences and perceptions of migrant populations in South Africa on COVID-19 immunization: an interpretative phenomenological analysis," BMC Public Health, 24:3126 (Nov. 2024) [open access]

"Externally Driven Border Control in West Africa: Local Impact and Broader Ramifications," International Migration Review, OnlineFirst, 4 Nov. 2024 [open access]

"Political Participation for Social Inclusion of Internally Displaced Persons," Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, vol. 5, no. 3 (Oct. 2024) [open access]

- Focuses on Nigeria.

"Returning to fund refugeehood: dispersal and survival between Uganda and South Sudan," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 1 Nov. 2024 [open access]

"The role of institutional architecture in the reception of refugees in South Africa," International Journal of Human Rights, Latest Articles, 5 Nov. 2024 [open access]

"War-related trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in refugees, displaced, and nondisplaced people during armed conflict in Sudan: a cross-sectional study," Conflict and Health, 18:66 (Nov. 2024) [open access]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Africa (11 Oct. 2024)

 

Regional Focus: MENA

Opportunity:

CFP: Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies [info]

- Contributions sought for special issue on "Marriage and Migrations: Emerging Perspectives on Conjugal Relationships in the Middle East and North Africa." Submit abstracts by 22 November 2024.

Short pieces:

Gaza Humanitarian Access Snapshot #5 (27 August-10 Sept. 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

Joint Press Release: Israel’s siege now blocks 83% of food aid reaching Gaza, new data reveals (Sept. 2024) [text] 

- Methodology used to gather data is provided here. See also related Reuters article.

Libya: Slow Flood Recovery Failing Displaced Survivors (HRW, Sept. 2024) [text]

Palestine: Humanitarian impact of the escalation of violence in northern West Bank in August 2024 (ACAPS, Sept. 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

Targeted: How Misinformation Puts Lebanon’s Syrian Refugees in Danger (TIMEP, Aug. 2024) [text]

Yemen: Needs grow for millions displaced amid catastrophic flooding and prolonged humanitarian emergency (UNHCR, Aug. 2024) [text]

Reports:

Maghreb migrations: How North Africa and Europe can work together on sub-Saharan migration (European Council on Foreign Relations, Sept. 2024) [text]

Middle East and North Africa: Migrants Deaths and Disappearances in 2023 (IOM, 2024) [text]

Untangling the Reality of Famine in Gaza (Refugees International, Sept. 2024) [text]

Journal articles & book chapters:

"Biomonitoring Environmental Exposure in Syrian Refugees in Lebanon," Epidemiologia, vol. 5, no. 2 (June 2024) [open access]

"Circular and return migration of Egyptian migrant workers in Libya," International Migration, Early View, 11 Sept. 2024 [open access]

"Interventions to promote mental health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Palestinian refugees: A scoping review," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, vol. 70, no. 6 (2024) [open access]

- See also related ACAPS report.

"Irregular Migrants in Moroccan Law: An Analysis of Arabic Texts," Chapter in International Migration and the Law: Legal Approaches to a Global Challenge (Routledge, Aug. 2024) [open access]

"Migrations and Legal Reforms in Tunisia Among Physical and Digital Circularity," Chapter in International Migration and the Law: Legal Approaches to a Global Challenge (Routledge, Aug. 2024) [open access]

"Unravelling future in displacement: Legality as an existential condition," History and Anthropology, Latest Articles, 28 Aug. 2024 [open access]

- Focuses on Syrians in Lebanon.

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 1 (4 Sept. 2024)

- Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 2 (4 Sept. 2024)

Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Egypt’s Refugee Situation: Economic Gain or Drain (Sada Blog, Aug. 2024) [text]

FEWS NET confronts data challenges as war in Gaza obscures understanding of food needs (ReliefWeb Blog, Sept. 2024) [text]

Gaza Humanitarian Access Snapshot #4 (13-26 August 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

"Neglected Morocco earthquake survivors struggle with slow rebuild," The New Humanitarian, 27 Aug. 2024 [text]

Palestine: Humanitarian impact of recent evacuation orders in Gaza (ACAPS, Aug. 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

“Water is Life,” One Syrian Told Us. Yet It Remains Elusive for Many (Just Security Blog, Aug. 2024) [text]

"With Gaza population already displaced, some fear Israel has similar plans for West Bank," CBC News, 30 Aug. 2024 [text]

Reports:

How INGO professionalisation in Türkiye is impacting humanitarian response (Humanitarian Practice Network, Aug. 2024) [text]

"I Can’t Go Home, Stay Here, or Leave": Pushbacks and Pullbacks of Syrian Refugees from Cyprus and Lebanon (Human Rights Watch, Sept. 2024) [access]

MOPAN Assessment Report: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) (Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network, Aug. 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

Refugee Recognition Regime Country Profile: Egypt, Working Paper, no. 7 (RefMig Project, 2023) [text]

USAID’s Gaza Response: External Factors Impaired Distribution of Humanitarian Assistance Through the JLOTS Maritime Corridor (US Agency for International Development, Aug. 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: MENA (20 Aug. 2024) 

Regional Focus: Africa - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

African refugees neglected as crises worsen (ISS Today, June 2024) [text]

"The best plan to help refugees might also be the simplest - More refugees live in cities. Could cash help them rebuild their lives?," Vox, 23 June 2024 [text]

- Focuses on Kenya.

"Dadaab voices: Despair as refugee food rations in Kenya slashed by 60%," The New Humanitarian, 13 June 2024 [text]

Displaced by violent conflict: the world’s most neglected crises are in Africa – six essential reads (The Conversation, June 2024) [text]

Host Communities Embrace and Support Forcibly Displaced People across West and Central Africa (UNHCR, June 2024) [text via AllAfrica]

"Migrants turn to Mauritania as new EU transit route," DW, 10 June 2024 [text]

Speech by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at the University of Nairobi (UNHCR, June 2024) [text]

- See also related video recording of the a/m speech. Note: A Refugee Resource Centre was also launched at the Univ. of Nairobi; see more info. in this press release.

When displaced persons lead research: experience from East Africa (LERRN, June 2024) [text]

"Why is South Sudan so dangerous for local aid workers?," The New Humanitarian, 5 June 2024 [text]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Africa (4 June 2024)

Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 1 (Gaza)

Focus on Gaza:

(listed in chronological order)

• "Germany signals it will resume funding UN agency for Palestinians," Reuters, 24 April 2024 [text]
• UNRWA Preliminary Response to the Final Report of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality (UNRWA, 24 April 2024 [text via ReliefWeb]
• "Countries are reinstating funds for UNRWA — but not the United States," Washington Post, 26 April 2024 [text]
• "ICRC Director: We will not replace the UNRWA," Swissinfo.ch, 29 April 2024 [text]
• UK aid to the West Bank and Gaza Strip: FAQs (UK House of Commons Library, 29 April 2024) [text]
• Too many journalists and aid workers are being killed in Gaza despite rules that should keep them safe (The Conversation, 30 April 2024) [text]
• "White House considers welcoming some Palestinians from war-torn Gaza as refugees," CBS News, 30 April 2024 [text]
• "Israel's Rafah offensive: What you need to know," DW, 6 May 2024 [text]
• Gaza: Israel Flouts World Court Orders - Aid Still Being Obstructed Despite Famine (Human Rights Watch, 7 May 2024 [text]
• Gaza war: as ceasefire talks break down the humanitarian crisis continues to escalate (The Conversation, 7 May 2024) [text]
• Israel has made Gaza the deadliest place for aid workers (International Crisis Group, 7 May 2024) [text]
• "'They fear what’s coming': How Israel's Rafah escalation is affecting civilians and the aid response," The New Humanitarian, 8 May 2024 [text]
• "Humanitarian operations in Gaza at risk of grinding to a halt for lack of fuel," VOA News, 10 May 2024 [text]
• I’ve spent decades overseeing relief operations around the world, and here’s what’s going wrong in Gaza (The Conversation, 10 May 2024) [text]
• Palestine: Gaza Operations in Rafah (ACAPS, 11 May 2024) [text via ReliefWeb]
• "Israeli forces push into Gaza from north and south," Reuters, 13 May 2024 [text]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: MENA (22 April 2024)

 

Regional Focus: MENA

Focus on Gaza:

• "Behind the numbers: Gaza’s unprecedented aid worker death toll," The New Humanitarian, 21 March 2024 [text]
• "Days after U.N. Cease-fire Resolution, Has Anything Changed in Gaza?," New York Times, 29 March 2024 [text]
• “Famine is Setting in”: The International Court of Justice Returns to Gaza (Just Security Blog, March 2024) [text]
• Gaza's Famine is Underway (Just Security Blog, March 2024) [text]
• "Hundreds of trucks full of aid sit idle near border with Gaza as crisis deepens," NBC News, 30 March 2024 [text]
• "Japan to resume funding to UNRWA, following Sweden, Finland and Canada," Al Jazeera, 29 March 2024 [text]
• On UNRWA, Palestine Refugees, and International Law (EJIL Talk Blog, March 2024) [text]
• States must adhere to obligations under Genocide Convention to prevent further loss of life in Gaza, says Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese (OHCHR, March 2024) [text]
• "UN Security Council passes Gaza ceasefire resolution," The New Humanitarian, 25 March 2024 [text]

Other publications:

"Covid-19 skepticism and public health norms during refugee assistance: does skepticism always lead to poor safety protocol adherence?," BMC Public Health, 24:881 (March 2024) [open access]

- Focuses on refugees in Lebanon, Türkiye, and Jordan.

"'The Decision to Return to Syria is Not in My Hands': Syria’s Repatriation Regime as Illiberal Statebuilding," Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 37, no. 1 (March 2024) [free full-text]

"Faith in Humanity: Religious Charitable Organizations Solidarity towards Migrants in the United Arab Emirates," Religions, vol. 15, no. 3 (Feb. 2024) [open access]

"Hosting Syrian Refugees through the Development Lens: The Case of Jordan," Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, vol. 40, no. 1 (2024) [open access]

“Let it stay in the heart and injure, rather than going out and exposing me”: Unpacking cultural concepts of distress among Syrian refugees in Jordan (ELRHA Blog, March 2024) [text]

Refugees in Jordan: a data-driven approach for change (IIED, March 2024) [text]

*"Risk perception and desire in decision-making: the case of Syrians’ sea migration to Europe," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 30 March 2024 [open access]

*UPDATED

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 1 (19 March 2024)

- Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 2 (19 March 2024)

Regional Focus: MENA - Pt. 1 (Gaza)

Focus on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza: 

News/commentary:

"Gaza genocide case: Has Israel complied with ICJ orders?," The New Humanitarian, 26 Feb. 2024 [text]

- See also related Action on Armed Violence report.

"Gaza's death toll now exceeds 30,000. Here's why it's an incomplete count," NPR, 29 Feb. 2024 [text]

"Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says," The Guardian, 27 Feb. 2024 [text]

Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee - Civilians in Gaza in extreme peril while the world watches on: Ten requirements to avoid an even worse catastrophe (IASC, Feb. 2024) [text]

“The time for decisive action is now”: Former U.N. Experts Open Letter on Rafah (Just Security Blog, Feb. 2024) [text]

UNRWA and the Day After in Gaza (Sada Blog, Feb. 2024) [text]

"A US Call for a Humanitarian Cease-fire in Gaza," New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024 [text]

What Will Happen to UNRWA Funding for Palestinian Refugees? (Wilson Center, Feb. 2024) [text]

- See also related articles in UN News and The New Humanitarian.

Why Egypt refuses to open its border to Palestinians forcibly displaced from Gaza (The Conversation, Feb. 2024) [text]

- See also related Reuters article.

Reports & journal articles:

"Coerced migration: mobility under siege in Gaza," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 8 Feb. 2024 [open access]

Crisis in Gaza: Scenario-Based Health Impact Projections - Report One: 7 February to 6 August 2024 (Johns Hopkins Univ. & London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Feb. 2024) [access]

"Gaza and the Political and Moral Failure of the Responsibility to Protect," Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Latest Articles, 16 Feb. 2024 [open access]

Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the  obligation to ensure accountability and justice: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Doc. No. A/HRC/55/28 (UN Human Rights Council, Feb. 2024) [text]

- See also related statement.

“I Don’t Want to Die”: Bearing Witness to Palestinians Under Siege in Gaza (Refugees International, Feb. 2024) [text]

- See also related commentary.

"UNRWA at the Frontlines: Managing health care in Gaza during catastrophe," The Lancet, vol. 403, no. 10428 (Feb. 2024) [full-text]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: MENA (14 Feb. 2024)

Thematic Focus: General

Opportunities: 

Call for participation: Forced Migration and the Arts Global Network [info]

- No deadline.

Call for nominations: Nansen Refugee Award [info]

- The nomination period ends 20 March 2024.

Short pieces:

*Global approaches to refugee response - what difference can they make? (ODI Insights, Dec. 2023) [text]

Migration, Refugees and Statelessness Interdisciplinary Conference, Nov. 2023, University of Melbourne (Refugee Research Online, Jan. 2024) [text]

New open access book:

 

Migration and Home: IMISCOE Short Reader (Springer, Jan. 2024) [open access]

- "This open access short reader offers an intersectional perspective on the meaning of home in migration. The book provides a pathway through existing scholarship on home and migration, exploring how intersectional power relations and transnational migration regimes are felt, experienced, lived and navigated by migrants, who are differently positioned, in the making and imagining of home. The meanings associated with home are composed of the interrelation of places, spaces, people, social relations, materialities, emotions and temporalities. These multiple aspects highlight the complexities inherent in the idea of home, which come to the fore particularly when one moves location."

Reports:

The Border Within: Mobility, Stereotypes and Asylum Seekers as Migrants, MOBILE Working Paper, no. 35 (Univ. of Copenhagen, Jan. 2024) [text]

Compendium of Good Practices in Enabling Access to Legal Identity for Undocumented Migrants (IOM, Dec. 2023) [text]

Food Banks as a Key Resource in Mitigating Food Insecurity among Migrants: A Rapid Literature Review (Collaborative Online International Learning, Jan. 2024) [text]

Global Appeal 2024 (IOM, Jan. 2024) [access]

- Note: This is IOM's first annual appeal for funding.

The Mobility Key: Realizing the Potential of Refugee Travel Documents (Migration Policy Institute, Feb. 2024) [text]

Journal articles:

"At home in the field, in the field at home? Reflections on power and fieldwork in familiar settings," Qualitative Research, OnlineFirst, 19 Oct. 2023 [open access]

"Editorial: Narrating Exile," Frontiers in Sociology, 30 Jan. 2024 [open access]

- Provides an overview of the articles included in the related Research Topic.

"Intersectional migration research: Re-centring governance structures," International Migration, vol. 62, no. 1 (Feb. 2024) [open access]

"Reflexive reciprocity under an ethics of care: Reflections from the field for refugee studies," Migration Studies, Advance Articles, 12 Dec. 2023 [ResearchGate]

Multimedia:

2024, Another Deadly Migrant Year (What’s Unsaid Podcast Series, Jan. 2024) [access]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: General (19 Jan. 2024)