Regional Focus: Asia Pacific

Opportunity:

Call for registration: IARMJ Asia Pacific Chapter Conference, Auckland, 25-27 November 2026 [info] 

- The theme is "75 years of the Convention: Where to From Where?" Registration is open.

Short pieces:

Bangladesh: UN experts urge action to end trafficking and deaths of Rohingyas on Andaman Sea (OHCHR, July 2026) [text]

"Malaysia Orders UN Agency to Pause Registration of New Refugees," The Diplomat, 24 July 2026 [text]

What refugee-led organisations teach us about measuring impact in displacement settings (ODI Comment, July 2026) [text]

- Focuses on APNOR's Refugee Leadership Alliance.

The world’s deadliest sea crossing – and the role for Australia (The Interpreter Blog, July 2026) [text]

- See also related IOM/UNHCR statement.

Journal articles:

"Caring Under Pressure: Health Workers’ Relationships and Work Environments in the Rohingya Refugee Camps, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh," Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 11:18 (July 2026) [open access]

"Choice or Necessity? Migration Regimes, Contingencies and the Dynamics of Irregular Migration in Hong Kong," Global Networks, vol. 26, no. 3 (July 2026) [open access]

"Interfacing Ground Realities of Im/Mobilities and Migration Policy in Pakistan," Migration and Development, OnlineFirst, 11 May 2026 [postprint]

"Promoting hospitality and protection: The role of faith-based organizations in the arrival of Rohingya refugees in Aceh, Indonesia," Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, OnlineFirst, 21 July 2026 [free full-text]

"Suspended solidarity: the experience of precarity and the chronopolitics of support in Australia’s asylum regime," Journal of Refugee Studies, Advance Articles, 25 July 2026 [open access]

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: Asia Pacific - Pt. 1 (14 July 2026)

- Regional Focus: Asia Pacific - Pt. 2 (14 July 2026)

Thematic Focus: Law/Policy Items

Short pieces:

Beyond the Dotted Line: Navigating the Fine Print of Asylum in Lebanon and Norway (RLI Blog, July 2026) [text]

Reports:

96th Standing Committee Meeting, Geneva, 16-18 June 2026 [access]

- Protection-related session. Follow link for English- and French-language meeting documents, remarks/oral updates and presentations. See also related NGO statements on ICVA's website.

Independent Declaration on the Right of Persons with Experience of Forced Displacement or Statelessness to Participate in Decisions That Affect Them (Kaldor Centre, Dec. 2025) [access]

- Follow link for the text of the declaration, with commentary, and the consultation report. The companion website provides access to a Spanish-language of the declaration, as well as information on how to endorse it.

Intersecting Regimes: The Convergence of International Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, and International Refugee Law, RLI Working paper, no. 85 (Refugee Law Initiative, June 2026) [text]

Journal articles:

"Integrating Gender Equality into International Refugee Law: The Contribution of the Court of Justice of the European Union," European Journal of International Law, vol. 37, no. 1 (Feb. 2026) [open access]

"An international human rights law of migration? Reflections on the place of a right to immigrate," International Journal of Migration and Border Studies (Forthcoming, 2026) [open access]

"Outsourcing Migration: A Comparative Analysis of Border Externalization and the Future of International Refugee Law," Loyola Univ. Chicago International Law Review, vol. 22, no. 2 (2026) [full-text]

"A sign of precarity or protection? Understanding the role of evacuations from disasters in international protection claims," International Journal of Refugee Law, Advance Articles, 22 July 2026 [open access]

Resource:

ACCESS Mid-Term Dataset: The Role of Courts in Shaping Access to Asylum (2026) [access]

“The ACCESS project's mid-term dataset is a repository of the 555 most relevant national court decisions on access to asylum, compiled through April 2026. It covers the 18 jurisdictions analysed in the project, encompassing judgments from trial, appellate, and supreme or constitutional courts. Each entry provides key case metadata, the specific barriers addressed, and an English-language summary of the decision.” The full name of the project is "Gatekeepers to International Refugee Law? The Role of Courts in Shaping Access to Asylum." See more info on its website.

Related posts:

- Round-up: 1951 Refugee Convention at 75 (28 July 2026)

- Thematic Focus: Law/Policy Items - Pt. 1 (3 July 2026)

- Thematic Focus: Law/Policy Items - Pt. 2 (3 July 2026)

Thematic Focus: Gender-related Issues - Pt. 2 (MENA)

Short pieces:

Beyond Asylum Rhetoric: Protecting Afghan Women from Gendered Deportation (ImpACT, July 2026) [text]

- Focuses on Qatar.

Journal articles:

"Assessing gendered accessibility inequalities to urban facilities among refugees: A 3SFCA method," Applied Geography, vol. 194 (Sept. 2026) [open access]

- Note: 3SFCA = Three-Step Floating Catchment Area. Focuses on Syrian refugees in Türkiye.

"Building collective agency through participating in a grassroots initiative among Syrian refugee informal health workers in Lebanon: An action research study," SSM - Health Systems, In Press, 22 July 2026 [open access]

"Governing through Neglect: Abandonment as Gender-Based Violence among Refugee Women in North Lebanon," Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Advance Articles, 20 July 2026 [open access]

"Intimacies in Transit: Sex, Reproduction, and the Elusive Pleasures of Agency for Syrian Refugee Women in Lebanon," Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Advance Articles, 18 July 2026 [open access]

Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies, vol. 13, no. 2 (2026) [open access] 

- Special issue on “Marriage across Different Migratory Movements: Exploring Emerging Perspectives on Conjugal Relationships in the Middle East and North Africa.” The editorial is available here. Note: This issue is still in progress.

"Sabr as a Situated Religious Concept of Resilience Among Syrian Refugee Women in Turkey," Religions, vol. 17, no. 7 (July 2026) [open access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: Gender-related Issues - Pt. 1 (27 July 2026)

Regional Focus: MENA

Short pieces:

Egypt: Refugees, Asylum Seekers Arrested, Deported - Amend New Asylum Law in Line with International Standards (HRW, July 2026) [text]

Lebanon: Israel radically expands use of unlawful mass ‘evacuation’ orders and commits war crime of unlawful transfer (Amnesty International, June 2026) [text]

Libya: Anti-Migrant Rhetoric Fuels Abuses (HRW, July 2026) [text]

Refugee-led organisations and Lebanon’s displacement crisis (ODI Insights, June 2026) [text]

Regional Escalation in the Middle East: 10 Things to Know (IOM, June 2026) [text]

Stuck between borders: The power of bureaucratic ambiguity (Border Criminologies Blog, ) [text]

- Focuses on the Bahrain-Saudi border.

When Return Becomes Rejection: Syria’s Hidden Recognition Gap (Refugees International, June 2026) [text]

Reports:

Egypt Vulnerability Assessment for Refugees (EVAR) 2025 (UNHCR & WFP, April 2026) [text]

- See also summary and Arabic version.

*Global impacts of the conflict in the Middle East (ACAPS, July 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Home, But Not Whole: The Fragile Return and Reintegration of Syrian Returnees (International Rescue Committee, July 2026) [text]

Inter-Agency Refugee Protection Overview for the Middle East Situation (UNHCR et al., June 2026) [text]

Life after Forcible Transfer: Palestinian Household Conditions, Needs, and Future Outlook in the West Bank (West Bank Protection Consortium, June 2026) [text via NRC]

Reconsidering ‘Home’: Aspirations and Intentions of Syrians in Sweden in the Context of Syrian Political Transition (IOM, July 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Demographics, Labor Market Outcomes, and Wellbeing through 2025, Special Working Paper, no. 8 (Economic Research Forum, June 2026) [access via LinkedIn]

Under-capacity and out of time: 1,000 days of limited aid access and humanitarian disaster in Gaza (Action for Humanity, July 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Journal articles:

"Crossing borders without papers: how food insecurity fuels irregular migration in the MENA region," Comparative Migration Studies, 22 June 2026 [open access]

"Gazans: Perpetual Refugees on the Run," Chapter in Visas in Migration and Asylum Law: The Key that Opens the Door (Routledge, June 2026) [open access]

"The Waiting Class: Privilege, Refuge, and the Postponed Return of Beirut’s Wealthier Syrians," Refugee Survey Quarterly, Advance Articles, 24 June 2026 [open access]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Regional Focus: MENA (8 June 2026)

Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance

Short pieces:

"The humanitarian system celebrates refugee-led organisations, then starves them," The New Humanitarian, 28 April 2026 [text]

Middle East crisis ripple effects strain aid efforts beyond region (UNHCR, May 2026) [text]

Reports:

Health in a World of Crises and Impunity (Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health–Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement, May 2026) [info]

- Note: Unfortunately, the report itself is not open access, but apparently, users can register for free to read the text. Otherwise, the companion website offers executive summaries and policy briefs. A number of launch events have also been scheduled. See also related TNH article.

Standby Partnerships Report 2025 (UNHCR, May 2026) [text]

The state of international humanitarian funding to local and national actors (ODI Humanitarian Policy Group, May 2026) [text]

Journal articles:

"Advocating for a ‘New International Humanitarian Order’: Reform in the Name of Humanity and the Planet during the 1980s," Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, Ahead-of-Print, 14 April 2026 [open access]

"Aiding peace or conflict? The impact of USAID cuts on violence," Science, vol. 392, no. 6799 (May 2026) [free full-text]

- See also related commentary and NPR article.

"Caring humanitarian leadership: Exploring practices through real life experiences," The Humanitarian Leader, vol. 8, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

"Rhetoric vs. reality: The meaningful participation of migrants in humanitarian action," The Humanitarian Leader, vol. 8, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

"Strategies for closing humanitarian programs ethically: insights from a scoping review and analysis of endline reports from the Canadian Red Cross," Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 11:11 (May 2026) [open access]

Voice Out Loud, no. 40 (Dec. 2025) [full-text via ReliefWeb] 

- Issue theme is "Fragility: The Cost of Inaction."

"Where Are Workers? Centring Logistics Labour in Humanitarian Aid Analyses," Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, Ahead-of-Print, 14 April 2026 [open access]

Multimedia:

What it means for humanitarians to be political (Rethinking Humanitarianism, May 2026) [access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance - Pt. 1 (27 April 2026)

- Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance - Pt. 2 (27 April 2026)

Regional Focus: Asia Pacific

Short pieces:

Beyond Participation: Why Refugee-Led Organizations Matter in the Rohingya Response (Refugee Watch Online, April 2026) [text]

How China-Myanmar Relations Impact the Rohingya Crisis (Refugee Research Online, April 2026) [text]

Migrant Asia: Book Release and Discussion – A Report (Refugee Watch Online, April 2026) [text]

Two Sides of Japan’s Immigration Policy: Welcoming Migrant Workers and Excluding Asylum Seekers (Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, April 2026) [text]

UNHCR: 2025 was deadliest year yet for maritime movements of Rohingya refugees (UNHCR, April 2026) [text]

Reports:

Compounding returns: A study on remittance loss and the cost of deportations (Samuel Hall & World Vision, March 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

The Cost of Waiting: Intergenerational impacts of protracted Rohingya displacement (International Rescue Committee, April 2026) [access]

The Impact of Temporary Migration Status on Access to Refuge in Victoria: Barriers to Safety and Support (Univ. of Melbourne & Australian Catholic Univ., March 2026) [text]

It's Time for Australia to Grant Permanent Residence for Long-term Refugees and People Seeking Asylum (Univ. of Melbourne et al., March 2026) [text]

Returning to uncertainty: The situation of Afghan returnees (INTERSOS, April 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

Journal articles:

"Ethical Conduct of Research with Migrants and Refugees: A Systematic Qualitative Review of Ethics Guidelines," Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Latest Articles, 14 April 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on Australia.

"Irregular and Forced Migration within Asia: Governance, Marginality, and Labor," International Migration Review, OnlineFirst, 15 April 2026 [open access]

- Introduction to forthcoming special collection.

"Language Choices among Ukrainian Refugees in Japan: An Interview Study," Slavia Iaponica = Studies in Slavic Languages and Literatures, vol. 29 (2026) [open access]

"On the Move away from 'Rohingya': (Barmaiyya) and the 'Settlers'," Bulletin of Asia-Pacific Studies, vol. 28, no. 1 (2026) [full-text]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Asia Pacific (3 April 2026)

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)

Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance

Opportunities:

Discussion panel: Humanitarian aid at a crossroads: how to let go, London/Online, 1 April 2026 [info]

Seminar: Rethinking aid: Lessons from refugee‑led responses, Oslo/Online, 23 April 2026 [info]

Short pieces:

*The case for prioritising national expertise in humanitarian work (HPN, March 2026) [text]

Country-based pooled funds… the key to unlocking localised funding, or just another blunt instrument? (ODI Comment, March 2026) [text]

Drivers for the humanitarian reset (The Interpreter Blog, March 2026) [text]

Humanitarian aid at the crossroads of legitimacy (ODI Comments, March 2026) [text]

UK Aid Cuts Now Deeper than the US After Congress Pushes Back (CGD Blog, Feb. 2026) [text]

**For more updates on developments in this area, sign up for one or more of The New Humanitarian's various newsletter options, as well as IHSA's weekly selection of humanitarian blog posts.

Reports: 

Advocacy Brief: Alternatives to Camp (CCCM Cluster, Feb. 2026) [text via ReliefWeb]

A Generational Collapse: Tracking the Toll of Trump’s Humanitarian Aid Cuts (Refugees International, Feb. 2026) [text]

- See also related NYT opinion piece and recording of a related event in the "multimedia" section below.

How underfunding local organisations' overheads undermines humanitarian action (ODI Humanitarian Policy Group, March 2026) [text]

Locally-Led Protection Analysis Survey Synthesis Report (Global Protection Cluster et al., March 2026) [access]

- Follow link for multiple language versions.

Navigating Discretion in Refugee Protection: How Humanitarian Organisations Can Make a Positive Impact?, RLI Working Paper, no. 82 (Refugee Law Initiative, March 2026) [text]

Synthesis and Meta-Analysis of Findings from Crisis-specific Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluations Covering the Period 2015-2025 (Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation Steering Group, March 2026) [text]

- See also recording of a related event in the "multimedia" section below.

UNHCR WASH Manual: Practical Guidance for Refugee Settings, 8th ed. (UNHCR, 2026) [text]

Who's in the Driver's Seat? Centering Locally-Led Protection Analysis across Analysis-Informed Planning, Response and Transition (Global Protection Cluster, March 2026) 

- See the concept note and outcome report for an HNPW 2026.

Journal articles:

"Evolving Through Challenges: Reflections from Intervention’s Editorial Board on the Financial Situation in the Humanitarian Sector," Intervention, vol. 23, no. 1 (Dec. 2025) [open access]

"The Role of Livestock in the Nutrition of Refugees and Internally Displaced People: A Scoping Review," Nutrition Research Reviews, 6 March 2026 [postprint]

Multimedia:

Aid Cuts One Year On: Local Solutions to Indefensible Harm, 5 Feb. 2026 [access]

Evidence at a turning point: Key findings from the synthesis of Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluations, 4 March 2026 [access]

Humanitarian knowledge in danger: Addressing the digital infrastructure shortfall, 10 March 2026 [access]

Safeguarding humanitarian memory: Challenges and a practical toolkit for digital archives, 2 March 2026 [access]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance (20 Feb. 2026)

Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 2

Reports:

Europe Refugee-led Organization Toolkit 2025 (UNHCR, March 2026) [text]

Forced displacement from territory of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation: Forcible transfer and deportation, barriers to return, and the rights of internally displaced persons (OHCHR, March 2026) [text]

Irregular migrants’ access to work, healthcare and housing in the European Union: is it all about status?, PRIME Research Paper (European University Institute, March 2026) [text]

- See also related blog post.

Navigating new corridors: The evolving route of Bangladeshi migration to Italy through Libya (Mixed Migration Centre, March 2026) [text]

- See also related article.

Operational standards and indicators on the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (EU Agency for Asylum, March 2026) [text]

Practical Guide on the Asylum Border Procedure (EU Agency for Asylum, March 2026) [text]

Practical Guide on the Solidarity Mechanism (EU Agency for Asylum, March 2026) [text]

Pushing Boundaries: Externalisation of Asylum and a Broad-based Reform Initiative (Clingendael, March 2026) [text]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 1 (25 March 2026) 

Thematic Focus: General

Opportunities:

Call for proposals: Hosting the IASFM21 Conference (2027) [info]

- Deadline for submissions is 31 March 2026.

Call for proposals: Migration Politics Journal's In-Person Residency on “Migration Politics and Violence” [info]

- Submit proposals by 6 April 2026.

Short pieces:

21 Migrants Died Every Day in 2025, New IOM Data Reveals (IOM, Feb. 2026) [text]

All-Member State briefing with the High Commissioner (UNHCR, Feb. 2026) [access]

- Also available as a podcast.

A new chapter for inclusive data (UNHCR Blog, March 2026) [text]

The Refugee-led Innovation Fund welcomes a new cohort of changemakers (UNHCR Innovation Service, Nov. 2025) [text]

Rethinking Return: Insights from the GAPs Final Conference (Toronto Metropolitan Univ., Feb. 2026) [text]

UN Institutional Reform: Promoting Solidarity and ‘Delivering as One’ for the Forcibly Displaced (RLI Blog, Feb. 2026) [text]

UNHCR’s new Refugee Data Portal will be launched in 2026 (Joint Data Center Blog, Dec. 2025) [access]

Reports & journal articles:

"An Archival Responsibility: A Scoping Review of Literature Regarding the Documentary Burdens of Refugees," Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies, vol. 13 (2026) [open access]

Data on the Forcibly Displaced: From Statistical Shadows to Inclusion (Joint Data Center, Feb. 2026) [text]

"Elusive Refugees: Revisiting Terms of Exile and Asylum in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries," Itinerario, FirstView, 4 Feb. 2026 [open access]

- Introduction to forthcoming special issue.

"Migrants’ political trust: how exposure and exclusion in origin and residence country explain differences," Comparative Migration Studies, 5 March 2026 [open access]

"Reflexivity as Critique? A Conversation on the Politics of Knowledge Production in Migration Studies," Zeitschrift für Migrationsforschung = Journal of Migration Studies, vol. 5, no. 2 (2025) [open access]

"Weighing responsibilities: the allocation of fair refugee quotas," International Theory, vol. 18, no. 1 (March 2026) [open access]

Multimedia:

"Migration: Investigating Movement of Peoples," Panel at 14th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Kuala Lumpur, 20-24 November 2025 [access]

- See also related GIJN article.

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: General (11 Feb. 2026)

Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 2

Reports:

Access to Public Services for the Ukrainian Refugees in Moldova, Policy Brief, no. 2 (UNHCR, Nov. 2025) [text]

Operational Standards and Indicators on the Asylum Procedure (EU Agency for Asylum, Nov. 2025) [text]

- See also companion tool.

Practical Guide on Management of a Reception Centre: Focus on the arrival phase (EU Agency for Asylum, Dec. 2025) [text]

Practical guide on the registration and lodging of applications for international protection (EU Agency for Asylum, Dec. 2025) [text]

Refugee Housing and Homelessness: Scoping Local Authority Approaches (SOAS, Dec. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on the UK.

Refugees as humanitarian actors: explaining the creation of organisations led by displaced and stateless persons in Europe, RSC Working Paper, no. 2025/52 (European Univ. Institute, 2025) [text]

Ukraine: One year on the implications of US foreign aid cuts on humanitarian development (ACAPS, Dec. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

UNHCR Observations on "Restoring Order and Control: A Statement on the UK Government's Asylum and Returns Policy" (UNHCR, Jan. 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the UK.

UNHCR Observations on the Legislative Proposals in the Report “The Pact on Migration and Asylum” (UNHCR, Jan. 2026) [text]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 1 (12 Jan. 2026)

Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Commission welcomes political agreement on first EU list of safe countries of origin and new rules to facilitate the application of the safe third country concept (EU Commission, Dec. 2025) [text]

Countdown to Chișinău: The Risk of Politicising the ECHR over Migration (EJIL: Talk Blog, Dec. 2025) [text]

The EU’s migration policies – An overview of developments in 2025 (EPRS, Dec. 2025) [text]

"Reporters’ diary: IOM uses UN immunity to avoid scrutiny of Greek returns," The New Humanitarian, 22 Dec. 2025 [text]

Journal articles:

"Art, agency, and access: refugee experiences and resistance in the context of EU’s migration management," Journal of Refugee Studies, Advance Articles, 9 Jan. 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on Greece.

"Chessboard politics: the contested emergence of EU return and readmission norms," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 1 Jan. 2026 [open access]

Contemporary European History, vol. 34, no. 4 (Nov. 2025) [contents]

- Features a special section on "Humanitarianism in an Age of Civil Wars: Europe, 1917-1949," with seven open access articles.

"The geopolitics of asylum from the part of those seeking it: Refugee subjects and freedom as possibility," Migration Studies, vol. 14, no. 1 (March 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on Syrian asylum seekers in Greece.

"Trauma, Post-migration Factors, and Ulysses Syndrome in Refugees in Host Countries," Quaderns de Psicologia, vol. 27, no. 3 (2025) [open access]

- Focuses on Spain and Ireland. 

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 1 (18 Dec. 2025)

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 2 (UK) (18 Dec. 2025)

Thematic Focus: General

Opportunities: 

GRF Progress Review 2025: Linked events, 9-19 December 2025 [info]

- A number of independently organized events have been organized around the Global Compact on Refugees' objectives. Some are in-person, hybrid and invitation-only. Follow the link above for details.

CFP: "Eroding Solidarity? Forced Migration, Protection, and Inclusion in a World Beyond Order," 6th Conference of the German Network for Forced Migration Studies, Hildesheim, Germany, 28-30 September 2026 [info]

- Submission deadline is 9 January 2026.

Short pieces:

The Courage to Welcome: solidarity in a divided world (UNHCR, Dec. 2025) [text]

- Text of the High Commissioner's "One People Oration" at Westminster Abbey.

"Election? What today’s UN leadership vacancies say about the system," Inklings Newsletter (27 Nov. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on UNHCR.

Fact check: Why "85% of refugees are Muslim" is false (DW, Nov. 2025) [text]

Geneva gathering to reaffirm solidarity and deliver new results for refugees (UNHCR, Dec. 2025) [text]

- The Global Refugee Forum Progress Review will meet next week in Geneva from 15-17 December 2025.

Humanitarian heroes celebrated with UNHCR Nansen Refugee Awards (UNHCR, Dec. 2025) [text]

- See also related press release.

Now more than ever, the world must support UNHCR to continue its life-saving work (Kaldor Centre & Refugee Council of Australia, Dec. 2025) [text]

- Joint statement on UNHCR’s 75th anniversary. See also related Pearls & Irritations post.

Refugia revisited five years on: reflections on the launch of a French language edition (COMPAS Blog, Nov. 2025) [text]

"Sweden’s push for an ex-IKEA CEO to lead UNHCR signals a new refugee order," Al Jazeera, 11 Dec. 2025 [text]

To the New High Commissioner: IDPs Must Remain a Global Priority (RI Commentary, Nov. 2025) [text]

Türk says human rights under attack, yet undeterred, in 2025 (OHCHR, Dec. 2025) [text]

"What if … the United Nations was disbanded next Friday?," Al Jazeera, 7 Nov. 2025 [text]

Reports:

Cities as key policy actors: strengthening urban responses to displacement in the global South (Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Nov. 2025) [access via IDRC Research Chairs Network on Forced Displacement]

Refugee-Led Responses and Agency in East Africa, the Middle East, and South America: Synthesis of research findings and policy recommendations (LERRN, Dec. 2025) [access]

Journal articles:

"Bayesian Projection of Extant Refugee and Asylum Seeker Populations," Demography, Advance Publication, 5 Dec. 2025 [open access]

"Decision-Making Mistakes in Asylum Policy: A Comparative Study of Public Opinion," International Migration Review, OnlineFirst, 5 Dec. 2025 [open access]

- "This study relies on web survey data from 26 countries, selected as a function of their overall immigration regimes, proximity to migrant-sending countries, citizenship regimes, status as a host or transit country, and response to the United Nations’ Global Compact on Migration."

Diasporas: Circulations, Migrations, Histoire, no. 44 (2025) [open access]

- Special issue on "Retour à la normale? Déplacés et réfugiés face aux normes de la sortie de guerre (1945-1951) = A Return to the Normal? Displaced Persons, Refugees and Postwar Norms (1945-1951)."

"Editorial: Refugees and Humanitarian Support in the Global South: Challenges in Repatriation and Social Cohesion," Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 25 Nov. 2025 [open access]

- Discusses the articles included in the research topic of the same name.

"Prioritizing global equity in migration research," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 6 Dec. 2025 [open access]

"Systematic literature reviews in migration studies: approaches to context-sensitive synthesis," Comparative Migration Studies, 22 Nov. 2025 [open access]

Multimedia:

Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture 2025: Migration and displacement: My grandmother, Lausanne, and some lessons for the present, Oxford, 5 Nov. 2025 [access]

Attacking health: Understanding the dynamics and broader impacts of violence against healthcare, 19 Nov. 2025 [access]

Displacement, solidarity, counter-government, 22 Oct. 2025 [access]

Human rights elites at the United Nations: Felix Ermacora and the first human rights fact finding missions (1967-1993), 29 Oct. 2025 [access]

Towards a New Response to Forced Migration through Local Engagement Refugee Research Network, 12 Sept. 2025 [access]

- See also related press release.

Who wants to be the new UN refugee chief (Rethinking Humanitarianism Podcast Series, Nov. 2025) [access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: General (20 Nov. 2025)

Regional Focus: Asia Pacific - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Immigration panic comes in waves. Data shows who worries most, and when (The Conversation, Dec. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Australia.

Rohingya Refugee Camps at a Crossroads Amid Declining Humanitarian Support (Refugee Watch Online Blog, Dec. 2025) [text]

Trump wants Australian data on migrant crime. This will only scapegoat vulnerable people (The Conversation, Nov. 2025) [text]

Uzbekistan: Cooperation with EU and US Raises Questions about Human Rights Obligations (Immigration Detention Monitor, Dec. 2025) [text]

A Wall Against Rights: How India’s New Border Policy with Myanmar Tests the Limits of International Law (RLI Blog, Dec. 2025) [text]

Reports:

Beyond Borders: A how-to for covering migration in Asia (DW Akademie, Nov. 2025) [access]

- "Toolkit for reporting on forced displacement and migration in Asia."

A Model of Refugee Self-Governance: The Contributions and Challenges of Refugee-led Initiatives in Thailand (Act for Peace, Nov. 2025) [access]

Multimedia:

Australia’s Immigration Debate: Where Next?, 24 Nov. 2025 [access]

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: Asia Pacific - Pt. 1 (19 Nov. 2025)

- Regional Focus: Asia Pacific - Pt. 2 (19 Nov. 2025)

Thematic Focus: Gender-related Issues - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Fragile Masculinities and Bangladeshi Labour Migrants in the UAE (COMPAS Blog, Oct. 2025) [text]

New Poll: Two-Thirds of U.S. Voters Back Asylum for Women and Girls (CGRS, Oct. 2025) [text]

Refashioning Strength Through Virtue: How Displaced Syrian Men Have Configured Masculinity in Istanbul (COMPAS Blog, Sept. 2025) [text]

Reports & book chapters:

"Reading Climate into the Refugee Convention: Lessons from the Unfinished Business of Gender-Based Asylum," Chapter in Climate Change, Migration, Gender, and the Law (Edward Elgar, Forthcoming) [preprint]

- "This chapter traces the incomplete evolution of international refugee law with respect to protection claims related to gender. It examines the similarities and differences between such claims and the emerging area of climate-related displacement law and draws out lessons from the ongoing struggle to see gender as central to the notion of international protection."

Working with women-led organizations including those led by forcibly displaced and stateless women: A How-To Guide for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Operations (UNHCR, Oct. 2025) [text]

Journal articles (socio-legal aspects):

"Examining the Impact of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 on Refugee Women," Laws, vol. 14, no. 6 (Oct. 2025) [open access]

- Focuses on the UK.

"Gender-based and intersectional violence in migration and refugee contexts: A contextual global approach," International Sociology, OnlineFirst, 1 July 2025 [open access]

"Gendered Violence of Asylum Reporting Requirements," Columbia Human Rights Law Review, vol. 56, no. 1 (2025) [full-text]

- Focuses on the US.

"Toward a feminist geo-legal reading: US country-of-origin information in asylum adjudication," Area, Early View, 30 Oct. 2025 [open access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: Gender-related Issues - Pt. 1 (27 Oct. 2025)

- Thematic Focus: Gender-related Issues - Pt. 2 (27 Oct. 2025)

New Issue of FMR

The November 2025 issue of Forced Migration Review (FMR) has been published, with a focus on "Climate change: Choices for displaced people." Here's the abstract:

"From rising sea levels threatening coastal populations to the intensifying frequency and severity of natural hazards, the climate crisis is rendering homes uninhabitable and futures uncertain for millions – especially for those who have been least responsible for climate change. The contributions to this issue of FMR emphasise that responses to climate displacement must be proactive, rights-based, and human-centered, moving beyond reactive measures. Authors from five continents share from their unique perspectives to bring you a rich body of articles which we hope will inform and inspire, bringing fresh thinking and provoking debate."

FMR76 includes 23 articles and can be read online, accessed by individual article in HTML format, or downloaded as a complete PDF issue.

Back issues/articles of FMR can be accessed via the search feature.

FMR is an open access publication. It is available online and in print in English, Arabic, French and Spanish. 

Tagged Periodicals.

Thematic Focus: General - Pt. 1

Event:

Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025, Geneva, 15-17 December 2025 [info]

- "This event will build on stocktaking efforts at the country, regional, and global levels, to maintain momentum and assess progress against the implementation of the pledges made at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) towards the advancement of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and also outline next steps in the lead up to the GRF in 2027." Follow the a/m link for the agenda, an FAQ, key documents and info on previously-held preparatory meetings. The Global Compact on Refugees website provides supplementary information as well as access to a dedicated digital space.

Short pieces:

Around the world, migrants are being deported at alarming rates – how did this become normalised? (The Conversation, Oct. 2025) [text]

Migration Crisis Management Revisited: Perspectives from EUrope and Latin America (Border Criminologies Blog, Oct. 2025) [text]

The Role of Civil Society in Promoting Language Policies for Forced Migrants (RLI Blog, Oct. 2025) [text]

Reports:

Mid-Year Trends 2025 (UNHCR, Nov. 2025) [access]

- Follow the link to access the report, annexes and raw data, as well as an overview of the trends.

Reframing Return and Reintegration: Origin-Country Priorities and Strategies for Cooperation (Migration Policy Institute, Oct. 2025) [text]

Report of the Executive Committee of the High-Commissioner’s Programme, Seventy-sixth session (6-10 October 2025), UN Doc. No. A/80/12/Add.1 (UN General Assembly, Oct. 2025) [text]

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Annual report pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 428 (V), UN Doc. No. A/80/12 (UN General Assembly, Aug. 2025) [text]

Rooted in the City: A New Vision for Refugees and Humanitarian Action (Refugees International, Oct. 2025) [text]

Working with Organizations Led by Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Persons: A How-to Guide for UNHCR Operations (UNHCR, Oct. 2025) [text]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: General - Pt. 1 (14 Oct. 2025)

- Thematic Focus: General - Pt. 2 (14 Oct. 2025)

Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

The Mediterranean: Both a graveyard and a bottomless money pit due to EU border policies (The Conversation, Sept. 2025) [text]

Seven facts to help understand migration (European Commission, Sept. 2025) [text]

Suspensions to Asylum Applications and Extending Detention: Greece’s Increasingly Hardline Approach to Migration (Immigration Detention Monitor, Aug. 2025) [text]

With elections looming, how does the Czech public feel about immigration? (ODI Insights, Sept. 2025) [text]

**For much more news and info on the latest developments, check out the ECRE Weekly Bulletin.**

Reports: 

Advocacy Briefs (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) 

- Independent National Monitoring Mechanisms under the European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum [text]

- Legal counselling, legal assistance, and representation under the European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum [text]

- Restrictions of movement, detention and alternatives to detention under the European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum [text]

- Screening and identification of persons with vulnerabilities under the European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum [text]

The European Convention on Human Rights and Immigration Control in the UK: Informing the Public Debate (Univ. of Oxford, Sept. 2025) [access]

Secure Status for Ukrainian Displaced Persons in the UK and EU, Policy Report, no. 108 (Univ. of Bristol, Sept. 2025) [access]

UNHCR’s Recommendations to the Cypriot and Irish 2026 Presidencies of the Council of the European Union: January–December 2026 (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

Resource:

REFUGE: Codifying Refugee Participation (Univ. of Sussex) [access]

- "[T]his project offers practical guidance for galleries, museums and other cultural and academic institutions on working with refugees, asylum seekers, and forcibly displaced individuals. Drawing on critical research from the University of Sussex, it explores how civic and cultural institutions can foster meaningful participation, voice, and recognition in a context where official support is shrinking. The work includes best practice guidelines, case studies, and resources developed through two national workshops in Manchester and London with cultural professionals, academics, and individuals with lived experience of displacement, project managers, curators, and community engagement teams." This Museums Journal article provides additional information.

Related posts:

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 1 (19 Sept. 2025)

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 2 (19 Sept. 2025)

Thematic Focus: General - Pt. 1

[Note: This post was meant to be published on 22 Sept. 2025, along with its part 2 companion, but somehow, it was overlooked! So I am re-posting both parts, with several newer items added in.]

Short pieces:

Blog series: Methodological Reflections on Studying Border Policing (Border Criminologies Blog, Sept. 2025) [access]

- Read the first post for more info.

Mending, Not Ending, the Refugee Convention Could Save the Protection System and Restore Public Trust (MPI, Sept. 2025) [text]

The Politics of Border Control: Refugees as Bargaining Chips in Foreign Policy (Refugee Research Online, Sept. 2025) [text]

Reports:

2025 Stocktaking report: Machine readable travel documents for refugees and stateless persons (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text]

- See also earlier related working paper.

94th Meeting of the Standing Committee, Genera, 8-9 Sept. 2025 [access]

- Follow link for documents, presentations and remarks.

Displaced and diverse: Demographic, socio-economic, and land use profiles for 349 million internal displacements worldwide (IOM & IDMC, Sept. 2025) [access]

Global South Perspectives on Internally Displaced People, Policy Brief (IDRC Research Chairs on Forced Migration, Aug. 2025) [access]

- Follow link for report and access to the recording of a related webinar.

The Journey Before the Boat 2024 (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

*Refugee Leadership: Tools, Challenges, and the Path Forward (Refugees International, Sept. 2025) [text]

Vanished in Transit: A Report on Missing Refugees (UNHCR, Sept. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: General (6 Sept. 2025)

Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance

Short pieces:

"Chief justice keeps Trump funding freeze in place for now," PBS, 9 Sept. 2025 [text]

- See also related CGD blog post.

"The democratic deficit in global aid: Why humanitarian power needs public accountability," The New Humanitarian, 19 Aug. 2025 [text]

How international aid cuts are eroding refugee protections in the Global South (The Conversation, Sept. 2025) [text]

Humanitarian Resets Past and Present – where have we come from and where shall we go? (Activism, Influence and Change Blog, Aug. 2025) [text]

The humanitarian–development–peace nexus and UN 2.0: a field practitioner’s perspective on bridging silos for humanitarian impact (HPN, Sept. 2025) [text]

There’s a Lot We Don’t Know about the Status of US Assistance Delivery. That Should Worry Congress (CGD Blog, Aug. 2025) [text]

"Trump's Most Lethal Policy," New York Times, 20 Sept. 2025 [text]

- See also related Facebook post and Bloomberg article on the cost to US taxpayers for shutting down USAID.

The UN at 80: Broke, blocked and still indispensable (The Interpreter Blog, Sept. 2025) [text]

"UN’s humanitarian work is ‘underfunded, overstretched, and under attack’," UN News, 15 Sept. 2025 [text]

"Why we need a new playbook for refugee inclusion," The New Humanitarian, 14 Aug. 2025 [text]

Reports:  

Adapting the OECD criteria for the evaluation of humanitarian action (ALNAP, Sept. 2025) [text]

Aid Worker Security Report 2025 – Defenceless: Aid worker security amid the humanitarian funding collapse (Humanitarian Outcomes, Aug. 2025) [text]

- See also related Figures at a Glance.

The FCDO’s Approach to Displaced People (UK Parliament, Sept. 2025) [text]

- Note: FCDO = Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Humanitarian Access Overview: Spotlight on bureaucratic and administrative impediments (ACAPS, July 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Protection Advocacy Toolkit (Global Protection Cluster et al., Aug. 2025) [access via ReliefWeb]

Scenarios for US Foreign Aid in 2035: Examining possible directions for U.S. assistance and their geopolitical consequences (Stimson Center, Sept. 2025) [text]

Journal articles:

Critical Perspectives on the Future of Aid (Sept. 2025) [access]

- New virtual issue with articles from Development Policy Review and Disasters.

"From ‘aidland’ to ‘homeland’: what the lived experiences of Ukrainian crisis leaders indicate about humanitarian response," Disasters, vol. 50, no. 1 (Jan. 2026) [open access]

"The localisation of humanitarian response to conflict and displacement: a scoping review from a health systems perspective," BMJ Global Health, vol. 10, no. 9 (Sept. 2025) [open access]

"Reclaiming Power and Partnerships in the Wake of Donor Retraction through South–South Partnership," Disasters, vol. 49, no. 4 (Oct. 2025) [open access]

Multimedia:

Rethinking Humanitarianism Podcast Series (The New Humanitarian, Sept. 2025)

- Two recent episodes focus on ) "The UN and the crisis of liberalism", and "The UN’s 20th-century diplomacy for 21st-century problems." 

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Humanitarian Assistance (7 Aug. 2025)