Summer Schedule

I will be offline for the next couple of weeks. Please check back in mid-July.

World Refugee Day - 20 June

Today is World Refugee Day. The following sites provide examples of some of the many activities organized around the world to mark the day and to honor the courage of refugees and other displaced populations in the face of adversity.

ACNUR's Día Mundial del refugiado 2007 [access]

Amnesty International [access]

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights [access]

European Council on Refugees and Exiles [access]

Forum réfugiés [access]

InterAction [access]

International Rescue Committee [access]

Refugees International [access]

Women's Commission for Refugee Women & Children [access]

UNHCR's World Refugee Day site [access]

U.S. Committee for Refugees [access]

In the UK, events honoring Refugee Week have been taking place since Monday. A companion blog was also launched by the UK Refugee Council. Australia has been commemorating its own Refugee Week since Sunday.

Posted in Events.

New Pubs.: Asylum/UK, Conflict, Darfur, Human Trafficking, Hum. Aid, Integration, Internal Displacement, Intl. HR Law, Refugees/EU, Statistics

2006 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons (UNHCR, June 2007) [text]

Bridging Divides: The Role of Ethnic Community-based Organizations in Refugee Integration (MPI, June 2007) [text]

Detention of asylum seekers in the UK (ICAR, June 2007) [text]

Failed States Index 2007 (Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy, June 2007) [access]

Human Security in Darfur and Eastern Chad: An Overview (sudanreeves.org, June 2007) [part one, part two]

Humanitarian Aid: Frequently asked questions (European Commission, June 2007) [text]

The Non-Legal Role of International Human Rights Law in Addressing Immigration (SSRN, June 2007) [access]

The operation of the asylum determination process (ICAR, June 2007) [text]

Removals [of asylum-seekers from the UK] (ICAR, June 2007) [text]

UNHCR's Recommendations for Portugal's European Union Presidency, July-December 2007 (UNHCR, June 2007) [text]

Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report 2007 (U.S. State Dept., June 2007) [text]

Vulnerable groups in the asylum determination process (ICAR, June 2007) [text]

When Displacement Ends: A Framework for Durable Solutions (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, May 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Periodical Issues: Courrier, Dis. Prev. & Mgmt., EJML, FMR, Intl. Mig., IMR, Refuge, WRR

Courrier de la Planète, no. 81-82 (2007) [selected full-text]
- Special issue on international migration; includes an interview with Stephen Castles.

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 16, no. 3 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

European Journal of Migration and Law, vol. 9, no. 2 (2007) [contents]
- Includes one article on the detention of asylum-seekers, and another on EU asylum policy, among others.

Forced Migration Review, special issue (June 2007) [full-text]
- The theme of this special issue is "Iraq's displacement crisis:the search for solutions." Access is provided by whole issue or individual article.

International Migration, vol. 45, no. 2 (June 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

International Migration Review, vol. 41, no. 2 (June 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including one on human smuggling.

Refuge: Canada's Periodical on Refugees, vol. 24, no. 1 (Jan. 2007) [contents]
- Focus is on urban refugees. Articles available thru. Amazon.com as of June 2007.

World Rivers Review, vol. 22, no. 1 (2007) [full-text]

Posted in Periodicals.

Refworld re-launched as online RSD tool

Once a CD-ROM product, Refworld has re-defined itself as a web-based tool for facilitating the refugee status determination process. Officially unveiled yesterday at www.refworld.org, the new service provides access to country reports, legal information, policy documents, and thematic papers. While there is likely to be some overlap with ecoi.net on the country of origin information side, Refworld's law and policy collections in particular will no doubt prove useful to legal practitioners.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

New Pubs.: Asylum/Europe, Forced Resettlement/Tibet, Iraqi Refugees/Syria, Migration/Uganda, Security, Unaccompanied Minors, UNHCR, UNHCR/Morocco

Contribution à une sociologie politique du HCR: le cas des politiques européennes et du HCR au Maroc (TERRA, mai 2007) [text]

Green Paper on the Future of the Common European Asylum System (European Commission, June 2007) [text]

Iraqi Refugees in the Syrian Arab Republic: A Field-Based Snapshot (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, June 2007) [text]

“No One Has the Liberty to Refuse”: Tibetan Herders Forcibly Relocated in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and the Tibet Autonomous Region (Human Rights Watch, June 2007) [text]

NSPCC’s Response to Planning Better Outcomes and Support for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (NSPCC, May 2007) [text]

Out-migration, Return, and Resettlement in Karamoja, Uganda: The case of Kobulin, Bokora County (Feinstein International Center, June 2007) [text]

SIPRI Yearbook 2007: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security (SIPRI, June 2007) [chapter summaries]

UNHCR Global Report 2006 (UNHCR, June 2007) [access]

Posted in Publications.

New Pubs.: Burma, Human Trafficking, Kenya, Kosovo, Peace, Refugee Law, Remittances

Forced Migration/Internal Displacement in Burma: With an Emphasis on Goverment-Controlled Areas (IDMC, May 2007) [text]

Global Peace Index [access]

No Forcible Return of Minorities to Kosovo (Amnesty International, May 2007) [text]

Nowhere to go: Forced Evictions in Mau Forest [Kenya] (Amnesty International, May 2007) [text]

Remittances during Crises: Implications for Humanitarian Response, HPG Report 25 (ODI, May 2007) [text]

The U.S. Response to Human Trafficking: An Unbalanced Approach (Women's Commission, May 2007) [text]

"Why Refugee Law Still Matters," by J. Hathaway, Melbourne Journal of International Law, vol. 8 (May 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Forced Migration Blogs

Three new blogs have recently been launched by UK-based groups:

1. Forced Migration Online's Blog aims to "better inform users about our plans for FMO and flag current issues we think interesting, important and perhaps worthy of wider discussion."

2. The rationale for the Refugee Council's Poliblog is to keep readers "up to date with the reflections, insights and musings of those who spend their working lives advocating for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in the public square."

3. Public Libraries and Multicultural Relationships was started up by Helen Carpenter, project coordinator for Welcome to your Library (described in this earlier post), to share her reflections while visiting public libraries in Canada, USA, Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium.

I've added these to my forced migration blogs search engine!

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

New Periodical Issues: AWR, CS&D, Dev. in Pract., GILJ, Global-e, HRQ, ICRC Rev., JPR, Voice

AWR Bulletin, vol. 45, no. 1 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including one on refugee protection and human rights.

Conflict, Security and Development, vol. 7, no. 2 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Development in Practice, vol. 17, no. 3 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, vol. 21, no. 2 (Winter 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Global-e: A Global Studies Journal, vol. 1, no. 1 (2007) [full-text]
- Newly-launched open access electronic journal; first issue includes an article on "global migration in global society."

Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2 (May 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

International Review of the Red Cross, no. 864 (2006) [full-text]
- Theme is "methods of warfare."

Journal of Peace Research, vol. 44, no. 3 (May 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Voice Out Loud, no. 5 (May 2007) [full-text]
- Focus is on "vulnerability in humanitarian crisis."

Posted in Periodicals.

Calls for Papers: JHA, MJHR

Two opportunities to write on forced migration topics:

The Journal of Humanitarian Assistance has launched a new "Practitioner Analysis and Reflection" series, and the editors are seeking contributions from aid workers with field experience.

The Mediterranean Journal of Human Rights is planning a special issue on migration and refugees, and the editors are requesting submissions by June 30th. The issue will be published in late 2007.

Posted in Opportunities.

U.S. asylum decisions

The New York Times reported today about "big disparities" that exist in the "judging of asylum cases" in the U.S. The article discusses the findings of a study undertaken by three law professors that examined 140,000 decisions made by 225 immigration judges. They determined that the "chance of winning asylum was strongly affected by whether or not the applicant had legal representation, by the gender of the immigration judge, and by the immigration judge's work experience prior to appointment." An abstract of the study (to be published in full in the Stanford Law Review) is available on SSRN.com.

An earlier study by TRAC also found significant variations in the asylum decisions of immigration judges.

Posted in Publications.

Research Guides

LLRX.com recently published an updated version of my "Guide to International Refugee Law Resources on the Web." This legal information service is an excellent resource, particularly for finding out about the law and legal systems of other countries. An earlier guide of mine on country research for refugee status determination purposes is also available through LLRX.com, although it's a bit out of date at this point. (A more complete country of origin information guide - actually, more of a training manual - was produced by the Austrian Red Cross.)

Other resources that provide useful introductions to or overviews of forced migration issues include:

- Forced Migration Online's research guides (both thematic and regional, including a general guide to forced migration resources on the web that I prepared)

- Human Rights Education Associates' study guides (thematic)

- IDMC's Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2006

- IFRC's World Disasters Report 2006: Focus on Neglected Crises (2007 edition due out at the end of the year)

- UNHCR's The State of the World's Refugees 2006: Human Displacement in a New Millennium

- USCRI's World Refugee Survey 2007 is due to be published in June; editions for 2003-2006 are available here.

Posted in Publications.

New Pubs.: Asylum, Children, Human Trafficking, Integration, Poverty, Palestinian Refugees/Syria, Refugees/Uganda

"Giving out their Daughters for their Survival": Refugee Self-Reliance, 'Vulnerability', and the Paradox of Early Marriage (Refugee Law Project, April 2007) [text]

Handbook on Integration for Policy-makers and Practitioners, 2nd edition (European Communities, May 2007) [text]

Keeping Up: A Brief on the Living Conditions of Palestinian Refugees in Syria (Fafo, 2007) [text]

Report on Destitute Forced Migrants (Jesuit Refugee Service-Europe, May 2007) [text]

Troubling Trafficking: Why I am Worried about Motherhood and Apple Pie but don't Endorse Slavery (DIIS, May 2007) [text]

When is a Child not a Child? Asylum, Age Disputes and the Process of Age Assessment (ILPA, May 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Amnesty International Report 2007

Amnesty International's flagship annual report has just been released. The 2007 edition surveys the state of the world's human rights during 2006. In addition to regional overviews and country profiles, the report includes facts and figures, a description of AI's campaigns, and state ratifications of human rights treaties. The report can be downloaded in its entirety or browsed by chapter. Video, audio and photos are also provided, and a companion blog is available with links to different language editions of the 2007 report.

Previous annual reports are available through the AI library.

Posted in Publications.

Forced Migration Overviews

I was asked recently about finding an introduction to the forced migration situation within a particular region/country. The following resources are starting points for developing overviews of population displacements around the world. Because different labels are used to describe forced migrants, depending on the type of displacement they experience, it is necessary to consult a range of sources in order to get a sense of the overall picture in any given place; currently, there is no single comprehensive source for "forced migration country profiles."

Forced Migration Research Guides (Forced Migration Online) [access]
- The aim of these guides is to provide an overview of the range of displacement situations in selected countries. Currently, 18 countries are profiled, as well as Palestinian refugees.

International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies [access]
- Describes IFRC programmes to assist the "world's most vulnerable people; victims of natural and man-made disasters, refugees and displaced people and those hit by socio-economic problems."

Profiles of Internal Displacement (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre) [access]
- Select countries from the orange drop-down menu on the right. For regional overviews of displacement, read through the recent report entitled Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2006 (April 2007). IDMC focuses on conflict-induced displacement.

ReliefWeb [access]
- Portal to humanitarian information on complex emergencies and natural disasters.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees [access]
- Browse by country using the drop-down menu on the home page. UNHCR's focus is on refugees, or people fleeing persecution, conflict, human rights violations who cross an international border. For regional overviews, read the agency's latest Global Appeal.

World Refugee Survey (U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants) [access]
- Search by individual country using the drop-down menu on the right, entitled "Refugee Conditions by Country." Or browse through the complete issues of World Refugee Surveys back to 2003. USCRI surveys both refugee and IDP situations.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

HIV and IDPs: Update

I posted earlier about the First Global Consultation on HIV and Internally Displaced Persons that was held 24-25 April in Geneva. You can learn more about the discussions that took place during the meeting by reading the report and reviewing the presentations that have just been made available on the UNHCR web site.

Posted in Events and Publications.

New Pubs.: Bhutanese Refugees, Forced Evictions, Palestinian Refugees, Refugee Legal Aid, Somali Refugees

Addressing the Palestinian Refugee Issue: A Brief Overview (R. Brynen, May 2007) [text]

Denied Refuge: The effect of the closure of the Kenya/Somalia border on thousands of Somali asylum-seekers and refugees (Amnesty International, May 2007) [text]

Last Hope: The Need for Durable Solutions for Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal and India (Human Rights Watch, May 2007) [text]

Palestinian Refugees: Challenges of Repatriation and Development, ed. by R. Brynen and R. El-Rifai (IDRC, 2007) [text]
- Full-text book with access by chapter.

The 'Southern' Refugee Legal Aid Network Documents (Feb. 2007) [access]
- A recent conference resulted in the revision of the Network's Charter and the Nairobi Code of Ethics.

“They Pushed Down the Houses”: Forced Evictions and Insecure Land Tenure for Luanda’s Urban Poor (Human Rights Watch, May 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Forced Migration Summer Courses

A number of courses are scheduled annually during the summer period. Here is a partial listing. (Note: This is provided primarily for informational and future planning purposes, as registration for many of these courses is already closed. That said, if you are interested in a particular course, it's worth checking availability.)

3-29 June 2007
International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance, Center for International Health and Cooperation, New York [info]

4-9 June 2007
Third Course on the Law of Internal Displacement, International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Sanremo [info]

9-17 June 2007
Summer Course on Refugee Issues, Centre for Refugee Studies, York University [info]

15-17 June 2007
Workshop on Health and Social Care Needs of Migrants, Department of Sociology of the National School of Public Health (NSPH) and European Center for the Study of Migration and Social Care (MASC), Athens [info]

18 June - 6 July 2007
Summer Programme on International Affairs and Multilateral Governance, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva [info]

23-30 June 2007
Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict, The Fletcher School, Tufts University [info]

2-13 July 2007
European Union Law and Policy on Immigration and Asylum, Odysseus Network, Université Libre de Bruxelles [info]

2-14 July 2007
Summer Course on International Humanitarian Law, International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Sanremo/Geneva [info - note: more information is available under the drop-down menu on the left; select "our activities--summer course"]

2-20 July 2007
International Summer School in Forced Migration, Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford University [info]

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

World Refugee Day/Refugee Weeks

World Refugee Day is June 20th. The aim is to honour the courage and determination of refugees and to "recognise the richness and diversity they bring to our societies." Various events are taking place across the globe to commemorate the day. Find out more on UNHCR's special events page.

Two week-long programmes to raise awareness of refugee issues will be held 18-23/24 June, to intersect with World Refugee Day. The first is the UK's Refugee Week, with events organised across the country. Visit the web site for background information, ideas for events, and other scheduled activities.

Australia will also be celebrating Refugee Week; this year's theme is "The Voices of Young Refugees." Check the Refugee Council of Australia site for more details and ideas for getting involved.

Posted in Events.

New Pubs.: Forced Evictions, Global Warming, Human Rights, Iraq, Migration Policy/Europe, Minorities, Palestinian Refugees/Lebanon, UNHCR

(updated 15 May)

A Comprehensive European Migration Policy (EU, May 2007) [text]

Forced Evictions - Towards Solutions? Second Report of the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions to the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT (AGFE, 2007) [text]

Human tide: the real migration crisis (Christian Aid, May 2007) [text]

International Human Rights Research Guide (GlobaLex, March 2007) [text]

Iraq humanitarian crisis situation and NGOs' responses (NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq, May 2007) [text]

The Law, the Loss and the Lives of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, CMI Working Paper 1 (CMI, 2007) [text]

State of the World's Minorities 2007: Events of 2006 (Minority Rights Group International, March 2007) [text]

UNHCR Policy and Practice: Confronting Calls for Change (Journal of Humanitarian Assistance, 30 April 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.