Accelerated Asylum Procedures

In 2006, the Council of Europe established a Working Group "to examine the question of human rights protection in the context of accelerated asylum procedures and, as appropriate, to draft guidelines in this field." The group held its first meeting in December 2006. Draft Terms of Reference for the group's mandate are provided in English as Appendix III to the report of the meeting. (A final version is also provided in French here.) Documents considered during the meeting included the following:

- Secretariat Memorandum on Recommendation 1727 (2005) of the Parliamentary Assembly Accelerated asylum procedures in Council of Europe member states [text]
- Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in member states for granting and withdrawing refugee status [text]
- UNHCR Provisional Comments on the Proposal for a Council Directive on Minimum Standards on Procedures in member States for Granting and Withdrawing Refugee Status (Council Document 14203/04, Asile 64, of 9 November 2004) [text]
- Amnesty International: Council of Europe: Briefing to the Working Group on Human Rights Protection in the Context of Accelerated Asylum Procedures (GT-DH-AS), IOR 61/024/2006 [text]

More recently (July 2007), Amnesty International reported its observations of the December meeting and recommendations for concerns to be addressed.

An earlier Sussex Centre for Migration Research working paper (April 2007) focused on the issue of accelerated procedures in the European context; it provides useful background to the current discussions and looks at the use of such procedures in the UK as a case study.

For more information about EU developments relating to asylum and refugee policies, visit ECRE, UNHCR and the European Commission.

Posted in Publications and Web Sites.

New Pubs.: Armed Conflict, Burmese/Thailand, IDPs/Chad, IDPs/Liberia, Property Restitution, Safety in Refugee Schools, World Pop.

2007 Armed Conflicts Report: Preview (Project Ploughshares, 2007) [text]

Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons: Implementing the ‘Pinheiro Principles’ (OCHA/IDD, UN HABITAT, UNHCR, FAO, OHCHR, NRC & IDMC, March 2007 (print), July 2007 (electronic)) [text]

Internally displaced in Chad: Trapped between civil conflict and Sudan’s Darfur crisis (IDMC, July 2007) [text]

Planning for the future - The impact of resettlement on the remaining camp population (Thailand Burma Border Consortium, July 2007) [text]
- Refugees International discusses this report in a July 25th blog post.

Real-time evaluation of UNHCR's IDP operation in Eastern Chad, PDES/2007/02 - RTE 1 (UNHCR, July 2007) [text]

Real-time evaluation of UNHCR's IDP operation in Liberia, PDES/2007/02 - RTE 2 (UNHCR, July 2007) [text]

Safe Schools and Learning Environment: How to Prevent and Respond to Violence in Refugee Schools. A Guide (UNHCR, June 2007) [text]

The State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth (UNFPA, July 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Periodical Issues: IJRL, Intl. Mig., JEMS, Women's Asylum News

International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 19, no. 2 (July 2007) [contents]
- Includes articles on expanding the scope of the gender guidelines in Canada; North Korean refugees; refugees in India; and assessing credibility of asylum applicants.

International Migration, vol. 45, no. 3 (August 2007) [contents]
- Focus is on "illegal" and "irregular" immigrants.

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 33, no. 6 (2007) [contents]
- Special issue on "Governing Islam in Western Europe: Essays on Governance of Religious Diversity."

Women's Asylum News, no. 67 (June/July 2007) [text]

Posted in Periodicals.

Measuring Mortality

In May 2007, two publications that focused on measuring mortality were circulated. The first, "Armed Conflict as a Public Health Problem: Current Realities and Future Directions," USIPeace Briefing, summarized a presentation that discussed the different methodologies for measuring conflict-related deaths. These variable approaches have resulted in significant discrepancies between datasets generated by public health and epidemiological studies as compared with studies reported in the social science literature.

Because of the debate such discrepancies set off in the scientific community, Human Security Research reported on a number of conflict-related mortality studies undertaken in specific countries. It also highlighted a paper produced by the Humanitarian Practice Network, entitled "Interpreting and using mortality data in humanitarian emergencies: A primer for non-epidemiologists" (September 2005).

The second publication, "Health and Mortality of Internally Displaced Persons: Reviewing the Data and Defining Directions for Research" from the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, points to a dearth of health information relating to IDPs. It cites a 2002 CRED report that reviewed existing public health research and "found that roughly 50 percent of studies reviewed were for refugee populations, 35 percent had residents as subjects, and only 15 percent were on IDPs." To address this gap, the Brookings-Bern report set out to "review existing data on mortality and health indicators for IDP situations, identif[y] some of their limitations, and identif[y] an agenda for future research."

Posted in Publications.

Recent HIV Research

A reference to the following article showed up in my newsreader on July 13th. I have a search string saved in PubMed for "refugees and reviews"; search results are sent as an RSS feed. Coincidentally, the full-text of the same article was just posted on UNHCR's site today (most of the authors are with the organization).

"Prevalence of HIV infection in conflict-affected and displaced people in seven sub-Saharan African countries: a systematic review," The Lancet, vol. 369 (30 June 2007) [access]

Posted in Publications.

Library Services to Refugees: Update

I've posted previously about "library programs and services designed specifically to target refugee and/or immigrant populations." Just recently, UNHCR published a working paper entitled "Refugees and asylum seekers in the Caribbean region: library service implications," which includes a useful breakdown of the kind of typical information needs refugees often have.

A few of the online resources that the author mentions:

- Library and Information Services for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Birmingham, UK) [access]
- Multicultural Resources and Services (National Library of Canada) [English access, French access]
- Multikulki [access] (service that provides translations of advice and practical information in 12 languages)

In addition, in her Public Libraries and Multicultural Relationships blog, Helen Carpenter has been reporting on her travels to Canada and the U.S. (to date; she'll also be touring Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium in the fall) and how public libraries in these countries connect with refugees and asylum seekers. Here are some of the resources she links to:

- Civics and Citizenship Toolkit (U.S. Task Force on New Americans) [info.]
- New Americans Program (Queens Library) [access]
- Working Together (Human Resources and Social Development Canada) [access]

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

New Periodical Issues: AJEM, FMR, GILJ, H&M, IJMHSC, RSQ

Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 22, no. 2 (May 2007) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

Forced Migration Review, no. 28 (July 2007) [full-text]
- Focus is on Southern capacity-building. Also includes a range of articles on other topics.

Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, vol. 21, no. 3 (Spring 2007) [contents]
- Includes articles on human trafficking, African refugee resettlement and FGM asylum claims.

Hommes et Migrations, no. 1265 (jan./fev. 2007) [selected full-text]
- Focus is on the Armenian diaspora.

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 3, no. 1 (July 2007) [contents]
- Focus is on health. Includes full-text article on older refugees in Australia; other articles focus on mental health of Ethiopians resettled in London and refugee access to health care in Canada.

Refugee Survey Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 2 (2007) [contents]
- Focus is on refugees and religion.

Posted in Periodicals.

New Pubs.: Eastern Europe, Environment, Humanitarianism, IDPs/Azerbaijan, Iraq, Mental Health, Protection, Sudan, Violence against Women

Azerbaijan: Displaced then Discriminated Against - The Plight of the Internally Displaced Population (Amnesty International, June 2007) [text]

Country Reports 2006: Belarus, Moldova, Russian Federation and Ukraine - Situation for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons (ECRE, June 2007) [text]

IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC, 2007) [text]

Laws Without Justice: An Assessment of Sudanese Laws Affecting Survivors of Rape (Refugees International, June 2007) [text]

Lost in Translation: Managing Coordination and Leadership Reform in the Humanitarian System, HPG Policy Brief 27 (ODI, July 2007) [text]

Re-thinking Policies to Cope with Desertification (UNU International Network on Water, Environment and Health, June 2007) [text]

Taking Sides or Saving Lives: Existential Choices for the Humanitarian Enterprise in Iraq (Feinstein International Center, June 2007) [text]

A Tale of 10 Post-its: The Depressing Fate of Iraqi Refugees (Anna Husarska, June 2007) [text]

Towards a European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid (European Commission, June 2007) [text]

Update Report No. 1: Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (Security Council, June 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

World Refugee Survey 2007

The 2007 World Refugee Survey is now available from the U.S. Committee on Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). As in the past, it provides country updates with profiles of refugee populations and an overview of their rights within host countries. An article on the situation of Iraqi refugees, a dedication to Gerald Ford and statistical tables are also included.

Past editions can be accessed here.

Posted in Publications.

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.

CFPs for Two Forced Migration Conferences

Two upcoming conferences will examine the changing nature of forced migration, both as a phenomenon and as a field of study.

An Unsettled Future? Forced Migration and Refugee Studies in the 21st Century, 7–8 December 2007, University of Oxford [call for papers]
- An event held in part to commemorate the Refugee Studies Centre's 25th anniversary. The aim is to "take stock of the state of research on refugee and forced migration movements. The conference will consider, in particular, how refugee and forced migration studies have progressed in the years since the RSC’s inception and what contemporary challenges and future directions should inform the ongoing development of these areas of study." Paper proposals due September 14th.

Refugees and Forced Migrants at the Crossroads: Forced Migration in a Changing World, 6-10 January 2008, Cairo [call for papers]
- The 11th conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM). The focus will be on places, people, policies and a field at the crossroads. Submit abstracts by June 30th.

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

Refugee Integration in Europe

EU ministers responsible for integration are meeting today and tomorrow (May 10-11) to "discuss strengthening European cooperation and the exchange of experience within the EU regarding integration policy issues." The second edition of the Handbook on Integration for Policy-makers and Practitioners was presented on the first day.

In light of the EU meeting, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles issued a press release noting that refugees are overlooked in EU integration policies. ECRE has helped organize an NGO Network of Integration Focal Points to, among other activities, "advocate for better integration policies and practices for refugees and migrants in Europe." The organization has also prepared a series of policy briefs with recommendations for improved practices in key integration-related areas. More information on ECRE's integration activities is available here.

UNHCR also recently issued a Note on the Integration of Refugees in the European Union, which "highlights existing gaps in the integration of refugees in the European Union (EU), and formulates a number of policy recommendations in order to strengthen policy and practice in this area." The refugee agency has its own handbook, entitled Refugee Resettlement: An International Handbook to Guide Reception and Integration.

Posted in Publications.

Humanitarian Law Guide

The second English edition of the Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, by F. Bouchet-Saulnier, was published in February 2007. Using an alphabetically organized dictionary format, the guide provides introductions to and definitions of key concepts in humanitarian law.

Book reviews of the first edition of the Guide (2002) can be found online at:

Journal of Humanitarian Assistance, Internet archive version [html text]

Melbourne Journal of International Law, vol. 4, no. 2 (Oct. 2003) [html text] [pdf text]

These reviews refer to two other useful texts that focus on humanitarian law:

- Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know, by R. Gutman and D. Rieff [access]
- The Handbook of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts, by D. Fleck (second edition to be published by OUP in 2008) [info.]

For more comprehensive information on international humanitarian law, explore the following web sites:

International Humanitarian Law (International Committee of the Red Cross)

International Humanitarian Law Research Initiative (Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research)
- Free registration required.

Reference Guide to the Geneva Conventions (Society of Professional Journalists)

Posted in Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

New Periodical Issues: AWR, Conflict Trends, Dev. in Practice, Disasters, IJRL, ICRC Rev., MIS

AWR Bulletin, vol. 44, no. 4 (Dec. 2006) [contents]
- Mix of articles including one on harmonizing European asylum policy.

Conflict Trends, no. 1 (2007) [full-text]
- Focus is on parliaments and conflict resolution.

Development in Practice, vol. 17, no. 2 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles; an overview of the issue is provided in the editorial.

Disasters, vol. 31, no. 2 (June 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles including one on NGO insecurity in conflict areas.

International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 19, no. 1 (March 2007) [contents]
- Includes articles on freedom of movement, Mozambican refugees in South Africa, and African asylum law.

International Review of the Red Cross, no. 863 (2006) [full-text]
- Focus is the "presence of private military companies (PMCs) in situation of armed conflicts."

Migration Information Source (May 2007) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

Posted in Periodicals.

HIV and IDPs

A global consultation on the effects of HIV on internally displaced populations was held last week in Geneva (April 24-25). The aim of the meeting was to "help...identify gaps, plan joint programmes and improve services for IDPs." A call was made for more research into the HIV infection rates among displaced people. One 2006 study of eight countries that host IDPs noted that "[l]ittle is currently known about HIV among conflict-affected internally displaced persons (IDPs) despite claims that conflict increases HIV among IDPs, that they have high HIV infection rates, and that they lack adequate HIV interventions."

One way to track research reported in the medical literature is to create an RSS feed from PubMed searches. For example, enter the search >HIV AND (displaced OR armed conflict OR humanitarian)<, click on "go" to generate your results; from the "send to" drop-down menu, select "RSS feed," and "create feed." Copy and paste the resulting feed into your newsreader; it will update when new matches are made to your search criteria. (Note the record for the article entitled "HIV-1 prevalence and factors associated with infection in the conflict-affected region of North Uganda" from March 2007 that is available in full-text.)

Other resources relating to HIV/AIDS and displacement include:

- IASC, Guidelines for HIV/AIDS Interventions in Emergency Settings (2003) [text]

- ReliefWeb, HIV/AIDS Policy and Issues Documents [access]

- UNAIDS & UNHCR, Policy Brief: HIV and Refugees (2007) [text]

- UNHCR, Refugees and HIV/AIDS page [access]

Posted in Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Library Services to Refugees

A UK program called "Welcome to Your Library: Connecting Public Libraries and Refugee Communities" recently won the Libraries Change Lives award. The objective of the program is to "improve access to and quality of public library services for everyone" by sharing information about good practice, planning guidance, training opportunities, and other resources that can help libraries deliver services to refugees and asylum seekers. Documents on the pilot project that led to the development of this program are available in the "background" section.

Examples of other library programs and services designed specifically to target refugee and/or immigrant populations are described in the following resources:

- Brathwaite, T., A Place for the Displaced: A Consideration of the Types of Caribbean Libraries Should Provide to Refugees, Paper presented to the Association of Caribbean University Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) XXXVI Conference: “Information and Human Rights", Wyndham Resort, Aruba (2006) [text]

- MacDonald, M. and D. Kane, Public library services to refugees and asylum seekers in the North East (Centre for Research into Quality, 2005) [text]

- Takafumi, M., "Libraries for Refugee Camps: The Shanti Volunteer Association," ABD: Asian/Pacific Book Development, vol. 33, no. 1 (2002) [text]

- Thorhauge, J., Danish Strategies in Public Library Services to Ethnic Minorities, Paper presented to World Library and Information Congress: 69th IFLA General Conference and Council, Berlin (2003) [text]; see also Finfo: Information for Ethnic Minorities in Denmark

- USCIS, Library Services for Immigrants: A Report on Current Practices (2006) [text]

- Virgilio, D., "InfoBUS: Serving Immigrant and Refugee Populations," excerpt from From Outreach to Equity: Innovative Models of Library Policy and Practice (ALA, 2004) [text]

Posted in Publications and Web Sites.

New Periodical Issues: Field Exchange, Hum. Exchange, JHA, JRS, Refugees, Signs

Field Exchange, no. 30 (April 2007) [full-text]
- Mix of articles on best practices in nutritional emergencies.

Humanitarian Exchange, no. 37 (March 2007) [full-text]
- Focus is on "humanitarian responses to conflicts in Lebanon and the Near East."

Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (April 2007) [full-text]
- New article added that discusses the use of blogs to facilitate the "exchange of information in humanitarian emergencies."

Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 20, no. 1 (March 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles on human security, health models in Sri Lanka, asylum in Luxembourg, IDPs in Senegal, health among Greek Cypriot refugees, micronutrient deficiencies among refugees, and poverty among Palestinian refugees in Jordan.

Refugees Magazine, no. 146 (April 2007) [full-text]
- Theme is "Iraq bleeds: millions displaced by conflict, persecution and violence."

Signs, vol. 32, no. 3 (Spring 2007) [contents]
- Includes a special section with articles on "Women in Refugee Camps."

Published in Periodicals.

New Reports: Conflict&Poverty, Evaluation/NRC, Humanitarian Action, IDPs, Immigration/Europe, Iraqis, UNHCR

(Updated April 26)

Benchmarks for Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons (IASC, March 2007) [text]

Contingency Planning and Humanitarian Action: A Review of Practice, Network Paper no. 59 (HPN, March 2007) [text]

Coordinating the Humanitarian Response to Refugee Situations: The Role of Power and Trust in Humanitarian Networks, Sussex Migration Working Paper No. 42 (Sussex Centre for Migration Research, 2007) [text]

Durable Management for Durable Solutions : Organisational Performance Review Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Norad Report: Review 2/2007 (Norad, April 2007) [text]

European Strategies for Reducing 'Unwanted' Immigration (DIIS April 2007) [text]

Guidelines on the Treatment of Iraqi Asylum Seekers and Refugees (ECRE, April 2007) [text]

The Impact of Conflict on the Intergenerational Transmission of Chronic Poverty: An Overview and Annotated Bibliography (Chronic Poverty Research Centre, March 2007) [text]

Iraq - From a Flood to a Trickle: Neighboring States Stop Iraqis Fleeing War and Persecution (HRW, April 2007) [text]

‘Prisons of the Stateless’: A Response to New Left Review, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 141 (UNHCR, March 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Psychosocial Impact of War on Children

Over the weekend, National Public Radio interviewed Iraq's mental health adviser on the results of a survey that was conducted to assess the effects of the war on the mental health of Iraqi children. USA Today reported earlier on the findings, noting that "[a]bout 70% of primary school students in a Baghdad neighborhood suffer symptoms of trauma-related stress... ." The study will become available next month.

Following up on my earlier post on the mental health aspects of forced migration, here are several additional resources to consult to learn more about the impact of war on children and recommended approaches for assistance :

Psychosocial - Care & Protection of Children in Emergencies: A Field Guide (Save the Children, 2004) [text]

Psychosocial Concepts in Humanitarian Work with Children: A Review of the Concepts and Related Literature (National Academies Press, 2003) [text]

"Psychosocial interventions for children in war-affected areas: the state of the art," Intervention: International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict, vol. 5, no. 1 (March 2007) [summary]
- Full-text not available online. Contact the publisher for more information.

Working with children in unstable situations: A guiding manual for psychosocial interventions (RSC and UNICEF, 2002) [text]

More information can be found via FMO's digital library, the Health and Human Rights Info database, and PubMed.

Posted in Publications.

New Global IDP Survey

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC, formerly the Global IDP Project) released its annual survey of trends in international displacement yesterday. Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2006 estimates that 24.5 million IDPs have been displaced by conflict around the world, a majority of them women and children. Read the report for more facts and figures, an analysis of overall trends, regional overviews, thematic overviews, and statistics. The press release announcing the launch of the survey is here.

Previous annual surveys are available via IDMC's publications page.

Posted in Publications.

Humanitarian Needs of Iraqi Refugees and IDPs

The UNHCR International Conference on Addressing the Humanitarian Needs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons inside Iraq and in Neighbouring Countries will be held next week, 17-18 April. This briefing note describes the overall objectives of the meeting. Invitations were sent to 192 governments, 65 international organizations and some 60 NGOs; some of the participants are listed here. ICVA, representing NGOs, will present two statements at the meeting. More information about NGO contributions is available on ICVA's conference sub-site.

The latest issue of Refugees Magazine (no. 146, April 2007) focuses on Iraq.

For the latest on the humanitarian aspects of the situation in Iraq, see ReliefWeb's updates. ECOI.net country reports and the Brookings Iraq Index also provide useful information.

Posted in Events and Publications.

Kakuma Revisited

Jeff Crisp of UNHCR's Policy Development and Evaluation Service (PDES) very kindly passed along the following references to supplement my earlier post on Kakuma refugee camp. They include, respectively, 1) studies that consider the overall situation in Kakuma, 2) evaluations of specific programmes implemented in the camp, and 3) further reading on research into the socio-economic aspects of life in Kakuma.

1. Overviews

Crisp, J., "A state of insecurity: the political economy of violence in refugee-populated areas of Kenya," New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 16 (1999) [text]

Jamal, A., Minimum standards and essential needs in a protracted refugee situation: A review of the UNHCR programme in Kakuma, Kenya (UNHCR, 2000) [text]

Princeton Refugee Initiative, Protracted Refugee Situations: A Case Analysis of Kakuma Camp, Kenya (Princeton University, 2005) [text]

2. Evaluations

Dube, A., and A. Koenig, Self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods for refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma camps (UNHCR & ILO, 2005) [text]

HIV/AIDS Unit, Behavioural Surveillance Surveys Among Refugees and Surrounding Host Population: Kakuma, Kenya (UNHCR, 2004) [text]

Ngugi, E., Assessment of HIV/AIDS Behaviour Change Communication Strategies Employed by NGOs in Kakuma Refugee Camp (UNHCR, 2002) [text]

Obura, A.P., Peace Education Programme in Dadaab and Kakuma, Kenya: Evaluation Summary (UNHCR, 2002) [text]

Phillips, J., "Challenges to the Effective Implmentation of Microfinance Programmes in Refugee Settings," Forced Migration Review 20 (2002) [text]

Phillips, J., Testimony before US Senate Subcommittee re. food assistance in Kakuma (2002) [text]

Sommers, M., Crossing Lines: "Magnets" and Mobility among Southern Sudanese - A final report of two assessment trips examining the impact and broader implications of a new teacher training center in the Kakuma refugee camps, Kenya (USAID, 2002) [text]

Sommers, M., "Peace Education and Refugee Youth," Chapter 4 in Learning for a Future: Refugee Education in Developing Countries (UNHCR, 2002) [text]

3. Research into Socio-economic Aspects (not available online)

Ohta, I., "Multiple Socio-Economic Relationships Improvised between the Turkana and Refugees in Kakuma Area, Northwestern Kenya," in Ohta, I. and Gebre, Y.S. (eds.), Displacement Risks in Africa: Refugees, Resettlers and their Host Population (Kyoto: Kyoto University Press, 2005) [contents] [conference report]

Perouse de Montclos, M.-A. and P.M. Kagwanja, "Refugee camps or cities? The socio-economics of the Dadaab and Kakuma camps in northern Kenya," Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2000) [abstract]

Posted in Publications.

New Publications: Asylum Seekers/France & UK, Forced Evictions, Iraqis, Stateless/Asia, Tsunami Response

COHRE, Global Survey on Forced Evictions: Violations of Human Rights (Dec. 2006) [text]

Joint Committee on Human Rights, The Treatment of Asylum Seekers (House of Lords & House of Commons, 30 March 2007) [text]

Lambert, B. and C. Pougin de la Maisonneuve, UNHCR’s response to the Tsunami emergency in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, December 2004 - November 2006: An independent evaluation, PDES/2007/01 (UNHCR, April 2007) [text]

Margesson, R. et al., Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: A Deepening Humanitarian Crisis? (Congressional Research Service, 23 March 2007) [text]

Mydans, S., "Citizens of nowhere," International Herald Tribune (1 April 2007) [text]
- Article on stateless people in Asia.

Valluy, J., "L’Accueil étatisé des demandeurs d’asile: de l’enrôlement dans les politiques publiques à l’affaiblissement des mobilisations de soutien aux exilés," Collection "Esquisses," no. 10 (avril 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

April Events/Opportunities: Civilian Protection, Fellowship, Immigration/US, Iraq, Palestinian Refugees,

4th Immigration Law and Policy Conference, 24 April 2007 [more info.]
- Jointly sponsored by MPI, GU Law Center, and CLINIC. Focus is U.S. immigration reform.

Call for Papers for disClosure: a journal of social theory, Issue 17: Migration, Displacement, and Mobility, deadline 20 April 2007 [more info.]
- "seeks submissions that explore issues of migration, displacement, and mobility as it is understood in a variety of areas," including politics, economics, geographies, identities, and media/rhetorics.

Civilians in conflict: New approaches to security and protection [more info.]
- An ODI Humanitarian Policy Group Series of four meetings, the first of which is scheduled for April 19 and will focus on "Political and humanitarian approaches to civilian protection." The remaining will be held in May and will address the following topics respectively: "Livelihoods, conflict and civilian security"; "Operational challenges to protecting civilians: Questions from civil and military experience"; "Civilian protection and humanitarian advocacy: Strategies and dilemmas."

International Conference on Addressing the Humanitarian Needs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons inside Iraq and in Neighbouring Countries, 17-18 April 2007 [more info.]
- Hosted by UNHCR. See also ICVA conference site.

Palestinian Refugees and International Law, 28-29 April 2007 [more info. - select "Teaching" menu option, then "Short courses"]
- Hosted by the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC). "This two-day workshop places the Palestinian refugee case study within the broader context of the international human rights regime."

RMMRU-DRC Fellowships on Migration for Young Academics and Professionals, deadline 30 April 2007 [more info.]
- Based at the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU).

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

New Periodical Issues: Conflict&Health, Europ. J. Mig.&Law, HR Brief, Intervention, JEMS, J. Mig.&Ref. Issues, NICS

Conflict and Health (March 2007) [full-text]
- Open access journal with several new articles added in March.

European Journal of Migration and Law, vol. 9, no. 1 (2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles including one on 'protection in regions of origin' and European asylum law.

Human Rights Brief, vol. 14, no. 2 (Winter 2007) [full-text]
- Mix of articles relating to international human rights law.

Intervention: International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict, vol. 5, no. 1 (March 2007) [contents, introduction]
- Focus is on psychological interventions for people affected by armed conflict.

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 33, no. 3 (April 2007) [contents]
- Mix of articles including one that focuses on refugee children in Hungary and another that examines the experience of displacement and resettlement in the Russian Federation.

Journal of Migration and Refugee Issues, vol. 3, no. 1 (2007) [contents]
- One article examines displacement and women's health in Beirut, while a second considers discrimination and persecution in refugee law.

Nutrition Information in Crisis Situations, vol. 12 (Feb. 2007) [full-text]
- Provides country profiles of nutrition and food security situations.

Posted in Periodicals.

Human Trafficking-Refugee Nexus

A proposal was put forth at a recent Informal Consultative Meeting of the Standing Committee for an "Executive Committee Conclusion on the Protection of Victims of Trafficking Seeking Asylum." Several perspectives on the intersection between human trafficking and refugee/asylum issues are represented in the literature. The following examples highlight some of these viewpoints:

Morrison, J., FMO Research Guide: Human Smuggling and Trafficking, October 2002 [text]

Morrison, J. and B. Crosland, "The trafficking and smuggling of refugees: the end game in European asylum policy?," New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 39, April 2001 [text]

Shearer Demir, J., "The trafficking of women for sexual exploitation: a gender-based and well-founded fear of persecution?," New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 80, March 2003 [text]

Schlapkohl, L., Human Trafficking and the Common European Asylum System: Victim Protection and Assistance in the European Union, Master's Thesis, Tufts University, April 2006 [text]

UNHCR, Guidelines on International Protection: The application of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees to victims of trafficking and persons at risk of being trafficked, HCR/GIP/06/07, 7 April 2006 [text]

Women's Commission, "Protecting Displaced Women and Girls from Trafficking," Protection Program [access]

Posted in Publications and Web Sites.

Build your own search engine

I have added links to several search options in the navigation menu on the right. The first takes you to a page where you can conduct a search of this blog together with three others that have a forced migration focus (two from ICAR and one from Refugees International).

The second link takes you to Forced Migration Online's search page where you can search across a number of different forced migration web sites (e.g., UNHCR, IDMC, ECRE, USCR, ICAR, ReliefWeb, Brookings-Bern IDP Project, etc.).

The third link takes you to Paul Currion's search engine which allows you to search across 47 different humanitarian-related web sites.

All of these specialized search engines were set up using Google's Co-op Search. It's a very easy process and happily (for me at least) required no technical skills to speak of. There are several other options for building customized search engines, including Yahoo! Search Builder, Gigablast Custom Topic Search, Rollyo, and Swicki. I haven't tried any of these out yet so I can't comment on their features or ease of use (this column provides brief comments though).

If you want to search just my blog, you can already do so using the Blogger search box in the top left corner.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

Human Trafficking: Research/Literature Review Opportunity

The U.S. National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is soliciting applications to undertake "Trafficking in Human Beings Research" and/or a "Comprehensive Literature Review." Specifically:

NIJ is seeking applications for funding two distinct research projects to address certain knowledge gaps related to trafficking in human beings in the United States. NIJ is specifically seeking applications for funding that (1) respond to a series of research questions regarding trafficking in human beings, or (2) propose to perform a comprehensive literature review of trafficking in human beings. Applicants may apply for one or both projects.

More application information is available here. The deadline is 16 April 2007; interested candidates must register with and apply through Grants.gov.

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

New Publications from ECRE, ICVA, Oxfam, Refugees Intl., Sphere

Building Safer Organisations: Guidelines and Handbook (ICVA, Feb. 2007) [access]

Fostering Quality and Accountability among Humanitarian Aid Agencies through a Process of Accreditation: History, overview of current options and potential contribution from Sphere (Sphere Project, March 2007) [access]

Guidelines on the Treatment of Chechen Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Europe (ECRE, March 2007) [text]

Integration Policy Briefings (ECRE, March 2007) [access]
- Six policy briefings on different aspects of integration: training & education, language, housing, employment, civil & political participation, skills & qualifications

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund one year on (Oxfam, March 2007) [text]

The World's Fastest Growing Displacement Crisis: Displaced People Inside Iraq Receiving Inadequate Assistance (Refugees International, March 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Report: Human Rights in the OSCE Region

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights published the 2007 edition of its annual human rights report today: Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2007 (Events of 2006). Individual country reports are provided for most European countries as well as the United States. A Russian version is also available.

Posted in Publications.

Press release round-up: Human Trafficking, Iraqi Refugees, Rohingyas, Statelessness/Sri Lanka, US Immig. Reform

This sampling of recent press releases highlights a range of forced migration developments:

Immigration Reform Must Protect the Persecuted and Uphold U.S. Values (Amnesty International USA, 26 March 2007) [text]

Iraqi Volunteers; Iraqi Refugees: What Is America's Obligation?, Statement of Ellen Sauerbrey, Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia (26 March 2007) [text]

Rohingya Refugees from Burma Mistreated in Bangladesh; Thailand Also Forcing Asylum Seekers Back into Burma (Human Rights Watch, 27 March 2007) [text]

UNHCR launches media campaign against statelessness in Sri Lanka (26 March 2007) [text]

UNODC launches Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN Office on Drugs and Crime, (26 March 2007) [text]

For more up-to-the-minute announcements and press releases, see ReliefWeb's "Latest Updates" service and/or monitor Forced Migration Online's RSS headline newsfeeds.

Posted in Publications and Web Sites.

New Research Rpts/Resources: Asylum/London, Citizenship, Conflict Research, Disaster Grants, Human Trafficking, Inclusion/Africa

Philanthropic Grantmaking for Disaster Management: Trend Analysis and Recommended Improvements, by S. Forbes Martin, P. Weiss Fagen, A. Poole and S. Karim (ISIM, Dec. 2006) [text]

Reconsidering Inclusion in Africa's Cities of Shifting Sands, by L. Landau, Migration Studies Working Paper Series #30 (FMSP, March 2007) [text]

Researching Asylum in London Database [access]
- "An independent database of research on refugee and asylum issues relevant to London. The aim of this project is to make research more accessible to service providers and policy-makers working in the field."

State, Citizenship, and Diaspora: The Cases of Jordan and Lebanon, by L. Brand, CCIS Working Paper no. 146 (Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, Feb. 2007) [text]

Trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation: a literature review, by S. Dowling, K. Moreton, and L. Wright, Home Office Online Report 10/07 (UK Home Office, March 2007) [text]

The War Zone as Social Space: Social Research in Conflict Zones, by K. Jennings (Fafo, March 2007) [text]

Posted in Publications and Web Tools.

Focus on Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq

The Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) will focus on Iraq in the upcoming months. First, a one-day roundtable is scheduled for 23 March 2007 which will examine "1) the current status of the forced displacement crisis, 2) the protection challenges faced by humanitarian agencies in the region, and 3) recommendations for action" for both refugees and IDPs. The objective is to produce a briefing document to inform UNHCR's April 17-18 international conference on Iraqi refugees and IDPs, preparations for which are currently underway. Second, a special supplement of Forced Migration Review (FMR) will be published in May/June 2007 and will examine the "future of humanitarian operations in Iraq." In addition, Forced Migration Online (FMO) will most likely prepare a companion resource summary page to supplement the FMR issue.

In the interim, here is a listing of various refugee/IDP organizations with resources/reports relating to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq:

- Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement page
- European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI.net) page
- Human Rights Watch (HRW) page
- Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) page
- Refugees International page
- ReliefWeb page
- UNHCR page

Posted in Events, Publications and Web Sites.

Development-induced Displacement

In the past Michael Cernea has written about bridging the research divide between those who study refugees versus those who study development "oustees" (or people displaced involuntarily by development projects). Today, he points to the research divide between development-induced and conflict-induced IDPs--highlighting how far the concept of "internally displaced persons" has garnered international attention, but also emphasizing how those displaced by development projects continue to receive limited support and attention.

Here is a selection of information resources that shed light on the phenomenon of development-induced displacement and/or involuntary resettlement.

Introductions/Overviews:

FMO Research Guide: Development-induced Displacement and Resettlement (FMO, 2004) [text]

Forced Migration Review, no 12, "Dilemmas of Development-Induced Displacement" (2002) [text]

Improving Outcomes in Development-induced Displacement and Resettlement Projects (RSC, 2002) [text]

Risks and Rights: The Causes, Consequences, and Challenges of Development-Induced Displacement (Brookings, 2003) [text]

Institutional Policies/Guidelines:

African Development Bank, "Involuntary Resettlement Policy" [text]

Asian Development Bank, "Involuntary Resettlement: Policies and Strategies" [text]
- See also the ADB's "Handbook on Resettlement: A Guide to Good Practice" and accompanying summary.

Expert Seminar on the Practice of Forced Evictions, "The Practice of Forced Evictions: Comprehensive Human Rights Guidelines on Development-Based Displacement" [text]

Inter-American Development Bank, "Operational Policy on Involuntary Resettlement" [text]
- See also "Involuntary Resettlement in IDB Projects: Principles and Guidelines."

OECD, "Guidelines for Aid Agencies on Involuntary Displacement and Resettlement" [text]

World Bank, "Policy" [access]

Literature Reviews/Bibliographies:

Bibliography on Housing Rights and Forced Evictions (Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, 2001) [access - scroll down for title]

Displacement, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reparation, and Development (World Commission on Dams, 2000) [text]

Selected Bibliography on Displacement Caused by Development Projects (Brookings, 2003) [text - scroll down to Appendix]

Whose Needs are Right? Refugees, Oustees and the Challenges of Rights-Based Approaches in Forced Migration (Institute of Development Studies, 2003) [text]

Posted in Publications.