Publications: Detention, Estimating Mortality, EU Asylum, Internal Displacement/Colombia, Refugee Program/Australia, Refugee Stories/Eastern Europe

"Assessment of recent EU asylum policy and legal developments," Monthly Policy Interview (Eurasylum, Feb. 2009) [text]

Australia's Refugee and Humanitarian Program: Community Views on Current Challenges and Future Directions (Refugee Council on Australia, Jan. 2009) [text]

"Here to Stay?" - Refugee voices in Belarus, Moldova, the Russian Federation and Ukraine (ECRE, Feb. 2009) [access to English and Russian texts]

Internal Displacement and the Construction of Peace (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Feb. 2009) [access to English and Spanish texts]

A New Method to Estimate Mortality in Crisis-Affected Populations: Validation and Feasibility Study (FANTA, Jan. 2009) [access via ReliefWeb]

Selected Documents Relating to Detention (UNHCR, Feb. 2009) [text]
- See also related Refworld page on detention.

Tagged Publications.

UN Human Rights Publications: Human Trafficking, IDPs

Reports from the 10th Session of the Human Rights Council can be accessed via this listing. Several titles of interest include:

Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the latest developments in the United Nations relating to combating trafficking in persons as well as on the activities of the Office on this issue, A/HRC/10/64 (Human Rights Council, Feb. 2009) [text]

Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kälin, A/HRC/10/13 (Human Rights Council, Feb. 2009) [text]

Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kälin. Addendum: High-level conference on “Ten years of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement - achievements and future challenges” (Oslo, 16 and 17 October 2008): summary of the Conference Chair, A/HRC/10/13/Add.3 (Human Rights Council, Feb. 2009) [text]

(Refworld maintains a page in its site that makes it easier to access many of these documents; visit UN Human Rights System.)

In addition, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights just published this handbook:

Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society (OHCHR, 2008; posted Feb. 2009) [access]

Tagged Publications.

2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

The 2008 edition of the U.S. State Department's annual country reports has just been released. The aim of "[t]hese congressionally mandated reports [is to] describe the performance in 2008 of governments across the globe in putting into practice their international commitments on human rights." The introduction considers overall trends, provides a regional overview, and highlights selected country developments. Individual reports can be accessed alphabetically by region.

Previous editions are available here.

Tagged Publications.

Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 2009

The Center on International Cooperation's Annual Review of Global Peace Operations assesses more than 50 peace operations, both UN and non-UN, in order to better inform policymakers about the role of peacekeeping in conflict management. The book can be purchased through Lynne Rienner publishers. The Foreword is available on CIC's site, along with a briefing paper about the review and an article from the Financial Times.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Gaza Lessons, Pakistanis/Spain, Right to Counsel, Statelessness, Violence against Children/Uganda

'Death is Different' and a Refugee's Right to Counsel, Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 1290382 (SSRN, revised Jan. 2009) [text]

Deepening Crisis in Gaza: Lessons for Operational Agencies (ALNAP, Feb. 2009) [text]

Same Spaces, Different Places: The Divergent Perspectives of Children and Adults regarding Violence against Children in Refugee Settlements of Western Uganda (Raising Voices & UNHCR, 2008; posted online Feb. 2009) [text]

Statelessness: An Analytical Framework for Prevention, Reduction and Protection (UNHCR, 2008; posted online Feb. 2009) [text]

Testing migration hypotheses: the movement of people from Pakistan to Catalonia, New Issues in Refugee Research no. 170 (UNHCR, Feb. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Finding Theses & Dissertations

A number of projects are under way to digitize theses and dissertations and make them openly available to the wider online community and/or to establish a central access point for these important research materials. Here are some examples of both national and regional efforts:

Australasian Digital Theses Program [access]
- Provides access to both digitized theses and bibliographic information about non-digitized theses.

British Library EthOS [access]
- Aim is "[t]o offer a 'single point of access' where researchers the world over can access ALL theses produced by UK Higher Education." A list of participating institutions is provided on the site. Some full-texts are available at no charge. Free registration required.

DART-Europe E-theses Portal [access]
- Aim is to "encourage the creation, discovery and use of European e-theses." Most texts appear to be available in full at no charge.

Database of African Theses and Dissertations [access]
- Free registration required to search bibliographic database with information on theses and dissertations completed at African universities.

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations [access]
- NDLTD is "an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination and preservation of electronic analogues to the traditional paper-based theses and dissertations." Access above is provided via the VTLS Visualizer, a search and discovery system. Other systems available for searching the same collection can be found here.

Theses Canada Portal/Portail de Theses Canada [access]
- Provides access to bibliographic records for theses and if available, electronic texts.

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

U.S. Policy: Iraqi Refugees and IDPs

With new leadership in the U.S., advocates are urging the Obama administration to take the lead in crafting a comprehensive plan for addressing the Iraqi displacement crisis.

To learn more:
- Attend a free event that will be held 25 February 2009 in New York City on "Dealing with the Aftermath of the Iraq War: The Plight of Iraqi Refugees."
- Review Refugees International's newly launched campaign, "Don't Forget Iraqi Refugees," and their proposed plan of action
- Read Human Rights First's strategy for confronting the Iraqi refugee crisis and check out their Lifeline for Iraqi Refugees campaign
- Learn about the International Rescue Committee's lobbying efforts for greater support to Iraqi refugees
- Listen to discussions at the U.S. Institute for Peace's recently held event, "Coming Home: The Challenge of Return for Iraq's Displaced"

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Children/Sudan, Destitution/UK, ICVA Conf., IDPs/Sri Lanka, Palestinians/Lebanon

21 Days Later: Destitution and the Asylum System (Refugee Survival Trust & British Red Cross, Jan. 2009) [access]

"Changing the Humanitarian Community," ICVA Conference Documents, 2 Feb. 2009 [access]

Nurturing Instability: Lebanon’s Palestinian Refugee Camps (International Crisis Group, Feb. 2009) [text]

Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Sudan (UN Security Council, Feb. 2009) [text via IDMC]

War on the Displaced: Sri Lankan Army and LTTE Abuses against Civilians in the Vanni (HRW, Feb. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Armed Conflict, Colombians/Forced Migration, Environment, Southern Sudan, Western Balkans Guidelines

Environmentally induced migration and displacement: a 21st century challenge (Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, Dec. 2008) [text via Refworld]

Forced Migration of Colombians: Colombia, Ecuador, Canada (Corporación Región & School of Social Work, UBC, Jan. 2008; posted online Feb. 2009) [text]

Improving International Responses to Armed Conflict (International Peace Institute, Feb. 2009) [text via ReliefWeb]

Regional Guidelines for Unified Asylum, Migration and Visa Management in the Western Balkans (ICMPD et al., Oct. 2008) [text]

"There is no Protection": Insecurity and Human Rights in Southern Sudan (HRW, Feb. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of Dis. Prev. & Mgmt., Disasters, IJRL, JEMS, JRS (advance)

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 18, no. 1 (2009) [contents]
- Special issue on "Disaster management and the built environment."

Disasters, vol. 33, no. 2 (April 2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles; note: the last issue, vol. 33, no. 1, is now available as a free sample issue.

International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 21, no. 1 (March 2009) [contents]
- Includes articles on credibility assessment in RSD, application of the Guiding Principles, ECHR case law on judicial review, and temporal aspects of refugee protection.

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 35, no. 3 (2009) [contents]
- Special issue on "Muslims and the State in the Post-9/11 West."

Journal of Refugee Studies, advance access articles (Feb. 2009) [contents]
- Includes "The Birth of a ‘Discipline’: From Refugee to Forced Migration Studies," "Contemporary Compulsory Dispersal and the Absence of Space for the Restoration of Trust," "Irregular Secondary Movements to Europe: Seeking Asylum beyond Refuge," and "Widening the Protection Gap: The ‘Politics of Citizenship’ for Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, 1948–2008."

Tagged periodicals.

International Humanitarian Conference

Webster University will host its 14th International Humanitarian Conference, 26-27 February 2009. The theme is "The Psychological Impact of Humanitarian Crises on Humanitarian Actors, on Refugees and Other Victims." Six sessions will focus variously on "The Foundations, Ethics and Practice of 'Humanitarian Psychology'"; "The Psychological Vulnerability of Individuals and Communities at Risk"; and, "'Helping the helpers' – psychological care for humanitarian workers."

Conference papers are published in issues of Refugee Survey Quarterly. See, e.g., RSQ 26(4), 25(4) and 24(4).

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Asylum Seekers/Hungary, Climate Change, IDP Health/Uganda, Palestinian Refugees

Asylum Seekers' Access to Territory and to the Asylum Procedure in the Republic of Hungary (Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Dec. 2008) [text]

"Factors associated with the health status of internally displaced persons in northern Uganda," Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 63 (2009): 227-232 [text]

The Humanitarian Costs of Climate Change (Feinstein International Center, Feb. 2009) [text]

The Palestinian Refugee Issue: A Palestinian Perspective (Chatham House, Feb. 2009) [text via Human Security Gateway]

Tagged Publications.

Upcoming Events: February, March and April 2009

February:

Palestinian Refugees and International Law, RSC Short Course, Oxford, 28 Feb. - 1 March 2009
- Final call for applications, issued today (13 Feb. 2009).

Refugee Studies Summer School, Centre for Refugee Research, UNSW, Sydney, 23-26 Feb. 2009

March:

Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Santa Fe, 17-21 March 2009
- Theme is "Global Challenge, Local Action: Ethical Engagement, Partnerships, and Practice." A number of panels and papers will focus on refugees, population displacement, and/or involuntary resettlement.

April:

Coming home? Conflict and return migration in twentieth-century Europe, Southampton, 1-3 April 2009
- Register by 1 March.

The External Dimension of the Immigration and Asylum Policy of the EU Programme, Brussels, 3-4 April 2009
- Register by 20 March.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

New Issues of Cult. & Conf., HR Brief, HRQ, JMRI, RSC News, Women's Asylum News

Cultures & Conflits, no. 71 (automne 2008) [full-text]
- Special issue on "Confinement des étrangers: entre circulation et enfermement."

Human Rights Brief, vol. 16, no. 1 (Fall 2008) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 1 (Feb. 2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Journal of Migration and Refugee Issues, vol. 5, no. 1 (2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

RSC Newsletter, no. 2 (Winter/Spring 2009) [full-text]

Women's Asylum News, no. 80 (Feb. 2009) [access via Refworld]
- Mix of articles.

Tagged periodicals.

Publications: Environmental Change, Human Trafficking, Iraq, Refugees/Europe, Violence against Women

Environmental Change and Migration: Assessing the Evidence and Developing Norms for Response, RSC Workshop (Jan. 2009) [access]
- Workshop report and papers are now available.

Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Feb. 2009) [access]

Iraq: more challenges ahead for a fractured humanitarian enterprise (Feinstein International Center, Jan. 2009) [text]

The Vulnerable Women’s Project Good Practice Guide: Assisting Refugee and Asylum Seeking Women affected by Rape or Sexual Violence (Refugee Council, Feb. 2009) [text]

What Price Does a Refugee Pay to Reach Europe? (ECRE, Feb. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

International Humanitarian Studies Association

The International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) was launched during the first World Conference of Humanitarian Studies, which was held 4-7 February 2009. This press release notes that "Humanitarian studies is much more than the study of humanitarian action. Its field is concerned with how humanitarian crises evolve from societies and in turn how they affect societies. This includes, amongst others international dimensions of crisis, their causes, dynamics and effects, response programmes and experiences of refugees and internally displaced people." Read a reaction to this development on the "Getting Humanitarian Aid Right" blog.

IHSA will be hosted initially by the Disaster Studies department at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Its president is Alex de Waal, who is a program director at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). The next conference will be held in 2011 and hosted by Tufts University.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

New Literature Review on Refugee Women

The Refugee Council has published Refugee and Asylum Seeking Women Affected by Rape or Sexual Violence: A Literature Review. "It provides a summary of evidence that is available about the prevalence of sexual violence against refugee women, and about access to justice in some of the countries from which the [Vulnerable Women’s] Project’s clients have fled."

Additional bibliographies and literature reviews relating to forced migrant women can be located in my research guide, under the "women" subject category.


Tagged Publications.

Gilbert Jaeger

ECRE's home page notes that Gilbert Jaeger, a refugee protection expert, has passed away. Mr. Jaeger began working for UNHCR in 1951 and retired in 1979. During his tenure, he served in many different capacities, including Economic Advisor, UNHCR Representative in Belgium, Director for Africa and Asia, Director of Assistance, and finally Director of Protection. Subsequently, he played a "key role in the development of ECRE since the early eighties." He was described in the 2001 IASFM conference report as "one of the key policy figures in [the 1951 Convention's] first half century..." (Wilde, 2001, p. 136).

His papers are archived with UNHCR.

This report notes that Mr. Jaeger was one of three authors of the well-known UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status. Here is a partial bibliography of some of his other works, in reverse chronological order:

"Opening keynote address: the Refugee Convention at fifty," Chapter in The Refugee Convention at fifty: a view from forced migration studies, ed. by J. van Selm (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2003) [info.]

"On the history of the international protection of refugees," International Review of the Red Cross, no. 843 (2001): 727-737 [text]

"A Comment on the Distortion of the Palliative Role of Refugee Protection," Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 8, no. 3 (1995): 300-01 [access; scroll down to page number]

"Refugees or migrants?," Chapter in NGOs and refugees: reflections at the turn of the century, ed. by M. Kjaerum et al. (Copenhagen: SOCPOL, 1993) [info.]

"Comparative Approaches to Refugee and Asylum Law," Chapter in Asylum Law and Practice in Europe and North America: A Comparative Analysis, ed. by G. Coll and J. Bhabha (Washington, DC: Federal Publications, 1992) [info.]

"Detention of asylum seekers in Belgium," Chapter in Asylum Law and Practice in Europe and North America: A Comparative Analysis, ed. by G. Coll and J. Bhabha (Washington, DC: Federal Publications, 1992) [info.]

"The 40th Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (October 1989)," International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 2, no. 1 (1990): 125-29 [text; scroll down to page number]

"Irregular movements: The concept and possible solutions," Chapter in The new asylum seekers: Refugee law in the 1980s. The Ninth Sokol Colloquium on international law, ed. by D. Martin (Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1988) [info.]

"Political Asylum in North America and Western Europe," In Defense of the Alien, vol. 9 (1987): 85-96 [info.]

Study of Irregular Movements of Asylum Seekers and Refugees (UNHCR, 1985) [text]

"Refugee Asylum: Policy and Legislative Developments,” International Migration Review, vol. 15, nos. 1&2 (1981): 52-68 [access; scroll down to page number]

A succinct evaluation of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, Conference paper for Diakonischen Werkes der Evangelischen Kirche, Stuttgart, 25-27 November 1980 [text]

Status and international protection of refugees (Institut International des droits de l'homme, 1978) [English text; French text]

"Determination of Refugee Status under International Instruments," Chapter in African refugees and the law, ed. by G. Melander and P. Nobel (Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1978) [info.]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Comm. Orgs., EU Funding/E. Europe, Palestinians/Egypt, Private Sector Providers, Unacc. Minors

The European Union funding priorities in Eastern Europe for refugee protection, migration management and border reinforcement (ECRE, Feb. 2009) [access]

Halfway Home: Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Custody (Women's Refugee Commission, Feb. 2009) [text]

The potential of migrant and refugee community organisations to influence policy (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Feb. 2009) [access]

Private Security Providers and Services in Humanitarian Operations, HPG Policy Brief no. 33 (ODI, Jan. 2009) [text]

Unprotected: Palestinians in Egypt since 1948 (Institute for Palestinian Studies/IDRC, 2009) [access]

Tagged Publications.

Teaching Tools

My previous post highlighted children's books that focus on the refugee experience. How can these and other titles be used in the classroom as teaching tools? Here are a few resources that provide background on the use of children's literature for educational purposes as well as ideas for integrating the study of refugees into the primary school curriculum.

Studies:

Hope, Julia. 2008. "'One Day We Had to Run': The Development of the Refugee Identity in Children's Literature and its Function in Education," Children's Literature in Education, vol. 39, no. 4 (December): 295-304.

Hope, Julia. 2007. "Flightlines: exploring early readers for children about the refugee experience," FORUM: for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education, vol. 49, no. 3: 289-98.

Teaching guides (not available online):

Encouraging Refugee Awareness in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers (U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1995)

Refugees: A resource book for primary schools (Refugee Council, 1998)

Refugees: We left because we had to (Refugee Council, 2004)
- Note: An earlier edition is available online in FMO's digital library.

Teaching about immigrants and refugees (U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1996)

The uprooted: refugees and the United States - a multidisciplinary teaching guide (Amnesty International, 1995)

Curricula/Educational resources (online):

Classroom Resources (Refugee Council)

Educational Resources for Teachers (UNHCR)

Global Communities: Learning about Refugee Issues (Refugee Week)

Refugees: a resource book for 8-13 year olds (British Refugee Council, 1992)

Teaching Materials for VELS Level 4, 5, 6 (Oxfam Australia)
- Scroll down to "Education Kit."

Tagged Publications and Websites.

Selecting children's books on refugees

(revised)

I have been reading children's books that focus on refugees in order to select titles to contribute to my son's school library collection. My criteria included:

- different formats for different reading levels, i.e., picture books for younger/less advanced readers (grades K-2) and juvenile fiction/non-fiction for older/more advanced readers (grades 3-5)
- diverse refugee populations reflected
- different aspects of the refugee experience represented

A number of review sources are available that focus particularly on children's literature, including:
- Book Links
- Booklist
- Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
- Horn Book
- School Library Journal

Reviews in these periodicals are searchable via a number of print indexes and databases. However, Amazon.com also includes reviews from these sources under individual book titles, in addition to customer reviews (see example).

Also useful was War & Peace: A Guide to Literature and New Media, Grades 4-8.

And here is the list of titles that I have compiled so far. (Note: I would have included Four Feet, Two Sandals; Gleam and Glow; and How I Learned Geography but my son's school library already carries these!)

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum Seekers/Greece, Asylum & Health/Australia, European Refugee Fund, Failed States, Refugee Integration/UK,

The European Refugee Fund (ERF) ll 2005–2007: an evaluation of ERF II 2006 (UK Home Office, Feb. 2009) [text]

Failed States Index 2008 (Fund for Peace & Foreign Policy, 2009) [access]

The Gateway Protection Programme: an evaluation. An overview of Immigration Research and Statistics (IRS) research exploring the integration of refugees resettled under the UK’s Gateway Protection Programme in Sheffield, Bolton, Hull and Rochdale (UK Home Office, Feb. 2009) [text]

"Measuring the health impact of human rights violations related to Australian asylum policies and practices: a mixed methods study," BMC International Health and Human Rights 2009, 9:1 [text]

Report by Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, following his visit to Greece, 8-10 December 2008. Issue reviewed: Human rights of asylum seekers (Council of Europe, Feb. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Refugee Protection and Human Trafficking

UNHCR's Protection Policy and Legal Advice Section has compiled "Refugee Protection and Human Trafficking: Selected Legal Reference Materials" (Dec. 2008). Part 1 includes relevant extracts from universal instruments in the areas of international criminal law, international human rights law, international refugee law, international labour law, and UN resolutions. Part 2 reproduces sections of applicable regional law and policy. Part 3 presents a bibliography of related reports, documents, and resources.

Other UNHCR documents that focus on human trafficking can be accessed via this page on the UNHCR web site.

Tagged Publications and Websites.

Publications: IDPs/South Africa, Protracted Displacement/Europe, Reception/EU, Refugees/UK, Resettlement Self-Study

Humanitarian Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons in South Africa: Lessons Learned Following Attacks on Foreign Nationals in May 2008 (Forced Migration Studies Programme, Jan. 2009) [text]

Protracted internal displacement in Europe: Current trends and ways forward (IDMC, Jan. 2009) [text via Refworld]

Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants in Yorkshire and Humber, 1999-2008: A Review of Literature for Yorkshire Futures (Centre for Research in Social Inclusion and Social Justice, Dec. 2008) [text]

Report on the implementation in the European Union of Directive 2003/9/EC laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers and refugees: visits by the Committee on Civil Liberties 2005-2008 (European Parliament, Jan. 2009) [text]

Self-Study Module: Resettlement Learning Programme, Provisional Release (UNHCR, Jan. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of Art. 2, Intl. Mig., KANERE, Nursing Sci. Q., Third World Q.

Article 2, vol. 7, no. 4 (Dec. 2008) [full-text]
- Looks at various human rights issues in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

International Migration, vol. 47, no. 1 (March 2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Kakuma News Reflector, vol. 1, no. 2 (Jan. 2009) [full-text]
- Second issue of this blog-format news service from Kakuma refugee camp.

Nursing Science Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1 (Jan. 2009) [contents]
- Includes two articles on refugees, one on North Korean refugees, the other on nursing practice with refugees.

Third World Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 1 (2009) [contents]
- Special issue on "War, Peace and Progress: Conflict, Development, (In)Security and Violence in the 21st Century."

Tagged periodicals.

Publications: Climate Change, Detention, Iraqi Refugees, Protracted Situations, UNHCR Stats., Witchcraft Accusations

"Climate-related disasters: humanitarian challenges and reconstruction opportunities," Places: Forum for Design of the Public Realm, vol. 20, no. 2 (2008), pp. 62-67 [text]

Detained Lives: The Real Cost of Indefinite Immigration Detention (London Detainee Support Group, Jan. 2009) [text]

Realizing protection space for Iraqi refugees: UNHCR in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 167 (UNHCR, Jan. 2009) [text]

A surrogate state? The role of UNHCR in protracted refugee situations, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 168 (UNHCR, Jan. 2009) [text]

UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2009 (UNHCR, Jan. 2009) [text]

Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights: a review of the evidence, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 169 (UNHCR, Jan. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Course: Researching Country of Origin Information

The Austrian Centre for Country of Origin & Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD) is offering a course on "Researching Country of Origin Information (COI)" in February & March 2009. The aim of the course is to "provide...information on how to conduct country research that results in relevant, reliable and balanced, accurate and up-to-date country of origin information." It will take place as a "blended learning course" in two phases, one online and the other face-to-face in Dublin, Ireland.

For more information about the course and a registration form, contact Anna.Ladurner@roteskreuz.at. The deadline for enrolling is 6 February 2009.

More general information about COI training is available here.

Tagged Events & Opportunities

Humanitarian Action Report 2009

UNICEF launched its 2009 Humanitarian Action Report yesterday. The report reviews UNICEF's work for women and children in emergencies, and indicates its requirements for further funding of its humanitarian programmes.

Past reports are available here.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Case Law Guide, Civilian Protection, Bhutanese Refugees, Refugee Housing/Europe, Refugee Integration, Refugee Protection/Europe

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Raise Voices for Civilian Protection (Refugees International, Jan. 2009) [text]

"Bhutan's Radicalized Refugees: Part III," World Politics Review, 23 Jan. 2009 [text]

"Immigration et intégration des réfugiés en France et au Canada: politiques comparées," Les cahiers du social, no. 20 (France Terre d'Asile, Dec. 2008) [sommaire]

Improving the Safety of Civilians: A Protection Training Pack (Oxfam, Dec. 2008) [access]

Panorama des initiatives sur l'accès au logement des réfugiés dans 15 pays Européens (France Terre d'Asile, Dec. 2008) [text]

Rights under Threat: Campaign against the Refusal of Refugees' Access to Protection in Europe (CEAR, Dec. 2008) [text]

UNHCR's Refworld - Case Law Collection User Guide (UNHCR, Jan. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Upcoming Student Conferences

Back-to-back conferences for students of forced migration are scheduled for April.

16-17 April 2009: "Documenting the Undocumented: Re-defining Refugee Status," Annual Student Conference, Centre for Refugee Studies, York University, Toronto [info.]

25-26 April 2009: "Refugees: Lives Pushed to the Margins," 6th Annual Forced Migration Student Conference, Refugee Research Centre, UEL, London [info.]

Tagged Events & Opportunities

Publications: Documenting War Crimes, DRC, Human Trafficking/U.S., UK Asylum Apps., UNISDR Terminology, Zimbabwe

Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2007-08 (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Jan. 2009) [text]

Crisis without Limits: Human Rights and Humanitarian Consequences of Political Repression in Zimbabwe (HRW, Jan. 2009) [text]

Disaster in the DRC: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in North Kivu, USIPeace Briefing (USIP, Dec. 2008) [text]

Management of Asylum Applications by the UK Border Agency (National Audit Office, Jan. 2009) [text]

Telling the Story: Documentation Lessons for Afghanistan from the Cambodian Experience, USIPeace Briefing (USIP, Dec. 2008) [text]

UNISDR Terminology on Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR, Jan. 2009) [access]

Tagged Publications.

Refworld and COI Research

The Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Netherlands is the first governmental agency to formally adopt "Refworld as its main information tool in determining asylum claims." This UNHCR press release announced an MOU between the Netherlands and UNHCR that provides financial support to Refworld and helps ensure continued development of its protection and country of origin information databases.

Once upon a time, undertaking country of origin information research for refugee status determination purposes was much more time-consuming. It required seeking out and consulting a wide variety of scattered information sources. While the advent of the Internet made it a bit easier to access certain types of information, researchers still had to do a lot of legwork; see, e.g., this bibliography of human rights, country and legal information resources on the Internet that I compiled back in 2002.

Today the technology has sufficiently advanced that information systems like Refworld and ecoi.net can assemble and organize most of these resources under one roof. This means they can be browsed in meaningful ways and they are searchable. While these systems make certain aspects of COI research much more straightforward, they also require researchers to master the art of full-text searching and retrieval. UNHCR's Status Determination and Protection Information Section already offers trainings on Refworld. But it will be interesting to see to what extent the "module on country information in refugee status determination procedures" they have promised will also address digital information literacy.

Tagged Websites.

Publications: Bhutanese Refugees, Border Controls, EU Resettlement, Islam & Human Rts., Supply Chain Mgmt.

Background Paper from UNHCR: EU Resettlement (European Commission consultation meeting on the EU resettlement scheme, Brussels, 12 December 2008) (UNHCR, Dec. 2008) [text]

"Bhutan's Radicalized Refugees: Part II," World Politics Review (16 Jan. 2009) [text]

Concrete steps towards a European Resettlement Programme (ECRE, Dec. 2008) [text via Refworld]

Controlling Borders while Ensuring Protection, Conference documents from the first expert roundtable on UNHCR's 10-Point Plan of Action, Geneva, 20-21 November 2008 (UNHCR, Jan. 2009) [access]

"Islam, Human Rights and Displacement," Special Supplement to Forced Migration Review (Jan. 2009) [text]
- Now available online, in English and Arabic.

UNHCR SCM: Assuring Effective Supply Chain Management to Support Beneficiaries (UNHCR, Nov. 2008; posted Jan. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of Asylum News, Conflict Tr., Dev. in Practice, Refugee Rts. News, Women's Asylum News

Asylum News, no. 72 (Dec. 2008) [full-text]
- Developments in U.S. asylum policy.

Conflict Trends, no. 4 (2008) [full-text]
- Focuses on peace in Africa.

Development in Practice, vol. 19, no. 1 (2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Refugee Rights News, vol. 4, no. 7 (Dec. 2008) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

Women's Asylum News, no. 79 (Dec. 2008/Jan. 2009) [full-text via Refworld]
- Mix of articles.

Tagged periodicals.

Human Rights Watch World Report 2009

Human Rights Watch's 19th annual report was released yesterday. It "summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide," and includes a series of introductory articles that examine the decline in human rights promotion and enforcement.

Past issues of the world report are available once again. (They disappeared temporarily during HRW's site re-organization.)

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum Seekers/Zimbabwe, Bhutanese Refugees, Displaced/Central & East Africa, Freedom in the World, Gaza, HIV/Congo, Hunger

Asylum Seekers from Zimbabwe (UK House of Commons Library, Dec. 2008) [access via Human Security Gateway]

"Bhutan's Radicalized Refugees: Part I," World Politics Review (9 Jan. 2009) [text]

"Deprived and Endangered: Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip," (HRW, Jan. 2009) [text]

Displaced Populations Report, no. 4, July-Dec. 2008 (OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa) [text]

Freedom in the World 2009 (Freedom House, Jan. 2009) [findings]

Hunger 2009 - Global Development: Charting a New Course (Bread for the World Institute, Jan. 2009) [text]

"Universal access: the benefits and challenges in bringing integrated HIV care to isolated and conflict affected populations in the Republic of Congo," Conflict and Health 2009, 3:1 [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of E&RS, Intervention, JEMS, New Routes, Torture J.; Early View Articles in Disasters

Disasters: four early view articles (Jan. 2009) [contents]
- Includes article on the protection of children in Darfur.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 32, no. 2 (2009) [contents]
- Focus is on "Gender, Race and Religion."

Intervention: International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict, vol. 6, nos. 3&4 (Dec. 2008) [contents and intro.]
- Special issue on the "IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings."

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 35, no. 2 (2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

New Routes, vol. 13, no. 4 (2008) [full-text]
- Focus is on human rights; includes an article on IDPs.

Torture Journal, vol. 18, no. 3 (Dec. 2008) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

Tagged periodicals.

Safety and Security of Humanitarian Workers

Blog Posts/News Stories:

"Aid Worker Fatalities: A Growing Global Trend," OneWorld, 14 Nov. 2008 [text]

"Attacks against Aid Workers," Humanitarian Relief Blog, 5 Oct. 2008 [text]

"How Many Aid Workers Receive Security Trainings," Humanitarian Relief Blog, 9 Jan. 2009 [text]

"Looking Back: When Humanitarians Become Targets," Humanitarian Relief Blog, 27 Dec. 2008 [text]

"Overcoming the Threat to Aid Workers," BBC News, 21 Oct. 2008 [text]

See also blog posts in the International Aid Worker Blog that report on deaths and injuries.

Papers/Reports:

"Mortality and Morbidity among Humanitarian Workers," Paper presented to the ISA 2005, 5 March 2005 [access]

Operating in Insecure Environements (UK Govt., Oct. 2008) [access via ReliefWeb]

Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel : report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc. no. A/63/305, 13 Aug. 2008 [text via UNBISnet in 6 UN languages; text via ReliefWeb]

Advice & Resources:

Patronus Analytical Blog [access]

Safety, Security & Aid Workers, AidWorkers Network [access]

For more information, visit the "Safety and Security" section of ReliefWeb's humanitarian library and browse other related postings on this blog.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Chad/Sudan Border Violence, Child Soldiers, Climate Change, Iraq Returns, Iraqi Refugees, Maternal Health/Burma, Protracted Situations

"Access To Essential Maternal Health Interventions and Human Rights Violations among Vulnerable Communities in Eastern Burma,"PLoS Medicine, 5(12): e242 [text]

Chairman's Summary, 11 December 2008 (High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges (10-11 December 2008), Theme: Protracted Refugee Situations (UNHCR, Jan. 2009) [text via Refworld]

"Introduction Paper," Third Vijverberg Session on Climate Change and Migration, EC Representation in The Netherlands, Korte Vijverberg 5, The Hague, 20 January 2009 [access]

Porous Borders and the Insecurity of Civilians: Cross-border Violence in Darfur and Eastern Chad, Policy Brief no. 8-04 (Ford Institute for Human Security, 2008) [text]

Returns to Iraq: Questions and More Questions (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Dec. 2008) [text]

"Toolbox: The Refugee Imperative in Iraq," The American Interest Online, vol. 4, no. 3 (Jan.-Feb. 2009) [text]

Understanding and Addressing the Phenomenon of Child Soldiers: The Gap between the Global Humanitarian Discourse and the Local Understandings and Experiences of Young People’s Military Recruitment, RSC Working Paper, no. 53 (RSC, Jan. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Issue of FMR: Focus on IDP Principles

A special issue of Forced Migration Review (FMR) spotlights the discussions that recently took place at the international conference on the Ten Years of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, or GP10. It reproduces some conference presentations, and includes case studies of the Guiding Principles and their application in specific countries.

Tagged periodicals.

Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies: Free Access

Readers of the Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies and other journals published by Haworth Press can enjoy free access to articles through February 2009. This is because of a recent acquisition of Haworth Press by Taylor & Francis. To take advantage of this limited opportunity, search for a specific journal title that you know was published by Haworth Press (check this list to refresh your memory). Since there is no way that I am aware of to limit a search just to Haworth Press titles, then conduct a general search for relevant articles and check to see if free access is available. For example, I searched on "refugees" in "Titles/Kwds/Abstract"; eight of the first 10 hits were freely available.

Tagged Periodicals.

Changes to the Blog

As of Jan. 2009, I will no longer maintain the four following "category" blogs that I set up when I first launched this blog:

Events & Opportunities
Periodicals
Publications
Web Sites/Tools

Instead, I will assign "tags" to each post. These tags carry the same names as the categories and therefore, will still be used to differentiate among the various types of information that I monitor for current awareness purposes. The reason for moving to tags is purely for maintenance reasons: It's a lot easier to assign a tag than it is to update four parallel blogs!

Happily, you can subscribe to RSS/Atom feeds for these tags. The basic format is
http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/labelname; just substitute "labelname" with the specific tag you wish to track, as follows:

http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/events
http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/periodicals
http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/publications
http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/websites

You can do the same for any subject you wish to follow. I tag every post with relevant subject keywords from the International Thesaurus of Refugee Terminology. (These are displayed as "labels" in the actual post.) Here are two subject-specific examples:

http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/climate
- The feed format for the subject "climate"

http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/country%20of%20origin%20conditions
- The feed format for the subject "country of origin conditions"

Copy and paste these into your reader just like you would any other feed. And the next time these tags are used in my blog, the feeds will be updated accordingly.

New Issues of AWR, Hum. Exch., IJISCRAM, JMRI, Third World Q.

(updated)

AWR Bulletin, vol. 46, no. 3 (2008) [contents]
- Mix of mostly German-language articles; also includes English-language article on "Migration, Integration and Religion."

Humanitarian Exchange, no. 41 (Dec. 2008) [full-text]
- Features articles on the situation in Myanmar.

International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, vol. 1, no. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2009) [contents]
- Inaugural issue; the preface explains the goals of the journal.

Journal of Migration and Refugee Issues, vol. 4, no. 3 (2008) [contents]
- Includes articles on social group persecution and Kurdish refugee families in Sweden.

Third World Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 8 (2008) [contents]
- Mix of articles including one on Iraqi refugees in Syria.

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Climate Change, Emergency Food Security, Gaza Sitreps, Iraqis/Egypt, UNHCR/Chad, Youth/Darfur

Climate change refugees seek a new international deal (ClimateChangeCorp, Dec. 2008) [text]

Emergency food security interventions, Good Practice Review no. 10 (HPN, Dec. 2008) [access]

Gaza Humanitarian Situation Reports (OCHA) [access]

Iraqis in Egypt: A Statistical Survey in 2008 (CMRS, Dec. 2008) [text]

Lives of the Saints: International Hardship Duty in Chad (New Yorker, Jan. 2009) [text]

Too Little for Too Few: Meeting the needs of youth in Darfur (Women's Commission, Dec. 2008) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Kakuma Camp Resource

The Kakuma News Reflector (KANERE) is a new blog/community-based newspaper that provides reports from "Ethiopian, Congolese, Ugandan, Rwandan, Somali, Sudanese and Kenyan journalists operating in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya." As noted in the introduction, their aim is in part to "re-conceptualize refugee affairs from the ground up" and "add the emerging voices of refugees" to the "well-established voices of academia, law, and institutions." The publication is currently produced on a monthly basis, with stories covering a wide range of issues such as social services, peace and security, and human rights matters. Comments from readers are welcome.

Tagged Publications and Websites.

Happy Holidays

This is my last post for the next week or so. I'll sign in again in 2009.

Best wishes for the holiday season.

Publications: Civilians/Sri Lanka, Forced Migration/Uganda, Humanit. Top 10, Iraqi Refugees, Minorities/Iraq, Protection/Darfur, Unacc. Minors/Greece

Besieged, Displaced, Detained: The Plight of Civilians in Sri Lanka’s Vanni Region (HRW, Dec. 2008) [text]

Challenging Choices: Protection and Livelihoods in Darfur (HPG, Dec. 2008) [access]

'Forced Migration' in Karamoja Uganda (Africa Leadership Institute, Dec. 2008) [access]

Left to Survive: Systematic Failure to Protect Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Greece (HRW, Dec. 2008) [text]

Minorities, Displacement and Iraq's Future (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Dec. 2008) [text]

Top Ten Humanitarian Crises of 2008 (MSF, Dec. 2008) [access]

"Why Many Iraqi Refugees Who Want to Settle in Detroit Are Being Sent Elsewhere," U.S. News & World Report, 23 Dec. 2008 [text]

Posted in Publications.

Upcoming Events: January & February 2009

8th International Association of Refugee Law Judges World Conference, 28-30 January 2009, Cape Town [draft programme]
- Theme is "Where to now: Charting the future course of international protection."

Environmental Change and Migration: Evidence and Developing Norms for Response, 8-9 January 2009, Oxford [info.]

RSC Short Course on Psychosocial Responses to Conflict and Forced Migration, 7-8 February 2009, Oxford [info.]

RSC Short Course on Statelessness, 9-11 January 2009, Oxford [info.]

World Conference of Humanitarian Studies, 4-8 February 2009, Groningen, The Netherlands [info.]

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

Iraq Resources

Coming Home: The Challenge of Return for Iraq’s Displaced, USIP, 19 Dec. 2008 [info.]
- Past event; watch for transcript and/or podcast.

"For Iraqi Refugees in America, the Recession Makes It Even Harder to Find Jobs," U.S. News and World Report, 22 Dec. 2008 [text]
- News story.

How to Confront the Iraqi Refugee Crisis: A Blueprint for the New Administration (Human Rights First, Dec. 2008) [text]
- Report.

Iraq: Humanitarian Profile (ReliefWeb, Dec. 2008) [access]
- Map.

Iraq Report (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Dec. 2008) [text]
- Report.

Symposium: Rethinking the Future: The Next Five Years in Iraq [full-text]
- Journal issue; includes article on Iraq's displaced.

Posted in Publications.

Publications: African Migration, Asylum Policy/EU, Detention, Displaced Children/Education, Rohingya, Western Sahara

Amnesty International's Recommendations to the Czech Presidency of the EU (Amnesty International, Dec. 2008) [text]

Conflict, Disasters, and No Jobs: Reasons for International Migration from Sub-Saharan Africa, Research Paper No. 2008/85 (UNU-WIDER, Oct. 2008) [text via Human Security Gateway]

ECRE Information Note on the Returns Directive (ECRE, Dec. 2008) [access]

Human Rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf Refugee Camps: Morocco/Western Sahara/Algeria (HRW, Dec. 2008) [access]

Memorandum to the Czech Presidency - "Redefining the building blocks of the Common European Asylum System" (ECRE, Dec. 2008) [access]

Migration-related Detention: A Global Concern (Amnesty International, Dec. 2008) [text]

Protecting Displaced Children in Emergencies and Preparing for the Future: The Role of Education, Summary of Seminar (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Nov. 2008) [text]

Rohingya: Burma's Forgotten Minority (Refugees International, Dec. 2008) [text]

Posted in Publications.

CFP: Human Rights of People on the Move

A call for papers has been issued by the Human Rights University Network-Sur and UNHCR for a special issue of Sur's International Journal on Human Rights on the "Human Rights of People on the Move: Migrants and Refugees." The deadline for submissions is 30 January 2009.

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

Asylum and Environmental Refugees

A reader of this blog posed a question as a comment on an older post relating to environmental refugees. Rather than have it get lost in the shuffle, I thought I'd build a post around it.

"Has anyone come across research linking national asylum policies to the often misconceived perception of environmental refugees in international politics?"

For context, I've listed a few articles below that consider 1) what international protection currently exists for people who are environmentally displaced, both internally and externally; and 2) whether or not a person displaced for environmental reasons qualifies as a refugee under the 1951 Refugee Convention definition and/or a person of concern under UNHCR's mandate.

"Climate Change and Displacement: Legal and Normative Frameworks," Forced Migration Review, no. 31 (2008) [text]

Climate change, natural disasters and human displacement: a UNHCR perspective (UNHCR, Oct. 2008) [text]

Environmental Causes and Consequences of Migration: A Search for the Meaning of "Environmental Refugees," Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, vol. 16, no. 2 (Winter 2004) [text]

"Environmental Refugees: Meeting the Requirements of the Refugee Definition," Environmental Law Journal, vol. 6, no. 2 (1997) [text]

"The protection of environmentally-displaced persons in international law," Environmental Law, vol. 37 (Spring 2007) [text]

"Turning the Tide: Recognizing Climate Change Refugees in International Law," Law & Policy, vol. 30, no. 4 (Oct. 2008) [abstract]

As for the national/regional level: With the current trend of governments placing limits on asylum, one would not expect existing national policies to be readily extended to the environmentally-displaced. This appears to be the conclusion drawn in this paper, which examines the status of environmental refugees under Australian law. However, states do offer other forms of temporary/subsidiary/complementary protection, which might cover people fleeing an environmental disaster. This writer is undertaking research on the question "Can the expected increase of climate refugees receive subsidiary protection within the existing legal framework of the European Union? A case study of the Qualification Directive." (He also tentatively concludes in this post that there is "not much protection for climate refugees in the EU.")

This Feb. 2009 symposium will look, in part, at "US immigration policies and their impact on environmentally induced migration" and "a comparison of US policies to those of other countries." Proceedings will be published in a future issue of the Fordham Environmental Law Review, so this is something to keep an eye out for.

I would be happy to post any other relevant references that readers wish to share.

Posted in Publications.

Publications: Climate Change, EU Asylum, HIV Care/Kenya, UK Asylum, UK Border Controls

Asylum Matters: Restoring Trust in the UK Asylum System (Centre for Social Justice, Dec. 2008) [text]

Climate of Displacement, Climate for Protection?, DIIS Brief (Danish Institute for International Studies, Dec. 2008) [access]

ECRE Comments on EU plans to establish a European Asylum Support Office (EASO) (ECRE, Dec. 2008) [access]

"A Europe Without Barriers": UNHCR's Recommendations to the Czech Republic for its European Union Presidency (January - June 2009) (UNHCR, Dec. 2008) [text]

"Providing HIV care in the aftermath of Kenya's post-election violence: Medecins Sans Frontieres' lessons learned January - March 2008," Conflict and Health 2:15 (Dec. 2008) [text]

Remote Controls: How UK Border Controls are Endangering the Lives of Refugees (Refugee Council, Dec. 2008) [text]

Posted in Publications.

New Issues of AJEM, CS&D, Disasters, E&RS, FMR, IJMHSC, JHA, REMI

Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 23, no. 4 (Nov. 2008) [full-text]
- Focus is on risk assessment.

Conflict, Security and Development, vol. 8, no. 4 (2008) [contents]
- Focus is on "decentralization and conflict."

Disasters, vol. 33, no. 1 (Jan. 2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including a review of literature relating to the health effects of post-disaster relocation.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 32, no. 1 (2009) [contents]
- Special issue on migration; includes an article on asylum seekers in Scotland.

Forced Migration Review Special Supplement, "Islam, Human Rights and Displacement" (Dec. 2008) [info; online text will be available soon]

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 4, no. 2 (Oct. 2008) [contents, sample article]
- Mix of articles including one on refugee communities in Sri Lanka.

Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (Dec. 2008) [full-text]
- Three articles by Oxfam on the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, vol. 24, no. 2 (2008) [contents]
- Theme is "Pratiques transnationales - mobilité et territorialités."

Posted in Periodicals.

RSC Policy Briefings

The Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) has launched a new Policy Briefing series. The first title available is "Environmentally Displaced People: Understanding the Linkages between Environmental Change, Livelihoods and Forced Migration" (Nov. 2008). Read more about these briefings on page 3 of the RSC Newsletter, another new publication endeavor.

Posted in Publications.

Publications: Cyprus, Employment Policy/Disabled Persons, Family Reunification, Food Insecurity, Human Trafficking, Sexual Orientation, Somalia

(updated)

Family Reunification: A Right for Forced Migrants?, Working Paper no. 51 (RSC, Dec. 2008) [text]

Legal Response to Human Trafficking Series (ABA, Dec. 2008) [access]
- Available are three texts that provide guidance to attorneys working on human trafficking cases in the U.S.

Report by Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, following his visit to the Republic of Cyprus on 7-10 July 2008. Issues reviewed: Asylum, Detention of Migrants and Trafficking in Human Beings in the Republic of Cyprus (COE, Dec. 2008) [text]

"So Much to Fear": War Crimes and the Devastation of Somalia (HRW, Dec. 2008) [text]

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008 (FAO, Dec. 2008) [access]

UNHCR Guidance Note on Refugee Claims Relating to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (UNHCR, Nov. 2008) [text]

UNHCR Policy on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities (UNHCR, Nov. 2008) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Protracted Refugee Situations Meeting

A UNHCR-sponsored two-day meeting of governmental and non-governmental representatives opened yesterday in Geneva. Here is the the High Commissioner's opening statement. Also available is the just-released "Protracted Refugee Situations: High Commissioner's Initiative" (Dec. 2008), which proposes action plans for dealing with long-term Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Eritrean refugees in eastern Sudan, Croatian and Bosnian refugees in Serbia, and Burundian refugees in Tanzania. (Also in French.) See also the discussion paper prepared for the meeting (in English, Arabic and French).

For additional information on this theme, visit this document collection.

Posted in Events and Publications.

Legal Resources

i.lex: The Legal Research System for International Law in U.S. Courts (American Society of International Law)
- Described as an "online database of select U.S. court cases and related materials...designed to serve as a practical resource for members of the judiciary and other legal professionals to identify and understand how international law is interpreted and applied by U.S. courts at both the federal and state level." Search by topic (e.g., "refugee and asylum law"), jurisdiction, treaty (e.g., "Convention relating to the Status of Refugees"), or statute (e.g., "Immigration and Nationality Act"). Users can also search by keyword.

Lexis Web (LexisNexis)
- Search engine for selected authoritative legal-oriented web sites. Read the user guide for search tips.

State Responses to Immigration: A Database of All State Legislation (Migration Policy Institute)
- Described as a "free, searchable data tool designed to generate information about all immigration-related bills and resolutions introduced in state legislatures." Search by region/state, legislative typology, bill status, year, or subject. There is also a report on that looks at state immigration legislation in 2007.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

Publications: Asylum/Ireland, Asylum/U.S., Borders/Europe, Darfur, Illegal Migration/Central & Eastern Europe, Iraqi Refugees

2007 Yearbook on Illegal Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe (ICMPD, 2008) [abstract]
- Note: The 2003 and 2006 Yearbooks are available in full-text.

Handbook on Immigration and Asylum in Ireland 2007, Research Series no. 5 (Economic and Social Research Institute, Oct. 2008) [access]

How to Repair the U.S. Asylum System: Blueprint for the Next Administration (Human Rights First, Dec. 2008) [text]

Rhetoric vs. Reality: The Situation in Darfur (Save Darfur & Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2008) [text]

Services at Borders: A Practical Co-operation. Final Report (Italian Council for Refugees et al., 2008) [text]

Top 10 Issues of 2008: Issue #10 — Struggles of Iraqi Refugees Continue (Migration Information Source, Dec. 2008) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Research/Policy Papers: Bhutanese/Nepal, EU Refugee Protection, IDPs/Colombia, Returnees/Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, UNHCR in Kosovo

New titles:

Ibáñez, Ana María and Andrea Velásquez, Public Policies to Assist Internally Displaced Persons: The Role of Municipal Authorities, Occasional Paper (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Dec. 2008) [text]

McKittrick, Ann, UNHCR as an Autonomous Organization: Complex Operations and the Case of Kosovo, Working Paper Series, no. 50 (RSC, Nov. 2008) [text]

Older titles:

Banki, Susan, Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal: Anticipating the Impact of Resettlement, Briefing Paper (A Place to Call Home Research Project, June 2008) [text]

Harpviken, Kristian Berg, From “Refugee Warriors” to “Returnee Warriors”: Militant Homecoming in Afghanistan and Beyond, Global Migration and Transnational Politics
Working Paper no. 5 (Center for Global Studies, March 2008) [text]

Lang, Hazel and Anita Knudsen, Sri Lanka - Protracted Conflict: Protection Challenges for Humanitarian Agencies, Briefing Paper (A Place to Call Home Research Project, June 2008) [text]

Lax, Violeta Moreno, Must EU Borders Have Doors for Refugees? On the Compatibility of Schengen Visas with EU Member States’ Obligations to Provide International Protection to Refugees, CRIDHO Working Paper 2008-3 (Interdisciplinary Research Cell in Human Rights, 2008) [text]
- See also abstract of article with the same title in European Journal of Migration and Law.

Posted in Publications.

Publications: Asylum/EU, Durable Solutions/IDPs, Elderly/Emergencies, Refugees/Australia, Women Asylum Seekers

Durable Solutions for IDPs in Protracted Situations: Three Case Studies (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Oct. 2008) [text]

Face the Facts 2008: Some Questions and Answers about Indigenous Peoples, Migrants and Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Australian Human Rights Commission, Oct. 2008) [text]

Older persons in emergencies: An active ageing perspective (WHO, 2008) [access to Eng. and French texts]
- See also "Older people in emergencies: considerations for action and policy development" (2008)

Putting the asylum seekers at the heart of a human and fair procedure: the EU Commission proposes to modify the Common European Asylum System (Europa, Dec. 2008) [text]
- See also ECRE's response.

Relocation, Relocation: The Impact of Internal Relocation on Women Asylum Seekers (Asylum Aid, Nov. 2008) [text]

Posted in Publications.

Expanded Refugee Law Reader

The fifth edition of the Refugee Law Reader is now available. This resource is "designed to provide a full curriculum for a 48-hour course in International Refugee Law and contains over 700 documents and materials." This expanded version now includes "sections on international and regional frameworks of refugee law, covering Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America."

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

FMO's Open Access Repository

The Forced Migration Online (FMO) team has just completed a project to migrate its full-text documents and journals collection to an open access repository. Before this move occurred, the information was housed in a structured, proprietary database that had its own search engine and was more difficult to maintain and update. Now, while the content has stayed the same, it is much easier and faster to search and it is more open to being discovered by web search engines like Google. This development also means that all FMO resources across the web site are now searchable, via one standard search interface.

To search just the document/journal collection, go to the advanced search page. One caveat: Currently, journals can only be searched via the "full text" option; in the future, they will be searchable by field as well (i.e., title, author, publication year, etc.). So, for example, enter "kakuma" in the title field, and you will retrieve five documents. Enter "kakuma refugee camp" in the full-text field, and you will retrieve 80 items, a mix of documents and journal issues.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

Three Research Guides

Here are three recent guides that are designed to help with different facets of the research process:

Guide to Locating Migration Policies in the European Commission, 2nd ed. (Migration Policy Group, Oct. 2008) [access]
- This guide helps readers to locate migration policy measures in the rather complex machinery of the European Commission.

Immigration Data Matters (Population Reference Bureau & Migration Policy Institute, Oct. 2008) [text]
- Points readers to the best online sources for U.S. immigration data and international migration data.

Participatory Impact Assessment: A Guide for Practitioners (Feinstein International Center, Oct. 2008) [text]
- "Other than in some health, nutrition, and water interventions in which indicators of project performance should relate to international standards, for many interventions there are no ‘gold standards’ for measuring project impact. For example, the Sphere handbook has no clear standards for food security or livelihoods interventions. This guide aims to bridge this gap
by outlining a tried and tested approach to measuring the impact of livelihoods projects."

Posted in Publications.