Publications: Climate Knowledge, NGO Safety, Refugees/Cameroon, Refugees/Sweden, U.S. Policy/Haiti

Joint NGO Safety and Security Training (European Interagency Security Forum, Dec. 2009) [text]

Linking Climate Knowledge and Decisions: Humanitarian Challenges, Pardee Papers, no. 7 (Boston University, Dec. 2009) [text]

Refugees in Cameroon: An Overview (Pambazuka News, Jan. 2010) [text]

Resettled and Included? The Employment Integration of Resettled Refugees in Sweden (Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, Dec. 2009) [text]

U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants (Congressional Research Service, Jan. 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Country of Origin Information Report

A report entitled "The Refugee Roulette: The Role of Country Information in Refugee Status Determination" was issued yesterday by the UK's Immigration Advisory Service (IAS). Here's a description of the report and its findings from the executive summary:

Country of origin information (COI) is an important part of the refugee status determination process. If legal representatives, advisors or decision-makers are unable properly to access, understand and utilise country information, they cannot provide quality advice and representation to asylum seekers or make adequate decisions. ...Data was gathered from UK Borders Agency (UKBA) staff, legal representatives, immigration judges (IJs) and experts. Overall, insufficient usage of country of origin information is reported to be commonplace, particularly at the initial decision making phase, despite improvements under the New Asylum Model (NAM). Furthermore, a varied use of country information owing to differential levels of knowledge, application and analysis of the information, is observed within each of the stakeholder groups. It is proposed that improvements in using COI can impact on a rigorous determination system.

Other related reports from this project are available on the "Improving the Use of Country Information in Asylum Advice and Representation" page.

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of African J. Conflict Res., African Yrbk. IHL, Am. J. Disaster Med., Europ. J. Dev. Research, Lancet, Nordic J. Intl. Law

African Journal on Conflict Resolution, vol. 9, no. 3 (2009) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law (2008) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 4, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

European Journal of Development Research, vol. 21, no. 5 (Dec. 2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "The Gendered Economy of the Return Migration of Internally Displaced Women in Sierra Leone" and "Great Expectations and Reality Checks: The Role of Information in Mediating Migrants' Experience of Return."

The Lancet, vol. 375, no. 9711 (23 Jan. 2010) [contents]
- Special issue on violent conflict and health; register for access to free full-text.

Nordic Journal of International Law, vol. 78, no. 4 (Dec. 2009) [contents]
- This issue celebrates the "60th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions."

Tagged Periodicals.

Survey of Palestinian Refugees and IDPs

Badil's 2008-2009 edition of the Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons is now available. The purpose of the survey is to "address the lack of information or misinformation about Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), and to counter political arguments that suggest that this issue can be resolved outside the realm of international law and practice applicable to all other refugee and displaced populations." The volume provides an historical overview of Palestinian displacement, statistical data on the scope of displacement and the distribution of refugees and IDPs, an outline of the protection and assistance framework, and a discussion of durable solutions and political initiatives.

Previous editions of the survey can be accessed via the Publications section.

Tagged Publications.

Multimedia: Asylum Seekers/Europe, Burmese/UK, Climate Displacement, IDPs/Afghanistan, Women Asylum Seekers/UK

(updated)

Audio: More Effective Protection for Internally Displaced Persons in Southern Afghanistan (Dec. 2009) [access]

Film: Moving to Mars [access]
- Documentary that tracks two Burmese refugee families from their stay in a Thai refugee camp to their resettlement in the British city of Sheffield.

Photo Gallery: Climate Change and Displacement (Dec. 2009) [access]
- UNHCR photos of people displaced by natural disasters, which many feel are the direct result of climate change.

Slideshow: Search for Survival in Europe: The Journey of Migrants and Asylum Seekers (Dec. 2009) [access]
- "MSF urges European governments to respect life, dignity and healthcare of migrants and asylum seekers."

Video: Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum (Dec. 2009) [access]
- Looks at how poorly women asylum seekers are treated in the UK.

Video: The Rising Tide (Jan. 2010) [access via Towards Recognition]
- Looks at the impact of climate change on the Sunderban Islands in India.

[Photo credit: UNHCR/R.LeMoyne, from "Some 15,000 families displaced by fighting in southern Afghanistan," 2006]


Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

Haiti: Logistics, Social Media

These blog posts discuss the complexities of delivering emergency relief in Haiti:

Logistical Nightmares in Humanitarian Disaster Response (Humanitarian Relief, 19 Jan. 2010) [text]

Logistics questions around the Haiti earthquake (A Humourless Lot, 16 Jan. 2010) [text]

The unique challenges of Haiti’s emergency logistics (Roxanna Samii blog, 18 Jan. 2010) [text]

These resources highlight how information technology and social media are being used to help:

Disaster Relief 2.0: Tech Tools Help Focus Haiti Resources (Wired, 20 Jan. 2010) [text]

Haiti Earthquake - January 2010 (ICT4Peace Inventorisation Wiki) [access]

IRIN Weekly Podcast (IRIN Radio, 21 Jan. 2010) [access]
- "Sanjana Hattotuwa, special advisor to ICT4Peace Foundation, talks about technology platforms and the earthquake disaster response; and Paul Currion, humanitarian coordination specialist and blogger, talks about new ideas for 'building back' Haiti better than before."

[Map credit: OCHA, "Haiti: International Humanitarian Action Overview"]

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Haiti: Learning from Previous Emergencies

A partial listing of evaluation and lessons learned resources:

Drawing Humanitarian Lessons from Disasters (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Jan. 2010) [text]

Getting Humanitarian Relief Right: In Haiti, heed lessons from past disasters (Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2010) [text]

The Haiti catastrophe: Lessons learned from previous operations (ODI Blog, 19 Jan. 2010) [text]

Lessons from Aceh: Key Considerations in Post-Disaster Reconstruction (Disasters Emergency Committee, Jan. 2010) [text]

Lessons learned from past disaster responses and other information useful for the Haiti earthquake (Good Intentions Blog, 14 Jan. 2010) [text]

Myths and realities in disaster situations (WHO, n.d.) [text]

Responding to earthquakes 2008: Learning from earthquake relief and recovery operations (ALNAP, 2008) [text]

Selected Bibliography: Samoan Tsunami/Padang Earthquake (TorqAid, Dec. 2009) [text]

For more information, visit the following sites:

• Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP) (see esp. the Evaluative Reports Database under Resources)

• ReliefWeb: Evaluation & Lessons Learned search results; Monitoring & Evaluation documents

[Map credit: PAHO]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Displaced Iraqis, Health Care & Conflict, Mortality Rates & War, Unacc. Children/Europe

Call for a European Protection of Unaccompanied Children (France Terre d'Asile et al., Jan. 2010) [access]

"Health-care needs of people affected by conflict: future trends and changing frameworks," The Lancet, vol. 375, no. 9711 (Jan. 2010) [access via press release]
- Note: The Lancet article requires free registration.

The Impact of U.S. Military Drawdown in Iraq on Displaced and Other Vulnerable Populations: Analysis and Recommendations (RAND Corporation, Jan. 2010) [text]

Regional Response Plan for Iraqi Refugees 2010 (OCHA, Jan. 2010) [text]

The Shrinking Costs of War (Human Security Report Project, Jan. 2010) [access]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum Seekers/UK, Eritreans/Egypt, Guiding Principles & Domestic Law, Indigenous People, Statistics/UK

Chance or choice? Understanding why asylum seekers come to the UK (Refugee Council, Jan. 2010) [text]

Incorporating the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement into Domestic Law: Issues and Challenges (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Jan. 2010) [text]

Key statistics about asylum seeker applications in the UK (ICAR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Refugee credibility assessment and the "religious imposter" problem: A case study of Eritrean Pentecostal claims in Egypt, CMRS Working Paper no. 9 (Center for Migration and Refugee Studies, Dec. 2009) [text]

State of the World’s Indigenous People (UN, Jan. 2010) [text via UN Pulse]

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of GILJ, HR Brief, ICRC Rev., JPR

Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, vol. 23, nos. 2-4 (Winter, Spring & Summer 2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "What is rights-based refuge," "Shelter from the Storm: An Analysis of U.S. Refugee Law as Applied to Tibetans Formerly Residing in India," and "A Guinean Refugee's Odyssey: In Re Jarno, the Biggest Asylum Case in U.S. History and What it Tells Us About Our Broken System."

Human Rights Brief, vol. 17, no. 1 (Fall 2009) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 91, no. 875 (Sept. 2009) [contents]
- The focus of this issue is "Displacement."

Journal of Peace Research, vol. 47, no. 1 (Jan. 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

VOICE Out Loud, no. 10 (Dec. 2009) [full-text via ReliefWeb]
- Focus is on humanitarian aid and security.


Tagged Periodicals.

World Report 2010

Human Rights Watch released its World Report 2010 today. It "summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide" and includes four thematic essays, one of which focuses on unaccompanied migrant children in Europe.

The text is available as individual HTML country chapters or as a single PDF.

Previous editions of HRW's world reports are available since 1989.


Tagged Publications.

CFPs/New Issues of Addis News, DEP, DIP, J. Confl. Res.

New Issues:

DEP: Deportate, Esuli e Profughe, no. 11 (July 2009) [full-text]
- Special issue on " Violenza, conflitti e migrazioni in America latina."

Development in Practice, vol. 20, no. 1 (2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Highlights from Addis, vol. 3, no. 2 (Dec. 2009) [full-text]
- Focus is on the adoption of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa.

Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 54, no. 1 (Feb. 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Calls for Papers:

Conflict Trends [info]
- General articles are sought for the first issue of 2010. Deadline = 5 February 2010

DEP: Deportate, Esuli e Profughe [info]
- Seeks article for special issue on the theme "Gender and forced migration: displaced women in contemporary China." Deadline = 31 March 2010

Journal of Internal Displacement [info]
- Submissions are requested for the inaugural issue of this new journal. The focus is "Internal Displacement: Definitions, Scope, Theories and Concepts." Deadline = 30 May 2010

Tagged Periodicals and Events & Opportunities.

Round-up of blog posts on Haiti

Here is a list of recent posts on the devastating earthquake in Haiti that have appeared on the blogs I'm subscribed to. I've organized them generally according to their focus. For much more blog coverage, browse through the AidBlogs aggregator, for news updates, go to Humanitarian News and AlertNet, and for operational updates, visit ReliefWeb's Haiti page.

Humanitarian Assistance/Relief & Development:

Haiti & Disaster Aid (The Viral Web, 13 Jan. 2010) [text]

Haiti Disaster Relief: How to Contribute (Towards Recognition, 15 Jan. 2010) [text]

Haiti Earthquake: Finding Loved Ones, Donating, Following Up (Humanitarian Relief, 13 Jan. 2010) [text]

Haiti earthquake: Help navigating complex terrain of disaster relief (Aid Watch, 13 Jan. 2010) [text]

Haiti’s recent troubled past (Aid Watch, 15 Jan. 2010) [text]

Haiti: Tracing the missing and the dead (Irin, 14 Jan. 2010) [text]

Let's Make Sure that Help is on the Way to Haiti (ImmigrationProf Blog, 14 Jan. 2010) [text]

On Not Caring about Haiti (Humanitarian.info, 14 Jan. 2010) [text]

Rights Amid the Rubble: Human Rights for Haiti's Quake Victims (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, 13 Jan. 2010) [text]

Three Keys to Success for Haiti Relief (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, 14 Jan. 2010) [text]

Logistics:

Haiti Earthquake Maps (Google Maps Mania, 13 Jan. 2010) [text]

Logistics Information on Haiti (AidWorkers Network, 15 Jan. 2010) [text]

Road and bridge damage, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (UN Pulse, 15 Jan. 2010) [text]

U.S. Response:

Crisis in Haiti (ImmigrationProf Blog, 13 Jan. 2010) [text]

Earthquake in Haiti Changes Immigration Policy in the US (Seeking Asylum from the Mainstream, 14 Jan. 2010) [text]

Good News From Washington: Haitians granted TPS! (ImmigrationProf Blog, 15 Jan. 2010) [text]

Help Haitians Help Haiti (NYT, 14 Jan. 2010) [text]

A Note to the United States: Please Provide Relief to Haitians! (ImmigrationProf Blog, 13 Jan. 2010) [text]

In Quake Aftermath, U.S. Suspends Deportations to Haiti (NYT, 13 Jan. 2010) [text]

Refugees International Statement on Haiti Earthquake (WorldBridge, 14 Jan. 2010) [text]

What We Can Do for Haiti: An Immigration Perspective (IntLawGrrls, 15 Jan. 2010) [text]

[Map credit: ReliefWeb's Maps on Haiti]

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Networking Resources

Academia.edu, "Refugee Studies" [access]
- This resource was set up to answer the question, "Who's researching what?" After registering, you can "can create an easy-to-maintain academic webpage, listing your research interests and any papers you have written," "keep track of the latest developments in your research area - the latest papers, talks, blog posts and status updates," and "find people with similar research interests to you." There are currently 114 people with research interests in "refugee studies."
- Note: ResearchGATE seems to be similar to Academia.edu, however, it does not appear to offer a way to locate researchers with an interest in "refugee studies" or "forced migration studies"; the search engine retrieves plenty of literature references to these terms, though, so it may be worth exploring further.

Enhanced Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA) [web site]
- This is the "first collaborative network dedicated to supporting partnerships between Higher Education institutions in the UK and humanitarian organisations and partners around the world." It does this by identifying appropriate academic institutions as partners for humanitarian groups with research needs, and appropriate humanitarian groups as partners for academic institutions with field needs. ELRHA is also investigating the need for professional accreditation of humanitarian workers.

Humanitarian Law and Policy Forum [web site]
- This forum was established as a corollary to the online courses offered by Harvard's Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research. With registration, you can join discussions, access resources and multimedia, and participate in live seminars.

International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) [web site]
- This is a new "network of people engaged in the study of humanitarian crises caused by natural disaster, conflict or political instability." The first World Conference on Humanitarian Studies which established the association was held in February 2009. The next conference will be held at Tufts University in June 2011. Free membership is offered until mid-2011.

Refugee Research Network [web site]
- This network was created to "encourage as much online collaboration, networking and information-sharing among researchers doing work on refugee and forced migration-related issues as possible." The site aims to achieve these goals by making a variety of tools available to researchers in the form of blogs, forums, working groups, research clusters, and providing space for sharing content, event announcements, research products, and profiles.

[Image credit: Screenshot of Academia.edu taken from "Social networking with a brain: a critical review of academic sites."]

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

Publications: Asylum Law, Domestic Violence, EU Asylum Policy, Refugees/Canada

(updated)

The European Union's Stockholm Program: Less Ambition on Immigration and Asylum, But More Detailed Plans (Migration Information Source, Jan. 2010) [text]

Good Practices for a Europe of Protection: A Memorandum for the Trio of Spain, Belgium and Hungary (ECRE, Jan. 2010) [text]

"Leveraging Asylum," University of Melbourne Law School Research Series, no. 430 (Nov. 2009) [text via SSRN]

"Optimal discretion in asylum lawmaking," International Review of Law and Economics, vol. 30, no. 1 (March 2010) [text]

"Pulling the Trigger: Separation Violence as a Basis of Refugee Protection for Battered Women," American University Law Review, vol. 59, no. 2 (Dec. 2009) [text]

Refugees on Prince Edward Island, Canada [access]
- See various papers recently posted on SSRN.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum/Greece, Freedom in the World, IDPs/Georgia, Voluntary Return

Factors affecting participation in assisted voluntary return programmes and successful reintegration: a review of the evidence, Research Report 29 (Research Development Statistics, UK Home Office, Jan. 2010) [text]
- See also report summary.

Freedom in the World 2010: Erosion of Freedom Intensifies (Freedom House, Jan. 2010) [access]

Observations on Greece as a country of asylum (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Out of the margins: Securing a voice for internally displaced people - lessons from Georgia (Conciliation Resources, Oct. 2009) [text]

The Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP) 2004 and 2004 extension: monitoring report, Research Report 30 (Research Development Statistics, UK Home Office, Jan. 2010) [text]
- See also report summary.

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of Australasian J. Dis. & Trauma Studies, AWR, Europ. J. Criminology, Intl. J. Multicultural Soc., Intl. Migration

The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, no. 2009-1 [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

AWR Bulletin, vol. 47, nos. 2-3 (2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including one on statelessness in Liechtenstein; child soldiers; and EU asylum policy.

European Journal of Criminology, vol. 7, no. 1 (Jan. 2010) [contents]
- Special issue on "Human Trafficking: Issues and Perspectives."

International Journal on Multicultural Societies, vol. 11, no. 1 (2009) [full-text]
- Special issue on the "Human Rights of Migrants." Includes an article on refugee integration and an article on refugee domestic workers in Egypt.

International Migration, vol. 48, no. 1 (Feb. 2010) [free full-text]
- Free sample issue focusing on refugees; includes articles on economic aspects, Sudanese refugees in Australia, Somali refugees, educated refugees in the Netherlands, refugees in Serbia, Belgian asylum policy, EU asylum policy in the context of Italy and Libya, protecting women refugees, and why people seek asylum.

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Adolescent Girls & Protection, Conflict Annual Rpt., ECRE EU Rec., Long-term Encampmt., Open Centres' Lit. Rev., Property Issues

Displaced adolescent girls’ protection: Could casuistry be a methodology for humanitarians?, Working Paper, no. 53 (RSC, Dec. 2009) [text]

ECRE Memorandum to the Spanish Presidency (ECRE, Jan. 2010) [text]

Global Report 2009: Conflict, Governance, and State Fragility (Center for Systemic Peace & Center for Global Policy, 2009) [text]
- For previous issues, visit the Global Report series page.

How long is too long? Questioning the legality of long-term encampment through a human rights lens, Working Paper, no. 54 (RSC, Dec. 2009) [text]

A Proposal to Undertake an International Literature Review on the Open Centre for Migrants, Asylum Seekers, and Refugees in Europe (Thomas Cameron, Jan. 2010) [text]

Solving Property Issues of Refugees and Displaced Persons (Council of Europe, Jan. 2010) [text via ReliefWeb]

Tagged Publications.

Information-related Items: Gathering Evidence, Information Management/Emergencies, New Acquisitions, Researching COI Course, RSC Library Catalogue

Gathering Evidence Effectively: A rough guide to navigating secondary sources of data and information on refugees and asylum seekers in the UK (ICAR, Dec. 2009) [text]
- See also slides from the related seminar.

Information Management and Communication in Emergencies and Disasters: Manual for Disaster Response Teams (PAHO, Dec. 2009) [text]
- Covers "How to plan communication, How to manage information, How to work with the media, How to prepare messages and materials."

Quarterly Accessions List (Refugee Council Archives at UEL, Dec. 2009) [text]
- Provides bibliographic details of new books, journals, reports and documentation received by the Refugee Council Archive at UEL.

Refugee Studies Centre Library web catalogue (FMList, Dec. 2009) [text]
- Notice re. the transfer of RSC library records.

"Researching Country of Origin Information" Blended Learning Course, 25 January-19 February 2010, with a face-to-face meeting in Vienna on 24 February [info]
- The course "combines an electronic learning phase with a face-to-face meeting. During the three week e-learning phase the participants work through the modules of the COI Module of the European Asylum Curriculum (EAC). They are accompanied by an e-tutor and can interact on the forum of the course. During the one day face-to-face meeting the newly acquired knowledge is applied by solving a case study." Apply by 18 January 2010.

Tagged Events & Opportunities, Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Publications: Asylum Seekers/Libya, Human Trafficking Case/ECHR, Humanitarian Headlines, Resilience/Ethiopia, Undocumented Migrants/UK

Baseline Report: Africa Community Resilience Project, Tsaeda Amba Woreda, Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia, Research Program on Livelihood Change Over Time (World Vision & Tufts Univ., Dec. 2009) [text]

Do They Know?: Asylum Seekers Testify to Life in Libya (Jesuit Refugee Service, Dec. 2009) [text]

Landmark Judgment on Human Trafficking (ECHR Blog, Jan. 2010) [text]
- Summary of the case Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia.

'No right to dream': The social and economic lives of young undocumented migrants in Britain (City Univ. London & RSC, Dec. 2009) [text]

Ten Humanitarian Headlines for 2010 (WorldBridge Blog, Jan. 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Thinking ahead to summer...

Summer Academy on Social Vulnerability, "Protecting environmental migrants: creating new policy and institutional frameworks," Munich Re Foundation and UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security, Munich, 25–31 July 2010 [site]
- Applications accepted until 15 January 2010.

Centre for Refugee Research Summer School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 8-12 February 2010 [site]
- Deadline for applications is 1 February 2010.

Summer Course on Refugee and Forced Migration Issues, Centre for Refugee Studies, York University, Toronto, 8-16 May 2010 [site]
- Apply by 26 February 2010 for the lower rate.

International Summer School in Forced Migration, Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford, 5-23 July 2010 [site]
- Closing date for applications is 1 March 2010; reduced rate available until 31 March.

Note: Other regularly-held summer courses are hosted by the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS), the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL), and the Odysseus Network but schedules are not yet available.

For more training opportunities, visit ReliefWeb's directory.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Human Trafficking: Events, Resources

- In the U.S., President Obama has declared January 2010 as "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month"; this dovetails with National Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11th.

- A topical research digest on "Human Rights and Human Trafficking" has been compiled by Human Rights and Human Welfare, the book review resource.

- More papers are available from the First Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking, held last year in October.

- The ILO has published Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Casebook of Court Decisions. A training manual for judges, prosecutors and legal practitioners (2009).

- Also available is "An agenda for change: Implementing the platform for action against human trafficking" from the OSCE's Special Representative whose three-year term just ended 31 December 2009.

Tagged Events & Opportunities and Publications.

Things to do in January

(updated)

Apply for the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS) "Teaching Fellowship in Refugee and Human Rights Law" by 15 January 2010.

Submit an abstract for the CRS Student Conference, "(Un) Routed Identities: Borders, Boundaries, and Betweens," which will be held at York University in Toronto, 8-9 April 2010. Deadline is 15 January 2010.

Participate in the next "Researching Country of Origin Information" Blended Learning Course, 25 January-19 February 2010, in Vienna. Apply by 18 January 2010.

Apply for the "Protection Project Legal Internship Program Spring 2010" by 22 January 2010. The "recipient will be responsible for a number of projects related to human rights, including conducting legal research, editing human trafficking publications, and assisting in the organizations of workshops and conferences, both nationally and internationally."

Write a paper for the CARFMS 2010 conference, which will be held at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, 6-8 May 2010. The theme is "Forced Migration: Challenges and Change," and abstracts are due by 30 January 2010.

Submit an article to Forced Migration Review's themed issue on "Disability and Displacement"; contributions are due by 31 January 2010.

Register for the Refugee Council's 2010 Conference, "From theory to practice: How asylum policy impacts on the refugee experience," which will be held on 5 February 2010.

Write a paper for the IFRC's Disaster Law Working Paper Series. Manuscripts are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Publications: Conflict Barometer, COP15 Analysis, Detention/US, IDP Health/Uganda, Refoulement/Yemen

Climate Shame: Get Back to the Table. Initial Analysis of the Copenhagen Climate Talks (Oxfam, Dec. 2009) [text] [text via ReliefWeb]

Conflict Barometer 2009 (HIIK, Dec. 2009) [text]
- See also the maps that are available for download.

"An exploration of social determinants of health amongst internally displaced persons in northern Uganda," Conflict and Health 3:10 (16 Dec. 2009) [text]

Hostile Shores: Abuse and Refoulement of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Yemen (Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2009) [text]

Jailing Refugees: Arbitrary Detention of Refugees in the US Who Fail to Adjust to Permanent Resident Status (Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of FEX, IJHR, KANERE, Torture J., Transcultural Psych.

Development in Practice
- Journal web site has been re-organized.

Field Exchange, no. 37 (Nov. 2009) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

International Journal of Human Rights, vol. 13, no. 5 (2009) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "Trafficking in women and children in India: nature, dimensions and strategies for prevention."

Kakuma News Reflector (Dec. 2009) [full-text]
- Mix of articles in this blog-format news service from Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya.

Torture Journal, vol. 19, no. 3 (2009) [full-text]
- Mix of articles, including "An explorative outcome study of CBT-based multidisciplinary treatment in a diverse group of refugees form a Danish Treatment Centre for Rehabilitation of Traumatized Refugees."

Transcultural Psychiatry, vol. 46, no. 4 (Dec. 2009) [contents]
- Special issue on "Migration and Mental Health." Includes "Resettling Refugees and Safeguarding their Mental Health: Lessons Learned from the Canadian Refugee Resettlement Project" and "Help-seeking for Mental Health Problems in Young Refugees: A Review of the Literature with Implications for Policy, Practice, and Research."

Tagged Periodicals.

Winter Break

This blog will be quiet for the next few weeks, but will be back in the new year!

Best wishes for the holiday season.

Publications: Child Asylum Claims, COP15 Roundup, Discrimination Guidelines, Protracted Situations, Top 10 Humanitarian Crises

Combating Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance through a Strategic Approach (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]
- See related press release.

Conclusion on protracted refugee situations, No. 109 (LX) - 2009 (EXCOM, Dec. 2009) [text]

COP15 Roundup from a Climate Change, Migration and Displacement Focus (Towards Recognition, Dec. 2009) [text]

Guidelines on International Protection No. 8: Child Asylum Claims under Articles 1(A)2 and 1(F) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Top Ten Humanitarian Crises of 2009 (MSF, Dec. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Detention Toolkit, Health Barriers/S. Africa, Humanitarian Space/Somalia, Mapping Climate Change, Social Group/US, Spain & EU Presidency

Creating humanitarian space: a case study of Somalia, New Issues in Refugee Research no. 184 (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

From principles to action: UNHCR's Recommendations to Spain for its European Union Presidency (January - June 2010) (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change: Mapping emerging trends and risk hotspots (Care International and Maplecroft, Nov. 2009) [text]

No Healing Here: Violence, Discrimination and Barriers to Health for Migrants in South Africa (Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2009) [text]

Reviving the "Particular Social Group" (IntLawGrrls, Dec. 2009) [text]

Working with refugees and asylum seekers in places of detention: Tools and Resources for Legal Providers (International Detention Coalition, Dec. 2009) [text in WORD]

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Asylum Stats/EU, EXCOM Conclusions, IDPs/Colombia, Migrants' Rights, Zimbabweans/S. Africa

75 thousand asylum seekers granted protection status in the EU in 2008 (EUROSTAT, Nov. 2009) [text]

Asylum decisions in the EU27: EU Member States granted protection to 76 300 asylum seekers in 2008 (EUROSTAT, Dec. 2009) [text]

Conclusions Adopted by the Executive Committee on the International Protection of Refugees (UNHCR, Dec . 2009) [text]

Labor Market Effects of Migration-Related Supply Shocks: Evidence from Internally Displaced Populations in Colombia, HiCN Working Paper 69 (Households in Conflict Network, Nov. 2009) [text]

Slow Movement: Protection of Migrants’ Rights in 2009 (Human Rights Watch, Dec. 2009) [text]

Violence, Labour and the Displacement of Zimbabweans in De Doorns, Western Cape (Forced Migration Studies Programme, Dec. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Books of the Decade

Editor's note: Here is another installment in the "books of the decade" series. Many thanks to Dr. Shahira Samy at the University of Oxford for her contribution.

Records of Dispossession: Palestinian Refugee Property and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, by Michael Fischbach (Columbia University Press, New York, 2003). ISBN 0-231-12978-5

Michael Fischbach goes on an adventure. He flies to New York, disappears into the UN headquarters, locks himself up in the archives of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP), pours over some land deeds, leases and documents untouched for decades, and writes a book telling us the whole story. The Indiana Jones-style adventure is not entirely why I chose Records of Dispossession as my most favourite forced migration book for the first decade of the twenty-first century, although admittedly, its archival freshness is what makes it so valuable. The findings unravelled by this book will undoubtedly form the backbone of any peace agreement touching on the fate of the millions of Palestinian refugees, now well into their fourth generation of exile.

When over 700,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their lands in the late 1940s in the course of the establishment of the state of Israel and the first Arab-Israeli war, most of them were farmers whose livelihood much depended on land and property; assets now lost and subsequently expropriated by the Israeli government. Unlike its meek involvement in the present days, six decades ago, the UN was heavily involved in the politics of peace-making in Palestine. Specifically created to deal with the ramifications of the conflict, including the refugee issue, the UNCCP worked hard on identifying, evaluating lost property and even devising what might constitute viable compensation schemes. This estimation and evaluation work is the most accurate and comprehensive that has ever been undertaken. The problem is that we knew nothing about its scope, details and findings until Fischbach told us the story in his book.

These records form the backbone of any compensation package that will be offered to the refugees as part of a settlement to the conflict covering the displacement and dispossession issue. The international community often thinks of refugee matters in terms of humanitarian needs or within the regime of durable solutions weighing between options of return, resettlement and local integration. But what about losses? Restitution of property? Material reparations? Here is where the property issue and ensuing compensation schemes gain significance. Since the book also incorporates the story of the expropriation of the lost Palestinian property, it goes straight into how property restitution issues are incorporated into negotiating forms of redress to displacement problems and fostering demands for lost rights between parties to a conflict.

Decades on, the UNCCP is totally dead but not officially so. By telling the story, Records of Dispossession has reminded us of the history of its involvement, its early efforts, its struggle and why it has failed to achieve peace. With the records of these early efforts now out, the question arises as to whether this early failure may pave the way for a future success in redressing the displacement and dispossession of Palestinian refugees.

Dr. Shahira Samy
Jarvis Doctorow Junior Research Fellow in International Relations
and Conflict Resolution in the Middle East
St Edmund Hall & the Department of Politics and International Relations
University of Oxford

Access details:

- Publisher info
- Amazon
- Find the book in a library

Related posts:

http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-decade.html
http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-books-of-decade.html

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of Disasters, E&RS, Ref. Rts. News

Disasters, vol. 34, no. 1 (Jan. 2010) [free full-text]
- The editorial notes that in order to address the backlog of accepted articles, Disasters will be publishing longer issues and thematic supplements throughout 2010. This current issue includes a mix of 16 articles and a book review.

Disasters, vol. 34, supp. 1 (Jan. 2010) [contents]
- This first supplement of the year provides a "review of emerging patterns of reconstruction in post-conflict states."

Disasters, virtual ed. (Sept. 2009) [contents]
- This online-only edition focused on Ethiopia, bringing together previously-published articles from over 30 years of Disasters' history.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 33, no. 1 (2010) [contents]
- Special issue on "Migrant Politics and Mobilization: Exclusion, Engagements, Incorporation."

Refugee Rights News, vol. 5, no. 5 (Nov. 2009) [full-text]
- From the International Refugee Rights Initiative.

Note: Free articles are now available from Oxford University Press' three refugee journals: International Journal of Refugee Law (IJRL)*, Journal of Refugee Studies (JRS), and Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ).

*As of this writing, the links to the free access articles currently do not go to the full-text, but keep checking as I imagine the problem will be rectified at some point!

Tagged Periodicals.

More books of the decade

Following on from Jeff Crisp's recommendations for books from the 2000s that he admires, here are a couple of my own. They fall under two very different categories, however: children's books and reference books.

1. Children's books

Earlier in the year, I undertook a survey of kids' literature that relates to refugees and forced migration. I looked at both picture books for younger readers and chapter books for older readers. The bibliography I ultimately compiled included listings of both - 24 titles to be exact. However, one in particular has stayed with me: Home of the Brave (Feiwel and Friends, 2007), by Katherine Applegate. It's about Kek, who arrives in the middle of winter in Minneapolis, Minnesota from Sudan. He must contend with adjusting to the strangeness of his new home, anxiety about the fate of his missing mother, and feelings of sadness for all that he has lost. He finds comfort in a cow that he befriends, and in the memories of his family. The author wrote the story in free verse, producing a spare, but visually-rich and very accessible text. Here's an example, when Kek first meets the cow he eventually cares for:

She moos,
a harsh and mournful sound.
It isn't the fault of the cow.
She doesn't know another way to talk.
She can't learn
the way I am learning,
word
by slow, slow
word.

I stroke her cold, wet coat,
and for a moment I hold
all I've lost
and all I want
right there in my hand.

For more information, visit the publisher's web site; see also which libraries carry the book.

2. Reference books

As an information specialist, I regularly keep an eye out for new reference materials to include in my forced migration research guide. While not many have actually been published, I was most happy to learn about Immigration and Asylum: From 1900 to the Present, a three-volume encyclopedia edited by Matthew Gibney (Refugee Studies Centre) and Randall Hansen (Univ. of Oxford) and published by ABC-CLIO (2005). The editors approach immigration and asylum issues from an historical and political perspective. Entries were selected on the basis of the following themes: asylum law and procedures; immigration policy; refugee countries of origin; major migrant groups; historical movements; and the politics of migration focusing particularly on the U.S. The almost 200 essays are accompanied by "see also" references and bibliographies. The third volume reproduces major international and regional instruments, UN resolutions, and national legislation.

It's incredibly useful to have an authoritative resource that provides an introduction to or an explanation of so many of the issues that arise in the asylum context. It's also fascinating to browse through, to open a page randomly and learn something new about such a diverse and complex subject area.

For more information, visit the publisher's web site; see also which libraries carry the work.

Tagged Publications.

Multimedia: Climate Change Photos/Film, Doctors without Borders Film, FIC Photos, Harrell-Bond Lecture

Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture 2009: Beyond Blankets: in search of political deals and durable solutions for the displaced (FMO, Nov. 2009) [access]
- Podcast of the lecture.

"Climate change brings on refugees, exiles and terror? - slide show," Examiner.com, 12 Dec. 2009 [access]
- Focus is on Bangladesh. (HT: Seeking Asylum)

Climate Refugees Documentary Film [info]
- Info. about a film that will be screened at COP15. (HT: Seeking Asylum)

The First Week of COP15 (Towards Recognition, Dec. 2009) [access]
- Photos from various events attended in Copenhagen for the climate change conference.

Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors without Borders [info]
- Showing in select theatres on 14 Dec. 2009.

Traveling Photo Exhibition in the Karamoja Cluster (Feinstein International Center, Nov. 2009) [access]
- The exhibit "features the work of traditional seers in these pastoral communities" and is "part of a project titled 'Seers as War Makers, Peace Makers, and Leaders within the Karamoja Cluster'."

Tagged Events & Opportunities and Web Sites/Tools.

From "climate refugees" to "climate change-induced displacees"?

See IRIN's "Good news for climate change migrants" for an update on discussions in Copenhagen. Apparently, there is agreement on "the need to consider planned relocation for people displaced by climate change, with 'interstate cooperation' to respond to their needs."

The article also notes that the "term 'climate refugees' was first mentioned in the adaptation text at talks in Bonn, Germany, in June. The term has been dropped, but the need to help people who 'either cross an international border as a result of, or find themselves abroad and are unable to return owing to, the effects of climate change' has gained prominence." The new term under consideration to refer to such people is "climate change-induced displacees."

Worldbridge, Refugees International's blog, had an interesting post on the increased use in the media of the phrase "climate refugees." Noting that under international law one cannot be termed a "refugee" when natural disaster is the cause of flight, the author ponders possible alternatives and their acronyms: "People displaced by climate change (PDCCs)? Climate displaced people (CDPs)? People affected by climatic events (PACEs)?".

In contrast, an article I referenced earlier in the year highlights the fact that in Tuvalu and Kiribati, two Pacific nations under great pressure from climate change, there is a "a wholesale rejection of the 'refugee' label, at both the political and community levels."

[Photo credit: Mirwais Bezhan/IRIN]

Tagged Events & Opportunities and Publications.

Publications: Burmese/India, Climate Change & UNHCR, EU Asylum Directives, Information Technologies & Emergencies, Refugees/Israel

Asylum directives: scrutiny of the opt-in decisions (UK House of Lords European Union Committee, Dec. 2009) [text]

"Bracing for the Flood," NYT (10 Dec. 2009) [text]
- See also UNHCR's climate change web pages.

India: Close the Gap for Burmese Refugees (Refugees International, Dec. 2009) [text]

New Technologies in Emergencies and Conflicts: The Role of Information and Social Networks (UN Foundation, Dec. 2009) [text via ReliefWeb]

A promised land for refugees? Asylum and migration in Israel, New Issues in Refugee Research no. 183 (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

December 10: Human Rights Day

Today is Human Rights Day. The focus this year is on "non-discrimination," with the tag line "Embrace diversity, end discrimination." For more information on the day and its theme, visit the relevant pages and messages on the following web sites:

• Dag Hammarskjöld Library [access]
• Europa [access]
• Human Rights Watch [access]
• IntLawGrrls [access]
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [access]
• United Nations [access]

For more information on discrimination in the refugee context, browse Refworld's references.

Tagged Events & Opportunities and Web Sites/Tools.

Pubs: Child Refugees, Housing Rts./Burma, IDP Prot./Colombia, Justice & Displ., Refugee Guide/SA, Top 10 Migr. Issues, Voting Rts./Georgia

Election-Related Rights and Political Participation of Internally Displaced Persons: Protection During and After Displacement in Georgia (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Nov. 2009) [text]

Housing, Land and Property Rights in Burma: The Current Legal Framework (Displacement Solutions, Nov. 2009) [text]

Judicial Protection of Internally Displaced Persons: The Colombian Experience (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Nov. 2009) [text]

Justice, Accountability, and the Protection of Displaced Persons (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Dec. 2009) [text]

Refugee Survival Guide 2009 (Lawyers for Human Rights, 2009) [access]

Seeking Support: A Guide to the Rights and Entitlements of Separated Refugee and Asylum Seeking Children (Children's Legal Centre, Nov. 2009) [text]

Top 10 Issues of 2009 (Migration Information Source, Dec. 2009) [access]
- Issue 7 focuses on climate change and migration and Issue 10 examines the harder line governments are taking towards asylum-seekers.

[Photo credit: Julia Komissaroff/IDP Voices]

Tagged Publications.

HC Dialogue: Urban Refugees

The third High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges began today in Geneva and will continue tomorrow. The theme of the meeting is "Challenges for Persons of Concern to UNHCR in Urban Settings." The agenda notes that participants will divide into four groups to explore the following:

• Identifying populations of concern in urban settings and responding to vulnerabilities and risks;
• Securing “protection space” in urban settings;
• Livelihoods and self-reliance;
• Challenges for municipalities and authorities.

For more background information on the theme, see:

• Challenges for Persons of Concern to UNHCR in Urban Settings, UNHCR/DPC/2009/Doc. 02/Rev.1 (HC Dialogue, Dec. 2009) [text]
• Concept Paper (UNHCR, May 2009) [text]
• UNHCR policy on refugee protection and solutions in urban areas (UNHCR, Sept. 2009) [text]

The web page for the current HC Dialogue provides links to information on related themes, a literature review and bibliography, and documents from previous HC Dialogue discussions.

For more general news/media advisories and photos, visit the UNHCR page on "urban refugees."

[photo credit: UNHCR/Zalmaï]

Tagged Events & Opportunities and Publications.

Research Rpts. & Working Papers: Climate Change & Displ./Africa, Humanit. Action/Georgia, Iraqi Refugees, Sexual Orientation & Asylum, UNGA & UNHCR

Anatomy of a Resolution: the General Assembly in UNHCR history, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 182 (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Climate change, disaster, displacement and migration: initial evidence from Africa, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 180 (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Fleeing for love: asylum seekers and sexual orientation in Scandinavia, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 181 (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Iraq's Refugees - Beyond 'Tolerance', RSC Policy Briefing no. 4 (RSC, Dec. 2009) [text]

Politics and Humanitarian Action in the Georgia Conflicts: Humanitarian Agenda 2015 (Feinstein International Center, Nov. 2009) [text]

Tagged Publications.

UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

(updated)

Dan DaSilva of Towards Recognition is in Copenhagen for the climate change conference. He has listed some of the events scheduled to take place that focus on migration and/or displacement, and hopefully, will be updating readers on some of the relevant discussions. This would be helpful since the official web site for the conference is somewhat daunting to navigate! However, a more user-friendly "Daily Programme" is available and worth checking. In addition, numerous multimedia options are provided, including webcasts, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, and more.

In the interim, here are some random climate-related resources I've come across recently:

Climate Change Displaced Persons and Housing, Land and Property Rights: Preliminary Strategies for Rights-Based Planning and Programming to Resolve Climate-induced
Displacement (Displacement Solutions, Nov. 2009) [text]
- New report.

Climate Changed: People Displaced (Norwegian Refugee Council, Dec. 2009) [text]

Forced Displacement Must Be Included in Copenhagen Climate Agreement (Refugees International, Dec. 2009) [text]

Géopolitique du changement climatique, by François Gemenne (Armand Colin, Nov. 2009) [info]
- New book, which includes a chapter on displacement.

Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Assessing the Evidence (IOM, Dec. 2009) [text via ReliefWeb]

Native Land, Stop Eject [access]
- Multimedia exhibition.

Norwegian Refugee Council's Climate Negotiations page [access]
- Nothing currently from Copenhagen, but see also presentations at the Barcelona negotiation session side event on "Climate Adaptation, Human Migration and Displacement," 4 November 2009.

Tagged Events & Opportunities, Publications and Web Sites/Tools.