Focus on Europe: ECHR Rule 39 Interim Measures, Hirsi Case, and more...

Rule 39 Interim Measures:

ECRE/ELENA Research on Rule 39 Interim Measures (ECRE, April 2012) [text]

Toolkit on How to Request Interim Measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of the European Court of Human Rights for Persons in Need of International Protection (UNHCR, Feb. 2012) [text]

Migrants at Sea/Hirsi Case:

"European Court of Human Rights Protects Migrants Against 'Push Back' Operations the High Seas," ASIL Insights, vol. 16, no. 14 (April 2012) [text]

Forensic Oceanography: Report on the "Left-To-Die Boat" (Goldsmiths, Univ. of London, April 2012) [text via Migrants at Sea]

"A Victory for Refugee Protection," The Refuge, vol. 10, no. 1 (April 2012) [text]

Other:

Balkan Visitors: Asylum-seekers in Serbia and Kosovo (Eastern Approaches, March 2012) [text]

"The Crossing Point: Would-be Immigrants to Europe Can Go Almost Anywhere—for a Price," The Economist, 3 March 2012 [text]

Enhancing Volume and Impact of Refugee Resettlement to the EU: 20.000 EU Places and Policy Coherence for Resettlement – by 2020! (CCME, March 2012) [text]

The Revised "Dublin" Rules on Responsibility for Asylum-seekers: The Council's Failure to Fix a Broken System (Statewatch, April 2012) [text]

Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Croatia (UNHCR, May 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Global Overview of Internal Displacement

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) has published its annual Global Overview 2011: People Internally Displaced by Conflict and Violence. The report finds that "a total of 26.4 million people were internally displaced in the world at the end of 2011. 3.5 million people were newly displaced during the year, 20 per cent more than in 2010; 830,000 of them fled the impact of the Arab Spring uprisings, an almost six­fold increase from the 177,000 newly displaced in 2010."

The full-text of the report is available here, along with a quick facts sheet and press pack.

Tagged Publications.

UNHCR/NGO Consultations

(note: dates corrected below)

This year, UNHCR's Annual Consultations with NGOs will take place 3-5 July 2012. The agenda is available here. Some of the topics to be covered include resettlement, statelessness, displacement and climate change, and the protection of children. Registration is open until 8 June 2012.

Last year's conference report can be read here.

Other events have been scheduled to coincide with the consultations, including:

A Refugee Rights Leadership Training organized by Asylum Access, the Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration and the Global Detention Project/Programme for the Study of Global Migration will be held 29 June-1 July 2012; the application form is available here (apply by 30 April 2012). Contact overseasoperations@asylumaccess.org for more information.

Meetings of the following networks - International Detention Coalition (IDC), Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network (SRLAN), and Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) - will take place on 2 July.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Last Minute Events & Opportunities: April & May 2012

Challenges in Gaining and Maintaining Space for Humanitarian Action: The Experience of MSF, New York, 19 April 2012 [info]

UNRWA's Long-Term Humanitarianism: The Politics of Living in a Palestinian Refugee Camp, Beirut, 20 April 2012 [info]

CFP: "Narratives and Trajectories of Displacement and Mobility: Moving Beyond the Refugee-Migration-Development Nexus," Panel at the African Studies Association of the UK, Leeds, UK, 6-8 September 2012 [info] [info]
- Submission deadline is 27 April 2012.

Tenth Annual Orientation Course on Forced Migration, Kolkata, India, 1-15 October 2012 [info]
- Application deadline extended to 30 April 2012.

CFP: Refuge: Canada's Periodical on Refugees [info]
- Articles are requested for a special issue on the 60th anniversary of the Refugee Convention: "Is the 1951 Convention Outdated?"; deadline extended to 30 April 2012.

Reminder! CFP: "Contested Spaces and Cartographic Challenges," IASFM14, Kolkata, India, 6-9 January 2013 [info]
- Deadline for submissions is 30 April 2012.

Certificate in International Migration Studies, Clarendon, VA, Spring 2012 [info]
- Registration open for available May courses: "Global Trends in International Migration" (1-4 May) and "Human Trafficking" (23-25 May).

CFP: "SOS International Law: International Law in Times of Crisis and Emergency," Canadian Council on International Law Annual Conference, Ottawa, 8-10 November 2012 [info]
- Paper proposals due 5 May 2012.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Asylum Issues

The Causes, Character and Conduct of Armed Conflict, and the Effects on Civilian Populations, 1990-2010, Legal and Protection Policy Research Series, no. 26 (UNHCR, April 2012) [text]
- Understanding the "complex reality of armed conflict in the global system...has considerable implications in understanding the dynamics of forced displacement, and in any determination of who should receive international protection."

The Inefficiencies of American Refugee Law as Highlighted by the Current Plight of Mexican Immigrants, Submission to National Collegiate Honors Council Annual Conference, Boston, MA, 14-18 November 2012 [text]

Interpreting an Incorporative Statute: The Role of Foreign Authority in U.S. Asylum Adjudication (ExpressO, 2012) [text]

Litigating Gender-based Asylum Claims (IntLawGrrls, April 2012) [text]

"Procedural Problems in LGBT Asylum Cases," Jurisprudence, vol. 19, no. 1 (2012) [full-text]

Tagged Publications.

International Migration Law

(updated)

The 8th International Migration Law Course will be held in Sanremo, Italy from 24-28 September 2012. For more information and to register, visit the relevant page on the International Institute of Humanitarian Law web site.

A few other items on this theme, in various languages... :

"Droit International des Migrations: Fondements et Limites du Multilatéralisme," Chapter in La Société Internationale Face aux Défis Migratoires (A. Pedone, 2012?) [text via SSRN]
- Based on a presentation at this colloquium.

The International Law of Migration (IntLawGrrls, April 2012) [text]
- Recap of panel at annual meeting of the American Society of International Law .

"La Migración en el Derecho Internacional," Revista de la Facultad de Derecho de México, vol. 61, no. 255 (2011) [full-text]

Migration and International Human Rights Law, Practitioners Guide, no. 6 (International Commission of Jurists, 2011) [text]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Urban Issues

(updated)

Global Approach to Urban Refugee Issues (JRS, March 2012) [text]
- See also this blog post.

"The Great Urban Migration," Perspective, no. 4 (2011) [text]
- Pp. 34-38.

Life in Town: Migration from Rural Karamoja to Moroto and Mbale (Feinstein International Center, March 2012) [text]

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, forthcoming (2012)
- Urbanization and Humanitarian Access Working Group: Toward Guidelines for Humanitarian Standards and Operations in Urban Settings [abstract]
- Urbanization and Humanitarian Access Working Group: A Blueprint for the Development of Prevention and Preparedness Indicators for Urban Humanitarian Crises [abstract]

Survival in the City: Youth, Displacement and Violence in Urban Settings, HPG Policy Brief, no. 44 (ODI, March 2012) [text]

"Urban Refugees," Perspective, no. 4 (2011) [text]
- Pp. 38-39.

Tagged Publications.

New Issues of FRLAN News, Global Eye, JIRS, Migr. Policy Pract., Perspective, WAN

Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter, no. 25 (April 2012) [full-text]
- Lead article focuses on legal aid for detained asylum seekers in Romania.

Global Eye on Human Trafficking, no. 11 (March 2012) [full-text]
- IOM's news and information bulletin.

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 10, no. 1 (2012) [contents]
- Mix of articles, including "Revitalization and Development of Karen Traditional Medicine for Sustainable Refugee Health Services at the Thai–Burma Border."

Migration Policy Practice, vol. 1, no. 2 (Dec. 2011-Jan. 2012) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

Migration Policy Practice, vol. 2, no. 1 (Feb.-March 2012) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

Perspective, no. 4 (2011) [full-text]
- From the Norwegian Refugee Council; focus is on children and armed conflict.

Women's Asylum News, no. 109 (March 2012) [full-text]
- Lead article is "Improving Care for Refugees and Asylum Seekers: The Experiences of Midwives."

Tagged Periodicals.

Support Resources

Enhancing the Lives of Older Refugees: A Self Improvement Resource for Community Service Providers (Older Refugee Working Committee, 2011) [text via BroCAP]

Guidelines for Mainstreaming the Needs of Older Persons in Disaster Situations in the Caribbean, Draft Version (PAHO, April 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

Networks of Asylum Support in the UK and USA: A Handbook of Ideas, Strategies and Best Practice for Asylum Support Groups in a Challenging Social and Economic Climate (Asylum-Network, March 2012) [text]
- See also related blog comment.

Outbreak Surveillance and Response in Humanitarian Emergencies: WHO Guidelines for EWARN Implementation (WHO, 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

Refugee & Migrant Resources and Toolkits (Climate Outreach and Information Network, n.d.) [access]

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Focus on Humanitarian Assistance

Afghanistan: A Case Study - Strengthening Principled Humanitarian Response Capacities (ECHO, NRC & ODI, Jan. 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

Assisting the Somali Population Affected by the Humanitarian Crisis of 2011 (Doctors without Borders, April 2012) [text]

Choose to Invest in Development and Humanitarian Relief FY2013 (InterAction, April 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

Colombia: Flood Response Improves, but Challenges Remain (Refugees International, March 2012) [text]

Humanitarianism in a Changing World (IRIN, April 2012) [text]

Towards Better Humanitarian Donorship: 12 Lessons from DAC Peer Reviews (OECD, 2012) [text via PreventionWeb]

Tagged Publications.

Economic & Employment Issues

"Asylum-Seekers' Perspectives on Work and Proof of Identity: The Norwegian Experience," Refugee Survey Quarterly, Advance Access, 9 March 2012 [abstract]

The Economic Impact and Effectiveness of Development Aid (UK House of Lords, March 2012) [text]

The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2012) [info]

"The Economics of International Refugee Law," The Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 40, no. 2 (June 2011) [abstract] [preprint]

Media's Influence on Refugee Unemployment (The Forum, March 2012) [text]

Migration… It's the Economy, Stupid! (Hein de Haas Blog, March 2012) [text]

"Welfare-to-Work and the Responsiveness of Employment Providers to the Needs of Refugees,"Journal of Social Policy, vol. 40, no. 3 (July 2011) [abstract]

Tagged Publications.

Global Issues

The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration is now available online. A print edition will be available in February 2013. Here's the blurb:

[This resource] provides a complete exploration of the prominent themes, events, and theoretical underpinnings of the movements of human populations from prehistory to the present day. It includes thematic interpretations and theories of migration, as well as the significant contemporary scientific discoveries and scholarly interpretations that have reshaped the way historians and social scientists analyze and map the past.

The Encyclopedia will be joining with Wiley-Blackwell Exchanges to present an online conference entitled, "Migration in a Changing World: Where Do We Go Now?," to be held 5-9 November 2012. The conference is free. Participants will also have access to a range of free content including Encyclopedia articles.

Other items with a global focus:

Crossing Borders: For Millions of People on the Move, Borders can be a Dangerous Space (OHCHR, April 2012) [text]
- Does anyone happen to know what meeting this was?

Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (Impact Blog, March 2012) [text]

Moving to Safety: Migration Consequences of Complex Crises, Background paper prepared for IOM Intersessional Workshop, Geneva, 24-25 April 2012 [text] [event info.]

"Refugees and Forced Migration: Five Minutes with Susan Martin," Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (Feb. 2012) [text]

Regime-Induced Displacement as an R2P Challenge (Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Jan. 2012) [text]

"Understanding State Responses to Forced Migration," International Studies Review, vol. 14, no. 1 (March 2012) [free full-text]
- Book review essay.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Events & Opportunities: April & May 2012

Looming deadlines:

CFP: 2012 Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking, Lincoln, Nebraska, 11-13 October 2012 [info]
- Submission deadline is 15 April 2012.

International Summer School in Forced Migration, Oxford, 2-20 July 2012 [info]
- The closing date for applications is 1 May 2012.

Vacancy: Departmental Lecturership in International Refugee and Human Rights Law, Oxford, RSC [info]
- The application deadline is 4 May 2012.

FY 2012 Funding Opportunity Announcement for Global Programs for Capacity-building, Research, and Evaluations or Assessments to Help the Humanitarian Community Better Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence within Refugee and Conflict-affected Populations [info]
- Submit a proposal by 8 May 2012.

Registration is open for the following events:

On Their Own: Protecting the Rights of Immigrant Children, Washington DC, 24-26 April 2012 [info]

2012 Voices of Courage Awards, New York, 4 May 2012 [info]

CARFMS12: Restructuring Refuge and Settlement, Toronto, 16-18 May 2012 [info]

NGO Security Conference 2012 - From Paper to Practice: Implementing Security, Amsterdam, 31 May 2012 [info]

Cents-ible Justice: Affordable Solutions for Refugees and Immigrants, CCR Spring Consultation 2012, Fredericton, Canada, 31 May-2 June 2012 [info]

4th Asia Pacific Consultation on Refugee Rights (APCRR4), Seoul, 22-24 August 2012 [info]

2012 Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking, Lincoln, Nebraska, 11-13 October 2012 [info]

Migration in a Changing World: Where Do We Go Now?, Online Conference, 5-9 November 2012 [info]

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Focus on Climate Change/Environmental Displacement

Publications:

Addressing the Legal Gaps in Climate Change Migration, Displacement and Resettlement: From Sinking Islands to Flooded Deltas, Washington, DC, 3 April 2012 [info]
- Follow the link for audio of the event.

The Capability Approach to Environmental Refugees, Paper presented at Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, 22-24 March 2012 [text]

Critical Approaches to Environmental Displacement, Oxford, Jan.-March 2012 [info]
- This seminar series is now finished; podcasts of the presentations are available via FMO.

The Normative Framework of Climate Change-Related Displacement (Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, April 2012) [text]
- Paper prepared for the above-mentioned Brookings event.

Towards Recognition and Protection of Forced Environmental Migrants in the Public International Law: Refugee or IDPs Umbrella (SSRN, Dec. 2011) [text]

Will Climate Refugees Get Promised Aid? (IPS, April 2012) [text]

New web site:

UK Climate Change and Migration Coalition [access]
- Established "to challenge the lack of long-term strategies to support and protect people at risk of displacement linked to environmental change."

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

Memories of Displacement

Several books and journal articles have recently been or are due to be published that focus in some way on "memory"; here's a partial listing:

Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2012) [info]

The Lost German East: Forced Migration and the Politics of Memory, 1945-1970 (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2012) [info]

"Negotiating the Humanitarian Past: History, Memory, and Unstable Cityscapes in Kampala, Uganda," Refugee Survey Quarterly, Advance Access, 3 Feb. 2012 [abstract]

Oral History, Community, and Displacement: Imagining Memories in Post-Apartheid South Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) [info]

"Palestinian Autobiographical Memory Regarding the 1948 Palestinian Exodus," Political Psychology, vol. 32, no. 2 (April 2011) [abstract]

The oral history approach is one of the main methodologies used for capturing memories of displacement experiences. This training toolkit explains how to undertake an oral history project. As an example, here's a collection of "refugees' stories of loss, exile and rebuilding."

Other methodologies are described in the "Education" section of the Mapping Memories: Experiences of Refugee Youth web site, in the companion book entitled Mapping Memories: Participatory Media, Place-based Stories & Refugee Youth, and in "Mapping Memories of Displacement: Oral History, Memoryscapes, and Mobile Methodologies," a chapter in Place, Writing, and Voice in Oral History (Palgrave Macmillan, Nov. 2011).

Tagged Publications.

Humanitarian Information: Access, Assessment & Management

Events & opportunities:

Establishing Effective Partnerships for Humanitarian Research and Practice, London and Live Online, 17 April 2012 [info]
- "This event launches the report "Effective academic-humanitarian collaboration: A practical resource to support academic and humanitarian organisations working together". The event, hosted by the Humanitarian Practice Network, will showcase the Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA) study in greater depth. There will be a panel discussion around the value of partnerships, a presentation from one of the case studies and a demonstration of how to use the Online Guide."

FY 2012 Funding Opportunity Announcement for Research Projects to Strengthen Evidence-Based Humanitarian Decision Making by PRM and its Partners Worldwide [info]
- Funding will be prioritized "for projects involving research, assessment, formative evaluation, and the development of tools, operational guidance, and/or best practices to strengthen evidence-based humanitarian decision-making concerning one or more of the following topics/research questions: Partnerships with Local NGOs; Sustaining Returns; Education as Protection; Comparing Modes of Assistance; Impacts of Statelessness on Women and Children; Capacity to Care for Refugees with Significant Medical Conditions." The deadline for submitting a proposal is 8 May 2012.

Other related resources:

"Dealing with Disaster Databases: What Can We Learn from Health and Systematic Reviews?" PLoS Currents Disasters (Oct. 2011) [open access]

"Evidence for Disaster Risk Reduction, Planning and Response: Design of the Evidence Aid Survey," PLoS Currents Disasters (Oct. 2011) [open access]

Finding Online Information Resources (INFORM, 2010) [text]

"Health and Human Rights in Scientific Literature: A Systematic Review over a Decade (1999-2008)," Health and Human Rights, no. 13.2 (Dec. 2011) [open access]

"Humanitarian Information Management Network Effectiveness: An Analysis at the Organizational and Network Levels," iConference '11: Proceedings of the 2011 iConference (ACM, 2011) [abstract]

The OCHA Sitrep: Open Access and Political Pressure in Humanitarian Information (University of California, Berkeley, 2009) [text]

Promoting Innovation and Evidence-based Approaches to Building Resilience and Responding to Humanitarian Crises (DFID, Feb. 2012) [text]
- See related blog comment.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Events after the Fact

The Arab Spring and Beyond: Human Mobility, Forced Migration and Institutional Responses, Oxford, 20 March 2012 [info]
- Read a brief summary of the event.

Detention of Immigrants: Enforcement, Non-compliance, and Punishment, Geneva, 8 March 2012 [info]
- Follow link for video.

EU Funding on Migration, Integration and Asylum: Testing the Added Value, Brussels, 7 March 2012 [info]
- See statement submitted by NGOs on this issue.

International Association of Refugee Law Judges, Australasian Chapter, Melbourne, 3 February 2012 [info]
- Presentation by John Menadue on "A Regional Cooperation Framework."

The Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, London, 22 February 2012 [meeting summary]

New Challenges in Refugee Integration Series, London, Oct. 2011-March 2012 [info]
- Follow link for access to summaries of the various seminars.

Ockenden International Lecture, Oxford, 7 February 2012 [info]
- Follow link for video.

Queer Cases, Great Law: The Fast-developing Field of LGBTI Refugee Law, London, 13 March 2012 [podcast]

Shared Responsibility in International Refugee Law, Amsterdam, 30 May 2011 [info]
- The seminar report is available here.

Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, 22-24 March 2012 [info]
- Several papers on refugees were presented.

Strategies for Combating Xenophobic Violence, Washington, DC, 29 February 2012 [info]
- Audio for the event is available here.

Working Group on Resettlement Meeting, Melbourne, 20-23 February 2012 [overview]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Focus on Human Trafficking & Smuggling

Events (past and future):

Ending Human Trafficking, or Something Else?, Washington, DC, 13 April 2012 [info]
- "This event aims to probe deeper into just how governments and advocates define the problem of trafficking, and how these different perspectives play out on the ground. For example, does “trafficking” encompass all forced labor? Does “trafficking” encompass all acts involving the sale of sex? Are these conceptions of trafficking consistent with international anti-trafficking law – and does that even matter? How have these perspectives shaped advocacy efforts on the ground? Most importantly, have these interventions brought us any closer to a world without trafficking?"

Fighting Human Trafficking: Partnership and Innovation to End Violence against Women and Girls, New York, 3 April 2012 [info]
- Listen to the proceedings via the UN Audio Library, here and here.

Publications:

Comprehensive Strategy to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (UNODC, March 2012) [text]

Human Trafficking in Calgary: Informing a Localized Response (ACT Alberta et al., March 2012) [text]

"Myths and Reality of Human Trafficking: A View from Southeast Asia," Interdisciplinary Political Studies, vol. 2, no. 1 (March 2012) [text]

Smuggling and Trafficking: Rights and Intersections (GAATW, 2011; posted March 2012) [text]
- See also related FAQs: "Human Rights in Migrant Smuggling" and "Smuggling and Trafficking Intersections."

A Thematic Compilation of Executive Committee Conclusions, Smuggling and Trafficking (UNHCR, June 2011) [text]

Web resource:

Special Feature Web Page: Trafficking in Human Beings (UNHCR, 2012) [access]

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

New Paper on "Particular Social Group"

The latest title in UNHCR's Legal and Protection Policy Research Series has been published: The 'Ground with the Least Clarity': A Comparative Study of Jurisprudential Developments relating to 'Membership of a Particular Social Group'. Here's a description of the paper's purpose:

The purpose of the present study is to assess jurisprudential developments in the case law in both common law and civil law jurisdictions over the past decade. In particular the study assesses and explores the degree to which courts have continued to invoke one or both of the dominant interpretative approaches [i.e., 'protected characteristics' and 'social perception'], evaluates the extent to which new tests or elements of the tests have emerged, and undertakes a critical analysis of the state of jurisprudential interpretation of PSG today. In addition, the study examines the extent to which interpretation of the MPSG ground has evolved to meet the protection needs of emerging groups and those historically overlooked in refugee law analysis. In addition to relevant legislative developments, the study has drawn on jurisprudence at all levels (from tribunals through to superior courts) in the key common law jurisdictions of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, and Ireland and South Africa where possible,13 as well as case law at both the judicial and tribunal level in the key civil law jurisdictions of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain.

Other papers in this series are available here. Additional analyses of "particular social group" that have been posted on this blog can be found by browsing the relevant subject label.


Tagged Publications.

Guidelines on Statelessness

Further to this previous post, UNHCR has published a second Guidelines on Statelessness on "Procedures for Determining whether an Individual is a Stateless Person." Here's the focus:

These Guidelines address procedures that are aimed specifically, if not exclusively, at determining whether an individual is stateless. Moreover, the focus of these Guidelines is on the concept of stateless person as defined in the 1954 Convention and on the obligations of States that are party to the 1954 Convention. Some consideration is given to States not bound by this treaty and on the identification of de facto stateless persons. Although an individual can be a stateless person and a refugee as per the 1954 Convention and the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Convention) respectively, a stateless refugee will benefit from the protection of the 1951 Convention. The 1954 Convention was primarily developed to regulate the treatment of stateless persons who are not refugees.

The third Guidelines will likely address "The Status of Stateless Persons at the National Level."

Tagged Publications.

Focus on Health Issues

UNHCR has published public health guidance in the form of the following titles:

• Epidemic Preparedness and Response in Refugee Camp Settings [text]
• A Guidance Note on Health Insurance Schemes for Refugees and Other Persons of Concern to UNHCR [text]
• Guidance for Public Health Interventions for Repatriation [text]
• Laboratory Services in UNHCR-Supported Primary Health Care Facilities: Principles and Guidelines [text]

Additional health-related titles include:

"Access to Primary Health Care Services by Community-based Asylum Seekers," Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 195, no. 4 (Dec. 2011) [full-text]

Improving Care for Refugees and Asylum Seekers: The Experiences of Midwives (Maternity Action, Dec. 2011) [text]
- See also related article in Women's Asylum News.

"Protecting the Right to Health of Internally Displaced Mothers and Children: The Imperative of Inter-cluster Coordination for Translating Best Practices into Effective Participatory Action," Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, vol. 17, no. 12 (2011) [full-text]

Silent Harm: A Report Assessing the Situation of Repatriated Children's Psycho-social Health (UNICEF Kosovo, March 2012) [text via Refworld]

Tagged Publications.

Focus on Burmese IDPs/Refugees

IRIN has compiled a new "In Depth" series of reports on Myanmar, which includes analysis of international aid worker access and what the future may hold for Rohingyas.

Other Burma-related items:

Humanitarian Situation and Response Plan in Kachin (OCHA, March 2012) [text]

Myanmar 'Reforms' Elude Kachin Refugees (IPS, March 2012) [text]

"Rethinking the 'Refugee Warrior': The Karen National Union and Refugee Protection on the Thai–Burma Border," Journal of Human Rights Practice, Advance Access, 6 March 2012 [free full-text]

"Sacred Spaces of Karen Refugees and Humanitarian Aid Across the Thailand-Burma Border," Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, vol. 4, no. 2 (2011) [open access text]

Seeking Refuge, Finding Alienation (Mint, April 2012) [text]
- Profile of Burmese in India.

"Untold Miseries": Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Burma's Kachin State (Human Rights Watch, March 2012) [text]

Tagged Publications.

New or Updated Web Sites

Bedoon Rights [access]
- A site that documents the "human rights situation of Kuwait's stateless community."

Global Observatory (International Peace Institute) [access]
- Provides "analysis of global issues." See esp. articles tagged "humanitarian."

International Refugee Law Blog [access]
- New blog from the ABA's International Refugee Law committee.

RED Early Warning System/Atlas of Racism & Discrimination (RED Network) [access]
- "[A]ims at reporting and documenting racist and hate crime and discrimination situations and incidents, as well as positive initiatives and policy responses."

Refugee Law Reader (Hungarian Helsinki Committee) [access]
- 6th edition launched; now "more comprehensive in scope."

Refugee Lives (Northwestern University) [access]
- Project involving students traveling to Amman, Jordan, the Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi, and the Osire Camp in Namibia, and reporting on refugees' experiences.

Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat (RMMS) [access]
- "The overall objective of the RMMS is to support agencies, institutions and forums in the Horn of Africa and Yemen sub-region to improve the management of protection and assistance response to people in mixed migration flows in the Horn of Africa and across the Gulf of Aden or Red Sea in Yemen."

RLI Hub (Refugee Law Initiative) [access]
- Will "support sharing, collaboration and dissemination of information by academics and non-academics, refugee law scholars and practitioners."

UNHCR in Arabic [access]
- Read the press release for more info.

[Image credit: UNHCR launches new global Arabic website]

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

Focus on Statelessness

The Bidoon: A Solution in Sight? (Statelessness Programme Blog, March 2012) [text]

Ensuring the Right of all Children to Acquire a Nationality: Using the 50th Anniversary of Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness to Promote Accession (UNHCR, June 2011) [text]

Guidance Document on Measuring Stateless Populations (UNHCR, May 2011) [text]

Kuwait: Rearrests of Stateless a Big Step Backward (World Bridge Blog, April 2012) [text]

Nationality and Statelessness (International Judicial Monitor, Winter 2012) [text]

Nationality and Statelessness (Oxford Bibliographies, 2012) [extract]

Stateless in Bakassi: How a Changed Border Left Inhabitants Adrift (Open Society Blog, April 2012) [text]

Statelessness: A Human Rights Crisis (Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, 2012) [access]
- Project on statelessness with reports on stateless populations in Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, and Kenya.

Statelessness in the UK: "My Biggest Worry is Staying Like This" (openDemocracy, March 2012) [text]

[Image credit: Statelessness: A Human Rights Crisis, Pulitzer Center]

Tagged Publications.

Legal Items

Addressing Systemic Obstacles to Restitution in Kosovo: Legal Aid as a Fact Finding Tool (TerraNullius Blog, March 2012) [text]

"Batterers As Agents of the State: Challenging the Public/Private Distinction in Intimate Partner Violence-Based Asylum Claims," Harvard Journal of Law & Gender, vol. 35, no. 1 (Winter 2012) [full-text]

Case Watch: Inter-American Court to Consider Refugee Status Determinations (Open Society Blog, March 2012) [text]

Has the Refugee Convention Outlived its Usefulness? (IRIN, March 2012) [text]

"The Invisible Refugee: Examining the Board of Immigration Appeals' 'Social Visibility' Doctrine," Missouri Law Review, vol. 76, no. 2 (2011) [full-text]

The Way to be in a PSG: Obama's New Guidelines on LGBTI Asylum ((non)Citizens of the World, March 2012) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Focus on the Middle East

A "New Humanitarianism" at Play in Syrian Crisis (IRIN, March 2012) [text]

Roundtable on Improving Prospects for Durable Solutions for Iraqi Internally Displaced Person and Refugees, Washington, DC, 24 Feb. 2012 [info]
- Follow link for meeting report.

Update #3: Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) Residents and the Determination of their Refugee Status Claims (UNHCR, March 2012) [text]

UNAMI Newsletter, no. 20 (February 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]
- The focus of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq during February was displacement (see p. 2); see also "UN-Habitat: Addressing IDP camps and informal settlements in Baghdad" (p. 6).

"When 'Humanitarianism' Becomes 'Development': The Politics of International Aid in Syria's Palestinian Refugee Camps," American Anthropologist, vol. 114, no. 1 (March 2012) [free full-text]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

Africa: Cessation, Repatriation

UNHCR's recent overview of its operational strategies in Africa references its "search for durable solutions" for several longstanding refugee situations. This includes applying the cessation clause to Angolan, Liberian and Rwandan refugees (see also earlier post) and promoting voluntary repatriation for various populations, as described below:

Burundi-Tanzania: Refugees Face Mounting Pressure to Go Home (IRIN, Feb. 2012) [text]

Dadaab at 20: Kenya’s Unwanted City (Think Africa Press, March 2012) [text]

Days Numbered for Liberian Refugees in Ghana (Liberian Times, March 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

IOM: Impossible to Meet April Deadline for Repatriating South Sudanese (VOA News, March 2012) [text]

IOM Resumes Voluntary Repatriation Of Angolan Refugees (IOM, Feb. 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

IOM Returns 2,300 South Sudanese by Train; Welcomes Sudan and South Sudan's Framework Agreement to Protect Basic Freedoms of All Citizens (IOM, March 2012) [text]

Kenya: Somalia Unsafe for Refugees to Return (Human Rights Watch, March 2012) [text]

A Long Time Gone: Are Conditions Right for the Return of Congolese Refugees from Tanzania?, Dissertation submitted to the Department of Politics (University of York, 2011) [abstract]

Rwanda's Genocide Refugees and Invocation of the 1951 Refugee Convention's Section C's Cessation Clause (Birdsong's Law Blog, March 2012) [text]

Rwandan Refugees Still Reluctant to Repatriate (IRIN, March 2012) [text]

UNHCR Completes Repatriation of more than 24,000 Mauritanians (UNHCR, March 2012) [text]

Even as some refugee situations are coming to a close in Africa, new crises are unfolding such as the one in Mali. For updates, visit UNHCR's Mali Emergency page, ReliefWeb's information, and IRIN's reports.

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.