Developing the IDP Guiding Principles

The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement were introduced in 1998. Since that time, they have been the focus of a number of studies, articles, and books. The following titles look more particularly at the process of developing the Principles, their status in international law, and their impact.

Bagshaw, Simon (2005), Developing a Normative Framework for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons , Transnational Publishers.
- This book presents the Guiding Principles as an example of how it is not always necessary to develop a treaty, or seek a "hard" law solution, in order to effectively address human rights protection issues.

Cohen, Roberta (2004), "The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: An Innovation in International Standard Setting," Global Governance, vol. 10, pp. 459–480.
- The author analyzes "the origin and development of the Guiding Principles, the reasons for their growing international usage, the validity of the reservations about them, and finally the question of whether the process that developed them truly constitutes a turning point in standard setting reflecting a greater role for the nongovernmental community in developing international norms of conduct for states."

Entwisle, Hannah (2005), "Tracing Cascades: The Normative Development of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement," Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 369-390.
- "The underlying purpose of this inquiry is twofold: one, to understand how and why States have chosen to adopt the Guiding Principles domestically, absent anyinternational legal obligation to do so, and two, to explore whether the development of the IDP norms provides any insight to lawyers seeking to enhance the overall security and protection of civilians in internal armed conflict."

Kälin, Walter (2005), "The Role of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement," Forced Migration Review, no. 24.
- Emphasizes importance of incorporating the Guiding Principles into domestic law.

Kälin, Walter (2001), "How Hard is Soft Law? The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the Need for a Normative Framework," presented at Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies RoundtableNew York, December 19, 2001.
- This lecture argues "that the preparation of a treaty or even a General Assembly declaration would not have been a realistic option when it came to protecting IDPs. ...[and] it show[s] that despite their non-binding character, the Guiding Principles are not without legal significance and that the approach chosen by the Representative has specific practical advantages."

Kälin, Walter (2000), "The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: Annotations,"
ASIL Studies in Transnational Legal Policy, no. 32.
- This text provides the legal basis for each principle enumerated in the Guiding Principles.

Phuong, Catherine (2005), "The International Protection of Internally Displaced Persons," Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law, no. 38.
- The author's second chapter provides a legal analysis/critique of the Guiding Principles.

Schmidt, Patrick (2004), "The Process and Prospects for the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement to Become Customary International Law: A Preliminary Assessment," Georgetown Journal of International Law, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 483-520.
- Reviews the typical sources of customary international law and considers whether or not the Guiding Principles meet the standard for being defined as such.

Posted in Publications.

Publications & documents focusing on women/gender

Eldis recently highlighted this title: Women in an insecure world: violence against women - facts, figures and analysis (Sept. 2005)

The UN Pulse announced the availability of this title: The World's Women 2005: Progress in Statistics (2006), which includes a chapter on violence against women.

UNESCO just published this report, focusing on gender and human trafficking: Poverty, Gender and Human Trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Rethinking Best Practices in Migration Management (Jan. 2006)

And CEDAW is currently holding its 34th session.

Posted in Publications.

Health-related resources

Malaria Control in Complex Emergencies: An Inter-Agency Field Handbook
- Developed by the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Technical Support Network on Complex Emergencies, based at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Refugee Health Research Centre, PhD Scholarships 2006
- Deadline is March 15th 2006.

UNHCR Drug Management Manual 2006: Policies, Guidelines, UNHCR List of Essential Drugs
- "Developed...to meet the immediate minimum drug needs for a basic refugee health care
system."

Posted in Publications and Events & Opportunities.

High-Level Dialogue on Intl. Migration & Development

During its 58th Session, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 58/208 calling for a high-level dialogue on international migration and development to be held in 2006. On 23 January 2006, the Secretary-General appointed Peter Sutherland as his Special Representative on Migration to assist with preparations for the upcoming meeting.

The Special Representative is specifically tasked with preparing a "comprehensive overview of studies and analyses on the multidimensional aspects of migration and development...," which will draw on the findings of the Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM), an expert body formed by the Secretary-General in 2003 which issued its final report entitled "Migration in an interconnected world: New directions for action" in October 2005.

An overview of the organizational arrangements for the meeting is provided in the Secretary-General's report, A/60/205 (8 August 2005).

As part of the lead-up to the high-level dialogue, a number of Expert Group and Coordination Meetings have been convened by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Their reports are available here.

Posted in Publications and Events.

State of the World's Minorities 2006

Minority Rights Group International published the first edition of the State of the World's Minorities last week. Regional summaries, along with articles by MRG Executive Director Mark Lattimer and human rights expert Asbjørn Eide, are available on the site. The complete text of the report can be ordered online.

MRG previously published the World Directory of Minorities, a well-respected reference book with detailed profiles of over 700 minority groups. However, the directory was not kept up-to-date, with the last edition appearing in 1997. MRG's aim is to make the State of the World's Minorities an annual publication with more current data and analysis.

See an earlier posting on this blog with descriptions of other resources on minorities.

Posted in Publications.

Latest issue of ICRC journal

The ICRC recently posted the full-text of its latest issue of the International Review of the Red Cross, no. 859 (Sept. 2005). The particular focus is on the "means of warfare" and implications for international humanitarian law and action.

Posted in Periodicals.

Underreported Humanitarian Stories of 2005

For the eighth time, Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières has issued its annual list of the top 10 most underreported humanitarian stories of the preceding year. The list this year includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chechnya, Haiti, R&D for HIV/AIDS, Northeastern India, Southern Sudan, Somalia, Colombia, Northern Uganda, and the Ivory Coast. The covering press release notes that these 10 stories captured a mere 8 minutes of nightly news coverage on the three principal U.S. TV networks during 2005.

To monitor humanitarian developments in countries around the world, visit ReliefWeb. It serves as an information clearinghouse on disasters and complex emergencies. The International Crisis Group is another useful resource for information about both new and ongoing conflict situations.

Posted in Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

Library of Congress Country Profiles

The Federal Research Division of the U.S. Library of Congress has been producing Country Profiles for its in-depth Country Studies series for a number years. Now, the Country Profiles are being updated and made available as "stand-alone" references sources. Profiles will continue to be updated, either annually or as country situations evolve.

(Thanks to the beSpacific blog for this reference.)

Posted in Publications.

Human Rights Watch World Report 2006

Human Rights Watch released its world report today. It surveys human rights violations that occurred around the world during 2005. The introduction by Executive Director Kenneth Roth reviews the main human rights issues of the past year, including U.S. policy towards torture and its detention practices, Darfur, and UN reform. While the complete report is principally available in English, a number of individual country summaries are provided in additional languages such as French, Spanish, and Arabic.

Posted in Publications.

PHR Report on Darfur

Physicans for Human Rights (PHR) has issued a new report entitled "Darfur: Assault on Survival - A Call for Security, Justice, and Restitution." Findings are based on three missions during which investigators interviewed survivors of three representative villages who were selected randomly from refugee camp populations in Chad. PHR's recommendations are included.

Posted in Publications.

Human Trafficking Web Portal

Human Trafficking Search, a new web portal, has been launched by the National MultiCultural Institute. It provides access to web-based information resources on human trafficking generally, as well as child labor, bonded labor and sex slavery practices. Its target audience is "individuals and organizations working to eliminate human trafficking."

Users can search by country or keyword, using a variety of either basic or advanced search features. No browse function is provided, nor is there information about how or what kinds of resources are selected for inclusion. More details about the selection process and collection policy would be helpful to provide users a better sense of what they might expect to find.

Examples of other information-rich sites working to eliminate human trafficking include the Global Alliance against Traffic in Women, the Coalition against Trafficking in Women, and the ChildTrafficking Digital Library.

(Thanks to the beSpacific blog for highlighting this resource.)

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

ArticleFinder: Free Journal Citation Database

ArticleFinder is an interdisciplinary journal citation database that is now freely accessible. Produced by Infotrieve, it houses over 26 million citations to journal articles. Users can also access the tables of contents of journal issues through this database.

This resource complements the other databases described in an earlier blog posting; however, fees for accessing the full-text of individual articles appear to be slightly higher than Ingenta or HighWire, ranging from $30-$50. Unique features of ArticleFinder include the ability to export/email references in various formats, including EndNote.

Posted in Web Sites/Tools.

Job Opening at Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement

There is an opening for Deputy Director at the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, located in Washington, DC. The appointment is for one year. The job description and application instructions are located at http://www.brookings.edu/admin/fps0206.htm.

The Project's web site address is http://www.brookings.edu/fp/projects/idp/idp.htm.

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

Sudanese protesters in Cairo

For developments relating to the possible forcible deportation of Sudanese protesters in Cairo, read the following news sources:

- Amnesty International
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE120032006?open&of=ENG-EGY
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGMDE120012006?open&of=ENG-EGY
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE120022006?open&of=ENG-EGY

- Human Rights Watch

- Pambazuka

- ReliefWeb

- UNHCR

Posted in Publications.

New Report on Trafficking of Burmese Refugees

The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children has released a new report entitled
Abuse Without End: Burmese Refugee Women and Children at Risk of Trafficking. The complete text is available at http://www.womenscommission.org/pdf/mm_traff.pdf or in the ReliefWeb library at http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2006/wc-mmr-01dec.pdf.

Forced Migration Review, in conjunction with the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, will publish a special issue focusing on human smuggling and trafficking in March 2006; more details at http://www.fmreview.org/forthcoming.htm.

More information on Burma is available in the Online Burma Library at http://www.burmalibrary.org/.

Posted in Publications.

New ODI Paper on Assisting Older People in Emergencies

ODI's Humanitarian Practice Network has just produced Network Paper no. 53 entitled Protecting and assisting older people in emergencies. The paper is available through ReliefWeb's online library at http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/OCHA-6K4GD3?OpenDocument.

Posted in Publications.

International Migration: Call for Papers

The editors of International Migration, a peer-reviewed academic journal on current migration issues sponsored by the International Organization forMigration (IOM), are seeking full-length research and policy analysis papers, as well as shorter manuscripts presenting policy commentary, emerging research, and data at the forefront of current policy debates and migration events.

For more details, visit <http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/Call-for-Papers-06IMIG.pdf>

For guidelines for authors, visit <http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/submit.asp?ref=0020-7985>

SAMPLE ARTICLES
Two articles from International Migration are currently available free online.

Describing the Unobserved: Methodological Challenges in Empirical Studies on Human Trafficking
Guri Tyldum and Anette Brunovskis
<http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.0020-7985.2005.00310.x>

Migration, Displacement, and Violence: Prosecuting Romanian Street
Children at the Paris Palace of Justice
Susan J. Terrio
<http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.0020-7985.2004.00300.x>

Posted in Periodicals.

Seminars and workshops on Population and Migration

The following was posted on the UNESCO Migration Mailing List. More information is available at http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=9098&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html.

Seminars and workshops on Population and Migration, Córdoba (Argentina), 21-23 February, 2006

A series of seminars and workshops on “Population and Migration” will be organized in Córdoba (Argentina) on 21-23 February 2006, within the framework of the International Forum on the Social Science - Policy Nexus.

The International Forum is organized by UNESCO in partnership with the Governments of Argentina and Uruguay and with the support of a wide range of academic and policy organizations. It will take place in four cities in Argentina and in Uruguay from February 20th to 24th, 2006, with an Opening and Closing day in Buenos Aires. Over a thousand participants are expected at the Forum.

The workshops and seminars to be held in Córdoba on 21-23 February will address core issues raised by contemporary migration flows, such as:

• forced migration and asylum
• globalization and migrants’ transnational lives and identities
• cultural and environmental impact of migration
• the legal framework of migration and migrants’ rights
• intergovernmental and regional cooperation in the elaboration of migration policies
• and scenarios for the future of migration.

The presence of policy-makers, researchers and NGO members will enable the development of new forms of cooperation between policy and social sciences, with the ambition of bringing better responses to today’s challenges.

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

ODI Research Officers Needed

The Overseas Development Institute's (ODI) Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) is seeking two research officers to "assist with the work relating to civilian protection, aid policy and other areas of research within the Group." Visit http://www.odi.org.uk/jobs/index.html for more details. The application deadline is 23 December.

Posted in Events & Opportunities.

Natural Disasters Portal

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has put together a web portal providing access to research reports, opinion, and analyses that focus on lessons learned from the Indian Ocean tsunami. The one-year anniversary of the tsumani is December 26th.

Posted in Publications and Web Sites/Tools.