31 July 2010

Things to do in August and September...

Strengthening Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Refugee and Internally Displaced Person (IDP) Settings, Nairobi, 2-13 August 2010 [info]
- Training organized by the Centre for African Family Studies.

Delivering Relief in Emergencies: Saving lives and protecting livelihoods through relief assistance, Nairobi, 23-26 August 2010 [info]
- This course "covers the main approaches of emergency relief, including an introduction to nutritional assessments, and focuses on the planning and implementation of various types of relief interventions." Registration deadline is 12 August 2010.

Basics of International Humanitarian Response Workshop, Hua Hin, Thailand, 27 September-4 October 2010 [info]
- Workshop which aims "to acquaint the participants with the purpose and practices of emergency management." Apply by 20 August 2010.

Call for Papers: Drowning Island Nations: Legal Implications and Remedies, Spring 2011 [info]
- A conference will be convened in the Spring of 2011 at Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law to explore legal issues facing low-lying island nations as climate change causes sea levels to rise, including "statehood and statelessness." Submit abstracts by 1 September 2010.

Protecting Unaccompanied Child Asylum Seekers – Improving Local Provision Through Multi-Agency Working, Westminster, UK, 9 September 2010 [info]

7th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, Stockholm, 9-11 September 2010 [info]
- The section on "Emergency of Humanitarian World Politics" includes a round table and four panels on different aspects of humanitarianism.

Faith-based humanitarianism: The response of faith communities and faith-based organizations in contexts of forced migration, Oxford, 22 September 2010 [info]
- Hosted by the Refugee Studies Centre.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

30 July 2010

New Issue of IJRL

The International Journal of Refugee Law's latest issue (vol. 22, no. 3, Oct. 2010) includes the following articles:
  • What Assumptions about Human Behaviour Underlie Asylum Judgments?
  • The Mandate Refugee Program: a Critical Discussion
  • Beyond Borders: Cosmopolitanism and Family Reunification for Refugees in Canada
  • Human Rights, Non-refoulement and the Protection of Refugees in Hong Kong
Also in this issue are two book reviews and a German legal decision.

Tagged Periodicals.

New Issues of Dev. in Pract., HR Brief, Intl. J. Migr. Health & Soc. Care, JCR, JIMI, JPR

Development in Practice, vol. 20, no. 6 (2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Human Rights Brief, vol. 17, no. 4 (Spring 2010) [full-text]
- Special edition issue, featuring presentations from the conference "Strengthening the Prohibition against Torture: The Evolution of the UN Committee against Torture."

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 6, no. 1 (Feb. 2010) [contents]
- Theme for this issue is "Migration, Health and Social Networks." Includes "Refugees from Myanmar and their Health Care Needs in the US: A Qualitative Study at a Refugee Resettlement Agency."

Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 54, no. 4 (August 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles including "Burden Sharing in the Funding of the UNHCR: Refugee Protection as an Impure Public Good."

Journal of International Migration and Integration, vol. 11, no. 3 (August 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles including a book review of Jason Hart's Years of Conflict: Adolescence, Political Violence and Displacement.

Journal of Peace Research, vol. 47, no. 4 (July 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles including "Armed Conflicts, 1946—2009."

Tagged Periodicals.

29 July 2010

New Issue of Georgetown Immigration Law Journal


Georgetown Immigration Law Journal's latest issue (vol. 24, no. 2, Winter 2010) features several articles on asylum seekers and refugees, including:

  • The Development of Gender as a Basis for Asylum in United States Immigration Law and Under the United Nations Refugee Convention: Case Studies of Female Asylum Seekers From Cameroon, Eritrea, Iraq and Somalia
  • Prosecution or Persecution: Contradictions Between U.S. Foreign Policy & the Adjudication of Asylum Claims Involving the Harboring of North Korean Refugees
  • A Solution: An Approach to Addressing Fear-Based Claims Within the Religious Conservative Community and its Application to a Current Refugee Concern
  • North Korean Border-Crossers in Yanbian: The "Protection Gap" Between the Economic Migrant and Refugee Regimes
Also in this issue is a discussion of temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians.

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Asylum Policy/EU, Classified Info./NZ, Climate Change/Asia, Detention/Greece, Health Services/Uganda, Land & Natural Dis.

Asia's Response to Climate Change and Natural Disasters: Implications for an Evolving Regional Architecture (CSIS, July 2010) [text via ReliefWeb]

"Casualties of Disharmony: The Exclusion of Asylum Seekers Under the Auspices of the Common European Asylum System," Emory International Law Review, vol. 24, no. 1 (2010) [full-text]

Greece: Irregular migrants and asylum-seekers routinely detained in substandard conditions (Amnesty International, July 2010) [text]

Land and Natural Disasters: Guidance for Practitioners (UNHABITAT et al., 2010) [text via UN Pulse]

"Perceptions about human rights, sexual and reproductive health services by internally displaced persons in northern Uganda," African Health Sciences, vol. 9(S2) (Oct. 2009) [full-text]

Safeguarding New Zealand's Borders? (IARLJ, posted July 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

26 July 2010

Blogs: Asylum Seekers/Hong Kong, Humanitarian Assistance, PRRN, UNHCR/Central Europe

Global Humanitarian Assistance Blog [access]
- Commentary on funding for humanitarian assistance.

PRRN: The Blog of the Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet [access]
- Forum for personal observations on the Palestinian refugee issue from members of the PRRN.

Seeking Refuge [access]
- Provides a forum for asylum seekers in Hong Kong to tell their stories and share their experiences.

UNHCR Central Europe Blog [access]
- Stories and anecdotes from refugees in Central European countries.

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

25 July 2010

Publications: Burmese/Malaysia, Darfur Voices, FIDH Regional Seminar, IDPs & Reinteg., Tuberculosis,

Darfurian Voices: Documenting Darfurian Refugees' Views on Issues of Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation (24 Hours for Darfur, July 2010) [text]

The end of the road? A review of UNHCR's role in the return and reintegration of internally displaced populations, PDES/2010/09 (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

Migrations internationales: Travailleurs migrants, demandeurs d’asile et réfugiés en Europe de l’Est, Asie centrale et Caucase du sud (FIDH, July 2010) [French text] [English text]
- Conference report from FIDH's regional seminar.

"Tuberculosis: evidence review for newly arriving immigrants and refugees," CMAJ, early release (July 2010) [text]

World Refugee Day, June 20th: Reflecting on the Plight of Burmese Refugees in Malaysia (Untold Stories Blog, June 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

23 July 2010

Statelessness Focus: Information Resources, Job Opportunities

Information resources:

"Forced migration and asylum: stateless citizens today," Chapter 10 in Migration in a Globalised World: New Research Issues and Prospects (Amsterdam University Press, 2010) [text]
- Scroll down to p. 183.

Locked out: The 12 million people without a country, and their need to become a citizen (Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, July 2010) [text]

The Struggle against Statelessness Advances in Strasbourg (Open Society Blog, July 2010) [text]

UNHCR Executive Committee Conclusions related to Statelessness (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

United Nations General Assembly Resolutions of particular relevance to statelessness and nationality (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

Viet Nam ends stateless limbo for 2,300 former Cambodians (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

Job opportunities:

Asylum Aid is seeking to fill two consultancies for its joint project with UNHCR on statelessness in the UK: a Senior Legal Researcher and a Demographer/Statistician. Apply by 29 July 2010.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

22 July 2010

New SSRN Papers

A Different Way Home: Resettlement Patterns in Northern Uganda (posted May 2010) [text]

Enhancing the Capacity of the Externally Displaced in the Post-War Reconstruction of Sudan: An Exploratory Qualitative Study on Development, Civil Society, and Good Governance with Sudanese Refugees at Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya (posted May 2010) [text]

From the Right to Asylum to Migration Management: The Legal-Political Construction of 'A Refugee' in the Post-Communist Czech Republic (posted July 2010) [text]

Internally Displaced Persons: Protection Measures Under International Human Rights Framework (posted June 2010) [text]

Media Representation of Human Trafficking in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada (posted July 2010) [text]

News Frames and Story Triggers and in the Media’s Coverage of Human Trafficking (posted July 2010) [text]

Refusing 'Refuge' in the Pacific: (De)Constructing Climate-Induced Displacement in International Law (posted July 2010) [text]

Understanding Human Trafficking in South Africa: A Theoretical Perspective (posted June 2010) [text]

UNHCR's Parallel Universe: Marking the Contours of a Problem (posted June 2010) [text]

Women, Vulnerability and Humanitarian Emergencies (posted May 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

21 July 2010

50 Years of EXCOM: 1959-2009

To mark the 50-year tenure of UNHCR's Executive Committee (EXCOM), the UNHCR Global Report for 2009 includes a brief history and timeline that highlights the major refugee events of the past decades and the important role that EXCOM has played over the years. To learn more about EXCOM, its mandate, members, rules of procedure and much more, visit the relevant section of the UNHCR web site. You can also access full-text documents disseminated during annual meetings as of the 41st session in 1990.

Not much has been written about EXCOM generally. In 1990 the now-defunct Centre for Documentation on Refugees (CDR) compiled EXCOM in Abstracts: A Bibliographic Description of Documentation Issued in the Context of UNHCR's Governing Bodies and Major International Refugee Conferences 1951-1990, which summarizes the official documentation submitted to the advisory bodies of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1951 to 1990, that is, EXCOM and the two entities which preceded it: the High Commissioner's Advisory Committee and the United Nations Refugee Fund (UNREF) Executive Committee. The editor's introduction provides a useful overview of these three bodies, while a separate article by Anders Johnsson reviews the origins of the current Executive Committee and its mandate.

Elsewhere, some additional background information on and analysis of the role of EXCOM can be found in:

Jackson, Ivor, "Some International Protection Issues Arising During the 1970s and 1980s with Particular Reference to the Role of the UNHCR Executive Committee," Refugee Survey Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 1 (2008) [abstract]

Mason, Elisa, "Resolving Refugee Problems: An Introduction to the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner's Programme and Its Documentation," Journal of Government Information, vol. 27, no. 1 (January 2000) [abstract]

Sztucki, Jerzy, "The Conclusions on the International Protection of Refugees Adopted by the Executive Committee of the UNHCR Programme," International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 1, no. 3 (1989) [abstract]

Warner, Daniel, "Forty Years of the Executive Committee: From the Old to the New," International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 2, no. 2 (April 1990) [abstract]

[Picture credit: "UNHCR: 2009 Executive Committee Meeting," UN-NGLS]

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

20 July 2010

Asylum Claims based on Accusations of Witchcraft

UNHCR and Fahamu Refugee Programme are co-hosting a course entitled "Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights: A course for lawyers and legal advisers." It promises to "to arm lawyers and legal advisers with the information, networks and resources they require to represent those accused of witchcraft. Participants will learn how to best represent those whose claims to asylum are based upon accusations of witchcraft, an emerging area of refugee law in which there is a need for specialized knowledge and training." This event will be held 4-5 September 2010 in Oxford. The deadline for registering is 21 August 2010.

Other witchcraft-related resources:

Children Accused of Witchcraft: An anthropological study of contemporary practices in Africa (UNICEF, April 2010) [text]

Victims of Accusations of Witchcraft (Rights in Exile Programme) [access]
- Resource page.

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

"Witchcraft and Displacement," Forced Migration Review, no. 31 (Oct. 2008) [text]

Witchcraft, Displacement and Human Rights Network [access]
- A blog with regular news and information updates.

Witches in the 21st Century (OHCHR, August 2009) [access]
- News report from the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston.

[Picture credit: "Examination of a Witch," in Salem Witch Trials, Wikipedia]

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

New Issues of Child Dev., Diversity in Health & Care, Global R2P, Refugee Watch, Women's Asylum News

Child Development, vol. 81, no. 4 (July/August 2010) [contents]
- Includes a special focus on disasters and their impact on child development; a number of the preprint versions of these articles are available in the documents section of the Society for Research in Child Development web site, including "Defining Best Practice in Care and Protection of Children in Crisis-Affected Settings: A Delphi Study."

Diversity in Health and Care, vol. 7, no. 2 (June 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles; includes "Social support and health: immigrants' and refugees' perspectives" and "Improving reach: promoting engagement by building bridges between refugee women and the voluntary sector."

Global Responsibility to Protect, vol. 2, no. 3 (June 2010) [contents]
- Focus is on R2P and international law.

Refugee Watch: A South Asian Journal on Forced Migration, no. 35 (June 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles; published by the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group.

Women's Asylum News, no. 93 (July 2010) [full-text via Refworld]
- Lead article is "Women's Asylum Charter: Two Years On."

Tagged Periodicals.

19 July 2010

Publications: Asylum Stats./EU, Detention, Humanitarianism/Afgh. & Sri Lanka, IDP Stats., Natural Disaster Resp., Rescue at Sea, Stateless Persons

Asylum applicants and first instance decisions on asylum applications in Q1 2010 (EUROSTAT, July 2010) [text]

Distant Voices, Shaken Lives: Human Stories of Immigration Detention (Refugee Action Group, 2010) [text]

How do International Financial Flows to Developing Countries Respond to Natural Disasters? (IMF, July 2010) [text via ReliefWeb]

Internal displacement caused by conflict and violence (IDMC, July 2010) [text]

New Research on the State of the Humanitarian Enterprise (FIC, 2010) [access]
- Two papers on Afghanistan and Sri Lanka now available.

Sovereignty at Sea: The law and politics of saving lives in the Mare Liberum (DIIS, July 2010) [text]

Unraveling Anomaly: Detention, Discrimination and the Protection Needs of Stateless Persons (Equal Rights Trust, July 2010) [text] [summary]

Tagged Publications.

Events & Opportunities: Courses, Jobs, Lists, Meetings, Survey

Courses:

ELENA Training Course, "The Common European Asylum System," Athens, 17-18 September 2010
- Register by 21 July 2010.

New introductory e-course on rights of refugees and displaced persons [info]
- Offered by Human Rights Education Associates.

Job vacancies:


Research Fellow/Post-Doctoral Fellow in Statistics or Demography, FMSP [info]
- Apply by 1 August 2010.

Senior Policy Officer - Forced Displacement, ICVA [info]
- Apply by 1 August 2010.

Lists:

Immigration Detention Discussion List
- "We are convening a new, moderated email list-serve. It will be of interest to academics and practitioners who would like to continue exploring the issue of immigration detention raised at the workshop. You are welcome to join whether or not you attended the workshop. Please email Stephanie Silverman for more details: stephanie.silverman@sant.ox.ac.uk."

SRLAN List [info]
- Circulates announcements relevant to refugee legal aid.

Meetings:

Environmental Degradation and Conflict: From Vulnerabilities to Capabilities, Bielefeld, Germany, 5-9 December 2010 [info]
- "Aims to shed light on the complex dynamics of environmentally induced migration and the associated societal processes." Submit abstract for paper by 15 August 2010.

Responding to Internal Displacement in Colombia: Perspectives from Government, International Organizations and other Stakeholders, Washington, DC, 23 July 2010 [info]
- Convened by the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement.

Survey:

FMO User Survey 2010 [access]
- Help FMO with future planning.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

15 July 2010

Publications: Asylum/EU, Cessation, Children in Detention, Education, Human Traff. & AIDS, Livelihoods/Ethiopia, Malta

Asylum Policy in the European Union: An Examination of the Reception Conditions Directive and Housing Facilities for Asylum Seekers in Malta (SSRN, June 2010) [text]

Detention of Children (Refugee Council, July 2010) [text]

ECRE Memorandum to the Belgian Presidency (ECRE, July 2010) [text]

Focus on Education in Emergencies (IIEP, May-August 2010) [access]

Practicing Cessation (IntLawGrrls Blog, July 2010) [text]

"Sex Trafficking and HIV/AIDS: A Deadly Junction for Women and Girls," Human Rights, vol. 37, no. 2 (Spring 2010) [text]

Struggling to Make a Living in Ethiopia: Surviving in the Informal Economy (Women's Refugee Commission, July 2010) [text]

[Picture credit: IIEP]

Tagged Publications.

Thematic Reports: ECRE Country Reports, Global Humanitarian Assistance, UPR Submissions

Country Reports 2009: Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine (ECRE, July 2010) [access]
- "ECRE’s Eastern Europe project is publishing reports on the situation for IDPs, refugees and asylum seeker in the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation and Ukraine in 2009. As well as describing the situation for these groups of people, the reports also contain recommendations to governmental and international agencies on how to improve their protection."

Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2010 (Development Initiatives, July 2010) [access]
- "...GHA Report 2010 attempts to track: the response to need, the provision of finance, the actors involved, the funding mechanisms used, and the countries and projects prioritised."

UNHCR Submissions for the "Universal Periodic Review" (July 2010) [access]
- Includes submissions for Australia, Estonia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Rwanda, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Lucia.

Tagged Publications.

14 July 2010

Periodicals: New Issues of Fahamu Refugee News, Humanit. Exch., Intervention; FMR CFP

New Issues:

Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter, no. 5 (June 2010) [full-text]
- News and information for refugee legal aid providers.

Humanitarian Exchange Magazine, no. 47 (June 2010) [full-text]
- Focus is "Humanitarian Security Management."

Intervention: International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict, vol. 8, no. 2 (July 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles.

Call for Papers:

Forced Migration Review (FMR) has issued a call for papers for its upcoming issue on "non-state armed groups." The deadline for submissions is 1 November 2010.

Tagged Periodicals and Events & Opportunities.

Human Trafficking Resources Explore Linkages with Gender Issues, Migration, Labour

The Global Alliance against Traffic in Women (GAATW) held its international conference in Bangkok, 6-7 July 2010. The theme was "Beyond Borders: Trafficking in the Context of Migrant, Labour and Women's Rights." Here is the agenda.

This theme is further explored in a series of working papers, entitled "Beyond Borders: Exploring Trafficking's Links to Gender, Migration, Labour, Globalisation and Security" (see four titles listed to the right of the home page) and in the July 2010 issue of Alliance News, GAATW's magazine.

Among the articles included in this issue are "The Migrant Worker, The Refugee, and The Trafficked Person: What’s in a Label?," "The Trafficking-Refugee Nexus: When return and reintegration becomes refoulement," and "Somali Migrants in Nairobi: Challenges of recognising urban refugees and their contributions to the economy."

Tagged Events, Publications, and Periodicals.

13 July 2010

Haiti Update

Six months have passed since the earthquake in Haiti. Here are a few updates on the status of emergency response and reconstruction efforts taking place and assessments of how the population is faring.

Emergency Response after the Haiti Earthquake: Choices, Obstacles, Activities and Finance (MSF, July 2010) [text]

Haiti earthquake survivors living in appalling circumstances (JRS/USA Blog, July 2010) [text]

Haiti Six Months On (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, July 2010) [text]

Hope for Haiti? (IntLawGrrls Blog, July 2010) [text]

Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti: Achievements, Challenges and Lessons To Be Learned (OCHA, July 2010) [text]

Six Months Later: Reproductive Health Needs Still Critical in Haiti (Women's Refugee Commission Blog, July 2010) [text]

"Special Focus on Haiti," Coping with Crisis, no. 2 (2010) [full-text]

For more news and analysis, visit ReliefWeb's Haiti pages.

[Map source: OCHA, Jan. 2010]


Tagged Publications.

Two job opportunities in the U.S.

Assistant Researcher, Humanitarian Need Analysis Support Project, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA [info]
- The advert here notes that the closing date for applications is 18 July 2010.

Protection Officer, UNHCR, Washington, DC [info]
- Apply by 30 July 2010.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

12 July 2010

Multimedia: Darfuris/Chad, Diffa/Niger, Education, Elizabeth Colson Lecture, IDPs/Georgia, Iraqi Refugees, Karen/Thailand, Nansen Award, Women

3 Points [access] [access]
- Film of basketball player Tracy McGrady's trip to visit Darfuri refugee camps in Chad.

British photojournalist wins 2010 Nansen Refugee Award (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]
- View samples of Alixandra Fazzina's work by browsing the photo collection on the right.

Diffa – Pastoral Nomads in Niger [access via Towards Recognition]
- Video from the International Institute for Environment and Development.

Elizabeth Colson Lecture 2010 [access]
- Podcast of Prof. Saskia Sassen's lecture, "The complexity of powerlessness: What makes human rights law perform?," 26 May 2010.

Georgia: The forgotten generation [access via AlertNet]
- Video from Oxfam GB on the internally displaced.

Iraqi Refugees: "The Unreturned" Documentary [access via WorldBridge blog]
- Documentary co-presented by Refugees International and the International Rescue Committee at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

Karen Refugees in Thailand [access]
- New photo collection added to Forced Migration Online's database.

Targeting education on World Refugee Day [access via AlertNet]
- Podcast from UNICEF.

UNHCR Film Series for the Protection of Women and Girls (UNHCR, June 2010) [text]
- A companion guide to be used in conjunction with four films. The guide "provide(s) viewers with background information to better understand each film" and "serves as a workbook linking the films to the UNHCR Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls."

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

09 July 2010

Publications: Alert 2010, Food Aid, IDPs/Europe, Migrant Smuggling/North Africa

Alert 2010! Report on conflict, human rights and peacebuilding (Escola de Cultura de Pau, 2010) [text]

Food aid and food assistance in emergency and transitional contexts: A review of current thinking (ODI, July 2010) [text]

Long overdue: Making solutions durable for internally displaced people in Europe (NRC, May 2010) [text]
- Paper presented at Forced Migration: Challenges and Change, 3rd Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, 6 May 2010

Smuggling of migrants into, through and from North Africa: A thematic review and annotated bibliography of recent publications (UNODC, July 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

08 July 2010

New Issues of Dis. Prev. & Mgmt., Disasters, HR Brief, ICRC Rev., JEMS, Univ. Penn. Law Rev.

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 19, no. 3 (2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles including "Snapshots in time: using real-time evaluations in humanitarian emergencies."

Disasters, vol. 34, no. 3 (July 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles including "Minimization of socioeconomic disruption for displaced populations following disasters."

Human Rights Brief, vol. 17, no. 3 (Spring 2010) [full-text]
- Mix of articles.

International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 92, no. 877 (March 2010) [full-text]
- This issue focuses on "women."

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 36, no. 7 (August 2010) [contents]
- Mix of articles including "Forced Displacement, Onward Migration and Reformulations of 'Home' by Chagossians in Crawley, UK" and "Forced Migrants, Active Mothers or Desired Wives: Migratory Motivation and Self-Representation in Kosovo Albanian and Russian Women's Biographies."

University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol. 158, no. 6 (May 2010) [contents]
- Focus is on human trafficking.

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Deportation, Education, Mental Health, Minority Groups, Participation, Statelessness,

"Common mental health problems in immigrants and refugees: general approach in primary care," CMAJ (published online ahead of print July 5, 2010) [full-text; click on PDF link]

Deportation, non-deportability and ideas of membership, RSC Working Paper, no. 65 (RSC, July 2010) [text]

Overview of Statelessness: International and Japanese Context (UNHCR, April 2010) [text]

Participation Handbook for Humanitarian Field Workers (Groupe Urgence-Réhabilitation-Développement, July 2010) [English text] [French text] [Spanish text]

Refugee Education in Urban Settings (prepared for the 2010 UNHCR Annual Consultations with NGOs, Geneva, 29 June to 1 July 2010) [text]

State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2010 (Minority Rights Group International, July 2010) [access]

Tagged Publications.

07 July 2010

Events, after the fact: Immigration Detention, Legal Assistance, Natural Disasters/SE Asia, Researching Refugees

ICAR 2009/10 Seminar Series: Researching asylum seekers, refugees and migrants
- Slideshows are available for some of the seminars.

One-Day Workshop on The Meaning and Practice of Immigration Detention: Perspectives from Legal, Social, and Political Theory, University of Oxford, 21 May 2010
- Presentations/papers have been posted; see also the podcast page for audio versions of the event.

Regional Workshop on Protecting and Promoting Rights in Natural Disasters in South-East Asia: Prevention and Response, 14-15 May 2010
- Report of the workshop is now available.

Rights in Exile: Global Perspectives on Legal Assistance for Refugees and IDPs, 21 June 2010
- Use the navigation menu on the left to access a recording of the conference; there are also photos (such as the one displayed on the right) and video interviews.

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

05 July 2010

Publications: Detention Alternatives, ECRE Comments, Human Trafficking/Europe, Resettlement Projections, Sri Lankans & Elig., Women's Asylum Charter

Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum - 2 years on: impacts and actions (Women's Asylum Charter, July 2010) [text]

Comments from the European Council on Refugees and Exiles on the European Commission Proposal to recast the Asylum Procedures Directive (ECRE, May 2010) [text]

Quelles alternatives à la rétention administrative des étrangers? (France Terre d'Asile, June 2010) [text]

Trafficking in Persons to Europe for sexual exploitation (UNODC, June 2010) [text]

UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum-Seekers from Sri Lanka (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2011: Including Overview of UNHCR Resettlement Achievements in 2009, Operational Challenges and Strategic Directions for 2010-2011, 16th Annual Tripartite Consultation on Resettlement, Geneva, 6-8 July 2010 (UNHCR, June 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Events & Opportunities: Jobs, Conferences

Job vacancies:

International Publications Manager, MSF [info]
- Deadline for applying is 30 July.

Senior Consultant - Team Leader/Researcher, Analytical Review of Current Humanitarian Advocacy Practices, UNICEF [info]
- Deadline for applying is 16 July.

Senior Media Specialist/Writer, COMPAS [info]
- Deadline for applying is 16 July.

Conferences:

Displacement, Renewal and Division: Borneo Conference 2010, Curtin campus, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia, 8-9 July 2010 [info]

Double Jeopardy: International conference on the issues facing LGBTI asylum seekers and refugees, University of Greenwich, 6-7 July 2010
- Follow the conference proceedings via the blog.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

03 July 2010

Education Programmes

If you are interested in pursuing academic studies in humanitarian assistance, read on: The Geneva Center for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action (CERAH) has compiled Humanitarian Studies 2010: University Training and Education Programmes in Humanitarian Action, which "identifies and systematically presents 77 programmes offered to practising or entry-level humanitarian workers at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional levels of study." The volume begins with several essays, reflecting on education in humanitarian action including "Bridging the Gap in Humanitarian and Refugee Studies in Africa : The Role of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria."

A few other degree programmes that focus more particularly on forced migration have been brought to my attention recently, including:

American University of Cairo, Migration and Refugee Studies [info]
- Offers a graduate diploma in forced migration and refugee studies and a specialized diploma in applied psychosocial intervention for forced migrants and refugees. See also the list of courses for Fall 2010 here and here.

City University London, Global Migration [info]
- "The MA in Global Migration at City University London takes an inter-disciplinary approach drawing on sociology, law, politics, international relations, social policy, economics and anthropology. Students will be introduced to the local, national and regional impact of migration across the world. Theoretical explanations of the causes of different forms of migration – ‘refugee’, ‘forced’ and ‘free’ – and responses to migrants and their settlement patterns form a significant component of the course." Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.

Georgetown University, International Migration Studies [info]
- This programme "addresses global migration trends, national and local security conditions, and social issues driving contemporary immigration policy and enforcement." A course on "refugees and displaced persons" is required, while a course on "human trafficking" is offered as an elective.

Refugee Studies Centre, Refugee and Forced Migration Studies [info]
- This Master of Science programme is "an interdisciplinary degree taught by leading experts in the field of forced migration from international law, politics and international relations, anthropology, and other disciplines. The course enables participants to explore forced migration through a thesis, a group research essay, and a range of required courses including 'Introduction to Forced Migration', 'International Refugee and Human Rights Law', 'Asylum and the Modern State', and 'Research Methods'."

University of the Witwatersrand, Forced Migration Studies degree offerings [info]
- Offers Honours degree, Postgraduate diploma, Master of arts, and PhD in forced migration.

Many more university-level education programmes are listed in ReliefWeb's training directory.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

IDP Resources

On June 30th, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement "hosted a discussion on how the United States can improve its response to internal displacement around the world." The proceedings are available via audio. See also this comment on the WorldBridge blog re. the event. A new report entitled "Improving the U.S. Response to Internal Displacement: Recommendations to the Obama Administration and the Congress" was launched at the gathering.

Here's a copy of the Human Rights Council resolution extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (formerly "Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons"). The current Representative, Walter Kälin, will end his term in October 2010. He was appointed in September 2004.

Finally, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is seeking a Media Advisor to develop a media kit for the recently adopted Kampala Convention (also known as the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa). Check out the vacancy announcement for more info.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

02 July 2010

New Issues of KANERE, RSQ, Ref. Voices, Ref. Watch

Kakuma News Reflector (June 2010) [full-text]
- Mix of articles in this blog-format news service from Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya.

Refugee Survey Quarterly, vol. 28, nos. 2-3 (2009) [selected full-text]
- UNRWA has made three articles available in full-text from RSQ's special issue on "UNRWA and the Palestinian Refugees 60 Years Later."

Refugee Voices (Spring 2010) [full-text]
- From the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly. Lead article focuses on refugee community interpreters.

Refugee Watch Online [full-text]
- This is the online counterpart to the print version of Refugee Watch, published by the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group. To commemorate World Refugee Day, the electronic edition posted a number of articles from writers across South Asia that reflect on the displacement situation in a range of countries including Bangladesh, Burma, India, Pakistan, and on issues such as refugee urbanisation and the status of the Rohingyas.

Tagged Periodicals.

Human Trafficking Resources

Help Wanted: Hiring, Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery in the Global Economy (Verité, June 2010) [text]

Inquiry into people trafficking for sex work: final report (Parliament of Victoria, June 2010) [text]

Needs Assessment Toolkit on the Criminal Justice Response to Human Trafficking (UNODC & UN.GIFT, June 2010) [access]

Trafficking in persons, especially women and children: regional and subregional cooperation in promoting a human rights-based approach to combating trafficking in persons, UN Doc. No. A/HRC/RES/14/2 (UN General Assembly, June 2010) [text via Refworld]
- Resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council.

Tagged Publications.

Publications: Climate Change, Disaster Rev., Intl. Prot./EU, Palestinians/Lebanon, Peace Processes Yrbk.

2010 Yearbook on Peace Processes (School for a Culture of Peace, June 2010) [text]

Annual disaster statistical review 2009: the numbers and trends (CRED et al., 2010) [text via PreventionWeb]

Background Papers on Climate Change and Migration (German Marshall Fund, June 2010) [access]
- Eight papers emanating from the Fund's "Transatlantic Study Team on Climate-induced Migration."

No Refuge: Palestinians in Lebanon, RSC Working Paper, no. 64 (RSC, June 2010) [text]

Report on the application of Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection (European Commission, June 2010) [text via Refworld]

Tagged Publications.

01 July 2010

Health Resources

The health of and provision of health services to refugees and migrants are often addressed in the research literature. Here is a sampling of what has come across my screen recently:

Conference report:

Health of Migrants - The Way Forward: Report of a global consultation Madrid, Spain, 3–5 March 2010 (WHO, 2010) [text]
- This report "provides a synthesis of the key discussion points of the Consultation, its outcomes and the background materials prepared for the event."

Course:

Refugee Health Care (JHSPH Open Courseware) [access]
- Offers lecture materials, readings and other resources.

Guidelines and principles:

Canadian Guidelines for Immigrant Health (collection of articles in CMAJ: The Canadian Medical Association Journal), including:
  • Development of guidelines for recently arrived immigrants and refugees to Canada: Delphi consensus on selecting preventable and treatable conditions [text];
  • Evaluation of evidence-based literature and formation of recommendations for the Clinical Preventive Guidelines for Immigrants and Refugees in Canada [text]; and
  • Summary of clinical preventive care recommendations for newly arriving immigrants and refugees to Canada [text]
UNHCR's Principles and Guidance for Referral Health Care for Refugees and Other Persons of Concern (UNHCR, Dec. 2009) [text]

Journal article:

"Limitations on universality: the 'right to health' and the necessity of legal nationality," BMC International Health and Human Rights 10:11 (June 2010) [open access text]

Monograph:

Realizing the Right to Health, Swiss Human Rights Book, vol. 3 (Ruffer & Rub, 2009) [text]
- Includes chapters on the right to health in armed conflict and in emergencies.

Other:

For bibliographies, literature reviews and other related reference materials, visit the "health" and "mental health" pages in my forced migration research guide.

For other health-related resources referenced on this blog, browse the following subject terms:
Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

UNHCR Publications: Evaluation, Health, Protection, Standing Committee

Here's a listing of some of UNHCR's latest publications:

Evaluation:

Changing the Way UNHCR Does Business? An Evaluation of the Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming Strategy, PDES/2010/08 (June 2010) [text]

No Entry! A Review of UNHCR's Response to Border Closures in Situations of Mass Refugee Influx, PDES/2010/07 (June 2010) [text]

Health:

Inter-agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings: 2010 Revision for Field Review (Inter-agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises, June 2010) [text]

UNHCR Field Brief: Community-based approach to improve access to prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes in Dukwi refugee camp, Botswana (June 2010) [text]

UNHCR Field Brief: Improving maternal care in Dadaab refugee camps, Kenya (June 2010) [text]

UNHCR Field Brief: Support to MSM in refugee camps in Bangladesh (June 2010) [text]

Protection:

Extracts of international documents encouraging States to accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the status of stateless persons and the 1961 Convention on the reduction of statelessness (June 2010) [text]

Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons (Global Protection Cluster Working Group, June 2010) [text]

Standing Committee:

Documents and speeches from the 48th meeting of the EXCOM Standing Committee

Tagged Publications and Events.