Publications: Asylum Policy/EU, Employers Guide/UK, Human Trafficking/EU, Humanitarian Aid/EU, IDPs/Georgia, TIP Review

Guidance for Employers on Preventing Illegal Working: Asylum Seekers and Refugees (UK Border Agency, August 2010) [text]

Humanitarian Aid Report (Eurobarometer, July 2010) [text via ReliefWeb]

In the waiting room: Internally displaced people in Georgia (Amnesty International, August 2010) [text]

The Protection Project Review of the Trafficking in Persons Report (Protection Project, June 2010) [text]

Study on the Assessment of the Extent of Different Types of Trafficking in Human Beings in EU Countries (ICMPD, April 2010) [text]

UNHCR comments on the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection and the content of the protection granted (COM(2009)551, 21 October 2009) (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

Tagged Publications.

Writing Opportunities

Here are a few new opportunities for sharing your insights and analyses:

• Contribute a chapter to Comparative Studies of the Basic Need of Urban Refugees [info]
• Prepare an article, briefing note, book review, or resource summary for the June 2011 issue of Africa Peace & Conflict Journal that focuses on "Forced Migration, Refugees, Conflict and Peacebuilding" [info] [previous issues]
• Submit a manuscript to the Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law [info] [previous issues]
• Summarize legal developments for the ABA's International Refugee Law News [info] [previous issues]

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

Multimedia: Podcasts, Videos

Forced Migration Online (FMO) is building up a nice collection of podcasts. Two new items have just been added: the first recording of the Oxfam Archive Oral History project, which focuses on Sudan in the late 1980s, and the endnote lecture for RSC's summer school, given by Dennis McNamara on "protection."

The Audiovisual Library of International Law has made two lectures of its own available, one on "The Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council and Its Interaction with other Human Rights Procedures" and the other on "Climate Change and Population Movements."

And on the subject of climate change, Towards Recognition recently blogged about a new movie entitled "Sun Come Up" that focuses on the relocation of Carteret Islanders, whose community is succumbing to rising sea levels, to Bougainville.

[Photo credit: Oxfam / Maurice Herson]

Tagged Web Sites/Tools.

Focus on Human Trafficking

The UN General Assembly just adopted by resolution a Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The official version of the resolution is not yet available but you can view the draft text by going to the official document system of the UN (ODS), and entering the document symbol A/64/L.64 in the relevant field of the simple search box. The plan of action is included as the annex.

One of the strategies called for in the plan is for member states to "Conduct research and collect suitably disaggregated data that would enable proper analysis of the nature and extent of trafficking in persons." Human trafficking has been a growing focus of research, as witnessed by the recent publication of two special issues in the following journals:

International Migration, vol. 48, no. 4 (August 2010) [contents]
- Articles include "Untold Stories: Biases and Selection Effects in Research with Victims of Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation," "Trafficking in Persons and Development: Towards Greater Policy Coherence," "Biopolitical Management, Economic Calculation and 'Trafficked Women'," "Economics of Human Trafficking," "Trafficking and Contract Migrant Workers in the Middle East," and "Minors Travelling Alone: A Risk Group for Human Trafficking?."

Women and Criminal Justice, vol. 20, nos. 1&2 (2010) [contents]
- Articles include "Human Trafficking: The Local Becomes Global," "International News Coverage of Human Trafficking Arrests and Prosecutions: A Content Analysis," "Measures Against Human Trafficking in Japan," "Taking Trafficking to Court," "Victims of Sex Trafficking in Turkey: Characteristics, Motivations, and Dynamics," "Pimp Control and Violence: Domestic Sex Trafficking of Chicago Women and Girls," "Understanding the Complexities of Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation: The Case of Southeast Asia," "T Visas: Prosecution Tool or Humanitarian Response?," "Doors Wide Shut: Barriers to the Successful Delivery of Victim Services for Domestically Trafficked Minors in a Southern U.S. Metropolitan Area," "Methodological and Ethical Challenges to Conducting Human Trafficking Studies: A Case Study of Korean Trafficking and Smuggling for Sexual Exploitation to the United States," and "Human Sex Trafficking: The Global Becomes Local."

Note: The latter set of articles will be published in book form by Routledge in October 2010.

Undertaking appropriate and methodologically sound research remains a challenge in this subject area, as highlighted recently in this blog post, "South African trafficking report with no methodology: is this an epidemic?" The report referred to is "Tsireledzani: understanding the dimensions of human trafficking in southern Africa" and the critique is "Of Nigerians, albinos, satanists and anecdotes: A critical review of the HSRC report on human trafficking."

Tagged Publications and Periodicals.

Looking ahead to the fall...

International Refugee Law and Contemporary Challenges, 11 October-21 November 2010 [info]
- E-learning course offered by HREA and UPEACE; apply by 15 Sept. 2010

61st Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, Geneva, 4-8 October 2010 [EXCOM web site]
- No info. currently available, although some preliminary documents are.

15th International Metropolis Conference, The Hague, 4-8 October 2010 [info]
- Theme is "Justice and Migration: Paradoxes of Belonging."

First International Conference on Human Rights in Southeast Asia, Bangkok, 14-15 October 2010 [info]
- Organized by the Southeast Asian Human Rights Studies Network.

Refuge: General Call for Papers [info]
- Refuge is seeking articles for its first issue under the new editor-in-chief. "Although the issue will include papers dealing with a variety of topics, submissions regarding Canada’s recent attempt to reform its asylum system and the humanitarian response to the recent earthquake in Haiti are particularly welcome." The deadline for submissions is 29 October 2010.

IASFM13: Governing Migration, Kampala, 3-6 July 2011 [info]
- Hosted by the Refugee Law Project. Paper abstracts are due by 31 October 2010.

Tagged Events & Opportunities.

World Conference on Humanitarian Studies

The second World Conference on Humanitarian Studies will be held 2-5 June 2011, in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. This event is organized by the International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) and hosted by Tufts University in collaboration with Harvard University, Columbia University, and the Social Science Research Council. The IHSA was established during the first conference, which took place in 2009 in Groningen. Its aim is "to strengthen and advance a global network of universities, specialised research centres, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations in order to enhance a better alignment between knowledge, policy and practice in resolving humanitarian crises." The IHSA seeks to accomplish this goal in part through its World Conferences.

The second meeting will focus on "Changing Realities of Conflict and Crises." Discussions will center on four broad themes: Emerging from Protracted Crises, New Directions in Policy, Innovations in Humanitarian Practice, and Advances in Public Health and Food Security in Crises. The official call for papers/panels is not yet available, but interested parties can join a mailing list to be notified when it is issued.

Related posts:
International Humanitarian Studies Association (12 Feb. 2009)


Tagged Events & Opportunities.

New Issues of Fahamu Refugee News, Focaal, Mig. Soc., Vienna J. Intl. Const. Law

Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter, no. 6 (July 2010) [full-text]
- News and information for refugee legal aid providers. Includes article on UK reception of asylum seekers.

Focaal, no. 57 (Summer 2010) [contents]
- Includes special section on "Beyond reconciliation: Social reconstruction after the Bosnian war." The introduction to this feature is free.

Migrations Société, vol. 22, no. 129/130 [contents]
- Special thematic section on "Mineur isolé étranger: une nouvelle figure de l'altérité?"; includes "Pour une application du droit commun dans la prise en charge des mineurs isolés étrangers en quête d'asile et de protection."

Vienna Online Journal on International Constitutional Law, no. 4 (Dec. 2009) [full-text]
- The "Constitutional Developments in Austria" section focuses on the establishment of the Asylum Court.

Tagged Periodicals.

Publications: Citizenship, Financial Services/Haiti, Iraqi Asylum-Seekers, Kyrgyzstan, Professionalism, Repr. Health/Haiti, Separated Children/UK & US

"Citizenship-lite," The Broker, no. 20 (July 2010) [text]

Four Months On: A Snapshot of Priority Reproductive Health Activities in Haiti (Women's Refugee Commission, July 2010) [text]

Humanitarian Assistance: Turning Commitment and Competence into Professionalism (Health Affairs Blog, July 2010) [text]

Kyrgyzstan: Ensuring Security and Human Rights Required to Put Country Back on Course (Refugees International, July 2010) [text]

Note on the Continued Applicability of the April 2009 UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-Seekers (UNHCR, July 2010) [text]

Savings and Chance: Learning from the Lottery to Improve Financial Services in Haiti (Feinstein International Center, July 2010) [text]

Separated Children Fleeing Persecution: A Comparative Study of Asylum Policies in the U.K. and the U.S. (Connecticut College, May 2010) [text]
- Thesis submitted to Government Department.

Tagged Publications.

Focus on Women and Asylum

The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly issued a report recently on gender-related claims for asylum that invites "member states to ensure that gender-based violence and gender-related persecution is appropriately taken into account in any asylum determination process. They are also called upon to set up their asylum system in such a way as to ensure gender sensitivity." The Assembly also plans "to carry out a study on the approach of member states to gender-related claims in the asylum process and provide them with guidelines." (Note: See this page on the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies site for examples of gender guidelines that have already been enacted in other countries.)

Other recent reports/analyses of this issue include:

"Am Only Saying It Now": Experiences of Women Seeking Asylum in Ireland (AkiDwa, March 2010) [text]

"Crimes Without Punishment: Violence Against Women in Guatemala," Hastings Women's Law Journal, vol. 21, no. 2 (Summer 2010) [text]

"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," Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, vol. 24, no. 2 (Winter 2010) [citation]

Forced Marriage and Asylum: Making Invisible Harm Visible (BePress, 2010) [text]

Ruling favors gender asylum claimant (IntLawGrrls Blog, July 2010) [text]

[Picture credit: Playbill for Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Ruined," that was inspired by refugee women from the DRC. The play is currently showing in Seattle, WA, through 15 August 2010 (source: City Arts, July 2010)]

Tagged Publications.

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.

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.