New Publications on Economic Issues; Legal Issues; Refugee Camp Programmes; STHF Electric House & Lunar House; and Afghan Asylum Seekers

Details of these new publications, unless otherwise stated,  were originally circulated by Elisa Mason on the incredibly useful: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog.  Further details can be found on the website at:  http://fm-cab.blogspot.co.uk/

Publications on Economic Issues

Connecting with Emigrants: A Global Profile of Diasporas (OECD, Oct. 2012) [text]

Economic Assistance in Conflict Zones: Lessons from Afghanistan (Center for Global Development, Oct. 2012) [text via Human Security Gateway]

Impact and Costs of Forced Displacement, Research Project, 2010-present (RSC, 2012) [info] [overview]
- Outputs from this project for the World Bank include the following:  Assessing the Impacts and Costs of Forced Displacement, vol. I – A Mixed Methods Approach (May 2012); Study on Impacts and Costs of Forced Displacement, vol. II – State of the Art Literature Review (June 2011); Guidelines for Assessing the Impacts and Costs of Forced Displacement (July 2012);

The Labour Market Integration of Refugee and Family Reunion Immigrants: A Comparison of Outcomes in Canada and Sweden, IZA Discussion Paper, no. 6924 (Institute for the Study of Labor, Oct. 2012) [text via SSRN]

Labour Mobility for Refugees: Workshop in Geneva, 11-12 September 2012 – Summary Conclusions (UNHCR, Oct. 2012) [text]

Remittances to Transit Countries: The Impact on Sudanese Refugee Livelihoods in Cairo, Cairo Studies on Migration and Refugees, no. 3 (CMRS, Sept. 2012) [text]

Publications on Legal Issues

“Displacement Disparity: Filling the Gap of Protection for the Environmentally Displaced Person,” Valparaiso University Law Review, vol. 46, no. 3 (2012) [open access text]

Do Human Rights Laws Help Asylum-Seekers? An Empirical Study of Canadian Refugee Jurisprudence Since 1990, Paper prepared for the Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Honolulu, 7 June 2012 [text]

Guidelines on International Protection No. 9: Claims to Refugee Status based on Sexual Orientation and/or Gender Identity within the context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (UNHCR, Oct. 2012) [text]

Reparations for the Uyghur Refugees Illegally Detained at Guantánamo Bay (ExpressO, 2012) [text]

“Seeking Asylum for Former Child Soldiers and Victims of Human Trafficking,” Pepperdine Law Review, vol. 39, no. 2 (2012) [open access text]

Publications on Refugee Camp Programmes

Important but Neglected: A Proposal for Human Rights Education in Refugee and Displacement Camps (SSRN, Oct. 2012) [text]

Iridimi Refugee Camp Library, Eastern Chad (Bookwish, 2012) [access]

R2E: Human Rights Mobile Library (i-Act, 2012) [access]

Top Kenyan University Opens Campus next to World’s Largest Refugee Camp (UNHCR, Oct. 2012) [text]

What Happens after the War? How Refugee Camp Peace Programmes Contribute to Post-conflict Peacebuilding Strategies, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 245 (UNHCR, Oct. 2012) [text]

Publications on the United Kingdom

Short Term Holding Facilities (UK)

Report on an unannounced follow-up inspection of the non-residential short term holding facility at: Lunar House, Croydon 7 June 2012
by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: HM Inspectorate of Prisons).

Report on an unannounced follow-up inspection of the non-residential short term holding facility at: Electric House, Croydon 7 June 2012
by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
[Download Full Report]
(Source: HM Inspectorate of Prisons).

Afghan Asylum Seekers

Broken futures: young Afghan asylum seekers in the UK and on return to their country of origin.
By Catherine Gladwell and Hannah Elwyn.
UNHCR New Issues in Refugee Research – Research Paper No. 246.
[Download Working Paper]
(Source: UNHCR).

 

 

New Publications on Statelessness; Europe; and Climate/Disaster/Environmental Displacement

Details of these new resources were originally found on the Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog produced by Elisa Mason.

Publications on Statelessness:

NGOs Urge Governments to Protect Stateless People (JRS Asia Pacific, Sept. 2012) [text]

“Statelessness and Environmental-Induced Displacement: Future Scenarios of Deterritorialisation, Rescue and Recovery Examined,” Mobilities, vol. 6, no. 3 (2011) [free full-text]
- I referenced this article previously, but just discovered its text is now freely available!

Statelessness in Sweden: Changes Ahead? (ENS Blog, Sept. 2012) [text]

“Statelessness in the EU Framework for International Protection,” European Journal of Migration and Law, vol. 14, no. 3 (2012) [full-text via ENS Blog]

A Study and Comparison of National Legislation in Slovenia and International Standards Related to Statelessness (UNHCR Central Europe, Jan. 2012) [text]

Publications on Europe:

Asylum Applicants and First Instance Decisions on Asylum Applications: First Quarter 2012 (Eurostat, Aug. 2012) [text]

Austria Should Improve the Protection of Asylum-seekers, Women and Persons with Disabilities (Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Sept. 2012) [access]
- Follow link for Commissioner’s report and comments from the Austrian government.

Can You Be Internally Displaced for Twenty Years? Housing Issues and Protracted Displacement in Azerbaijan (TerraNullius, Sept. 2012) [text]

Internally Displaced Persons in Europe: Another Lost Generation? (Human Rights Comment, Sept. 2012) [text]

Italy Needs to Speed up Court Proceedings and Improve the Treatment of Roma and Migrants (Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Sept. 2012) [access]
- Follow link for Commissioner’s report and comments from the Italian government.  See also related Guardian article.

“The Last Frontier of Globalization: Asylum and Citizenship in the Netherlands,” Macalester International, vol. 30 (2012) [full-text]

Recommendations by UNHCR Concerning the Execution of the Grand Chamber Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Case of Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy (Judgment of 23 February 2012, Application No. 27765/09) (Council of Europe, Sept. 2012) [text]

A Welcome Vote (Cecilia Malmström’s Blog, Sept. 2012) [text]
- Refer to the tag cloud on the right for other posts on asylum and refugees.

Publications on Climate/Disaster/Environmental Displacement:

Australia: Struggling to Survive on an Atoll (JRS Asia Pacific, Aug. 2012) [text]

Communicating Climate Change and Migration (UK Climate Change & Migration Coalition, Sept. 2012) [text]

Crossing Borders to Escape Natural Calamities Is No Easy Option: International Law Has Long Been a Barrier to Legal Immigration by People Fleeing Natural Disasters, but There Are Ways Round It (Poverty Matters Blog, Aug. 2012) [text]

Environmentally-Induced Displacement: Theoretical Frameworks and Current Challenges (CEDEM, Sept. 2012) [text]
- Includes extensive bibliography.

A Human Rights-Based Approach and District Disaster Management Plans (Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, July 2012) [text]

“The Portuguese Press Portrait of ‘Environmental Refugees’,” Proceedings of the World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, vol. 64 (April 2012) [text]

The Rising Tide: Environmental Refugees (New America Media, Aug. 2012) [text]

“Statelessness and Environmental-Induced Displacement: Future Scenarios of Deterritorialisation, Rescue and Recovery Examined,” Mobilities, vol. 6, no. 3 (2011) [free full-text]

 

Events: Glasgow Girls A Life-Affirming New Musical at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, Fri 8 Feb – Sat 2 Mar 2013

Glasgow Girls

A new musical has just been announced at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, located in the heart of East London, and entitled:

Glasgow Girls:A Life-Affirming New Musical

From the introduction on the Theatre Royal Stratford East website:

Glasgow Girls tells the true story of one of the most vocal and powerful asylum campaigns to catch the imagination of the media and inspire a community to unite behind its residents.

Set in Scotland in 2005, Glasgow Girls tells of what follows after a family is ripped from their home in the middle of the night and taken away to be deported.

Driven by a fierce sense of injustice, a group of seven schoolgirls in a high school in Glasgow fight for the life of their friend and for the rights of children of asylum seekers in Scotland.

They take on the Scottish Government and the Home Office and succeed where adults and politicians failed.

Glasgow Girls will feature original songs including electronic grime from Patricia Panther, reggae-dub from Sumati Bhardwaj (Soom T) folk rock from Cora Bissett and additional songs from John Kielty.

Inspired by Real Life Events.

Further details and information on how to book tickets can be found on the Theatre Royal Stratford East website at:

http://www.stratfordeast.com/glasgow-girls-2

Back in the spotlight: the detention of mentally ill asylum seekers

Reblogged from UK Human Rights Blog:

R (on the application of EH) v Secretary of State for the Home Department EWHC 2569 (Admin) – read judgment

1 Crown Office Row’s Robert Kellar was instructed for the Defendant in this case.  He is not the writer of this post.

The High Court has ruled that the failure to consider the continued detention of a mentally ill failed asylum seeker in accordance with immigration policy rendered his detention unlawful in part.

Read more… 1,457 more words

Reblogging of an interesting article published today on the UK Human Rights Blog - http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/

New Publications on Children and Education; Displacement; LGBTI

A Creeping Crisis: The Neglect of Education in Slow-onset Emergencies (Save the Children, 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

In Search of Safety and Solutions: Somali Refugee Adolescent Girls at Sheder and Aw Barre Camps (Women’s Refugee Commission, Aug. 2012) [text]
- See also related blog posts here and here.

No School Today: Why Syrian Refugee Children Miss out on Education (IRIN, Aug. 2012) [text]

The Fact of Age: Review of Case Law and Local Authority Practice since the Supreme Court Judgment in R(A) v Croydon LBC [2009] (Children’s Commissioner, July 2012) [text]
- Report into the age assessment of children seeking asylum in the UK.

Fostering Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Young People: A Research Project (British Association for Adoption & Fostering, 2012) [text]
- Note: The final research study referenced in this project description has been published.

Conflict-Induced Internally Displaced Persons in Afghanistan: Interpretation of Data as of 31 May 2012 (UNHCR, July 2012) [text via ReliefWeb]

“Crise militaro-politique interne et santé psychophysique des personnes déplacées internes (PDIs): le cas de la Côte d’Ivoire,” Santé Publique, vol. 24, no. HS (2012) [full-text]

The Internal Displacement of the Roma, Ashkali, & Egyptians in the Former Yugoslavia and Their Denial of an Effective Remedy (SSRN, 2010; posted Aug. 2012) [text]

Mainstreaming IDP Principles in Capacity Building Efforts: A Chance Missed in Kosovo (TerraNullius, July 2012) [text]

Asylum: Claims Based on Sexual Identity (House of Commons Library, July 2011) [text]

Country-of-origin Information to Support the Adjudication of Asylum Claims from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (‘LGBTI’) Asylum-seekers, Reports Commissioned by UNHCR (Asylum Research Consultancy, 2012) [access]

Greenwich Declaration, Draft (Greenwich Declaration Advisory Group) [info]
- A final version of this declaration was due to be launched at the Double Jeopardy 2012 Conference, held 5-6 July 2012, in Greenwich, but I have not found a copy yet.

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Asylum: Fleeing Homophobia (Routledge, forthcoming Dec. 2012) [info]
- Based on an earlier conference held in Amsterdam, 5-6 Sept. 2011; see abstract of one chapter on SSRN.

One minority at a time:Being black and gay
By April Guasp and Hannah Kibirige and Published by the Runnymede Trust.
[Access]

All of these publications were originally listed on the Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog.

 

New Publications on Women Asylum Seekers; Unaccopmanied Children; Forced Labour; Torture; Heathrow Immigration Inspection

Refused: the experiences of women denied asylum in the UK

Refused: the experiences of women denied asylum in the UK
A new report by Women for Refugee Women.

Our new report, Refused, shines a light into the experiences of women who have been denied asylum in the UK. Our research shows that nearly half of women who claim asylum in the UK have experienced rape, and nearly half have been arrested or imprisoned, but most are denied asylum in the UK.

If denied asylum and unable to be returned to their home country, women face immense hardship in the UK. In our research, more than half of women had been made destitute – left with no means of support or right to work; a quarter had been detained. The emotional effects of refusal are shocking. More than half of the women in our sample had contemplated suicide.

[Download Full Report]
(Source: The Guardian – The human spur to action on asylum).

Not a minor offence; unaccompanied children locked up as part of the asylum system.
A new report by the Refugee Council.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: Refugee Council).
See Also:

The Guardian – Child asylum seekers ‘still being imprisoned’ by immigration service

Experiences of forced labour in the UK food industry.
A new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
[Download Full Report]
[Download Summary]
[Download E-book]
(Source: BBC News – ‘Forced labour’ of migrants in UK food industry).

“The Second Torture”: the immigration detention of torture survivors’
A new report by Medical Justice.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: The Guardian – Torture victims held in UK immigration detention centres launch legal action).
See Also:  Channel 4 news coverage and Guardian coverage and the Medical Justice Press Release.

REPORT of the INDEPENDENT MONITORING BOARD on the NON-RESIDENTIAL SHORT TERM HOLDING FACILITIES at HEATHROW AIRPORT for the calendar year FEBRUARY 2010/JANUARY 2011
Report published by the Independent Monitoring Board, (IMB).
[Download Full Report]
See Also:

• Children held in “degrading” conditions at Heathrow
• UK Border Agency Detaining Children In ‘Degrading And Disgraceful’ Conditions, Claims Report
• Children held at Heathrow for immigration purposes ‘are being kept in degrading and disgraceful conditions’
• Children held at Heathrow Airport in ‘degrading’ conditions
• Children’s Rooms At Heathrow ‘Disgraceful’Children held at Heathrow in ‘disgraceful’ conditions
• UK Border Agency ‘detaining children in degrading conditions’ at Heathrow

New from UNHCR: 2011 Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have just circulated a press release detailing the publication of their latest statistical bulletin, namely the `Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, 2011.’

The press release outlines the the key findings of the publication as follows:

A.  The number of asylum-seekers in the industrialized world shows that new conflicts and a rising outflow from older crisis spots such as Afghanistan together contributed to a 20 per cent rise in asylum claims in 2011.

B.  An estimated 441,300 asylum applications were recorded in the 44 countries included in this report, some 73,300 claims or 20 per cent more than in 2010 (368,000). The 2011 level is the highest since 2003 when 505,000 asylum applications were lodged in the industrialized countries.

C.  The largest relative increase in annual asylum levels occurred in the eight Southern European countries which received 66,800 asylum requests during 2011, an 87 per cent increase compared to 2010. This increase is due mainly to boat arrivals in Italy and Malta and to the registration of greater numbers of individual requests for international protection in Turkey (+74%).

D.  Among individual countries, the United States of America was the largest single recipient of new asylum claims among the 44 industrialized countries. France was second with 51,900 asylum applications, followed by Germany (45,700), Italy (34,100), and Sweden (29,600). The top five receiving countries together accounted for more than half (53%) of all asylum claims received in the countries included in this report.

E.  With 35,700 asylum claims lodged in 2011, Afghanistan was the most important source country of asylum-seekers in the 44 industrialized countries, followed by China (24,400 claims), Iraq (23,500), Serbia (and

Kosovo: Security Council resolution 1244 (1999))  (21,200), and Pakistan (18,100).

F.  For asylum-seekers from Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Tunisia, levels were at a record high among the industrialized countries. Asylum-seekers originating from these four countries submitted in total 16,700 claims more than in 2010.

[Download Full Report]

(Source: UNHCR Statistics – Asylum claims in industrialized countries up sharply in 2011).

Event: Documentary Film ‘Special Flight’

Apologies for cross-posting.  Message forwarded on behalf of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

Dear Colleagues,

The documentary film ‘Special Flight’ is showing Tuesday 27 March, at the Ritzy Cinema and Wednesday 28 March at the ICA.

Fernand Melgar’s intimate and emotionally charged portrait of the rejected asylum seekers and illegal migrants in Switzerland’s Frambois detention centre reveals a world that few know from the inside. With amazing access to his subjects, Melgar introduces us to a community of men who share friendships, fears, and a similar fate. There are three possibilities for every resident: to leave free with asylum granted, to leave the country by choice on a regular flight, or to leave in custody on a so-called ‘special flight’ back to their country of origin. As planes come and go in the background, the staff—who are caretakers, counsellors, and friends to the men there—have heart-felt dialogues about the well-being of residents. In the end though, the staff reflect society’s attitudes towards migrants, and are also recipients of the residents’ resentment—making them simultaneously friend and foe. And that fact is most evident when staff must prepare one of the men to leave on a special flight.

Screenings at the Ritzy on 27 March, 21:00. Tickets available at http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Ritzy_Picturehouse/film/Hrwff_Special_Flight_Q_A_With_Filmmaker/

and 28 Mar at the ICA, 18:15. Tickets at http://www.ica.org.uk/31978/Film/Special-Flight-QA.html

Please circulate as we would like the film to be as widely known as possible.

Many thanks,

Helen

Helen Muggeridge
Outreach Coordinator
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
londonff@hrw.org

New Publications on Women Asylum Seekers, International Student Restrictions, and Asylum Issues

I feel like as a woman

“I feel like as a woman I’m not welcome.”  A new report by Asylum Aid which aims to provide a gender analysis of UK asylum law, policy and practice.   Asylum Aid argues that:

This research draws on interviews with asylum-seeking women and their advocates across the UK, and detailed analysis of the asylum jurisprudence and policies most relevant to women, to test the Government against these promises.

Further details and information can be found in an article outlining the issues considered in the report by its author, Christel Querton, has been published on the openDemocracy website, and entitled ” Unfair, unsafe and undignified: the treatment of women seeking asylum in the UK.“
[Download Executive Summary]
(Source: Migrants’ Rights Network)

Tier 4 tears: how government student visa controls are destroying the private HE sector.  A new briefing report produced by the Liberal Democrat thinktank, Centre Forum.
[Download Report]
See earlier CentreForum publications ‘Tier 4 Fears: why government student visa proposals are unfair’ (June 2011) and ‘Pathway to prosperity: how to make student immigration work for universities and the economy’ (February 2011)
(Source: Migrants’ Rights Network)

Credibility Determinations are not Credible (The Asylumist, Jan. 2012) [Part one] [Part two] [Part three]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog)

Guidance for Adjudicating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Refugee and Asylum Claims (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Dec. 2011) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog)

The Interpretation of the Convention Ground of ‘Membership of a Particular Social Group’ in the Context of Gender-related Claims for Asylum: A Critical Analysis of the Tribunal’s Approach in the UK, Working Paper, no. 3 (Refugee Law Initiative, Jan. 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog)

Special Issue of Child Abuse Review Journal

Child Abuse Review

The journal, Child Abuse Review, has recently published a new thematic volume entitled on `Safeguarding Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children.’  The full details are as follows:

• Child Abuse Review, Volume 20 Issue 5,  (September/October 2011).  Special Issue: Themed issue on Safeguarding Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children.  Pages 307–390.

The articles are currently free-to-access until the 31st December 2011 on the Child Abuse Review website at : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/car.v20.5/issuetoc

Articles include:

• Working to Ensure Safety, Belonging and Success for Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children (pages 311–323)
• Separated and Trafficked Children: The Challenges for Child Protection Professionals (pages 324–340)
• Issues in Safeguarding Refugee and Asylum-seeking Children and Young People: Research and Practice (pages 341–360)
• ‘Often They Fall Through the Cracks’: Separated Children in Ireland and the Role of Guardians (pages 361–373)
• Good Practice in Social Care for Refugee and Asylum-seeking Children (pages 374–390)