Resources: UNHCR launches updated version of key protection tool, Refworld

Link on UNHCR Website: UNHCR launches updated version of key protection tool, Refworld.

News Stories, 17 April 2013

© UNHCR/EPU

The new Refworld has been designed for use on multiple devices

GENEVA, April 17 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Wednesday launched a new and improved version of Refworld, a widely used online protection and research tool that helps those who have to decide on refugee and statelessness status.

Refworld 2013 (http://www.refworld.org) contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy papers, case law and other documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. The documents have been carefully selected from – and with – UNHCR field offices, governments, international, regional and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and judicial bodies.

The service is free of charge and provides the crucial country of origin and legal information that UNHCR staff, government officials and judges need to decide whether an asylum-seeker is a refugee. To be recognized as a refugee, it has to be accepted that the applicant has a well-founded fear of persecution and cannot or will not return home because of that fear.

UNHCR Director of International Protection Volker Türk said Refworld 2013 was an improved version on the existing model, which was one of the most reliable and comprehensive websites in its field. “Refworld 2013 is more intuitive, looks better, can handle non-Roman script search terms and has improved search options. I have tried it myself and can assure you that finding the information you are looking for has become much easier,” he said.

“Without proper procedures, in which reliable country of origin information is available and well-used, people who need international refugee protection may not be able to access it,” Türk said, referring to the process of refugee status determination or asylum procedures. “Therefore, refugees and the stateless are the people who ultimately benefit from Refworld’s improved capacity to find relevant protection information faster.”

Refworld’s unparalleled collection of protection information has been developed over more than two decades by UNHCR’s Electronic Publishing Unit and the Division of International Protection. It initially appeared in CD-ROM and DVD formats and in 2007 went online.

A powerful and easy-to-use web application, it has been developed to meet the highest standards and best practices in online information management. It includes improved possibilities for browsing the collection of more than 167,000 documents by region and/or country, by publisher, by topic or keyword and by document type. In addition, it has a powerful full text search engine and advanced search facilities, including a thesaurus which allows for the inclusion of variations of search terms.

Refworld is updated daily and includes thematic pages on topics of importance to UNHCR such as refugee status determination, statelessness, mixed migration, sexual orientation and gender identity, and people trafficking.

It enhances UNHCR’s international protection mandate by making protection information available to everyone. UNHCR intends to develop different language versions of Refworld, starting with a Russian version later this year.

 

Resources: Thematic Focus: UNHCR

Details of these new resources 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/

Thematic Resources on UNHCR

UNHCR info:

The Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Erika Feller, has retired.  Read a press release announcing her initial appointment in 2006, a Q&A with her on protection, and the text of her last speech to EXCOM.

Employment opportunities
- Currently, over 50 positions in the International Professional Staff category are open.  For more info., visit the relevant page, select “Click here to apply,” then enter the code in order to access the job descriptions.

UNHCR Headquarters Organizational Structure (Geneva and Budapest) (UNHCR, April 2013) [access]

UNHCR’s Budget Process and Prioritization (UNHCR, April 2013) [access]

Analyses of UNHCR’s work:

“Interactions et filiations entre organisations internationales autour de la question des réfugiés (1946-1956),” Relations internationales, no. 152 (2012) [abstract]

“Normalizing Exception: UNRWA, UNHCR and the Politics of Protection,” Chapter in The Post-Conflict Environment: Intervention and Critique (University of Michigan Press, forthcoming 2013) [info]

Political Survival as a Motive in Decision-Making: The UNHCR and the Rwandan Refugee Crisis, Undergraduate Thesis (Univ. of Maryland, March 2013) [text]

“Regime Complexity and International Organizations: UNHCR as a Challenged Institution,” Global Governance, vol. 19, no. 1 (Jan.-March 2013) [abstract]

The UNHCR and Angolan Liberation: 1974-1975, Global Migration Research Paper, no. 4 (Programme for the Study of Global Migration, 2013) [text]

Upcoming event:

UNHCR Annual Consultations with NGOs, Geneva, 11-13 June 2013 [info]
- The agenda is available, along with several background papers, regional overviews and general information.

 

Update on UNHCR Refworld website

Dear Refworld Users,

UNHCR’s Refworld Team is constantly trying to improve Refworld, so that the database is most useful for you. For example, recently we conducted a Refworld User Survey that has allowed us to better understand the needs of our users and listen to suggestions that might improve Refworld in order for it to be the best tool possible.

Link:  www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain

As a result of the feedback from the survey and our own inventory of how to improve Refworld, the website is undergoing a website redesign with a view to serve its users even better. The website content will remain the same, but the interface is being modernized to improve the search functions , as well as the overall user experience.

For this reason, no new documents will be added to Refworld from 28 March onwards, until further notice. Users can continue to use Refworld during this period, but should be aware that as of 28 March no new documents will have been added.

The expected launch of the new and revamped Refworld will be in the second half of April 2013. Again, we remind you that these changes will not affect the content of the site, so all the links that you rely on today will still be available once the new version of Refworld is up.

We apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused, but we hope that Revamped Refworld 2013 will serve you even better in the future!

Thank you very much in advance for your understanding.

With kind regards,

The Refworld Team

 

New Publications on Syria; Yemen; Bahrain; Frontex and Internal Displacement

Syrian Refugees: Reliance on Camps Creates Few Good Options.
A new report by Refugees International.

The civil war in Syria has forced large numbers of Syrians from their homes, and in many cases from the country entirely. Refugees continue to flee in record numbers, and there are currently almost 400,000 registered or waiting for registration in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey combined. The United Nations has said it expects this number could reach 700,000 by December 31, 2012. About half of all the registered Syrians are living in camps, but the other half remain in local host communities trying to get by on their own.

[Download a PDF of this report].
(Source: Refugees International – refugeesinternational.org.)

Conflict in Yemen: Abyan’s darkest hour.
A new report by Amnesty International.

For around 10 months leading up to mid-2012, Abyan governorate in southern Yemen was racked by armed conflict between government forces and Ansar al-Shari’a, an Islamist armed group affiliated to al-Qa’ida. This report documents violations committed by Ansar al-Shari’a when cities and towns in Abyan were under their control and during the subsequent armed conflict. These violations included recklessly exposing civilians to harm during attacks; killing captured soldiers; abducting civilians; and obstructing medical treatment for wounded people. It also shows how government forces used disproportionate force during the conflict.

[Download Full Report]
(Source: Amnesty International press release – Yemen: Abyan conflict a human rights ‘catastrophe’).

Bahrain: Reform shelved, repression unleashed.
A new report by Amnesty International.

On the first anniversary of the BICI report, Amnesty International continues to call for true justice and accountability in Bahrain. The Bahraini government must immediately release all prisoners of conscience; conduct independent, effective and transparent investigations into allegations of torture; bring to justice anyone at any level of the chain of command who committed or gave the orders to commit abuses; and refrain from further use of unnecessary or excessive force against protesters. The international community should immediately condemn human rights violations and match their condemnation with action.

[Download Full Report]
(Source: Amnesty International Press Release – Bahrain: Promises of reform broken, repression unleashed).

FRAN (Frontex Risk Assessment Network) Quarterly Report for the Second Quarter of 2012 (April-June).
Quarterly report produced by Frontex.

On 10 October Frontex released its FRAN (Frontex Risk Assessment Network) Quarterly Report for the Second Quarter of 2012 (April-June). As is always the case, the 70 page report contains a significant amount of information, graphs, and statistical tables regarding detections of illegal border crossings (land, air, and sea), irregular migration routes, detections of facilitators, detections of illegal stays, refusals of entry, asylum claims, returns, information regarding other illegal border activities, and more.  Here are some highlights (focusing on the sea borders)

[Download Full Report]
(Source: Migrants at Sea blog – Frontex FRAN Report for Q2 2012).

UNHCR Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons.
Produced by UNHCR.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: UNHCR)

Challenges of IDP Protection: Research study on the protection of internally displaced persons in Afghanistan.
A new report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, (IDMC).

A new report, published today by IDMC and NRC presents new evidence highlighting the worrying conditions faced by the growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) across Afghanistan. More than 166,000 internally displaced Afghans have been recorded in 2012 alone, bringing the total number of internally displaced due to conflict to at least 460,000.

[Download full report here] and [Download executive study here].
(Source: IDMC).

Côte d’Ivoire: IDPs rebuilding lives amid a delicate peace.
A new report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, (IDMC).

Côte d’Ivoire witnessed the world’s largest new internal displacement event of 2011 after contested presidential election results in 2010 sparked a violent conflict for political control. Serious rights abuses by supporters of both sides and armed clashes between them resulted in the internal displacement of up to a million people. Two years later, most of these internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned home to rebuild their lives. However, tens of thousands have still not found durable solutions to their displacement.

[Download the Report]
(Source: IDMC).

 

New Publications on EASO COI Report; UNHCR Global Appeal; Incitement to Hatred; People in Aid;

EASO: Afghanistan: Afghanistan – Insurgent strategies: intimidation and targeted violence against Afghans, December 2012.
A new Country of Origin (COI) report published by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).From the press release:

“The report examines strategies used by the Taliban and other insurgent groups to intimidate the population. These include: night letters; illegal checkpoints; collection of taxes; abduction; targeted killings; parallel justice systems; targeting of relatives, and ‘hit lists’. It is important to keep in mind that the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan is largely defined by historical underlying mechanisms: Local rivalries, power play and tribal feuds. The insurgents often use these mechanisms to their benefit but it also works in the other direction. There are regional differences in this campaign of intimidation and targeted violence, which vary for the range of targeted profiles studied in this report, which include: Government officials and employees; Afghan National Security Forces; Government supporters; collaborators and contractors; Afghans working for international military forces; Afghans working for international organisations, companies, NGOs and Afghan NGOs; persons classed as “spies”; journalists, media and human rights activists; educational staff or students; medical staff; construction workers; truck drivers and those judged as violating the Taliban’s moral code.” (EASO press release, 6 December 2012)

[Download Full Report]
(Source: European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI) blog).
- See Also: EASO Monitor – Consultative Forum’s 2nd meeting: what do we think?

UNHCR Global Appeal 2013 Update.
Produced by UNHCR.
Further information:

The aim of the Global Appeal is to alert donors, organizations and individuals to the plight of millions of refugees and others of concern to UNHCR. It is available to all those interested in our mission and mandate. The 2010 Global Appeal, which was released in December 2009, provides basic information on areas of operations and staff strength. It highlights the challenges that the UN refugee agency will face as it tries to protect, assist and find durable solutions for millions of refugees, asylum seekers, stateless and internally displaced people. The document covers international protection and durable solutions; important policy issues such as statelessness, internal displacement and emergency response; and other priorities, including the protection of women and children, health and nutrition, HIV and AIDS, education and the environment. The Appeal also examines UNHCR’s collaboration with its partners as well as summarizing the agency’s strategies, objectives and operational and operational plans in the five geographical regions where it works. More detailed information is available on this site and in a CD-ROM distributed with the Global Appeal.

[Access Full Report]
(Source: UNHCR).

Prohibiting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence
A new Policy Brief by Article 19.
[Download Policy Brief]
(Source: The Archival Platform)

People in Aid Annual Report 2012.
Produced by People in Aid.

Our first official Annual report was launched at our AGM and Members’ Forum on 14 November 2012. The report gives a snapshot of the work we have done over the past 12 months and is split into sections with each referring to a particular strand of our work.

[Access the Full Report]
(Source:  ALNAP)

 

Publications on Africa; Oceania; and UNHCR Activities & Assessments

Details of these new publications 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 Africa

“The 1969 African Refugee Convention: Innovations, Misconceptions, and Omissions,” McGill Law Journal, vol. 58, no. 5 (Nov. 2012) [abstract]

Back from the Field: Mali (Refugees International, Nov. 2012) [text]

“Food Aid and Dependency Syndrome in Ethiopia: Local Perceptions,” Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (Nov. 2012) [full-text]

Hidden Victims: Mali’s Internally Displaced People (RI Blog, Nov. 2012) [text]

North Kivu Situation Report No. 12 (OCHA, Nov. 2012) [text]
- The latest report as of this posting; previous sitreps can be found on ReliefWeb.

Round-up: Congo Conflict Uproots More than 140,000 (AlertNet, Nov. 2012) [text]

Rwanda: Why UNHCR is Wrong about Cessation (openDemocracy, Nov. 2012) [text]

Sahrawi Refugees’ Double Trouble: Obesity and Malnutrition (Nature, Nov. 2012) [text]

South Sudan’s Hidden Crisis (Doctors without Borders, Nov. 2012) [text]

Training Sessions on Human and Women’s Rights to Address Violence against Persons Accused of Witchcraft, Gender Equality Unit – Field Practice Series (UNHCR, Oct. 2012) [text]
- Project in Central African Republic.

UNHCR Position on Returns to North Kivu, South Kivu and Adjacent Areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo Affected by On-going Conflict and Violence in the Region (UNHCR, Nov. 2012) [text]
- See also related press release.

Publications on Oceania

The Last Mile: Experiences of Settlement and Attitudes to Return among People from South Sudan in Australia (STATT, Nov. 2012) [text]
- See also related blog post.

Refugees in Western Australia: Settlement and Integration (Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre, Aug. 2012) [text]

Review of Refugee Decision Making within the Current POD Process (Australian Dept. of Immigration and Citizenship, June 2012) [text]
- POD stands for “Protection Obligations Determination.”

Settling In: Refugees in Nelson (Nelson Multicultural Council, Oct. 2012) [text]
- Note: Nelson is in New Zealand.

Publications on UNHCR Activities and Assessments

On 12-13 December 2012 in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will hold a Dialogue on Protection Challenges that focuses on “Faith and Protection.”  The aim is to “highlight the important role that local religious communities play in protecting asylum-seekers, refugees and other persons of concern to UNHCR and the core values shared with the broader humanitarian community” and “explore how humanitarian actors can better engage with religious communities to improve the protection of forcibly displaced and stateless people.” For more information on topics that will be addressed, check the schedule, and read the background document and the concept note.  In addition, the web page for the meeting provides access to a series of documents that shed light on the perspective of various religious traditions towards refugee assistance and protection.

Forced Displacement in 2012: Current Dilemmas for UNHCR (UNHCR, Oct. 2012) [text]

Global Appeal 2013 Update (UNHCR, Dec. 2012) [access]

Organisational Effectiveness Assessment:  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network, Dec. 2011) [vol. 1] [vol. 2]

Report of the Sixty-third Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme, UN Doc. No. A/AC/96/1119 (UN General Assembly, Oct. 2012) [text]

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Covering the Period 1 January 2011-30 June 2012, UN Doc. No. A/67/12 (UN General Assembly, 2012) [text]
- See also related HC speech and ICRC statement.

New Publications on Colombia; Seeds of Hope; Sri Lanka; Minorities; Europe; and The Americas

Rights Out of Reach

Rights Out of Reach: Obstacles to Health, Justice, and Protection for Displaced Victims of Gender-Based Violence in Colombia.
A new report by Human Rights Watch.
[Download the full report (PDF, 595.16 KB)]
(Source: Human Rights Watch Press Release – Colombia: Obstacles to Care for Abused, Displaced Women).

The Report of the Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka.
Commissioned by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and published on November 14, 2012.
[Downlaod Full Report]
(Source: Human Rights Watch – UN: Act on Failings in Sri Lanka).

Seeds of Hope Exhibition.
Published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR).
[Download Full Report]
(Source: UNHCR).

Corporate responsibility to respect the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples.
Minority Rights Group Briefing Paper.
By Corinne Lewis.
[Download Briefing Paper]
(Source: Minority Rights Group).

Publications on Europe and the Americas.

Details of these new publications 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 Europe

Common European Asylum System: An Answer to Asylum Burdens in the EU? (International Studies Society – Belgrade, Oct. 2012) [text]

Judicial Implementation of Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Europe: The Case of Migrant Children Including Unaccompanied Children (Unicef & OHCHR, June 2012) [text]

The Key Tenets and Implications of the Proposed Amendments to the Dublin Regulation and the Reception Conditions Directive, Interview with Cecilia Wikström, Member of the European Parliament and Rapporteur on the Recast of the Dublin Regulation (Eurasylum, Nov. 2012) [text]

“The Limits of EU Hospitality,” The Refuge, vol. 10, no. 3 (Oct. 2012) [text]

“From Urban to Rural: Livelihoods and Adaptation of Armenian Refugees,” Chapter in Observing Transformation: Adaptation Strategies in the South Caucasus (Henrich Boell Foundation, 2011) [text]
- Scroll to p. 14.

Publications on The Americas.

“Canada, EU Working on New Agreement on Asylum Seekers,” Embassy, 7 Nov. 2012 [text]

Forced Displacement and Labor Market Access for Women in Colombia, 2001-2011 (Lund University, June 2012) [text]

“Refugee Women as Cultural Others: Constructing Social Group and Nexus for FGM, Sex Trafficking, and Domestic Violence Asylum Claims in the United States,” Seattle Journal for Social Justice, vol. 10, no. 2 (2012) [open access text]

Situation of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Ecuador (Human Rights Brief Blog, Nov. 2012) [text]
- Special coverage of testimony heard by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during its 146th Session.

Situation of Victims of Forced Displacement in Colombia (Human Rights Brief Blog, Nov. 2012) [text]
- Special coverage of testimony heard by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during its 146th Session.

 

New Publications on Humanitarian Action; UNHCR Statistics; Travel Documents; Rwanda; Serbia; Mexico;

Tools for the job: Supporting Principled Humanitarian Action

Tools for the job: Supporting Principled Humanitarian Action.
A new report co-published by the Norwegian Refugee Council with the Overseas Development Institute’s Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG)..

Based on case studies conducted in Afghanistan, the DRC, Pakistan and South Sudan, this timely report analyses some of the challenges to principled humanitarian action from the perspectives of NGOs and donors. It examines hurdles and opportunities that humanitarian organisations face when trying to adhere to the principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality, especially in terms of funding.

The report lists several concrete recommendations for humanitarian organisations and donors, including establishing common NGO-positions on what constitutes principled humanitarian action and funding, and adopting safeguards to avoid humanitarian aid being instrumentalised as part of political and military strategies.

The report is part of a wider “Strengthening Principled Humanitarian Response Capacities”, project supported by ECHO and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will culminate in a high-level conference in Brussels on 4th December 2012 entitled ‘Principles into Practice; Safeguarding Principled Humanitarian Action’.

[Download Full Report]
(Source: Norwegian Refugee Council – New report on Principled Humanitarian Action).

UNHCR – Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, First Half 2012: Statistical Overview of Asylum Applications Lodged in Europe and Selected Non-European Countries.
Produced by the UNHCR Statistics Division.
[Download Statistics]
(Source: UNHCR).

Guide for Issuing Machine Readable Convention Travel Documents
for Refugees and Stateless Persons.
Produced by the UNHCR.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: UNHCR).

What happens after the war? how refugee camp peace programmes
contribute to post-conflict peacebuilding strategies.
UNHCR New Issues in Refugee Research: Research Paper No. 245.
By Jane Elizabeth Lawson.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: UNHCR).

UNHCR Rwanda Refugee Bulletin No.VI, (June – August 2012).
Produced by UNHCR Rwanda.
[Download Full Bulletin]
(Source: UNHCR).

After Belvil: Serbia needs new laws against forced eviction.
Report by Amnesty International.
[Access Report]
(Source: AI Press Release – Serbia: Belvil forced eviction highlights need for new laws).

Abusers known, victims ignored: Torture and ill treatment in Mexico.
Report by Amnesty International.
[Access Report]
(Source: AI Press Release – Mexico: Authorities urged to end torture epidemic).

Foreign Affairs Committee - Third Report : The FCO’s human rights work in 2011.
The latest annual publication from the UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee.
[Access Report]
(Source: Press Release – Foreign Affairs Committee publishes report on human rights).

 

Statistics: UNHCR: Asylum Data in 44 Industrialized Countries, First Half 2012

*** Apologies for Cross Posting ***

News from the UNHCR Statistics Division:

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is to inform you that the latest statistics on asylum applications lodged in industrialized countries have been published today and are available from the UNHCR statistics website at www.unhcr.org/statistics. The data covers the first half of 2012 in comparison to the first half of 2011.

Key findings

A.  An estimated 212,600 asylum applications were recorded during the first six months of 2012 in the 44 industrialized countries included in the dataset. This is nearly identical to the same period 2011 (210,100), but lower (-8%) to the number of applications recorded during the second half of 2011 (231,300 claims).

B. The 38 countries in Europe received 149,400 claims during the first six months of 2012. This is a decrease of 4 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2011 (155,500 claims), and significantly less than the second semester of 2011 (171,900 claims). Europe accounted for seven out of ten of all claims lodged among the industrialized countries.

C. The 27 Member States of the European Union registered 123,300 asylum claims in the first half of 2012, 9 per cent less than in the first six months of 2011 (135,000). The EU-27 together accounted for 83 per cent of all asylum claims in Europe.

D. With an estimated 42,800 asylum applications, the United States of America was the largest single recipient of new asylum claims among the group of industrialized countries. This figure was 6,100 claims more than during the first half of 2011. France was second with 25,400 asylum applications (-1,500 claims), followed by Germany (22,500; +1,800 claims), Sweden (16,300; +3,700 claims), and Switzerland (12,800; +4,300 claims). The top five receiving countries together accounted for more than half (56%) of all asylum claims received in the countries included in this dataset.

E.  With 16,300 asylum claims lodged by Afghans in the first half of 2012, Afghanistan was the most significant source country of asylum-seekers of all of the 44 industrialized countries, followed by China (12,400 claims), Pakistan (10,000 claims), Iraq (8,900 claims), and the Islamic Republic of Iran (8,400). Persons from these five countries together accounted for 56,000 applications, or about one quarter (27%) of all asylum claims submitted in industrialized countries.

F. Among the main nationalities seeking asylum, those originating from the Syrian Arab Republic showed the highest relative increase. During the first half of 2012, some 6,500 Syrians requested international protection among the industrialized countries, up from 3,000 during the first half 2011.

G. A new system for registering asylum-seekers (INDIGO) is currently being implemented in the Netherlands. As a consequence, the information available is limited to the total number of asylum applications lodged between January and June 2012 (4,620). No information on the country of origin is available. The analysis of the country of origin of asylum applications should thus be considered as indicative only.

Sincerely,

Tarek Abou Chabake
Senior Statistician
Field Information & Coordination Support Section UNHCR Geneva
16 October 2012

New Publications on Right to Asylum; Destitution & Asylum in Scotland; South Africa; UNHCR Detention Guidelines; Settlements

Right to asylum for unaccompanied
minors in the European Union

Right to asylum for unaccompanied minors in the European Union: Comparative study in the 27 EU countries.
A study coordinated by France Terre d’asile.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: France Terre d’asile).

Trapped: Destitution and Asylum in Scotland
A Research Report by Morag Gillespie, (September 2012), and Published by the Scottish Poverty Information Unit, Institute for Society and Social Justice Research, Glasgow Caledonian University.
[Download Full Report]
See Also: Guardian Online Article – Failed asylum seekers in Scotland living below UN global poverty threshold
(Source: Scottish Refugee Council Stop Destitution Campaign)

NO WAY IN: Barriers to Access, Service and Administrative Justice at South
Africa’s Refugee Reception Offices
ACMS Research Report by Roni Amit.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: African Centre for Migration & Society at the
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg)

Detention Guidelines: Guidelines on the Applicable Criteria and Standards
relating to the Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Alternatives to Detention.
Published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR).
[Download Full Report]
(Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).

Role of UN-Habitat in Humanitarian Affairs: Strategic policy on human settlements in crisis and sustainable relief and reconstruction framework.
Report by UN-Habitat.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: ALNAP)

Immigration and Contested Nation-building: explaining the political salience of immigration in multi-national societies
GRITIM-UPF Working Paper Series Number 13 – Autumn 2012.
By Fiona Barker, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
[Download Working Paper]
(Source: GRITIM)

 

New Publications: UNHCR Working Papers; Criminalisation of Migrant Women; Attitudes; Book Reviews

Access to Asylum

Urban displacement and peacebuilding: an analysis of South African social cohesion interventions.
By Jessica L. Anderson.
New Issues in Refugee Research; Research Paper No. 243.
[Download Full Working Paper]
(Source: UNHCR).

Back to the land: the long-term challenges of refugee return and reintegration in Burundi
By Sonja Fransen.
New Issues in Refugee Research; Research Paper No. 242.
[Download Full Working Paper]
(Source: UNHCR).

The Criminalisation of Migrant Women
By Liz Hales and Loraine Gelsthorpe at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, UK.

The report lists the following as being amongst its key findings:

• Just over a quarter (26%) of foreign women in prison had been charged with offences such as deception and fraud in relation to their immigration status, with a further 4% arrested on offences such as street robberies and sale of counterfeit goods, which are potentially linked to trafficking.
• In interviews with 103 detained women, 43 were linked to circumstances which suggested they were victims of trafficking.  A further 5 had entered independently but had subsequently been trapped in conditions of slavery or servitude, and 10 had entered using the services of agents who had subsequently stolen their documents, making a total of 58 women considered to be in a vulnerable target group.
• The common experience of women within this target group was one of disempowerment.  All had experience of physical and/or emotional abuse and 24 disclosed that they had been subjected to multiple rape.
• Of the 43 identified by the researchers as potential victims of trafficking on 11 had been processed through the official procedure for considering such cases – the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), with a further 4 been advised that this was open to them if they wished to make use of it.
• In 4 of the 11 cases which went through the NRM the decision to accord them victim of trafficking status was negative.  One of these was later overturned on judicial review.

[Download Full Report]
(Source: Migrants’ Rights Network).

The importance of contact: children’s attitudes towards refugees.
By the Employability Forum.
NB: A full evaluation of Refugees into Schools will be published in Autumn 2012, and will be available on our website: www.employabilityforum.co.uk
[Download Full Report]
(Source: Migrants’ Rights Network).

 Book Reviews
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Access to Asylum: International Refugee Law and the Globalisation of Migration Control, by Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
- Review in International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 24, no. 2 (May 2012).

Frontier Justice: The Global Refugee Crisis and What to Do about It, by Andy Lamey (Doubleday Canada, 2011)
- Review from ForMHUB.

Global Migration Governance, ed. by Alexander Betts (Oxford Univ. Press, 2011)
- Review forthcoming in International Journal of Refugee Law.

Humanitarian Reason: A Moral History of the Present, by Didier Fassin (Univ. of California Press, 2012)
- Review from ForMHUB.

Managing the Undesirables: Refugee Camps and Humanitarian Government, by Michel Agier; transl. by David Fernbach (Polity Press, 2011)
- Reviews from ForMHUB and in eSharp, Special Issue (June 2012).

The Plight of the Stateless Rohingyas: Responses of the State, Society & the International Community, ed. by Imtiaz Ahmed (University Press Limited, 2010)
- Review from Refugee Watch Online.

New Publications on Europe

Annual Report on the Situation of Asylum in the European Union and on the Activities of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO, 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Contesting Fraternité: Vulnerable Migrants and the Politics of Protection in Contemporary France, Working Paper, no. 82 (RSC, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Linking-in EU Resettlement Newsletter, no. 3 (July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

A Narrative Study of Social Work with Refugees in UK (Political Social Work Blog, March 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Stateless in the Netherlands: Stuck in Paradise? (European Network on Statelessness, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Two Boats in the Mediterranean and their Unfortunate Encounters with Europe’s Policies towards People on the Move, CEPS Papers in Liberty and Security in Europe, no. 48 (Centre for European Policy Studies, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

UNHCR Recommendations on Important Aspects of Refugee Protection in Italy (UNHCR, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

All Roads Lead to Rejection: Persistent Bias and Incapacity in South African Refugee Status Determination (African Centre for Migration & Society, June 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

“The AU Convention on Refugees and the Concept of Asylum,” Pace International Law Review Online Companion (July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Comprehensive Solutions Strategies for Angolan, Liberian and Rwandan Refugees Affected by the Cessation of Refugee Status: Special Appeal (UNHCR, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

CORI Thematic Report: Darfur (Country of Origin Research and Information, March 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Enough 101: Displaced from Darfur – Refugees in Chad and IDPs in Sudan (Enough Said, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

“Fear Stalks Mali’s Refugees Despite Escape to Safety,” New York Times, 18 July 2012 [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Sudan Field Dispatch: Refugees Provide Details of Attacks in Isolated Blue Nile State (Enough, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Asylum Trends 2009-2011: Provisional Statistical Figures for Central Europe (UNHCR Central Europe, 2012) [text]
- Includes Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia.
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Distinction, Discretion, Discrimination: The New Frontiers of Gender-related Claims to Asylum, Presentation at Gender, Migration and Human Rights Conference, Florence, 18-19 June 2012 [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Listen and Learn: Participatory Assessment with Children and Adolescents (UNHCR, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

UNHCR Accountability Framework for Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming and Targeted Actions: 2011-2012 Global Analysis (UNHCR, July 2012) [text]
- Previous analyses are available here.
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

UNHCR Position on Returns to Rakhine State, Myanmar (UNHCR, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

UNHCR Proposed Amendments to Clause 25 “Restriction on right of appeal from within the United Kingdom” of the Crime and Courts Bill (UNHCR UK, June 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

UNHCR Recommendations on Important Aspects of Refugee Protection in Italy (UNHCR, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Working with Men and Boy Survivors of Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Forced Displacement (UNHCR, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Sudan-Chad: The Strains of Long-term Displacement (IRIN, July 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

 

New Publications on Climate Change; Humanitarian Engagement; Asylum; Palestinian Refugees; etc

UNHCR launched the report, “Climate Change, Vulnerability and Human Mobility: Perspectives of Refugees from the East and Horn of Africa” (UNHCR & UNU-EHS, June 2012), at the recent Rio+20 conference.  For more information, view the video report and read the related press release and news story.
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Talking to the other side: Humanitarian engagement with armed non-state actors
HPG Policy Briefs 47, June 2012.
By Ashley Jackson.
[Download Here]
(Source: Humanitarian Practice Group).
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Asylum Under Threat: Assessing the Protection of Somali Refugees in Dadaab Refugee Camps and along the Migration Corridor (Danish Refugee Council) [access]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

New Threats, Existing Solutions: Palestinian Refugees 64 Years On (Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council) [access]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

How Much Further? (ECRE) [access]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

The Search: Protection Space in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines and Cambodia in Practice (JRS Asia-Pacific) [access]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

 

New Publications on Africa; Information and Communication Technologies; UNHCR

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) released a new report today; Internal Displacement in Africa: A Development Challenge ”highlights how internal displacement is not just an humanitarian, human rights or peace-building challenge, but also a development one.”

Other recent publications on Africa include:

Darfurians in South Sudan: Negotiating Belonging in Two Sudans, Citizenship and Displacement in the Great Lakes Region Working Paper, no. 7 (International Refugee Rights Initiative, May 2012) [text]

“It Takes the Whole Village”: Assisting Socially and Economically Marginalized Women in African Refugee Camps and Post-Displacement Venues, Graduate Student Projects, Paper no. 2 (Boise State University, May 2012) [text]

Kenya: Enhancing Information and Transparency for Internally Displaced Persons (Article 19, June 2012) [text]

UNHCR Repatriates almost 14,000 Angolans; Steps up Pace of Return Ahead of Deadline (UNHCR, June 2012) [text]

“We can run away from bombs, but not from hunger”: Sudan’s Refugees in South Sudan (Amnesty International, June 2012) [text]

Closing the Loop: Responding to People’s Information Needs from Crisis Response to Recovery to Development – A Case Study of Post-Earthquake Haiti (Internews, May 2012) [text]

Crisis Mapping, Humanitarian Principles and the Application of Protection Standards: A Dialogue between Crisis Mappers and Operational Humanitarian Agencies, Geneva, 17 Nov. 2011 (World Vision, 2012) [text]

Deepening Participation and Improving Aid Effectiveness through Media and ICTs: A Practical Manual Translating Lessons Learned into Daily Practice (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, 2011) [text]

New Technologies in Humanitarian Aid, London, 29 March 2012 (ODI, March 201) [access]

Social Media Use and the Humanitarian Sector (Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, April 2012) [text]

Still Left in the Dark? How People in Emergencies Use Communication to Survive – and How Humanitarian Agencies Can Help, Policy Briefing, no. 6 (BBC Media Action, March 2012) [text]

Urban Refugee Protection in Cairo: The Role of Communication, Information and Technology, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 236 (UNHCR, May 2012) [text]

When Information Saves Lives: 2011 Annual Report – Internews Humanitarian Information Projects (Internews Network, Jan. 2012) [text]

Humanitarians without Borders: Work, Mobility and Wellbeing in UNHCR, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 237 (UNHCR, May 2012) [text]

“Statelessness and Human Rights: The Role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),” EAFIT Journal of International Law, vol. 2, no. 2 (2011) [full-text]

“The Uneven Development of the International Refugee Regime in Postwar Asia: Evidence from China, Hong Kong and Indonesia,” Journal of Refugee Studies, Advance Access, 25 June 2012 [abstract]
- Examines past UNHCR’s approach to refugee problems in Asia.

The source for all of these publications was the Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog at: http://fm-cab.blogspot.co.uk/

UNHCR Refworld Migration Special Feature

*** Apologies for Cross Posting ***

The Refworld team would like to draw your attention to a new Refworld “Special Feature”, on Migration, which has been launched this week. Special Features are thematic pages, or “mini portals”, that contain a selection of documents and weblinks on a specific theme.

The Migration Special Feature http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/migration.html contains key information and guidance on the intersection between refugee protection and international migration. It includes selected legal documents, caselaw, UNHCR and other policy documents and weblinks to relevant partner organizations. It also highlights key themes in this area, such as such as maritime protection and international cooperation and regional approaches.

The Refworld team will make every effort to expand the number of documents and update links as appropriate. For that purpose, Refworld users are invited to inform the Refworld-team of new or existing relevant documents on the topic for inclusion (if no copyright or other restrictions on re-publication are in place), at refworld@unhcr.org.

Previous alerts are available at http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/alerts.html. Should you wish to discontinue receiving these notifications, please respond to this e-mail (refworld@unhcr.org).