New Publications on the Ivorian Crisis in Liberia; International Students and Net Migration; UNHCR

Save the Children Emergency Response to the Ivorian Crisis in Liberia
By Save the Children.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: ALNAP)

International students and net migration in the UK.
A new report published by the Institute of Public Policy Research, (IPPR).

This report recommends that international students should be excluded from overall net migration figures, as moves to limit incoming student numbers for the sake of long-term migration figures put a valuable export market – higher education – at risk. A survey of the top 10 countries for international students suggests there is no international rule or standard preventing the UK from counting students in this way.

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

Inspection of Border Control Operations at Terminal 3 Heathrow Airport.
New report published by John Vine, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: Migrants’ Rights Network).

But When Will Our Turn Come? A Review of the Implementation of UNHCR’s Urban Refugee Policy in Malaysia, PDES/2012/02 (UNHCR, May 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

In the Shelter of Each Other: Notions of Home and Belonging amongst Somali Refugees in Nairobi, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 233 (UNHCR, May 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Light Years Ahead: Innovative Technology for Better Refugee Protection (UNHCR, March 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Statelessness in the Canadian Context: An Updated Discussion Paper (UNHCR, March 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

UNHCR Submission on Bill C-31: Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act (UNHCR Canada, May 2012) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

 

New Publication: The State of the World’s Refugees 2012: In Search of Solidarity

The State of the World’s Refugees 2012

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in conjunction with Oxford University Press, have just published the latest edition of their flagship publication entitled The State of the World’s Refugees.

The State of the World’s Refugees 2012: In Search of Solidarity (UNHCR & Oxford University Press) has just been published (May 2012) and the aim of the publication is to discuss:

Sixty years after the establishment of the UNHCR, refugees – people who flee across an international border to escape war or persecution – remain at the core of the agency’s work. But UNHCR is also called upon to aid people who are displaced within the borders of their own countries, and to address the plight of stateless persons – those not considered as citizens by any country. The book looks at UNHCR’s work with these three groups, bringing readers up-to-date on developments since 2006, when the last edition in this series was published.

Drawing on UNHCR’s direct experience, eight chapters address key challenges, starting with the diminishing space for humanitarian action in places like Somalia and Afghanistan. Protracted conflicts mean that fewer refugees are able to return home, yet restrictive state policies limit possibilities for local integration and resettlement, and threaten the institution of asylum. Rising numbers are displaced within their own countries, driven from their homes by climate change and natural disasters, as well as by conflict and human rights abuses. Refugees and displaced people increasingly live in cities rather than in camps, and are harder to reach. Statelessness, an anachronism in the 21st century, is prevalent on all continents, leaving millions of lives in limbo. The closing chapter addresses the book’s central theme: how to develop international solidarity to help states shoulder their responsibilities for the forcibly displaced. Case studies drawn from UNHCR’s work in the field illustrate the issues.
(Source: Oxford University Press Website).

In a circular email from the Forced Migration Discussion List, there is the possibility for a 20% discount, enter the code AAFLY12 in the promotional code box at check out.
[Access]
(Source: Forced Migration Discussion List).

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).

New Publications on Integration; Domestic Workers Employment; Migrant Voice; ONTRAC ; UNHCR

Operation Integration

Operation Integration: The Making of New Citizens.  A new report published by The Forum (Migrants & Refugee Communities Forum).
[Download Full Report]
(Source: The Forum)

The final report of the Migrant Domestic Workers Employment Rights project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, was published in January 2012.  ‘Turning a Blind Eye: The British state and migrant domestic workers’ employment rights’ by WLRI’s Nick Clark and Leena Kumarappan was the result of an investigation into Migrant Domestic Workers’ (MDWs) employment conditions and the enforcement of their employment rights.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: Migrants’ Rights Network)

Migrant Voice

New edition of the Migrant Voice newspaper.
[Access]
(Source: Migrants’ Rights Network)

Latest ONTRAC – Issue 50: Civil society at a new frontier – new dynamics, challenges and opportunities

This special double issue of ONTRAC is to celebrate both the fiftieth issue of our newsletter, and also the twentieth anniversary of INTRAC. As part of our anniversary activities, we held an international conference in December 2011 on civil society – one of our core themes that lay at the heart of why we exist and what we do. The conference looked at civil society in the light of economic growth and the post-aid environment, and the challenges and opportunities presented by these. The articles in this issue draw together reflections from the twentieth anniversary conference, and look at the future for civil society.

[Access]
(Source: INTRAC)

UNHCR would like to draw your attention to UNHCR’s
comments to the Amended proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament of the Council on common procedures for granting and
withdrawing international protection status (‘Asylum Procedures
Directive’ or ‘APD’) which was issued in June 2011
(http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/news/intro/docs/110601/319/1_EN_ACT_part1_v
12%5B1%5D.pdf).  The document comments on amendments which differ from those of the 2009 recast proposal. Therefore, it should be read in conjunction with UNHCR’s comments to the 2009 recast
(http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4c63ebd32.html) which remain valid.
(Source: UNHCR RefWorld)

Updated UNHCR Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures and Criteriafor Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention andthe 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees

UNHCR Handbook

The UNHCR has recently published an updated version of their `Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention andthe 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.’

In a Refworld Alert to subscribers, the UNHCR state:

UNHCR would like to draw your attention to its
“Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the
Status of Refugees”. reissued in December 2011. The Handbook was first issued in September 1979 at the request of Member States of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme.  A second edition was released in January 1992, which updated information
concerning accessions to the international refugee instruments.  To preserve its integrity, the Handbook remains unchanged also in the present edition, although the annexes have again been updated.  In addition to the Handbook, and in response to the varying legal interpretations of Article 1 of the 1951 Convention in national
jurisdictions, UNHCR has continued to issue legal positions on specific questions of international refugee law. In this connection, UNHCR has
gazetted “Guidelines on International Protection”, as envisaged under the Agenda for Protection following the 50th anniversary events in 2001-2002.  These Guidelines complement and update the Handbook and should be read in combination with it. Included in this edition are the first eight Guidelines in the series. The explanations provided in this publication of key components of refugee status determination are based on the accumulated views of UNHCR, State practice, Executive Committee Conclusions, academic literature and judicial decisions at national, regional and international levels, over a sixty-year period.  The Handbook and Guidelines are issued pursuant to UNHCR’s supervisory
responsibility contained in paragraph 8 of the 1950 Statute of UNHCR in conjunction with Articles 35 and 36 of the 1951 Convention and Article II of the 1967 Protocol.

The Handbook and the Guidelines are intended to guide government officials, judges, practitioners, as well as UNHCR staff applying the refugee definition. It is hoped that they will continue to provide an important reference for refugee status determination around the world and help resolve variations in interpretation.

[Access to Full Report on Refworld]
(Source: UNHCR Refworld)

New Pubs. on Forced Displacement and Resettlement Research and Health

Journal of Refugee Studies

A New Path Forward: Researching and Reflecting on Forced Displacement and Resettlement:Report on the International Resettlement Conference: Economics, Social Justice, and Ethics in Development-Caused Involuntary Migration, the Hague, 4–8 October 2010
A new article to be published in the Journal of Refugee Studies, available as an Advance Access article.

Abstract:

Forced displacement by development projects is occurring around the world at increasing rates. While some institutions have adopted detailed policies to guide resettlement efforts post-displacement, those forcibly displaced by development projects continue to experience intense impoverishment and increased marginalization. Looking to develop new pathways forward to mitigate the negative impacts of development-caused forced displacement and resettlement, resettlement researchers and practitioners met for a conference in the Hague in October 2010. The conference interrogated current involuntary resettlement policies, examined the pitfalls and gaps between policy theories and implementation and began to develop a new framework for displacement and resettlement research, in which imposed development-caused displacement is analysed through the lens of both social justice and human rights.

[Access]
(Source: Oxford Journals).

Family Planning in Malakal, South Sudan: Results of a Community-based Pilot Project (American Refugee Committee, Women’s Refugee Commission & Centers for Disease Control, Dec. 2011) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Refocusing Family Planning in Refugee Settings: Findings and Recommendations from a Multi-­‐Country Baseline Study (UNHCR & Women’s Refugee Commission, Nov. 2011) [text]

- Note: Baseline studies conducted for this report are available via the Women’s Refugee Commission’s “reproductive health” section.
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

Towards Improving Forced Migrant Access to Health and Psychosocial Rights in Urban South Africa: A Focus on Johannesburg, Migration Issue Brief, no. 8 (African Centre for Migration & Society, Nov. 2011) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

UNHCR Operational Guidance on the Use of Special Nutritional Products to Reduce Micronutrient Deficiencies and Malnutrition in Refugee Populations (UNHCR, 2011) [text via ReliefWeb]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

UNHCR’s Essential Medicines and Medical Supplies: Policy and Guidance 2011 (UNHCR, Dec. 2011) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog).

New Edition of UNHCR Statistical Yearbook

UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2010

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recently published the latest edition of their annual statistucal publications, the Statistical Yearbook.  This represents the 10th edition of this publication, whose full title is the: ` Statistical Yearbook: Trends in Displacement, Protection and Solutions.’

The full report along with a large quantity of additional statistical information can be found on the UNHCR Statistics and Operational Data webpage.  the scope of the actual report can be detailed as follows:

The scope of the 2010 Yearbook remains unchanged from previous years. Since the introduction in 2006 of special features on specific topics within regions, the Yearbook has aimed to provide more analytical information designed to facilitate decision- making. In addition to reviewing global statistical trends and shifts in the populations of concern to UNHCR between January and December 2010, the Yearbook provides a number of case studies that examine issues such as health or IDP profiling.

[Download Options]
[UNHCR Statistics and Operational Data webpage.]

New Pubs. on Being a Refugee ; UN Integration ; Racism ; Migration ; and new Working Papers

UNHCR’s Central Europe office has published its Participatory Assessment Report for 2010: Being a Refugee: How Refugees and Asylum-seekers Experience Life in Central Europe.   Earlier reports can be viewed here under AGDM Reports.

(Source:  Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog – http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/)

UN Integration and Humanitarian Space: An Independent Study Commissioned by the UN Integration Steering Group.
Authors: Vicki Metcalfe, Alison Giffen and Samir Elhawary

Published by the ODI and Stimson Center .
[Download Report]
(Source: ODI).

Are You Saying I’m Racist?
A new report published by Trust for London, in partnership with the Runnymede Trust.
Details from the Runnymede Trust website state that:

The report finds that racist violence continues to be a serious problem in the UK, particularly amongst young people in London.
It argues that a “zero tolerance” approach to racism, such as teachers excluding pupils for such behaviour from school, has failed and can drive the problem underground.
Instead, the report argues, a more proactive response that draws out the problem and confronts it with the aim of prevention is needed.
The report focuses on three initiatives taking place across London which specialise in preventative approaches to tackling racist violence, based in Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich and Bexley.

[Download Full Report]
[Download Report Summary]
Further Information: Runnymede Trust Press Release and the Trust for London website.

IPPR Migration Review 2011/12
[Download Report]
(Source: Migrants’ Rights Network).

Displacement in Post-War Southern Sudan: Survival and Accumulation within Urban Perimeters, Research Working Paper, no. 57 (MICROCON, Nov. 2011) [text]
(Source:  Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog – http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/)

Forced Migration, Female Labour Force Participation, and Intra-household Bargaining: Does Conflict Empower Women?, Research Working Paper, no. 56 (MICROCON, Nov. 2011) [text]
(Source:  Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog – http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/)

The ‘Next Generation’ Visa: Belt and Braces or the Emperor’s New Clothes?, CEPS Paper on Liberty and Security in Europe (Centre for European Policy Studies, Oct. 2011) [text]
(Source:  Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog – http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/)

Precarious Housing and Hidden Homelessness among Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Immigrants in the Toronto Metropolitan Area, Working Paper, no. 87 (CERIS, Dec. 2011) [text]
(Source:  Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog – http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/)

Publication: UNHCR: Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries,First Half 2011

The latest UNHCR statistics publication has just been published.  Further details and a link can be found in the press release below which was circulated to me by email today:

UNHCR: Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries,First Half 2011

This is to inform you that the following report has been published
today and is available from the UNHCR statistics website at
www.unhcr.org/statistics .

- Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, First Half
2011

Key findings
A.  An estimated 198,300 asylum applications were recorded during the
first six months of 2011 in the 44 industrialized countries included in
the report. This is 17 per cent more than during the  same period 2010
(169,300), and is nearly identical to the number of applications
recorded  during the second half of 2010 (197,600).

B. As application rates normally peak during the second half of the
year, UNHCR projects that 2011 may see 420,000 applications by year’s
end – the highest total in eight years.

C. 2011 has so far seen major forced displacement crises in West,
North, and East Africa. The report finds related increases in asylum
claims among Tunisians, Ivorians, and Libyans (4,600, 3,300 and 2,000
claims respectively) but overall, the impact of these events on
application rates in industrialized countries has been limited.

D. Taking the 44 countries surveyed in the report as a whole, the main
countries of origin of asylum-seekers remained largely unchanged from
previous reports: Afghanistan (15,300 claims), China (11,700 claims),
Serbia [and Kosovo: SC Res. 1244] (10,300 claims), Iraq (10,100 claims),
and the Islamic Republic of Iran (7,600 claims).

E.  By country, the United States of America had more claims (36,400)
than any other industrialized nation, followed by France (26,100),
Germany (20,100), Sweden (12,600), and the United Kingdom (12,200).

F. The Nordic region was the only part of Europe to see a fall in
asylum applications. The largest relative increase was registered in
southern Europe which received 25,100 asylum requests during the first
semester of 2011: a 57 per cent increase compared to the first six
months of 2010 (16,000 claims).

The report itself in PDF format can be downloaded here : Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries,First Half 2011

UNHCR Related Publications

The Benefits of Belonging: Local Integration Options and Opportunities for Host Countries, Communities and Refugees (2011) [text]

Exclusion at a Crossroads: The Interplay between International Criminal Law and Refugee Law in the Area of Extended Liability, Legal and Protection Policy Research Series (June 2011) [text]

Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention of Asylum-Seekers, Refugees, Migrants and Stateless Persons: Summary Conclusions (July 2011) [text]

Living in a World of Violence: An Introduction to the Gang Phenomenon, Legal and Protection Policy Research Series (July 2011) [text]

Safe at Last? Law and Practice in Selected EU Member States with Respect to Asylum-Seekers Fleeing Indiscriminate Violence (July 2011) [text]

UNHCR Statement on the Reception Conditions of Asylum-seekers under the Dublin Procedure (August 2011) [text]

An Independent Impact Evaluation of UNHCR’s Community Based Reintegration Programme in Southern Sudan (UNHCR, March 2011) [text]

“International Institutions and Individualized Decision-Making: An Example of UNHCR’s Refugee Status Determination,” Chapter in The Exercise of Public Authority by International Institutions: Advancing International Institutional Law (Springer, Dec. 2010) [info]
- An earlier version of this piece appeared in the German Law Journal.

Research Summary on Resettled Refugee Integration in Canada (Centre for Refugee Studies, May 2011) [text via UNHCR]

Restitution, Compensation, Satisfaction: Transnational Reparations and Colombia’s Victims’ Law, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 215 (UNHCR, August 2011) [text]

The Way to San José: A Review of the Implementation of UNHCR’s Urban Refugee Policy in Costa Rica, PDES/2011/08 (UNHCR, August 2011) [text]

Source : Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog : http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/

UNHCR 2010 Global Trends Report

The latest 2010 edition of UNHCR’s annual publication entitled `Global Trends Report’ is now available to view online from the statistics section of the UNHCR website.  In their publicity circulated to launch the new report, UNHCR state :

The 48-page report reflects many of the major humanitarian developments between January and December 2010. It analyses the statistical trends
and changes in the global populations of concern to UNHCR, i.e. refugees, returnees, stateless persons and certain groups of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

A selection of the statistical data, which is also made available on the statistics section (http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c4d6.html) of the UNHCR website, indicates that:

- There were 43.7 million forcibly displaced people worldwide at the end of 2010, the highest number in 15 years. Of these, 15.4 million were refugees; 10.55 million under UNHCR’s mandate and 4.82 million
Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA. The figure also includes
837,000 asylum-seekers and 27.5 million internally displaced persons.

- More than 25.2 million people – 10.55 million refugees and 14.7 million IDPs – were receiving protection or assistance from UNHCR at the
end of 2010.

- By the end of 2010, UNHCR had identified some 3.5 million stateless persons in 65 countries. However, the Office estimated that the overall number of stateless persons worldwide could be far higher – about 12
million people.

The full report can be downloaded from the UNHCR statistics website – full report download ; and an interactive version is also available to view from the following link : http://www.unhcr.org/gr10/index.html#/home