Forced Migration Online: Blog

FMO has launched the first of a series of podcasts recorded at the Protecting People in Conflict & Crisis conference, held by the Refugee Studies Centre (in collaboration with the Humanitarian Policy Group) between 22th and 24th September 2009 at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. The opening address was given by Erika Feller, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, UNHCR. Further details about the conference can be accessed on the event page.

• Podcast
• Subscribe via iTunes

One year on from the war between Georgia and the Russian Federation, thousands of civilians remain stranded from their homes with little prospect of imminent return. An estimated 30,000 people are displaced according to a new Amnesty International report released August 7th. Civilians continue to endure human rights violations and remain directly affected by the aftermath of the conflict.

• Amnesty International Report ‘Civilians in the Aftermath of War: The Georgia-Russia Conflict One Year On’
• Oxfam, Georgia Crisis – One year on
• BBC New story ‘Geneva Conventions’ struggle for respect’

The Refugee Studies Centre, in collaboration with the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute, is organising an international conference on Protecting People in Conflict & Crisis: Responding to the Challenges of a Changing World (22-24 September).

• Conference
• Call for Papers (PDF file)

Martin Bell is interviewed by Andy Brown, Unicef UK. Martin Bell, former BBC war correspondent, is UNICEF UK’s Ambassador for Humanitarian Emergencies. In this interview he reflects on his visit to Puntland province, Somalia in May 2009 where the greatest concentration of IDPs displaced by the ongoing conflict are located. More than 50 per cent of Somalia’s population is under the age of 18 and Bell describes UNICEF’s work helping conflict affected and displaced children. Security constraints are such that UNICEF is one of the few humanitarian agencies currently operational in Somalia.

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• Bearing witness: Martin Bell in Somalia