Human Security and Non-Citizens: Law, Policy and International Affairs is a new co-edited collection by Carla Ferstman, Director of REDRESS and Dr. Alice Edwards of the Refugee Studies Centre. The official launch will be on 24th February 2010 as part of RSC’s Wednesday Seminar series.
The past decades have seen enormous changes in our perceptions of ’security’, the causes of insecurity and the measures adopted to address them. Threats of terrorism and the impacts of globalisation and mass migration have shaped our identities, politics and world views. This volume of essays analyses these shifts in thinking and, in particular, critically engages with the concept of ‘human security’ from legal, international relations and human rights perspectives. Contributors consider the special circumstances of non-citizens, such as refugees, migrants, and displaced and stateless persons, and assess whether, conceptually and practically, ‘human security’ helps to address the multiple challenges they face.
This policy brief considers the situation of displaced populations within Iraq’s national borders and of communities of Iraqis living under difficult circumstances in a number of Middle Eastern states.
The paper suggests that despite military and policy discourses of renewed stability in Iraq, the crisis is far from over and that mass return is unlikely as long as security remains a key concern. It presents some key principles for consideration by policy makers in government, in migration agencies and in the humanitarian networks and recommends that further research should be conducted on the scale, circumstances and patterns of movement of Iraqis within and beyond the Middle East.
Two new resource summaries are now available on Forced Migration Online. The summaries on ‘Islam, Human Rights and Displacement’ and ‘Statelessness’ complement the 2009 Special Issue and Issue 32 of Forced Migration Review and provide links to related key resources, websites and documents.
A ‘stateless person’ is someone who is not recognised as a national by any state. They therefore have no nationality or citizenship and are unprotected by national legislation, leaving them vulnerable in ways that most of us never have to consider. This latest issue of FMR includes 22 articles by academic, international and local actors debating the challenges faced by stateless people and the search for appropriate responses and solutions.
The issue also includes 17 articles on other aspects of forced migration, among which are a mini-feature (comprising four articles) on refugee status determination and articles on European migration policies, Colombia, Ecuador, disaster IDPs, Europe-Africa cooperation, trafficking in Iran, cash grants for refugees and reproductive health care in emergencies.
The first of its kind, this book provides a rare and unique inside look into the hidden world of ordinary North Koreans. Mike Kim, who worked with refugees on the Chinese border for four years, recounts their experiences of enduring famine, sex-trafficking, and torture, as well as the inspirational stories of those who overcame tremendous adversity to escape the repressive regime of their homeland and make new lives.
In Escaping North Korea, One of the few Americans granted entry into the secretive “Hermit Kingdom,” Kim came to know the isolated country and its people intimately. His North Korean friends entrusted their secrets to him as they revealed the government’s brainwashing tactics and confessed their true thoughts about the repressive regime that so rigidly controls their lives. Civilians and soldiers alike spoke of what North Koreans think of Americans and war with America. Children remembered the suffering they endured through the famine. Women and girls recalled their horrific sex-trafficking experiences. Former political prisoners shared their memories of beatings, torture, and executions in the gulags.
Oxford
10th March 2009, 7.30pm – 9.00pm
Nissan Lecture Theatre
St Antony’s College
University of Oxford
Organised in association with the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford Department of International Development
London
11th March 2009, 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Room G50
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
Organised in association with the SOAS Amnesty Group
The Forced Migration Review Editors have produced this 12-page supplement to enhance debate and understanding of the concepts and instruments of international human rights in the Islamic world.
The supplement includes the full text of the UDHR and the ‘Cairo Declaration’ in the hope that they will both inform and enable those concerned with assisting and protecting displaced people to advocate more strongly on their behalf. We have also included three articles that take up aspects of the debate over the applicability of international laws and conventions in Islam.
The Digital Library and Journals sections of this website were relaunched in December 2008, with substantial modifications and upgrades including moving the content to new servers (for better long term preservation) and a more precise search facility. This work was undertaken as part of the JISC funded OARS project, the aim of which was to improve the management of the underlying Digital Library content and make it more open and accessible to external systems such as Google. Searching and browsing Digital Library content is now faster and more accurate than before, and this content is accessed through an improved user interface. The FMO team welcomes feedback from our users.
This 40-page special issue of Forced Migration Review (FMR), published by the Refugee Studies Centre of Oxford University, reflects discussions at the international conference on the Ten Years of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (‘GP10’) held in Oslo on 16-17 October 2008.
The FMR special issue includes shortened versions of some of the conference presentations, plus a selection of other articles, most of which present case studies on the application of the Guiding Principles in different countries.
Increasingly, there is widespread recognition that the environment, people’s lives and livelihoods are being transformed as a result of climate change. This has been linked to increased levels of environmental and weather-related disasters and higher levels of displacement. The RSC has produced a set of resources which debate the issues – including numbers, definitions and modalities – and the tension between the need for research and the need to act. Prepared to complement Forced Migration Review 31 and the FMO Research Guide on Climate Change and Displacement, FMO also hosts a new Resource Summary on the topic which provides links to many key resources, websites and documents related to climate change, environmental change, disasters and forced migration.
This research guide provides an in-depth examination of local integration as a durable solution and focuses on three key developments within research, policy and practice. Firstly, it looks at local integration at a policy level, as a potential durable solution to the impasse of protracted refugee situations. Secondly, it examines the increased policy, scholarly and advocacy interest related to the issue of self-settled refugees. Thirdly, contemporary work on ‘refugee livelihoods’ has revealed that integration can be a form of livelihood strategy for refugees.
