The briefing, written by Dr Jason Hart and Claudia Lo Forte, considers the role of international and UN organisations in protecting Palestinian children. Four distinguishing features of a rights-based approach to child protection are identified:
the prioritisation of child protection over national self-interest;
a focus on causes and not merely effects;
the need for political engagement around international legal standards;
The Forced Migration Discussion List (also known as the FMList) is an email-based community, moderated by staff at Forced Migration Online. It provides regular updates on major news, publications and events relating to forced migration.
Posts to the Forced Migration Discussion List will often include information about relevant funding opportunities, job vacancies and new research projects. Subscribers to the List also have access to an invaluable community of experts in the field of forced migration, and may occasionally use the List to request specific information on issues relevant to forced migration.
Messages sent to the Forced Migration Discussion List are moderated and so we have recently published a set of posting guidelines to help users who wish to post a message to the List. Users who regularly post messages to the List may wish to take a moment to read through them.
For more information, or to subscribe, please visit the FMList page on Forced Migration Online.
The research guide to Forced Migration Periodicals has been updated and now includes sections on periodicals that address not only forced migration generally but also health, law, humanitarian assistance, emergency relief and the larger issue of international migration.
This guide lists journals, substantive newsletters and other regularly produced publications that are relevant in the field of forced migration studies. The emphasis has been placed on periodicals that are currently being published and whose online contents are up-to-date.
The collection of links is housed in the Delicious social bookmarking service and will automatically be updated when new titles are added or when existing links are edited.
In 2007 Forced Migration Online first highlighted the situation faced by Uyghurs in Xinjiang province, China. The film ‘Lost Nation: Stories from the Uyghur Diaspora’ included an interview with Rabiya Kadeer, the most prominent Uyghur in the world today. Channel 4 news also interviewed Rabiya Kadeer yesterday as the situation has suddenly worsened in Urumqi.
Today Lindsey Hilsum interviewed Rebiya Kadeer, the President of the World Uighur Congress, the most significant Uighur leader, either in China or abroad, and a hate figure for the Chinese government.
Ms Kadeer used to be a businesswoman in Xinjiang, China’s most westerly province, until she was imprisoned for separatist activities.
On her release she fled to the USA where she is now based.
The Chinese government has accused her of orchestrating the violence which erupted in Urumqi yesterday.
The research guide on Iraq has been updated to reflect rising levels of displacement and other recent developments. Since 2003, UNHCR estimates that at least 2 million Iraqis have left Iraq and a further 1 million have been displaced inside the country. One in eight Iraqis has been forcibly uprooted, and according to UNHCR estimates, some 40,000 to 60,000 are leaving their homes on a monthly basis. There are an estimated 1.4 million Iraqis seeking refuge in Syria and a further 750,000 in Jordan. See also the resource summary which highlights a selection of web-based resources that focus on Iraq.
UPDATE: Also worth noting, the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq have published a series of 6 briefing papers summarizing current issues, trends and lessons learned facing operational humanitarian organisations in Iraq. The papers address the following areas:
The web page for the video Lost Nation: Stories from the Uyghur diaspora has been updated to feature the interviews as 5 individual films. These can be viewed in a web browser (QuickTime or Flash format) or via iTunes.
Enver Tohti, London
Discusses personal migration and Uyghur Chinese relations
Gulamettin Emet, New York
Discusses his personal migration in 1940s to India, then Turkey and Germany before being the first Uyghur to settle in the USA
Enver Can, Munich
Discusses personal migration and treatment of Uyghurs in Afghanistan and China.
The country of Afghanistan is ethnically, linguistically, and physically diverse. This updated Afghanistan research guide covers the nation’s long history, from ancient Sarzameen-e-Bay, through to the Soviet occupation, the rise of the Taliban, the aftermath of 9/11 and concludes with a current political overview.
Twenty three years of civil war in Afghanistan created large numbers of refugees and IDPs – many of whom have returned home over the last six years following the fall of the Taliban in 2001. For many, their search for employment, adequate and affordable housing, access to basic services, reclamation of property, and reintegration into communities has been fraught with difficulty. At the same time, return is made difficult or in some cases impossible as peace and security remains illusive in some parts of the country. As the country struggles along the long road of reconstruction, the durability of the return is dependent on the establishment of the state – its institutions and the establishment of the rule of law – and its ability to create opportunities within an environment of security which enables its citizens to thrive rather than simply survive. Throughout, significant challenges lie ahead as Afghanistan’s development indicators continue to be poor. An estimated 20-40 per cent of rural Afghans are malnourished, and roughly 70 per cent of the population live on less than USD 2 a day. Over two-thirds of Afghans over the age of 15 cannot read and write; and one in five children die before they reach their fifth birthday.
This updated research guide provides an overview of the influxes of Palestinian refugees to Lebanon since 1948 and subsequent conflicts in the country. It provides historical background to how the refugees came to be in Lebanon and examines the conditions under which they live. This research guide is one of five examining the situation of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.
The video section of the website has now been updated. The film Lost Nation: Stories from the Uyghur diaspora has been launched following a preview screening at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. Other enhancements to the video section include additional formats, in addition to QuickTime streaming versions which we use to deliver video for almost all possible bandwidths, the films are now in Flash and iPod format. The videos are also available for free via iTunes, or you can subscribe to the video RSS feed.
Please let us know if you have any comments about the videos on FMO.
The most recent RSC Policy Briefing “Protecting Palestinian children from political violence: the role of the international community” was launched in London on Thursday 30 September.
