Monday 30 July 2007

Women and Asylum

The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK (ICAR) has just released a new briefing paper entitled Women Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the UK. This briefing paper is available to download from the ICAR website and further details can be found at:

Web: http://www.icar.org.uk/briefings_womens

ICAR state that "This briefing addresses four key issues relating to refugee women: the introduction of gender guidelines, female genital mutilation (FGM), the trafficking of women and women in detention. The briefing aims to complement ICAR’s Navigation Guide on Women Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the UK, which provides a broader overview of this subject."

Thursday 26 July 2007

New Publications

Produced courtesy of the Forced Migration Current Awareness blog produced by Elisa Mason. Web: http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/

New Publications :

2007 Armed Conflicts Report: Preview (Project Ploughshares, 2007) [text]

Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons: Implementing the ‘Pinheiro Principles’ (OCHA/IDD, UN HABITAT, UNHCR, FAO, OHCHR, NRC & IDMC, March 2007 (print), July 2007 (electronic)) [text]

Internally displaced in Chad: Trapped between civil conflict and Sudan’s Darfur crisis (IDMC, July 2007) [text]

Planning for the future - The impact of resettlement on the remaining camp population (Thailand Burma Border Consortium, July 2007) [text]
- Refugees International discusses this report in a July 25th blog post.

Real-time evaluation of UNHCR's IDP operation in Eastern Chad, PDES/2007/02 - RTE 1 (UNHCR, July 2007) [text]

Real-time evaluation of UNHCR's IDP operation in Liberia, PDES/2007/02 - RTE 2 (UNHCR, July 2007) [text]

Safe Schools and Learning Environment: How to Prevent and Respond to Violence in Refugee Schools. A Guide (UNHCR, June 2007) [text]

The State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth (UNFPA, July 2007) [text]

Sunday 22 July 2007

Indonesian Papua: A Local Perspective on the Conflict - New Crisis Group briefing

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW BRIEFING

Indonesian Papua: A Local Perspective on the Conflict

Jakarta/Brussels, 19 July 2007: Local priorities in Papua are often quite different from those generally associated with the province.

Indonesian Papua: A Local Perspective on the Conflict*, the latest Crisis Group briefing to examine micro-politics in Indonesia’s troubled regions, puts the remote Boven Digoel district under a microscope. It highlights two issues of broader relevance to Papua as a whole: first, the dangers of ethnic politics often triggered by pemekaran (the division of provinces and districts into ever more administrative units) and, secondly, the social tensions that large-scale natural resource investment can generate.

“Most outside observers see only one dimension of conflict in Papua”, says Francesca Lawe-Davies, an analyst with Crisis Group’s South East Asia Project, “but it is far more complex than simply the Indonesian government vs. the independence movement. Equally important are tensions between different tribal groups, and between indigenous Papuans and non-Papuan settlers, as well as competition over political power and access to spoils”.

The clamour for pemekaran is not unique to Papua but it is especially problematic there, since it often leads to an increase in troop numbers and an influx of non-Papuan migrants – two core grievances of the indigenous community. It has also tended to intensify competition among tribal elites over access to political power and natural resource revenues. Pemekaran may, in some cases, help speed up development and access to basic services but it is critical that the government undertake rigorous assessments to ensure local ethnic and tribal tensions are not exacerbated.

Boven Digoel’s experience also illustrates the potential pitfalls of large-scale natural resource development. Outside investment in logging and plantations offers revenue and jobs to the region, but it can lead to social conflict. Indigenous Papuans resent the influx of non-Papuan workers, who often land the better-paid jobs. Logging and plantations damage or destroy local livelihoods, and there are often disputes over compensation. More fundamentally, the lack of clear legal standing for customary land rights under Indonesian law means that local communities have little ability to resist the expropriation of their land for logging or plantations.

“It is not the headline issues of independence and human rights which resonate most strongly in Boven Digoel but bread-and-butter concerns about land, livelihoods and ethnic identity”, says John Virgoe, Crisis Group’s new South East Asia Project Director. “There is a real risk that the rapid growth in logging and in oil palm plantations in many parts of Papua will contribute to social conflict. Establishing a clear legal framework for customary land rights and an arrangement for managing the flow of non-Papuan settlers would do a lot to mitigate this risk”.


Contacts: Nadim Hasbani (Brussels) 32 (0) 2 541 1635
Kimberly Abbott (Washington) 1 202 785 1601

To contact Crisis Group media please click here
*Read the full Crisis Group briefing on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org

The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation covering over 50 crisis-affected countries and territories across four continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict.

New Publications

Source: Welcome to Your Library Current Awareness Email

Integration and cohesion case studies

http://www.integrationandcohesion.org.uk/upload/assets/www.integrationandcohesion.org.uk/integration_and_cohesion_case_studies.pdf

In addition to the main report (noted in WTYL Digest 18 June 2007), the Commission on Integration & Cohesion have also published a separate document with case studies, including “Refugees into Libraries” (Leicester) and “Libraries Connect” (Hull).

Obstacles to accountability: challenging the immigration detention of families

(Source: IRR Weekly Digest)

http://www.biduk.org/pdf/children/BIDFamilyHandbookFINAL.pdf

The aim of this new handbook from the organisation Bail for Immigration Detainees is to provide up-to-date analysis of current detention policy and practice to inform campaigners, lawyers, human rights organisations and parliamentarians who wish to challenge family detention.

Forced to flee

http://www.theworkcontinues.org/downloads/Forced%20to%20Flee%203%20Web%20PDF%20version.pdf

(Source: IRR Weekly Digest)

The 3rd edition of Refugee Action Group’s FAQs about refugees and asylum-seekers in Northern Ireland has just been published.

Culture on demand

http://www.culture.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9C6750DA-8C19-4254-91B7-0F0FCA786750/0/CultureOnDemand.pdf

New report from DCMS, which looks at what drives demands for culture from people in the Public Service Agreement priority groups (BME communities, disabled people, lower socio-economic groups) – includes positive references to work in libraries - including Leicester - (and museums and archives).

MRS N°30 - Migration, Development and Natural Disasters: Insights from the Indian Ocean Tsunami

MRS30
Migration, Development and Natural Disasters: Insights from the Indian Ocean Tsunami
When natural disasters strike populated areas, the toll in human lives, infrastructure and economic activities can be devastating and long-lasting. The psychological effects can be just as debilitating, instilling fear and discouragement in the affected populations. But, adversity also brings forth the strongest and best in human beings, and reveals initiatives, capacities and courage not perceived before. How is development undermined by natural disasters, what is the effect on migrants and migratory flows and what is the role of migration in mitigating some of the worst effects of natural calamities? This paper explores how the advent of a natural disaster interplays with the migration-development nexus by reviewing the impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami on migration issues in three affected countries; Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

This paper focuses on three particular aspects of how natural disasters interplay
with the migration/development dynamic: (a) Impact of natural disasters on
migrant communities, in particular heightened vulnerabilities and lack of access to humanitarian/development assistance; (b) Effect of natural disasters on migratory flows into and out of affected areas due to socio-economic changes which undermine pre-disaster development levels, (c) Diaspora response and support in the aftermath of disaster and the degree to which this can offset losses and bolster “re-development”.


Table of Contents
  • Executive Summary
  • Introduction
  • Linkages Between Migration, Development and Natural Disasters
  • Context
  • Vulnerability of Migrants Post-Natural Disaster
  • Migratory Movements Following Natural Disasters
  • Diaspora Response to Natural Disasters
  • Conclusions
  • Glossary and Acronyms
  • References
Publication Details
Year of Publication: 2007
Number of Pages: 94
ISSN: 1607-338X
Price: USD 16.00
Volume Number: 30

New Refugee Council e-shop

From the Refugee Council:

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new e-shop. Our publications are now available to be purchased online with a credit or debit card via WorldPay's secure transaction site.

Our publications cover refugee issues and refugee stories as well as many resources for primary and secondary schools.

Books like 'Credit to the Nation' or 'My name came up' are excellent background resources on the refugee experience while our bilingual books and workbooks are useful for working with children where English is not their first language. There are also key esources linked with the curriculum such as 'Refugees: We left because we had to' and a wide range of other resources useful for those working in the refugee and asylum sector.

Go to www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/e-shop
or
Find it in the Practical advice section: www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/e-shop

New United Nations Publications Website

A new website has been launched for the Publications service of the United Nations. Details of the web site are as follows:

https://unp.un.org/default.aspx

Commission on Integration and Cohesion final report published

The final report by the Commission on Integration and Cohesion setting out the steps that need to be taken to build strong, cohesive and integrated communities was published yesterday.

The independent Commission chaired by Darra Singh was established by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly and tasked with considering what local and practical action is needed to overcome the barriers to integration and cohesion.

The Commission’s report, Our Shared Future puts forward a wide-ranging set of recommendations for practical action to address cohesion and integration issues at a local level, along with suggestions for a national framework to support these.

For more informartion and to see a copy of the report please click on the link below
http://www.integrationandcohesion.org.uk/Our_final_report.aspx