Friday 28 November 2008

A Selection of News Stories (28/11/08)

Congolese flee rebels for Uganda (BBC News) - [text online]

China condemns France over Tibet (BBC News) - [text online]

Cameron condemns Tory leak arrest (BBC News) - [text online]

Tory frontbench MP Damian Green arrested over leaks (The Times) - [text online]

'Serious questions' over MP's arrest, says Cameron (The Independent) - [text online]

Kenya-Somalia: Thousands flee amid fears of fighting along border (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Zimbabwe: Cholera crisis could worsen, minister says (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

DR Congo: Some 13,000 civilians flee to Uganda as violence flares in Rutshuru (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Timor-Leste: Humanitarian update 8 - 21 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : oPt: Protection of civilians weekly report 19 - 25 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Humanitarian action in Southern Sudan weekly bulletin, week 44 & 45, 02 - 15 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Humanitarian action in Southern Sudan weekly bulletin, week 46, 16 - 22 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Hope for Zimbabwean asylum seekers (Institute of Race Relations) - [text online]

Bank withdraws facilities from Muslim charity (Institute of Race Relations) - [text online]

Refuge and fortress: a tale of two cultures (Institute of Race Relations) - [text online]

'Psychopath' found guilty of vicious murder of refugee (Bradford Telegraph & Argus) - [text online]

Watchdog wants BNP to be denied right to teach (Times Higher Education) - [text online]

Some 13,000 Congolese flee to Uganda as violence flares in Rutshuru (UNHCR) - [text online]

UNHCR chief Guterres meets Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani in Iraq (UNHCR) - [text online]

India: Red Cross aid for displaced people in Assam (ICRC) - [text online]

Iraq: Security agreement puts detainees at risk of torture (Amnesty International) - [text online]

Human rights violations spiraling out of control in DR Congo, warns UN official (UN News) - [text online]

ZIMBABWE: Cholera feeds off a perfect storm
(IRIN News) - [text online]

KENYA-SOMALIA: Thousands flee amid fears of fighting along border
(IRIN News) - [text online]

SRI LANKA: Violence against women on the rise
(IRIN News) - [text online]

YEMEN: Tough life for Somali refugees in southern town
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.

Thursday 27 November 2008

A Selection of News Stories (27/11/08)

UK 'should shift security agenda' (BBC News) - [text online]

Cholera Zimbabwe's 'worst crisis' (BBC News) - [text online]

UN approval for EU Kosovo mission (BBC News) - [text online]

Iraq delays vote on US withdrawal (BBC News) - [text online]

More aid reaches blockaded Gaza (BBC News) - [text online]

Robert Fisk: 'Nobody supports the Taliban, but people hate the government' (The Independent) - [text online]

Zimbabwe borders 'must close' (The Independent) - [text online]

Israel goes to war over Hebron's 'House of Peace' (The Indepependent) - [text online]

Iraq delays vote on US deal (The Independent) - [text online]

Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis likely to worsen, warns senior UN relief official (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

DR Congo: Recent events in Kivus had 'profound impact' on UN Mission (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Georgia: Security, return of IDP among severe challenges - ICG (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Bosnian Researcher Counts War Dead, And Faces Threats For His Methods (Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty) - [text online]

Democratic Republic of Congo: Focus on North Kivu Province: IDPs on the move face grave human rights violence (IDMC) - [Full Overview (html/pdf)]

Displaced children in the Central African Republic need better protection and assistance as insecurity continues
(IDMC) - [Full text of the press release and View the report]

Boris Johnson defends illegal immigrant amnesty proposal (The Guardian) - [text online]

Boost for the reintegration of Mauritanian returnees (UNHCR) - [text online]

Theatre raises health awareness and strengthens bonds in Rio (UNHCR) - [text online]

Guterres visits Iraq's Anbar Province, announces opening of new UNHCR office (UNHCR) - [text online]

Victims of armed conflict face increased vulnerability in 2009 (ICRC) - [text online]

TV News Footage - ICRC Emergency Appeal 2009: war, drought, world economic crisis – a deadly mix (ICRC) - [text online]

Democratic Republic of the Congo: civilians continue to suffer (ICRC) - [text online]

Democratic Republic of the Congo: renewed mass displacements (ICRC) - [text online]

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Mahamat Oumar Ismael, "Go back to Darfur? Not even in my dreams"
(IRIN News) - [text online]

UN’s Kosovo mission reorients field presence to non-Albanian ethnic communities (UN News) - [text online]

Extra blue helmets will aid political efforts to bring peace to DR Congo – UN (UN News) - [text online]

Ban hails Sudan’s election body as major progress in north-south peace accord (UN News) - [text online]

MAURITANIA: Thousands of returnees await legal status
(IRIN News) - [text online]

SUDAN: Great expectations as numbers of Southern returnees on the rise
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.

Wednesday 26 November 2008

A Selection of News Headlines (26/11/08)

Thai protesters shut down airport (BBC News) - [text online]

UN calls for rapid Zimbabwe deal (BBC News) - [text online]

Overseas student ID cards begin (BBC News) - [text online]

Asylum-seeker 'was assaulted by security men during deportation (The Independent) - [text online]

Sex for sale: The truth about prostitution in Britain (The Independent) - [text online]

3,000 dead from cholera in Zimbabwe (The Independent) - [text online]

WI enlisted in fight against prostitution (The Independent) - [text online]

Tribal chiefs offered UK 'bribes' to fight Taliban (The Independent) - [text online]

World Focus: Guantanamo and Obama's human rights conundrum (The Independent) - [text online]

DR Congo: New fighting sends more civilians fleeing in panic (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Agencies, UN call for urgent measures to end violence against women (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Zimbabwe: UN SG urges parties to support and provide humanitarian assistance (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Sudan: UN humanitarian chief starts Darfur visit, insists on security in Kalma camp (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

UNHCR backs 16 days of opposition to violence against women (UNHCR) - [text online]

College-Educated Immigrant Workers in the United States (Migration Information Source) - [text online]

In Congo war, some wounds are hard to see (Reuters AlertNet) - [text online]

Senior UN humanitarian official begins visit to Darfur (UN News) - [text online]

New fighting in eastern DR Congo sends more civilians fleeing in panic, UN reports (UN News) - [text online]

Ban alarmed as humanitarian conditions worsen in Zimbabwe (UN News) - [text online]

ZIMBABWE: Desperate country looks for a political solution
(IRIN News) - [text online]

DRC: State forces kill 500 over two years, says rights group
(IRIN News) - [text online]

DRC: Fears for IDP safety following camp attack
(IRIN News) - [text online]

BANGLADESH: Gender-based violence still rampant
(IRIN News) - [text online]

UN refugee chief lauds Iran’s generosity in hosting uprooted Afghans (UN News) - [text online]

Visiting Chad, top UN relief official calls for stronger refugee protection (UN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.

Tuesday 25 November 2008

A Selection of News Stories (25/11/08)

UN head outlines DR Congo 'abuse' (BBC News) - [text online]

Charity guilty of funding terror (BBC News) - [text online]

Yemen move for Bin Laden driver (BBC News) - [text online]

Zimbabwe rivals in S Africa talks (BBC News) - [text online]

Rape risk increasing in Cambodia (BBC News) - [text online]

New laws against forced marriages (BBC News) - [text online]

Foreign nationals given ID cards (BBC News) - [text online]

WI asked to help tackle sex trade (BBC News) - [text online]

'Stereotype' fear from race data (BBC News) - [text online]

Top civil servant to fight release of Iraq war records (The Times) - [text online]

Cholera sweeps through Zimbabwe as Robert Mugabe's regime tries to hide the crisis (The Times) - [text online]

Asylum-seeker 'was assaulted by security men during deportation' (The Independent) - [text online]

The general who holds Congo's fate in his hands (The Independent) - [text online]

BNP men held over 'racist leaflet' (The Independent) - [text online]

Summit of Tibetan exiles rejects 'total independence' call (The Independent) - [text online]

Congo: a touch of hope in the war without end (The Independent) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : OCHA Uganda Humanitarian Situation Report: 01 - 31 Oct 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Humanitarian action in Southern Sudan weekly bulletin, week 43, 26 Oct - 01 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Humanitarian response in Somalia: Monthly cluster report, Oct 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : The Humanitarian Monitor Occupied Palestinian Territory No. 30, Oct 2008
(Reliefweb) - [text online] and [table of indicators].

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Burundi Weekly Humanitarian News, 10 - 16 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Myanmar: Cyclone Nargis OCHA Situation Report No. 52 (ReliefWeb) - [text online]


ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : OCHA Nepal Situation Overview Issue No. 36, 01 - 14 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Cardinal virtues (The Guardian) - [text online]

'They must be lying' (The Guardian) - [text online]

From war to where? (The Guardian) - [text online]

Boris immigrants amnesty is 'naive' (The Guardian) - [text online]

Boris Johnson calls for illegal immigrant amnesty in London (The Guardian) - [text online]

UNHCR chief Guterres urges support for 2009 Humanitarian Appeal (UNHCR) - [text online]

DRC: Transfer of vulnerable Kibati occupants to safer camps to begin (UNHCR) - [text online]

High Commissioner's mission to Iraq (UNHCR) - [text online]

First identity cards are issued (Home Office Press Release) - [text online]

National identity scheme a step closer to reality (Home Office Press Release) - [text online]

New measures will aid police minority ethnic recruitment (Home Office Press Release) - [text online]

Democratic Republic of Congo: Crisis in North Kivu (Amnesty International) - [text online]

DRC: UN troops must deploy as soon as possible (Amnesty International) - [text online]

Dialogue between warring parties crucial to peace in DR Congo, says UN envoy (UN News) - [text online]

UN forum aims to ensure adequate funds to meet development goals despite crisis (UN News) - [text online]

UN checks charges of Government bombing in renewed Darfur fighting (UN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.

Thursday 20 November 2008

A Selection of News Headlines (20/11/08)

Rwanda aide questioned in France (BBC News) - [text online]

UN reports on fighting in Darfur (BBC News) - [text online]

DRC rebels pull out to let aid in (BBC News) - [text online]

Pakistan protest to US ambassador (BBC News) - [text online]

BNP members 'targeted by threats' (BBC News) - [text online]

BNP deputy Simon Darby admits: I use the City Hall to do party business (The Times) - [text online]

Charities launch appeal as Congo suffering grows (The Times) - [text online]

Robert Fisk: Once more fear stalks the streets of Kandahar (The Independent) - [text online]

Union: 'Ban teachers who are BNP supporters' (The Independent) - [text online]

Sex & the citizens: New prostitution laws explained (The Independent) - [text online]

Immigration soars to highest level in years (The Independent) - [text online]

Leading article: There are better ways to protect trafficked women (The Independent) - [text online]

BNP protest after arrests (Manchester Evening News) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Humanitarian response in Somalia: Monthly cluster report, Oct 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Afghanistan: Fewer returning refugees may increase tension (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

DR Congo: Aid agencies plan to reach 34,000 IDPs in Dungu area (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

UN seeks USD 7bn to aid 30 million people in 2009 (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Yemen: Fighting hampers relief aid to tens of thousands in the north (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Immigration falls and set to decline further in recession (The Guardian) - [text online]

Phil Woolas should blame his own department, not asylum lawyers (The Guardian) - [text online]

Kabul conference pledges support for sustainable return (UNHCR) - [text online]

Afghanistan at the crossroads: Afghan returnees assess the lay of the land (UNHCR) - [text online]

Afghanistan at the crossroads: Kabul conference pledges support for sustainable return (UNHCR) - [text online]

Tough challenges face Congolese returnees to South Kivu (UNHCR) - [text online]

Refugee Council response to quarterly asylum statistics (Refugee Council) - [text online]

Covey responds to Immigration Minister's attacks (Refugee Council) - [text online]

Sri Lanka: Hundreds of thousands trapped in the Wanni need urgent shelters (Amnesty International) - [text online]

Colombia: Stop false accusations against human rights groups, government should address reported abuses (Amnesty International) - [text online]

Labour can't place itself above the law (The Guardian) - [text online]

UK net immigration rises to 237,000 (The Guardian) - [text online]

Central African Republic: Aid for 20,000 displaced people (ICRC) - [text online]

Tough action to protect vulnerable women and tackle kerb crawlers (Home Office Press Release) - [text online]

Third quarter removals at six-year high (Home Office Press Release) - [text online]

Asylum Update - Novemebr 20th 2008 (ICAR) - [text online]

YEMEN: Tens of thousands beyond reach of aid agencies - rights group
(IRIN News) - [text online]

UN human rights office regrets Israeli pull-out from upcoming racism conference (UN News) - [text online]

‘Important qualitative leap’ made in Georgia talks, UN reports (UN News) - [text online]

Humanitarian situation in Somalia in serious decline as security worsens, warns UN chief (UN News) - [text online]

DR Congo: Ban welcomes rebel pullback and increased aid access in east (UN News) - [text online]

Ban joins concern over fresh reports of bombings and fighting in Darfur (UN News) - [text online]

UN seeks $7 billion in humanitarian aid for 2009, by far its largest ever appeal (UN News) - [text online]

DRC: Rape crisis set to worsen amid Kivu chaos
(IRIN News) -[text online]

SOMALIA: Crops destroyed, families displaced as Shabelle bursts banks
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.

Wednesday 19 November 2008

Framing Muslims Seminar: 'Islam and Civic Responsibility: the City Circle experience' by Dr Usama Hasan AND 'Resisting Blackness ....

SOAS/UEL Framing Muslims Seminar Series

Framing Muslims: Representation in Culture and Society Post 9/11 - Seminar

Date: Thursday, 27 November 2008
Venue: Room EB.G.18 (University of East London, Docklands Campus)
Time: 5:30-7:00pm

Dr Usama Hasan
'Islam and Civic Responsibility: the City Circle experience'

Dr Usama Hasan is Senior Lecturer in Engineering & Information Sciences at Middlesex University, an imam at Tawhid Mosque in Leyton and Director of the City Circle, a London-based network of Muslim professionals that has been at the forefront of forging an authentic Muslim identity in Britain for the last decade.

Dr Anita Fabos
'Resisting Blackness: Transnational Sudanese Women and Islamic Cultural Space in the Diaspora'

Dr Anita Fabos researches in the areas of ethnicity and race, gender, refugees in urban settings, immigration and naturalization policy, Arab nationalism, and Islam at UEL. She was formerly the Director of the Program in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies and Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the American University in Cairo. She has conducted ethnographic research among Muslim Arab Sudanese forced migrants in Cairo, published as 'Brothers' or Others? Gender and Propriety for Muslim Arab Sudanese in Egypt (Berghahn Books). Her current research interests include transnational strategies of women and men in the Sudanese diaspora, livelihoods of urban refugees, and refugee narratives.

Abstract:

This presentation explores the embodied strategies of Arab Muslim Sudanese in Egypt and the United Kingdom within a framework of a 'Muslim diaspora'. It compares discourses of belonging in two distinct socio-legal contexts whereby key elements of Muslim Arab Sudanese identity are performed according to local conditions, taking on different meanings. Egypt and Britain are both familiar to Sudanese through colonial relationships of domination and occupation, and later as locations for study, recreation and exile, but the contemporary legal, political and socio-cultural environments in Britain and Egypt have shaped Sudanese identity in the diaspora in distinctive ways. In Egypt, a Muslim nation with a long history of entanglement with the Muslim Arab people of northern Sudan, Sudanese immigrants and exiles have asserted their superior performance of the shared value of propriety, claimed by both as fundamental to a 'Muslim' and 'Arab' identity. In the UK Sudanese similarly present themselves in morally superior terms, joining other voices in the Muslim diaspora and finding solidarity within an Arab cultural framework. I analyse a number of bodily practices that promote a Sudanese identity abroad, tying the use of beautification procedures, and skin-lightening creams in particular, to Sudanese assertions of Arab ethnicity and Muslim belonging within a racial hierarchy that derives primary meaning from Sudan¹s own history and racial categories.

All are Welcome. Booking is not required.
For further information contact: Peter Morey on p.g.morey@uel.ac.uk

Posted in: Refugee Studies / Conferences & Events.

A Selection of News Headlines (19/11/08)

Police and teachers on BNP list (BBC News) - [text online]

Congo rebels 'to withdraw troops' (BBC News) - [text online]

EU in Kenya poll tribunal threat (BBC News) - [text online]

UN in talks on Afghan returnees (BBC News) - [text online]

Prostitute users face clampdown (BBC News) - [text online]

Thousands in fear after BNP members list leak (The Times) - [text online]

Outlawed: sex with trafficked prostitutes (The Independent) - [text online]

Iraqis accused of murdering British troops want sanctuary (The Independent) - [text online]

The curious case of the disappearing despot (The Independent) - [text online]

Miliband: Syria vital to peace in Middle East (The Independent) - [text online]

Deborah Orr: For most women, prostitution is not a life choice (The Independent) - [text online]

Brussels encourages EU states to open labour markets (EU Observer) - [text online]

Uganda: Suffering of war victims continues - Amnesty report (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Child malnutrition soaring in eastern DR Congo, warns World Vision (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

OPT: UN's top human rights official calls for immediate end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : The Humanitarian Monitor Occupied Palestinian Territory No. 30, Oct 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Colombia: OCHA Humanitarian Situation Report No. 35, 25 Oct ? 07 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Afghanistan at the crossroads: Invest in Afghan returns or risk further displacement, cautions UNHCR (UNHCR) - [text online]

Czech Republic: No to racist attacks (Amnesty International) - [text online]

New board member to lead roll-out of first ID cards (Home Office Press Release) - [text online]

No Man's Land: Iraqi-Palestinians in Al Tanf Camp (Reuters AlertNet) - [text online]

Darfur: UN-African Union mission probes fresh reports of military bombings (UN News) - [text online]

As winter nears in Kyrgyzstan, UN aid officials voice fears on living conditions (UN News) - [text online]

International Criminal Court rules that Congolese rebel’s trial back on track (UN News) - [text online]

UN World Court rejects preliminary Serbian objections in genocide case with Croatia (UN News) - [text online]

UN human rights chief calls for end to Israeli blockade of Gaza Strip (UN News) - [text online]

DRC-UGANDA: Overwhelmed relief workers struggle to provide HIV services
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Top UN envoy voices hope for additional troops in volatile eastern DR Congo (UN News) - [text online]

British police attempt to smash South-East Asian sex trafficking ring – UN report (UN News) - [text online]

COLOMBIA: Sex tourism booming on the Caribbean coast
(UN News) - [text online]

Top UN envoy in Sudan welcomes approval of independent election body (UNNews) - [text online]

ETHIOPIA: Thousands displaced by floods in Somali region
(IRIN News) - [text online]

SRI LANKA: ICRC to distribute Indian aid to Vanni IDPs
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.

Tuesday 18 November 2008

New Online Reports and Research Publications

Please find below a list of updated and new publications on refugee studies and related topics. These have been accumulated from a range of online sources and links to the relevant full-text document are given where appropriate. This list will be made available on a regular basis via our Refugee Studies blog (http://refugee-archives.blogspot.com), as new resources become available.

If you find any other new resources, then do please let us know at: library-archives@uel.ac.uk.


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Title: The impact of the race equality duty on council services

Authors: Scottish Accounts Commission.
Publication Date: November 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/media/article.php?id=90
Source: Audit Scotland - http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/

Additional Info:

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Title: World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography.

Authors: The World Bank
Publication Date: 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/EXTWDR2009/0,,contentMDK:21966544~menuPK:4231158~pagePK:64167689~piPK:64167673~theSitePK:4231059,00.html
Source: The World Bank - http://www.worldbank.org/ (Web)

Additional Info:

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Title: Livelihoods in crisis: a longitudinal study in Pader, Uganda - Year two update

Authors: By Kevin Savage, Celia Petty and James Acidri.
Publication Date: November 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://www.odi.org.uk/hpg/papers/wp-longitudinal-uganda-year2.pdf
Source: Overseas Development Institute – http://www.odi.org.uk/ (Web)

Additional Info: HPG Working Paper.

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Title: Information Sharing Models and Interoperability in National,
Cross-Border and International Crisis Management

Authors: Crisis Management Initiative
Publication Date: June 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/EVOD-7FRJD3?OpenDocument
Source: ReliefWeb – http://www.reliefweb.int/ (Web)

Additional Info:

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Title: Gender Sensitivity: Nicety or Necessity in Peace Process
Management?

Authors: Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
Publication Date: June 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/SHIG-7L5DGN?OpenDocument
Source: ReliefWeb – http://www.reliefweb.int/ (Web)

Additional Info:

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Title: Turkey and Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation?

Authors: International Crisis Group.
Publication Date: November 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5777&l=1
Source: International Crisis Group - http://www.crisisgroup.org/ (Web)

Additional Info: (first paragraph of executive summary):

At a time when rising Arab-Kurdish tensions again threaten Iraq’s stability, neighbouring Turkey has begun to cast a large shadow over Iraqi Kurdistan. It has been a study in contrasts: Turkish jets periodically bomb suspected hideouts of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, PKK) in northern Iraq, and Ankara expresses alarm at the prospect of Kurdish independence, yet at the same time has significantly deepened its ties to the Iraqi Kurdish region. Both Turkey and Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG, a term Turkey studiously avoids) would be well served by keeping ultra-nationalism at bay and continuing to invest in a relationship that, though fragile and buffeted by the many uncertainties surrounding Iraq, has proved remarkably pragmatic and fruitful.

Full Summary and PDF Download at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5777&l=1

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Title: Microcredit and other loan programs in protracted refugee situations-- Lessons from the Alchemy Project

Authors: Karen Jacobsen.
Publication Date: 2008.
Publication URL Address: https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/FIC/Microcredit+and+other+loan+programs+in+protracted+refugee+situations--+Lessons+from+the+Alchemy+Project
Source: Feinstein International Center. Tufts University - https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/FIC/Feinstein+International+Center (Web)

Additional Info:

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Title: 2006 Demographic Yearbook

Authors: United Nations.
Publication Date: 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/default.htm
Source: UN Pulse http://unhq-appspub-01.un.org/lib/dhlrefweblog.nsf (Web)

Additional Info:

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Title: Civilians in the line of fire. The Georgia-Russia conflict.

Authors: Amnesty International.
Publication Date: November 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR04/005/2008/en/d9908665-ab55-11dd-a4cd-bfa0fdea9647/eur040052008eng.pdf
Source: Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org/ (Web)

Additional Info: EUR 04/005/2008. See also the Amnesty International Press Releases for this report, namely: Counting the civilian cost of the Georgia-Russia conflict at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/counting-civilian-cost-Georgia-Russia+conflict-20081118 ; and Georgia/Russia conflict: Counting the cost of war: Return, security and truth still a long way off at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/georgiarussia-conflict-counting-cost-war-return-security-and-truth-still

See also:
The human cost of war in Georgia (web feature) http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/the-human-cost-of-war-in...

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Title: Toolkit to Combat Human Trafficking

Authors: UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Publication Date: 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/HT_Toolkit08_English.pdf
Source: UN Pulse http://unhq-appspub-01.un.org/lib/dhlrefweblog.nsf (Web)

Additional Info: The 2nd edition of the Toolkit to Combat Human Trafficking (full-text, pdf) has been released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The 123 tools contained in the Toolkit offer guidance, recommended resources, and promising practices to policymakers, law enforcers, judges, prosecutors, victim service providers and members of civil society who are working in interrelated spheres towards preventing trafficking, protecting and assisting victims and promoting international cooperation. Read more about the work UNODC is doing in the area of human trafficking.

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Title: EU Accession and Public Service Performance.

Authors: Cardiff University’s Centre for Local and Regional Government.
Publication Date: 2008.
Publication URL Address: http://www.caerdydd.ac.uk/carbs/research/groups/clrgr/research/public/euaccession.pdf
Source: Welcome To Your Library Digest - www.welcometoyourlibrary.org.uk (Web)

Additional Info: Cardiff University’s Centre for Local and Regional Government analysed immigration data on new arrivals from the so-called A8 European accession countries of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia between 2005 and 2006.

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Title: Papers Please: the impact of the civil penalty regime on the employment rights of migrant workers in the UK.

Authors: Migrants’ Rights Network
Publication Date: 2008.
Publication URL Address:
Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/ (Web)

Additional Info: Papers Please is the first attempt to look at the impact of this new regime on migrant workers themselves. Based on interviews with migrants affected by the changes, trade union officials, and employer associations, it identifies worrying trends towards discrimination and an increase in tensions in workforces where migrant workers are present. The report relates these developments to wider concerns about increases in the vulnerability of migrant workers to exploitation and the erosion of basic employment rights. It calls for civil society organisations to better engage with the range of problems emerging in this troubled area, and for determined efforts to counter the effects of discrimination and the abuse of power. Report at weblink above or send an A4-size SAE with a 56p stamp to ‘Papers Please’ report, Migrants’ Rights Network, 253 Upper Street, London N1 1RY. For delivery outside the UK, or to inquire about receiving multiple copies of the report, email info@migrantsrights.org.uk to inquire about terms of delivery.


Posted in: Publications.

Conferences and Events

Summer Course on Forced Migration Issues 2009.

The Summer Course on Forced Migration Issues is an internationally
acclaimed eight-day course for academic and field-based practitioners
working in the area of forced migration. It serves as a hub for
researchers, students, service providers and policy makers to share
information and ideas.

Dates: June 6 - 14, 2009 Times: Full course days will run 8:30 am - 5:00
pm.
Opening reception and registration is in the afternoon of June 6.
Course Fee: $975 (Canadian) After February 28, 2009: $1100 (Canadian)

Forms and Information may be accessed from
http://www.yorku.ca/crs/summer.htm Application materials may be
submitted either electronically, by fax or by mail to: Irene Connie
Tumwebaze Summer Course Coordinator Centre for Refugee Studies York
University, Suite 315, York Lanes 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M3J 1P3 Phone: 416-7362100 Ext:55423 Fax: 416-736-5837 E-mail:
summer@yorku.ca

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9th Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture: Asylum: a new perspective

The Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford is pleased to announce
the 9th ANNUAL HARRELL-BOND LECTURE. Wednesday, 19 November 2008. The Rt
Hon Sir John Waite, co-chair of the Independent Asylum Commission, will
speak about the origins and work of the IAC, and the implications of its
wide-ranging review and recommendations, in a lecture entitled 'Asylum:
a new perspective.' University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road,
Oxford OX1 3PW
. The lecture will start at 5 pm, followed by a reception.

If you would like to attend please contact Katherine Salahi, Refugee
Studies Centre, tel 01865 270723 katherine.salahi@qeh.ox.ac.uk

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Left in the Dark: The unmet need for information in humanitarian response.

An ODI, BBC World Service Trust and Humanitarian Practice Network public event

Date: 04 December 2008 12:30 14:00
Venue: Overseas Development Institute

Speakers:

Imogen Wall - Project Managers, BBC World Service Trust

Lisa Robinson - Project Managers, BBC World Service Trust

Mark Harvey - Director of Development, Internews Europe

Leigh Daynes - Head of Media and Public Affairs, British Red Cross

Koko Aung - Producer, BBC Burmese

TBC - DfID representative

Chair:

James Darcy - Director of Humanitarian Programmes, ODI

Full Details on the Overseas Development Institute Blog at: http://www.odi.org.uk/events/details.asp?id=328&title=left-dark-unmet-need-information-humanitarian-response

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Palestinian Refugees and International Law

The Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford is pleased to
announce the next edition of its weekend workshop on Palestinian
Refugees and International Law. The two-day course will be held in
Oxford on 29-30 November 2008, taught by Dr Dawn Chatty, University
Reader in Anthropology & Forced Migration and Deputy Director of the
Refugee Studies Centre; and Ms Lena El-Malak, doctoral candidate in
Public International Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London and member of the Massachusetts State Bar.

The workshop places the Palestinian refugee case study within the
broader context of the international human rights regime. Teaching is
conducted through a mix of lectures, group exercises and interactive
sessions allowing participants to actively engage with the subject matter.

For further information and to apply online see:
http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/, or contact Katherine Salahi, Refugee Studies
Centre, email: katherine.salahi@qeh.ox.ac.uk tel: +44 (0)1865 270723

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A right to a voice: Survival English for Asylum Seekers – launch of NIACE Campaign

Weds 10 December 2008, London, 9.45am – 3.15pm

http://www.niace.org.uk/Conferences/Conferences.htm

Attendance free.

This conference aims to:

· To raise awareness of the needs of asylum seekers

· To engage with the voluntary sector, refugee community organisations and faith community organisations

· To plan action to set up survival English groups.

(Source: Welcome To Your Library Digest - www.welcometoyourlibrary.org.uk)


Posted in: Conferences & Events.

A Selection of News Headings (18/11/08)

UN draft seeks to boost DRC force (BBC News) - [text online]

'Punish India police for torture' (BBC News) - [text online]

Iraq war 'violated rule of law' (BBC News) - [text online]

Iraq war legal advice flawed, says ex-law lord (The Independent) - [text online]

Pilots threaten to strike over ID cards (The Independent) - [text online]

Georgia's rearguard action over witness accounts challenging its account of war (The Independent) - [text online]

Taliban rejects Karzai's offer of safe passage (The Independent) - [text online]

OPT: Israeli army relaxes restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Kenya: UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Dadaab camps (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Somalia: UN Special Representative appeals for unity among leaders (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : OCHA Nepal Situation Overview Issue No. 36, 01 - 14 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : OCHA Uganda Humanitarian Situation Report: 01 - 31 Oct 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Asylum-seeker charities are just playing the system, says Woolas (The Guardian) - [text online]

The fortress Britain myth (The Guardian) - [text online]

Displaced Kenyans form cooperatives to buy new land, rebuild (UNHCR) - [text online]

Afghanistan at the crossroads: Afghans return home to live under tents (UNHCR) - [text online]

Democratic Republic of Congo: Human rights groups request special session of Human Rights Council (Amnesty International) - [text online]

Amnesty International welcomes commitment to close Guantánamo (Amnesty International) - [text online]

Georgia/Russia conflict: Counting the cost of war: Return, security and truth still a long way off (Amnesty International) - [text online]. See Also: Counting the civilian cost of the Georgia-Russia conflict (Amnesty International) - [text online]

DR Congo: Who is to Blame? (Reuters AlertNet) - [text online]

Don't chase headlines, chase quality news (Reuters AlertNet) - [text online]

Hispanic Vote Goes for Obama But May Not Lead to Quick Action on Immigration Reform (Migration Information Source) - [text online]

NEPAL: Displaced children face hardship
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Thousands of Liberian ex-combatants to take part in UN-backed rehabilitation scheme (UN News) - [text online]

Ban meets with UN human rights officials at start of two-day trip to Switzerland (UN News) - [text online]

Gaza crossing reopens today to allow partial resumption in aid – UN agency (UN News) - [text online]

DR Congo: UN attack helicopters ready to respond after rebel ceasefire violation (UN News) - [text online]

CHAD: UN Secretary-General calls to double troop numbers
(IRIN ews) - [text online]

Stealing a march on winter, UN pre-positions food aid for hungry Afghans (UN News) - [text online]

Iraq: UN official welcomes creation of human rights commission (UN News) - [text online]

ZIMBABWE: Surviving as an HIV-positive teacher
(IRIN News) - [text online]

KENYA: UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Dadaab camps
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Top UN envoy appeals for solidarity among Somali leaders (UN News) - [text online]

In brief: Ushahidi launches website on eastern DR Congo conflict
(UN News) - [text online]

In brief: UN satellite maps indicate damage at two IDP camps
(UN News) - [text online]

SOMALIA: “TFG on brink of collapse”
(IRIN News) - [text online]

ZIMBABWE: Sibangilizwe Ndlovu, "These days people are dying in large numbers"
(IRIN News) - [text online]

SUDAN: Southern women march for end to GBV
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.

Monday 17 November 2008

A Selection of News Stories (17/11/08)

Head rebel 'backs DR Congo peace' (BBC News) - [text online]

Somali head admits militant gains (BBC News) - [text online]

Teachers recruited from overseas (BBC News) - [text online]

Rebel leader tells UN envoy of ceasefire but fighting rages in Congo (BBC News) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Humanitarian action in Chad: Facts and figures snapshot report, 23 Oct 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Myanmar: Cyclone Nargis OCHA Situation Report No. 52
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Myanmar: Cyclone Nargis OCHA Situation Report No. 50
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Humanitarian Update: Regional Office for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, Sep 2008
(ReliefWeb0 - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Burundi Weekly Humanitarian News, 03 - 09 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Somalia Humanitarian Overview Vol. 1 Issue 10 - Oct (ReliefWeb) - [text online]


ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Timor-Leste: Humanitarian update 25 Oct - 07 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Colombia: OCHA Humanitarian Situation Report No. 34, 18 - 24 Oct 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Iraq: NGO Micro Grant Expanded Humanitarian Response Fund Bulletin No. 13
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Burundi Weekly Humanitarian News, 03 - 09 Nov 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Sudan: Official says Darfur "clash" did not breach ceasefire (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

DR Congo: Rebel backs UN peace plan, fighting persists (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Thailand: Myanmar's diplaced youth see few opportunities to use education and vocational skills (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Somalia: Need for aid rises as insurgents reach outskirts of Mogadishu (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Financial crisis may deepen refugee problems (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Pair used spy gadgets in immigration test scam (The Guardian) - [text online]

More illegal immigrants slip through security net (The Guardian) - [text online]

Afghanistan at the crossroads: Afghans return home to live under tents (UNHCR) - [text online]

Ugandan government must establish reparations programme for war victims (Amnesty International) - [text online]

A day in the life of the Parliamentary Intern (Refugee Council) - [text online]

Sri Lanka: as rains arrive, ICRC steps up help for civilians fleeing conflict in the Vanni (ICRC) - [text online]

DR Congo: Video call for action (Reuters AlertNet) - [text online]

IRAQ: NGOs concerned about detainees’ rights
(IRIN News) - [text online]

SYRIA: Rice import snag leaves some Iraqi refugees short
(IRIN News) - [text online]

UGANDA: Alice: “I saw my friend being beheaded and his body cut up”
(IRIN News) - [text online]

UN experts voice significant concern over legal rights of Italy’s migrant detainees (UN News) - [text online]

Serious displacement crisis continues in Colombia, UN official warns (UN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.

Friday 14 November 2008

A Selection of News Headlines (14/11/08)

Bin Laden 'cut off from al-Qaeda' (BBC News) - [text online]

Anti-terror police 'need Muslims' (BBC News) - [text online]

Congo refugees 'have to be moved' (BBC News) - [text online]

Mugabe to name ministers 'soon' (BBC News) - [text online]

UN 'has run out of Gaza food aid' (BBC News) - [text online]

The Price of Prevention - Getting Ahead of the Global Crises (Enough Project) - [press release]. See also, the [report] and [podcast].

Aids orphan choir hit by red tape (The Independent) - [text online]

ReliefWeb/OCHA Situation Report : Iraq: Humanitarian Update No. 2, Oct 2008
(ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Pakistan: WFP concerns over rise in looting of humanitarian supplies in the northwest (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

DR Congo: New influx brings total of Congolese refugees in Uganda to over 12,000 (ReleifWeb) - [text online]

Afghanistan: Unexploded ordnance poses threat to returnees (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

OPT: Israel blocks Gaza aid after rocket attacks (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

Sudan: Cautious optimism over Darfur ceasefire call (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

DR Congo: War brings hunger to breadbasket (ReliefWeb) - [text online]

UNHCR flies vital shelter aid to North Kivu for displaced Congolese (UNHCR) - [text online]

Somalia: ICRC provides relief for half a million people faced by life threatening food shortages (ICRC) - [text online]

Home Office launches counter terrorism competition for design students (Home Office Press Release) - [text online]

Spain: No global exception when investigating the crimes of the past (Amnesty International) - [text online]

Germany and Austria: Press Turkmenistan on Rights (Human Rights Watch) - [text online]

EU: Set Human Rights Benchmarks for Russia (Human Rights Watch) - [text online]

Continued border closures force UN to suspend food aid to 750,000 Gazans (UN News) - [text online]

UN reports second day of relative calm in strife-torn eastern DR Congo (UN News) - [text online]

Religion can never justify terrorism or killing of innocents, General Assembly declares (UN News) - [text online]

Darfur: Egyptian troops arrive to boost strength of joint UN-African Union force (UN News) - [text online]

Top UN envoy urges Iraq to protect minorities after latest killing in Mosul (UN News) - [text online]

Darfur: Egyptian troops arrive to boost strength of joint UN-African Union force (UN News) - [text online]

Darfur: Ban welcomes Sudanese ceasefire, plan to disarm militias (UN News) - [text online]

SUDAN: Cautious optimism over Darfur ceasefire call
(IRIN News) - [text online]

ZIMBABWE: Violence returns as talks flounder
(IRIN News) - [text online]

AFGHANISTAN: Unexploded ordnance poses threat to returnees
(IRIN News) - [text online]

Posted in: News.