Thursday 17 December 2009

Refugee Archive Newsletter (17/12/09)

Refugee Archive Newsletter 

This newsletter is produced on a regular basis to help disseminate news and further information in relation to refugee and forced migration issues.  The newsletter is produced by the Refugee Archives service at the University of East London.  This will also be available via our Refugee Studies Blog at:  http://refugee-archives.blogspot.com/

News and Media Stories

Children in Detention Debate


The Independent (17/12/09): Matthew Norman: Locking up children shames us  
The Independent (16/12/09): Inside Yarl's Wood immigration centre 
The Independent (10/12/09): Immigration camps 'harmful for children'
The Guardian (10/12/09) Free the Yarl's Wood child detainees  

Iraq Inquiry

The Independent (16/12/09): Exclusive: Scarlett accused of misleading inquiry  

Iran Protests

BBC News (10/12/09): Amnesty condemns Iranian 'rights abuses' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8405063.stm
The Independent (10/12/09): Opposition supporters suffered torture and rape after Iranian elections, says Amnesty  
Amnesty International (10/12/09): An Amnesty International publication entitled “Iran: Election contested, repression compounded” is available to download from this page in PDF format.  
The Independent (08/12/09): Students beaten in new Iran protests 
Amnesty International (07/12/09): Iran: Security forces condemned for protest crackdown 

Swiss Minarets Vote

Human Rights Watch (04/12/09): Switzerland: Minaret Ban Violates Rights  
Human Rights Watch (02/12/09):  The Minaret Vote, Europe's Call to Show Bias  

Refugees and Asylum Related Stories

BBC News (16/12/09): Jewish school loses places fight  
The Daily Telegraph (16/12/09): Faith school admissions in doubt after ruling  
The Independent (16/12/09): Deportation looms for athlete who won gold for UK  
The Independent (15/12/09): Miliband attacks judges over torture ruling
Home Office Press Release (15/12/09): Identity cards to be extended across the North West  
The Guardian (13/12/09): Faith in The Family  
Human Rights Watch (13/12/09): UN: Act to End Atrocities in Eastern Congo
The Guardian (12/12/09): And all she wanted was a few coppers…  
The Guardian (12/12/09): Immigration: the test case  
Home Office Press Release (11/12/09): Sheffield sex trafficking gang jailed 
The Daily Telegraph (11/12/09): Alistair Darling signals death of ID cards  
The Guardian (10/12/09): Wedded to the old rituals  
The Independent (10/12/09): Independent Appeal: The Afghan peace mission  

The Guardian (09/12/09): Letters: Study visa threat 
The Daily Telegraph (09/12/09): One in 10 of population born abroad  
The Guardian (08/12/09): Overseas students: an easy target  
BBC News (08/12/09): Border Agency bonuses criticised by MPs  

The Independent (06/12/09): Violence erupts at Nottingham anti-Islam demo  
Human Rights Watch (06/12/09):  Afghanistan: Keep Promises to Afghan Women 
The Guardian (04/12/09): Migration chief calls for college inquiry 
Refugees International World Bridge Blog (30/11/09): Iraqi Refugees: Women on the Margins

Other Resources

History and Policy (02 December 2009): More sex, lies and trafficking by Jane Berney.  
History and Policy (02 December 2009): `Hijacking History’ by Ivan Pregnolato. 
History and Policy (December 2009): Remember Cable Street? Wrong battle, mate.


New Reports and Publications

Human Rights Watch Reports

A number of new Human Rights Watch reports have recently been published.  These will be detailed below:
No Healing Here: Violence, Discrimination and Barriers to Health for Migrants in South Africa. 
The full report is available to order or download from the Human Rights Watch website at:  http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/12/02/no-healing-here-0
You can refer also to the news story entitled: South Africa: Improve Migrants’ Access to Health Care http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/12/07/south-africa-improve-migrants-access-health-care

“We Have the Promises of the World”: Women’s Rights in Afghanistan
“This 96-page report details emblematic cases of ongoing rights violations in five areas: attacks on women in public life; violence against women; child and forced marriage; access to justice; and girls' access to secondary education.”
The full report is available to order or download from the Human Rights Watch website at:  http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/12/03/we-have-promises-world-0

Preparing for the Polls: Improving Accountability for Electoral Violence in Uganda
“This 28-page report documents recent cases in which high court judges ruling on electoral petitions determined that candidates and campaign staff had committed criminal acts, yet the alleged crimes were rarely investigated and prosecuted. Some of those alleged to have committed the crimes during the 2006 elections continue to hold high office, Human Rights Watch said.”
The full report is available to order or download from the Human Rights Watch website at:  http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/11/30/preparing-polls-0

Locked Up Far Away: The Transfer of Immigrants to Remote Detention Centers in the United States
“This 88-page report presents new data analyzed for Human Rights Watch by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University. The data show that 53 percent of the 1.4 million transfers have taken place since 2006, and most occur between state and local jails that contract with the agency, known as ICE, to provide detention bed space. The report's findings are based on the new data and interviews with officials, immigration lawyers, detainees, and their family members.”
The full report is available to order or download from the Human Rights Watch website at: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/12/02/locked-far-away-0

New UNHCR Working Papers:

The coping processes of adult refugees resettled in New Zealand, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 179 (UNHCR, Nov. 2009) [text].  Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/publications-children-detention.html

Refugee resettlement, family separation and Australia's humanitarian programme, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 178 (UNHCR, Nov. 2009) [text].  Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/publications-children-detention.html

States of exception: securitisation and irregular migration in the Mediterranean, New Issues in Refugee Research, no. 177 (UNHCR, Nov. 2009) [text].  Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/publications-children-detention.html


New Refugee Studies Centre Policy Brief

The Refugee Studies Centre (RSC, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford) has published its fourth Policy Briefing on “Iraq’s refugees – beyond tolerance”. This policy brief is written by Dr Philip Marfleet, Reader in Refugee Studies and Associate Director of the Centre for Research on Refugees, Migration and Belonging at the University of East London, and Dr Dawn Chatty, University of  Oxford Reader in Anthropology and Forced Migration, and Deputy Director of the Refugee Studies Centre.

The 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.

Enquiries should be directed to rscpolicy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

The brief may be found at http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/pub_policy.html

New Reports from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, (IDMC):

(1) Somalia: Political and security crises, access limits and donor cuts increasing IDP vulnerability.  Read the Overview (html / pdf)

(2) Guatemala: Violence and inequality still blocking solutions for IDPs.  Read the Overview (html / pdf)

(3) Timor-Leste: IDPs returning home, but to ongoing poverty and lack of access to basic services.  Read the Overview  (html / pdf).

Other Publications

Seeking Refuge? A Handbook for Asylum-Seeking Women (Rights of Women, Nov. 2009) [text].  Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-resources-on-women.html)

Women's Asylum News, no. 88 (Nov./Dec. 2009) [text via Refworld]
Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-resources-on-women.html)

What Does the Future Hold for the Millions of Iraqi Refugees and Displaced Persons? (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Nov. 2009) [text]  Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/publications-complex-emergenciesafrica.html

The Detention of Children in the Immigration System (UK House of Commons, Nov. 2009) [text]

Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan: Exploitation of Migrant Workers, Protection Denied to Asylum Seekers and Refugees (International Federation for Human Rights, Oct. 2009) [text via Refworld]  Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/publications-complex-emergenciesafrica.html

Professional Standards for Protection Work: Carried Out by Humanitarian and Human Rights Actors in Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence (ICRC, Oct. 2009) [text via ReliefWeb].  Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/publications-children-detention.html

The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture have just published a new report entitled “Justice Denied: The experiences of 100 torture surviving women of seeking justice and rehabilitation.”  The full report (in PDF format), individual testimonies and a press release are available from the organisation’s website at: http://justice-denied.torturecare.org.uk/?dm_i=88R,2PYS,1DF157,8M8J,1

Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Assessing the Evidence.  A new publication produced by the  International Organization for Migration, (IOM) and published in December 2009.
URL Address -
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/HHVU-7YJEA6?OpenDocument
(Source: ReliefWeb – http://www.reliefweb.int/ )

Climate Changed: People Displaced.  A new report published by the Norwegian Refugee Council in December 2009.
URL Address -
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/OCHA-7YJGYC?OpenDocument
(Source: ReliefWeb – http://www.reliefweb.int/ )

Refugee Council -  New Impact Report is now available online

“The Refugee Council’s new Impact Report for 2008/9 is now available on our website. Based on the theme ‘From protection to integration’, this year’s report features our sterling work in delivering the Refugee Integration and Employment Service (RIES) and showcases the full range of advice and support services that we deliver to our clients in our operations across the country. The report also features our policy and campaigns activities and our work with Refugee Community Organisations and volunteers. The last year has been a busy and successful one for the Refugee Council and we are looking forward to building on our recent achievements in the year ahead.”


New City of Sanctuary film online
City of Sanctuary is a movement to make our towns and cities welcoming places for people seeking sanctuary in the UK.  A new short film tells the story of City of Sanctuary so far, and shows some of the local groups that are helping to build a culture of welcome and hospitality. You can watch the 9 minute film online.
(Source: Refugee Council - )

Posted in: News.

Monday 7 December 2009

Refugee Archive Newsletter (02 December 2009)

Refugee Archive Newsletter

This newsletter is produced on a regular basis to help disseminate news and further information in relation to refugee and forced migration issues. The newsletter is produced by the Refugee Archives service at the University of East London. This will also be available via our Refugee Studies Blog at: http://refugee-archives.blogspot.com/


News and Media Stories


Iraq
Inquiry


The Independent (26/11/09): Officials knew WMD evidence was tainted
The Daily Telegraph (24/11/09): Iraq inquiry: Britain rejected regime change as illegal in 2001

Swiss Minarets Vote


The Guardian (01/12/09): Letters: Swiss minarets and democracy
IRR News (30/11/09): Swiss poll crushes minarets
The Independent (30/11/09): Swiss voters back right-wing minaret ban
The Guardian (30/11/09): Switzerland: Hatred beneath the harmony

Refugees and Asylum Related Stories

The Independent (02/12/09): 'Historic' ruling on secret evidence
Refugee Council Poliblog (30/11/09): Two takes on Issues facing asylum seeking women...
UK Home Office Press Release (30/11/09) National identity card launched in Manchester
The Daily Telegraph (27/11/09): Hidden threat from al-Qaeda sleeper cells
UK Home Office Press Release (26/11/09): Immigration and asylum statistics released
(Further details on Publications below).
The Guardian (26/11/09): Net migration falls by one-third
Asylum Aid, the national independent charity who work with those seeking to flee human rights violations abroad, have issued a new report entitled `Every Single Woman.’ This is published under the banner of the Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum which, in the words of Asylum Aid, `calls on the UK Border Agency to commit to treating women seeking asylum with fairness, dignity and respect. This means creating a system which recognises the particular issues which cause women to seek asylum and understands their particular needs as women.’ Details of the new puiblication and the Charter can be found as follows:

i) Every Single Woman – campaigning brief (16p.)
ii) Every Single Woman – extended brief (26p.)
iii) Every Single Woman – Watch the Film.
iv) Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum – the Charter and accompanying website.
Further Information: 'We need a gender-sensitive asylum system' Debora Singer in The Guardian
Group Denial: Repression of Kurdish Political and Cultural Rights in Syria
Produced by Human Rights Watch
Available to read online and to order in hard copy at: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/11/26/group-denial


Details from Human Rights Watch:

“This 63-page report documents the Syrian authorities' efforts to ban and disperse gatherings calling for Kurdish minority rights or celebrating Kurdish culture, as well as the detention of leading Kurdish political activists and their ill-treatment in custody. The repression of Kurds in Syria has greatly intensified following large-scale Kurdish demonstrations in March 2004. The report is based on interviews with 30 Kurdish activists recently released from prison, as well as 15 relatives of Kurdish activists still in jail. The Syrian government refused to reply to requests for information or meetings with Human Rights Watch.”

Amnesty International has recently published the following campaign digest on the violence and discrimination experience by women in Yemen:

Yemen’s dark side: Discrimination and violence against women and girls (campaign digest)
Index Number: MDE 31/014/2009 ; Date Published: 25 November 2009
A news brief is also available entitled `Yemeni women face violence and discrimination.'

The UK Home Office has recently published its Control of Immigration statistics for the Third Quarter of 2009. A direct link to the PDF is available by clicking on the title below, and further information is available from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics page at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Direct Link to PDF file: Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom - Third Quarter 2009

Still with the Home Office, the Refugee Council Poliblog posting on the 30th November entitled `Two takes on Issues facing asylum seeking women...' (detailed above), refers to two recently published documents on dealing with violence against women. These have been published by the UK Home Office and the voluntary organisation Rights for Women, and full details of both will be detailed as follows:

1) Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls: a Strategy (PDF file - 1mb - Warning: large file) Published by the Home Office who state that, ` This cross-government strategy sets out a range of actions for the police, councils, the NHS and other government departments across three key areas: prevention, provision and protection.” Additional annexes to the main report are also available: Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls: Annexes to the Strategy (PDF file - 630kb) ; and an introduction to the report can be found on the Home Office web page entitled: ` Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls: a Strategy.’

2) Seeking Refuge? A handbook for asylum-seeking women is a recently published handbook produced by the voluntary organisation Rights of Women, whose role is to work with women to help empower their legal rights. Further details of the organisation and information on their work and related resources can be found on their website at: http://www.rightsofwomen.org.uk/


Posted in News and Publications.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Refugee Archives Newsletter (24/11/2009)

Refugee Archive Newsletter


This newsletter is produced on a regular basis to help disseminate news and further information in relation to refugee and forced migration issues. The newsletter is produced by the Refugee Archives service at the University of East London. This will also be available via our Refugee Studies Blog at: http://refugee-archives.blogspot.com/


News and Media Stories


Australia
and British Child Migrants


The Guardian (16/11/09): Gordon Brown to apologise to care home children sent to Australia and Canada

The Guardian (16/11/09): No harm in saying sorry

The Guardian (16/11/09): Kevin Rudd says sorry to Britons forcibly shipped to Australia as children

The Guardian (16/11/09): Brown to apologise to care home children sent to Australia and Canada


Other Refugee and Asylum Seeker News Stories


The Independent (24/11/09): The terrifying voyage of Burma's boat people

The Independent (24/11/09): Does this picture show British soldiers broke Geneva Conventions?

The Guardian (23/11/09): Who comes to the UK and where do Britons go?

The Observer (22/11/09): Michael Palin's hand of friendship gives asylum seekers a human face

The Independent (20/11/09): BNP signs its first non-white member... ... but he's only joined because he hates Muslims

IRR News (19/11/09): Calais migrants demand rights

The Guardian (19/11/09): UK lawyers fight to save nine-year-old boy from deportation to Iran

The Guardian (18/11/09): Councils 'lost' 145 child asylum seekers last year

The Guardian (18/11/09): Queen's speech 2009: draft immigration bill

The Times (18/11/09): Iraqis say British Army used Guantánamo interrogation methods

The Guardian (17/11/09 and originally published 17/11/1961): From the archive: Immigration Bill is 'anti-Commonwealth and anti-colour'

The Independent (17/11/09): Christopher Maume: 'The British National party is right about one thing: the country is filling up'

The Daily Telegraph (17/11/09): Terror suspects paid £600,000 for 'living costs'

BBC News (17/11/09): Congo gold 'still funding' rebels

Posted in News.

Monday 16 November 2009

Refugee Archive Newsletter

Refugee Archive Newsletter

This newsletter is produced on a regular basis to help disseminate news and further information in relation to refugee and forced migration issues. The newsletter is produced by the Refugee Archives service at the University of East London.


News and Media Stories

Gordon Brown Immigration Speech

The Independent (13/11/09): Brown to get tough on student visas and foreign skilled workers

The Independent (13/11/09): Gordon Brown: New rules can make our immigration system tougher and fairer

The Guardian (12/11/09): Gordon Brown's immigration speech: what he said, and meant

The Guardian (12/11/09): Non-Europeans shut out from another 250,000 skilled jobs

The Guardian (12/11/09): Gordon Brown's immigration speech seen as first shot in election campaign

The Guardian (12/11/09): Gordon Brown to announce new migrant controls
The Guardian (11/11/09): Gordon Brown pledges new migrant limits

Australia and British Child Migrants
The Daily Telegraph (16/11/09): Australian PM Kevin Rudd issues apology to British child migrants
The Independent (16/11/09): After 50 years, the 'lost innocents' shipped from home win apology

The Daily Telegraph (14/11/09): Australia to say sorry to abused British child migrants

Other Refugee and Asylum Seeker News Stories

The Times (16/11/09): BNP leader to challenge Cabinet minister at general election

The Independent (16/11/09): Renouncing Islamism: To the brink and back again

The Guardian (12/11/09): The one-sided debate on asylum seekers

BBC News (12/11/09): African slavery apology 'needed'

IRR News (12/11/09): Cheryl Laws fights deportation

The Guardian (11/11/09): Citizens, do your civic duty

The Guardian (09/11/09): Welcome highlights British hypocrisy as well as French brutality

The Independent (09/11/09): Johnson: we need a debate on migration

The Independent (09/11/09): Leading article: The immigration debate we need

The Guardian (06/11/09): Is the British curry under threat?

The Daily Telegraph (06/11/09): Exeter is a lovely place for the BNP, says actress Emma Thompson

The Independent (06/11/09): Prosecutor arrives in Kenya on trail of war crimes

The Guardian (05/11/09): Disguising the detention of children

The Daily Telegraph (05/11/09): Radovan Karadzic trial delayed until March 2010

The Independent (05/11/09): Saved from the death squads: Darfuris given asylum in UK

The Guardian (05/11/09): British soldiers in Afghanistan helping to curb asylum seekers, claims minister

The Guardian (04/11/09): Why Johnson felt the need to say sorry

The Independent (04/11/09): Saved from the death squads: Darfuris given asylum in UK

The Independent (04/11/09): Zimbabwe to escape censure over abuses in diamond mines

New Reports and Publications


Two recent reports have recently been published by the mental health charity Mind charting the levels of support and provision of services available for refugees and asylum seekers. Further information on these two reports can be found on the Mind website at: http://www.mind.org.uk/news/2368_uk_puts_mental_health_of_refugees_and_asylum_seekers_at_risk

Alternatively, copies of the reports in PDF format are available via the links below:

A civilised society: mental health provision for refugees and asylum seekers in England and Wales

http://www.mind.org.uk/assets/0000/5695/refugee_report_2.pdf

(Source: IRR Weekly Digest 13 November)

Improving mental health support for refugee communities – an advocacy approach

http://www.mind.org.uk/assets/0000/5696/Refugee_Report_1.pdf

(Source: IRR Weekly Digest 13 November)

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Dr. Nik Mai of the Institute for the Study of European Transformations (ISET) at London Metropolitan University has recently published a research report entitled Migrant workers in the UK sex industry. This publication reports on the recent ESTC funded research led by Dr. Mai and further details can be found on the ISET website at: http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research-units/iset/projects/esrc-migrant-workers.cfm

The research report itself can be downloaded here: http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/londonmet/fms/MRSite/Research/iset/Migrant%20Workers%20in%20the%20UK%20Sex%20Industry%20Policy-Relevant%20Findings2.pdf
(Source: ICAR Newsletter)

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A new report has been launched by the Welsh Assembly Government entitled “Refugees living in Wales: A survey of skills, experiences and barriers to inclusion” by Crawley, Heaven and Crimes, Tina, Centre for Migration Policy Research (CMPR), Swansea University
(Source: ICAR Newsletter)

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A report has been launched by the Innocenti Research Centre at UNICEF entitled “Children in Immigrant Families in Eight Affluent Countries: Their family, national and international context” by Hernandez, Donald J., Macartney, Suzanne et al.
A UK-based case study is also available, entitled: “The situation of children in immigrant families in the United Kingdom” by Crawley, Heaven. Innocenti Working Paper IWP-2009-18
(Source: ICAR Newsletter)


Posted in: News.