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  

IRR News (16/12/09): Conditions at G4S immigration prison 'worse and worse'

The Independent (16/12/09): Inside Yarl's Wood immigration centre 

The Independent (14/12/09): Stop abusing child refugees (says illegal immigrant from Darkest Peru)  

The Guardian (13/12/09): Let us hope we have not sunk to the level of mistreating children to deter asylum seekers

The Observer (13/12/09): Anglican 'Santa' barred from giving gifts to children at detainee centre  

The Guardian (12/12/09): Letters: Detention of children is unacceptable and should end now  

BBC News (10/12/09): Detention of child migrants 'risks their health'  

The Guardian (10/12/09): Move children out of migrant centres, say medical experts  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/10/immigration-detention-children-mental-health

IRR News (10/12/09): Health professionals speak out against detention of children

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  

The Daily Telegraph (14/12/09): Donald Rumsfeld dismissed Iraq insurgents as 'bunch of no-hopers' 

The Times (14/12/09): British involvement in Iraq war blamed on Blair’s ‘sycophancy’

The Independent (09/12/09): Blair 'was told Iraq had disarmed - but still went to war'  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blair-was-told-iraq-had-disarmed--but-still-went-to-war-1836775.html

The Daily Telegraph (08/12/09): 'Dodgy dossier' included gossip supplied by Iraqi taxi driver  

The Daily Telegraph (08/12/09): Iraq Inquiry: 45 minute WMD claim was ‘lost in translation’ says Sir John Scarlett  

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 

The Times (08/12/09): Opposition proves it’s still alive and kicking with day of mass protest in Iran  

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

The Independent (17/12/09): Independent Appeal: Beneath the beauty, the most traumatised place in the world  

The Independent (17/12/09): Story of Aboriginal girls' flight that inspired film under revisionist attack  

The Independent (17/11/09): Leading article: Religion, not race, is the key 

Human Rights Watch (16/12/09): 2009 a Bad Year for Migrants.  See also: Slow Movement : Protection of Migrants’ Rights in 2009  

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): Deadly faultline threatens to reignite civil war in Sudan  

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

The Daily Telegraph (15/12/09): Lorry drivers who smuggle illegal immigrants escape fines  

Home Office Press Release (15/12/09): Identity cards to be extended across the North West  

The Guardian (14/12/09): Child protection worries over lack of powers to vet foreigners  

The Guardian (14/12/09): Why is it so difficult for people from Pakistan to get a UK visa?  

The Guardian (13/12/09): British Muslims feel the most patriotic in Europe, survey claims  

The Guardian (13/12/09): Faith in The Family  

Human Rights Watch (13/12/09): UN: Act to End Atrocities in Eastern Congo

Human Rights Watch (12/12/09): Israel: Court Should Halt Forced Returns of Migrants to Egypt  

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 

BBC News (11/12/09): Pakistanis most likely to be turned down for UK visas

The Daily Telegraph (11/12/09): Alistair Darling signals death of ID cards  

The Times (11/12/09): Terror police to monitor nurseries for Islamic radicalisation  

The Daily Telegraph (10/12/09): Robert Mugabe's supporters 'used rape as a weapon' in election  

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): Debate on migration limit is legitimate, says Alan Johnson  

The Guardian (09/12/09): Letters: Study visa threat 

The Independent (09/12/09): Independent Appeal: Whole new world is just a click away for children of Ethiopia  

The Daily Telegraph (09/12/09): One in 10 of population born abroad  

The Daily Telegraph (08/12/09): Record level of British population is foreign-born 

The Guardian (08/12/09): Overseas students: an easy target  

The Independent (08/12/09): UN warns of rising tensions as refugees flood into cities  

The Independent (08/12/08): Independent Appeal: The people for whom identity cards are a precious gift  

The Independent (08/12/09): John Walsh: 'Born and bred a Brit – but apparently I know nothing about Britishness'  

BBC News (08/12/09): Border Agency bonuses criticised by MPs  

The Times (08/12/09): Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo begins second year of detention without charge  

Human Rights Watch (07/12/09): South Africa: Improve Migrants’ Access to Health Care

The Independent (07/12/09): MoD 'did not want to breach privacy of detainee' 

The Independent (06/12/09): Violence erupts at Nottingham anti-Islam demo  

The Guardian (06/12/09): Britain 'losing out on tens of thousands of overseas students', says report  

Human Rights Watch (06/12/09):  Afghanistan: Keep Promises to Afghan Women 

UK Home Office (04/12/09): Meeting the needs of the UK economy through selective high-skilled immigration  

The Guardian (04/12/09): Immigration report for Mohammed Rizwan Sharif 

The Guardian (04/12/09): Migration chief calls for college inquiry 

The Guardian (03/12/09):  Two in three Britons think UK has immigration problem  

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]

Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/12/publications-complex-emergenciesafrica.html

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.”

• Download the Impact report 2008/9 

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.

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 Daily Telegraph (01/12/09): Iraq inquiry: Tony Blair asked for war plans to be prepared in June 2002

The Independent (01/12/09): I did not bully Lord Goldsmith, insists Blair

The Independent (30/11/09): Ministers fear Iraq backlash will lose Labour the election

The Daily Telegraph (27/11/09): Iraq inquiry: war ‘not legitimate’, Sir Jeremy Greenstock tells inquiry

The Times (27/11/09): Blair may have ‘signed in blood’ to topple Saddam a year before war

The Independent (26/1109): Iraq: The inquiry cover-up that will keep us in the dark

The Independent (26/11/09): Officials knew WMD evidence was tainted

The Independent (26/11/09): Adrian Hamilton: The one thing Chilcot won't reveal is the truth

The Times (26/11/09): Blair 'knew Saddam did not have WMD before war started'

The Daily Telegraph (25/11/09): Iraq inquiry: Tony Blair told ‘days before invasion’ WMD had been dismantled

The Times (25/11/09): US ‘drumbeats’ about Iraq invasion were heard months before 9/11

The Independent (24/11/09): Iraq invasion discussed in 2001 – but was dismissed as illegal

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): Swiss minarets: is EU following Arabs down path of self-pity and xenophobia?

The Guardian (30/11/09): Switzerland: Hatred beneath the harmony

Refugees and Asylum Related Stories

Amnesty International (02/12/09): Victims of Peru Amazon violence deserve justice without discrimination

The Independent (02/12/09): Tamils on the road as Sri Lanka opens refugee camps

The Independent (02/12/09): 'Historic' ruling on secret evidence

The Guardian (01/12/09): Blow to home secretary as terror suspects win secret evidence case

Amnesty International (01/12/09): Sri Lankan government must permanently release all civilians

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 Guardian (30/11/09): We need a gender-sensitive asylum system

The Observer (29/11/09): Detention of children at immigration 'prisons' attacked by MPs

Amnesty International (27/11/09): Commonwealth leaders must focus on Sri Lanka crisis

Refugee Council News (27/11/09): Safety of child asylum seekers given boost after court ruling

UK Home Office Press Release (27/11/09): Home Office minister welcomes increased Chinese cooperation to tackle serious crime and migration issues

The Guardian (27/11/09): Lady Scotland's ex-housekeeper charged with immigration offences

The Daily Telegraph (27/11/09): Hidden threat from al-Qaeda sleeper cells

BBC News (27/11/09): Khmer Rouge chief Duch stuns court with release bid

The Independent (27/11/09): Why Conservatives failed the test on Islamic schools

IRR News (26/11/09): Dickensian poverty in the twenty-first century

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

The Independent (26/11/09): Can a Muslim say happy Christmas to his friends?

ICRC News (25/11/09): Red Cross Red Crescent issues universal call to action to tackle today's humanitarian challenges

The Independent (25/11/09): Congolese 'warlords' deny slaughtering entire villages

The Guardian (24/11/09): The brutal truth of child detention



New Reports and Publications

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.”

A Press Release is also available. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/26/syria-end-persecution-kurds

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

Available online in PDF format at: Yemen’s dark side: Discrimination and violence against women and girls

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 30^th 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.