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.

Conferences and Training Events

Conferences and Training Events

Refugee Council One Day Course: ‘Age assessment awareness and working with age-disputed children.

15^th October 2008.

Full details can be found on the Refugee Council website at: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/eventsandtraining/training/service/fulldetails.htm

Refugee Council Two Day Course: Key issues in asylum & Introduction to asylum support.

10^th & 11^th November 2008.

Full details can be found on the Refugee Council website at: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/eventsandtraining/training/service/fulldetails.html

Managing economic migration and its impacts

19 Nov 2008, London
The Institute for Employment Studies annual public employment policy conference. Full details can be found at the following web link:

http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/policy/event.php?id=191108p

Posted in: Conferences & Events.

Children and Society Journal

The latest volume of the Journal entitled Children and Society has just been released and this is a special volume dedicated to children and slavery:

Volume 22, Issue 3 is now available online - SPECIAL ISSUE: Child Slavery Worldwide.
Guest Edited by Gary Craig

This special issue of Children and Society is a contribution to understanding the scope and size of child slavery, to help those making or enforcing policy or responding to the victims of slavery to be able to understand the nature of child slavery and, hopefully, to combat it. To read more, please click on the article titles below.

Contents: EDITORIAL: Editorial Introduction Gary Craig Modern-Day Child Slavery Hans van de Glind and Joost Kooijmans ‘International Criminalisation and Child Welfare Protection’: the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child Trevor Buck Child Domestic Labour: A Modern Form of Slavery Jonathan Blagbrough Extreme Forms of Child Labour in Turkey Serdar M. Degirmencioglu, Hakan Acar and Yüksel Baykara Acar Falling Through the Gaps: Safeguarding Children Trafficked into the UK Farrah Bokhari Child Trafficking and Formalization: The Case of International Adoption from Ecuador Esben Leifsen ‘Precious Children in a Heartless World’? The Complexities of Child Trafficking in Marseille Brenda Carina Oude Breuil Life Histories and Survival Strategies Amongst Sexually Trafficked Girls in Nepal Padam Simkha

More Themed and Special Issues from Children & Society:


Special Issue: Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children: Local and Global Perspectives
Volume 21, Issue 4, July 2007
Guest Editors: Jo Boyden & Jason Hart

Special Issue: Gender and Ethnicity in Children's Everyday Lives
Volume 20, Issue 2, April 2006
Guest Editors: Virginia Morrow & Paul Connolly

Posted in: Periodicals.

Publications and Reports: Part Two.

Climate Change and its Implications for Human Migration and Health (International Centre for Migration and Health, Feb. 2008) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

Living on the edge of despair: destitution amongst asylum seeking and refugee children (The Children's Society, Feb. 2008) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

OI Policy Compendium Note on Gender Issues in Conflict and Humanitarian Crises (Oxfam International, Dec. 2007) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

Protecting Darfur’s Internally Displaced (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Feb. 2008) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

Tertiary Refugee Education Impact and Achievements: 15 Years of DAFI (UNHCR, Nov. 2007) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

UNICEF Humanitarian Action Report 2008 (UNICEF, Feb. 2008) [text via ReliefWeb]. Also available from the UNICEF web site with links to additional multimedia resources at: http://www.unicef.org/har08/
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

Hidden Hands in Fair Trade : Nicaraguan migrants and the labour process in the Costa Rican coffee harvest. By Peter Luetchford (2007). Sussex Migration Working Paper, no. 44 (Sussex Centre for Migration Studies, Sept. 2007). Available online at: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/migration/documents/mwp44.pdf
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

King, Russell and Anastasia Christou, "Cultural Geographies of Counter-Diasporic Migration: The Second Generation Returns ‘Home’," Sussex Migration Working Paper, no. 45 (Sussex Centre for Migration Research, Jan. 2008) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

Bialczyk, Agata, "‘Voluntary Repatriation’ and the Case of Afghanistan: A Critical Examination," RSC Working Paper, no. 46 (Refugee Studies Centre, Jan. 2008) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

Bitar, Maher, "Unprotected Among Brothers: Palestinians in the Arab World," RSC Working Paper, no. 44 (Refugee Studies Centre, Jan. 2008) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

Gonzalez Devant, Sara, "Displacement in the 2006 Dili Crisis: Dynamics of an Ongoing Conflict," RSC Working Paper, no. 45 (Refugee Studies Centre, Jan. 2008) [text]
(Source: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog - http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/).

Uganda: Doubly Traumatised: The lack of access to justice by women victims of sexual and gender-based violence in northern Uganda. Amnesty International Report, (30 November 2007). Available Online at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR59/005/2007

Gender justice and reconciliation. By Nahla Valji. (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES),
November 2007). Available Online at: http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0002922/index.php

Iraq: Study targets food insecurity and vulnerability
Source : Government of Iraq, World Food Programme
Date : 13 Feb 2008
URL :
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EDIS-7BSRN8?OpenDocument
(Source: ReliefWeb – http://www.reliefweb.int)

Myanmar (Burma): No end in sight for internal displacement crisis. IDMC Update. Available online at: http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpCountrySummaries)/CA157EECA36DF78EC12573E40062F57F?OpenDocument&count=10000
(Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre – http://www.internal-displacement.org).

Title - EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict
Source - European Union
Date - Dec 2003
URL Address -
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/EVOD-7BRH6Q?OpenDocument
(Source: ReliefWeb – http://www.reliefweb.int)

Title - WHO's Humanitarian Action 2008-2009/ Biennial Work Plan to Support
WHO's Capacity for Work in Emergencies and Crises/ Medium-term Strategic
Plan 2008-2013/ Programme Budget 2008-2009
Source - World Health Organization
Date - Feb 2008
URL Address -
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-7BQNXP?OpenDocument
(Source: ReliefWeb – http://www.reliefweb.int)

Applying the Lessons of Bosnia in Iraq: Whatever the Solution, Property
Rights
Should be Secured (Jan. 2008, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal
Displacement) -
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2008/0108_iraq_williams.aspx?emc=lm&m=211677&
l=21&v=33753

Between war and peace: Land and humanitarian action in Colombia, HPG Working
Paper (ODI, Dec. 2007) - http://www.odi.org.uk/hpg/papers/wplangcolombia.pdf

Climate Change and Forced Migration: Observations, Projections and
Implications
(UNDP, Dec. 2007) -
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/AMMF-79RK6C?OpenDocument
(via ReliefWeb)

Country Information in Asylum Procedures: Quality as a Legal Requirement in
the
EU (Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Dec. 2007) -
http://www.coi-network.net/content/goodpractice.html

Defending Refugees' Access to Protection in Europe (ECRE, Dec. 2007) -
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=4766464e2
(via Refworld)

Displaced in Darfur: A generation of anger (Amnesty International, Jan. 2008)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/darfur-camps-flooded-weapon
s-20080122

Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons (IASC, Dec. 2007)
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=4790cbc02
(via Refworld)
- Provisional edition.

The Iraqi Refugee Crisis: The Need for Action (Migration Policy Institute,
Jan. 2008) -
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/MPI-The_Iraqi_Refugee_Crisis_The_Need_for
_Action_011808.pdf

Kazakhstan: Neglecting Refugees, Engendering Statelessness (Dec. 2007,
Refugees International) -
http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/10371/

Kyrgyz Republic: Powerful Neighbors Imperil Protection and Create
Statelessness (Dec. 2007, Refugees International) -
http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/10370

Libyan Nationals in the United Kingdom: Geo-political considerations and
trends
in asylum and return, Compas Working Paper no. 58 (Dec. 2007) -
http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/publications/Working%20papers/wp-07-58.shtml

Living Across Worlds: Diaspora, Development and Transnational Engagement
(IOM,
Dec. 2007) - http://tinyurl.com/ypoxds

Links between Natural Disasters, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Risk
Reduction: A Critical Perspective (UNDP, Dec. 2007) -
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/AMMF-79RJYU?OpenDocument
(via ReliefWeb)

Living Across Worlds: Diaspora, Development and Transnational Engagement
(IOM, Dec. 2007) - http://tinyurl.com/ypoxds

Making Sense of Climate Change, Natural Disasters, and Displacement: A Work
in Progress (Dec. 2007, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement) -
http://www.brookings.edu/speeches/2007/1214_climate_change_ferris.aspx?emc=lm
&m=211677&l=18&v=33753

Freedom in the World 2008 (Freedom House, Jan. 2008) -
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=395
- Report findings, tables, and map currently available.

Human Rights Watch World Report 2008 (HRW, Jan. 2008) - http://hrw.org/wr2k8/

The State of the World's Children 2008: Child Survival (UNICEF, Jan. 2008) -
http://www.unicef.org/sowc08/

UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2006: Trends in Displacement, Protection and
Solutions (UNHCR, Dec. 2007) -
http://www.unhcr.org/statistics/STATISTICS/478cda572.html

22nd ALNAP Biannual Meeting, Papers (Dec. 2007) -
http://www.alnap.org/meetings/22.htm
- Papers are available in English and French. The theme of the meeting
was "Compounding crises: combinations of vulnerabilities, risks and hazards
in West Africa."

ICVA Conference, "The Essential Humanitarian Reforms," Meeting Documents (1
Feb. 2008) - http://www.icva.ch/whatshot.html

The Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict has recently issued a series of new reports which we would like to draw your attention to. On January 30^th, the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict launched its latest study: Getting it Done and Doing it Right: A Global Study on the United Nations-led Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on Children and Armed Conflict (January 2008). Each report includes extensive, detailed and practicable recommendations that address challenges and provide ways forward in each of these areas. All reports are available in English at www.watchlist.org. The global report is also available in French and Spanish (coming soon). The DRC report and Colombia reports are also available in French and Spanish (coming soon) respectively.
(Source: HURIDOCS - http://www.huridocs.org/)

Posted in: Publications.

Committee on the Rights of the Child: Concluding Observations (47th session)

For your information, we attach the Concluding Observations adopted in
respect of reports submitted by States parties to the Committee on the Rights
of the Child, which held its 47th session from 14 January to 1 February 2008.
The documents are provided in advance unedited version and in the original
language of adoption, with translations into additional languages to be found
in due course on the Treaty Body Database of the website of the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights (http://www.ohchr.org).

I) Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee
adopted Concluding Observations in respect of the following 2 States parties:

Dominican Republic
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Dominican_Republic.pdf

Timor Leste
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Timor_Leste.pdf


II) Under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, on the Sale of
Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, the Committee adopted
Concluding Observations in respect of the following States parties:

Chile
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Chile_OPSC.pdf

Kuwait
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Kuwait_OPSC.pdf


Timor Leste
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Timor_Leste_OPSC.pdf


III) Under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, on the
Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, the Committee adopted Concluding
Observations in respect of the following States parties:

Chile
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Chile_OPAC.pdf

Germany
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Germany_OPAC.pdf

Ireland
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Ireland_OPAC.pdf

Kuwait
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Kuwait_OPAC.pdf

Timor Leste
http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/crc/Timor_Leste_OPAC.pdf

Posted in: Publications.