The RRN Research Digest provides a synopsis of recent research on refugee and forced migration issues from entities associated with the RRN and others.
You can download the digest in PDF format here: RRN Research Digest No. 122
NEW RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS
Philip, A., & Couldrey, M. (March 2022). Forced Migration Review, Issue 69 – Climate crisis and displacement: from commitment to action, University of Oxford & Refugee Studies Centre. In this issue on Climate crisis and displacements, the authors examine how high-level policy can be translated into concrete action to address the impacts of the climate crisis on human mobility. The general articles section includes three articles on other topics: women, peace and security in displacement; cash transfers in Turkey; and asylum accommodations in the UK. FMR 69 is available in English in two formats: a magazine and a shorter Editors’ briefing, online and in print.
D’Orsi, C., & Naldi, G. (2022). Climate-induced displacement in the Sahel: A question of classification. International Review of the Red Cross, 1-37. This article examines the legal aspects of climate-induced forced displacement in the Sahel region of North Africa. The Sahel region is adversely affected by climate change, leading to the displacement of thousands of people, both cross-border migrants and internally displaced persons (IDPs). The conventional stance is that refugee status does not extend to individuals displaced due to natural or environmental catastrophes and that, consequently, a normative gap exists in international refugee law. However, the position in international law may not be as clear-cut as this conventional view assumes, in light of recent trends moving towards recognizing the rights of such displaced people. The response, legislative and otherwise, of five Sahel States towards forcibly displaced persons is examined.
Summers, K., Crist, J., & Streitwieser, B. (2022). Education as an Opportunity for Integration: Assessing Colombia, Peru, and Chile’s Educational Responses to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis. Journal on Migration and Human Security. This paper examines the distinct educational policy responses to Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, Peru, and Chile. The authors contextualize the current crisis through a sociopolitical and economic analysis. Venezuelans are not officially and legally recognized as refugees by the UNHCR. Instead, refugee status is considered on a case-by-case basis at the country level. The regional coordinating bodies tasked with promoting safe, orderly, and legal migration of Venezuelans to host countries have given uneven attention to education.
Dryden-Peterson, S. (2022) Right Where We Belong: How Refugee Teachers and Students Are Changing the Future of Education, Harvard University Press. This book uncovers that refugee teachers and students themselves are leading where governments and international agencies have been stymied. From open-air classrooms in Uganda to the hallways of high schools in Maine, new visions for refugee education are emerging. Drawing on more than 600 interviews in twenty-three countries, the author shows how teachers and students are experimenting with flexible forms of learning. Rather than adopting the unrealistic notion that all will soon return to “normal,” these schools embrace unfamiliarity, develop students’ adaptiveness, and demonstrate how children, teachers, and community members can build supportive relationships across lines of difference.
Christou, A., & Kofman, E. (2022). Gender and Migration: IMISCOE Short Reader. Springer, Cham. This open access short reader offers a critical review of the debates on the transformation of migration and gendered mobilities primarily in Europe, engaging in broader theoretical insights. The authors build on empirical case studies grounded in an analytical framework incorporating men and women, masculinities, sexualities and broader intersectional insights. This reader provides an overview of conceptual developments and methodological shifts, and implications for a gendered understanding of migration in the past 30 years.
Liddell, B.J., Batch, N., Hellyer, S., Bulnes-Diez, M., Kamte, A., Klassen, C., Wong, J., Byrow, Y., & Nickerson, A. (2022). Understanding the effects of being separated from family on refugees in Australia: a qualitative study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. By employing qualitative interview methods, the objective of this study was to understand the impact of family separation on refugees living in Australia. The authors concluded that family separation has an enduring effect on the wellbeing of refugees, with key pathways being ongoing fear and insecurity, disrupted social attachments and identity shifts concerning the future self. Thus, refugees separated from or missing family members struggle with ongoing stress and adjustment issues.
REPORTS AND POLICY BRIEFS
CYRRC Highlights Report (2022), The Child and Youth Refugee Research Coalition. This report summarizes research on refugee children, youth, and families from the past year. It is interactive—featuring quotes and soundbites from youth with lived experience, service providers, and academics. Furthermore, it also contains downloadable infographics and executive summaries and showcases an online exhibit of photographs by refugee youth from three participatory photography projects.
Report: Instrumentalising Citizenship in the Fight Against Terrorism (March 2022). The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion & Global Citizenship Observatory.
Recent years have seen a resurgence of states’ practices of nationality deprivation as a security measure – repackaged for the 21st century as a counter-terrorism instrument. This report offers a first-of-its-kind global analysis of nationality deprivation powers related to national security and how these have evolved since 9/11, revealing alarming trends, especially in Europe and the UK. Furthermore, it offers the first comprehensive global survey of relevant legislative provisions, covering 190 countries – discussing the prevalence and scope of these powers. The report also discusses the relevant authority to take deprivation decisions, which categories of citizens are targeted and whether citizenship stripping can result in statelessness.
Briefing Paper: Dangerous journeys through Myanmar: Insercutities and immobilities for Rohingya and Muslim women in post-coup Myanmar by Kathy Win & Natalie Brinham, Institue on Statelessness and Inclusion. March 2022. This briefing paper explores the structural factors that drive Rohingya women and girls in Myanmar to take dangerous journeys in search of safety & security. It is intended to provide a snapshot of some of the issues faced by Rohingya and other displaced Muslim communities in Rakhine and their framings and understandings of the situation. The authors provide an overview of the situation in post-coup Myanmar, the gendered drivers of forced migration, and outline the experiences of women travelling through Myanmar, including experiences of arrest and detention, extortion, sexual violence and risk to life.
Report: “Now, There is Nothing Safe”: A Roadmap for Investing in Afghan Women and Girls by Devon Cone. Refugees International. April 1, 2022. This report details the challenges Afghan women refacing in Afghanistan and displacement. It outlines the steps the international community can take to ensure a better future for the country’s women and girls. The steps include securing additional protection pathways for at-risk women, supporting women in countries hosting Afghans fleeing international borders to seek safety and investing in a gender-inclusive humanitarian response inside Afghanistan.
NEWS AND BLOG POSTS
Clause 11, Nationality and Borders Bill: Why Two-Tier Refugee Status is a Bad Idea by David Cantor, Eric Fripp, Hugo Storey and Mark Symes. RLI Blog on Refugee Law and Forced Migration. One of the most disturbing clauses of the 2021 Nationality and Borders Bill remains intact as the Bill moves toward adoption. Clause 11, which purports to allow the United Kingdom to create a two-tier system of refugee status, attacks the principle that all refugees should receive the same basic standards of treatment in the host country. As a result, it can potentially create significant injustices for most refugees arriving in the UK without affecting how refugees travel to the UK or reducing such arrivals. In this blog, the authors outline their views on why clause 11 is ineffective and likely unlawful.
Polish generosity risks hardening anti-immigrant sentiments towards Ukrainian refugees in the long term by Yvonne Su, The conversation. March 24, 2022. While the initial flows of Ukrainian refugees were housed by the approximately one million Ukrainian diaspora in Poland, the Polish government did not initially set up refugee camps — future flows of refugees will not have such familial or social ties. Instead, they will require much more state and local support.
Evacuations: Sometimes the real disaster is what happens after by Jane McAdam, Sydney Morning Herald. March 22, 2022. On Australia’s east coast, thousands of people have been left homeless due to the floods. In such situations, evacuations can be a life-saving tool. Whole towns in NSW and Queensland were ordered to evacuate as floodwaters rose. Evacuations are envisaged as a temporary measure in all cases, with return home usually the ultimate goal. However, far too often, situations are not resolved as anticipated. This is particularly concerning given that there were eight million evacuations from disasters globally in 2019 – a figure set to increase with the impacts of climate change.
How Russia is trying to stoke anti-Ukrainian sentiment in eastern EU countries by Agnieszka Weinar, The Conversation. March 23, 2022. After a failed blitzkrieg, the Russian army has adopted attacks against civilians, resulting in ever-growing refugee flows from Ukraine to neighbouring countries — 4.6 million people have fled so far, mainly women and children. The influx is expected to grow, putting the stability of the European Union at risk and creating an opportunity for Vladimir Putin, a master of information wars against open societies, to create dangerous divisions in the EU.
EVENTS, DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA
CRS Seminar: Understanding the ongoing conflict and human rights violations in Ethiopia. Centre for Refugee Studies, York University. Apr 13, 2022 11:30 AM EST. Refugee camps for Eritreans in northern Tigray have been destroyed, with thousands of Eritrean refugees displaced within Ethiopia, abducted or forcibly returned to Eritrea; tens of thousands more remain under siege in the region. This roundtable brings together experts with deep knowledge and experience of the region to highlight the deteriorating human rights and security conditions in the country and the Horn of Africa.
Podcast: How We Can Better Support Refugees in Education, Harvard Edcast. April 6, 2022. Associate Professor Sarah Dryden-Peterson talks about how we can better support refugee children and teachers in education around the world. She argues that education needs to create better support for displaced children whose education is disrupted, dominated by exclusion and uncertainty about the future. Furthermore, she reflects on the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine and offers insight into what we have learned from other humanitarian crises.
Launch Event: IDMC’s Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID). 23, May 2022. This is a day-long event with in-person and hybrid segments. The technical segment will bring together experts and practitioners to discuss the findings of this year’s GRID on the impacts of displacement on children and youth, displacement risk of the age group, data challenges and promising practices in finding solutions. The high-level segment will bring together governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and academics to share different perspectives, challenges and solutions on this critical topic.