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. 61

Recent Publications and New Research

Kordel, S. & Weidinger, T. (2019): Onward (im)mobilties: conceptual reflections and empirical findings from lifestyle migration research and refugee studies. Die Erde – Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin. This article firstly aims to unravel mobility processes among lifestyle migrants and refugees after arrival in Spain or Germany. Secondly, it identifies how migrants’ mobility strategies counteract sedentarist logics of the state. Empirical data show that migrants’ onward mobilities vary at length and thus blur boundaries between residential and everyday mobility. While negotiating mobility and immobility, they develop agency and learn to decide whether, when and how to be mobile or to be fixed to places and establish strategies how to deal with territorially based logics of the state. Thus, state authorities are highly interested in regulations to identify where people reside. Apart from security issues, particularly welfare states have to find solutions how to be responsible for people in a way that goes beyond territorially based registrations. In conceptual terms, results finally provide empirical evidence for a broader understanding of migration, especially considering onward mobility and forms of desired immobility. Available at: https://www.die-erde.org/index.php/die-erde/article/view/408/pdf 

New Book: Üstübici, A. (2018). The Governance of International Migration: Irregular Migrants’ Access to Right to Stay in Turkey and Morocco, Amsterdam University Press. As concerns about immigration has grown within Europe in recent years, the European Union has brought pressure to bear on countries that are allegedly not sufficiently governing irregular migration with and within their borders. This book looks at that issue in Turkey and Morocco, showing how it affects migrants in these territories, and how migrant illegality has been produced by law, practiced and negotiated by the state, other civil society actors, and by migrants themselves. The author focuses on a number of different aspects of migrant illegality, such as experiences of deportation, participation in economic life, and access to health care and education, in order to reveal migrants’ strategies and the various ways they seek to legitimize their stay. Available at: https://www.doabooks.org/doab?func=fulltext&uiLanguage=en&rid=32172

Ruhs, M. (2019) Can labor immigration work for refugees?, Current Histories

The author assesses the Global Compact on Refugees’ (GCR) recommendation that high income countries should take in some refugees as labor migrants. He argues that treating refugees purely as labor migrants without any recognition of their special status will not benefit many because refugees would need to compete for admission with other migrants from all around the world. Instead the author proposes that a more effective approach would be to design a program that is based, as much as possible, on the key features of labor immigration policies but also includes special measures for refugees. He concludes that few policy designs will need to have an explicit dual purpose, combining the objectives of labor migration and humanitarian protection. This will inevitably involve at least some trade-offs between admission for refugee-workers and compliance with some of the protection principles enshrined in international asylum and refugee norms. Available at: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/60384/Ruhs-CH-Jan2019.pdf

Güler, A., Shevtsova, M., & Venturi, D. (Eds.). (2018). LGBTI Asylum Seekers and Refugees from a Legal and Political Perspective: Persecution, Asylum and Integration. Springer. This book addresses the ‘three moments’ in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) asylum seekers’ and refugees’ efforts to secure protection: The reasons for their flight, the Refugee Status Determination process, and their integration into the host community once they are recognized refugee status. An intersectional approach is employed so as to offer a comprehensive picture of how a host of factors beyond sexual orientation/gender identity impact LGBTI asylum seekers’ journey. It includes a selection of legal, political, psychological and historical scholarly analysis to the perspectives of the practitioners working in the field. More available (with a free preview) at: https://www.springer.com/la/book/9783319919041. Some selections available on google books here

Report, briefs and policy papers

Policy brief: Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs, by Maki Park and Caitlin Katsiaficas (April 2019), Migration Policy Institute. This issue brief explores the types of trauma that may affect young children in immigrant

Families within the US context, what the effects of those experiences may be, and what can be done to protect children against them. Among these opportunities: promoting the systematic use of mental health screening tools that are appropriate both for young children and for use across cultures, and boosting collaboration between ECEC providers, health services, and organizations that work with immigrants to ensure that young children and their families are referred to needed services in a timely fashion. Available at:

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/mitigating-effects-trauma-young-children-immigrants-refugees

Immigration Detention in Slovenia: Where They Call Detention a “Limitation of Movement” (February, 2019), Global detention project. As a key transit country for refugees and migrants travelling the “Balkan Route,” Slovenia witnessed a significant increase in the number of border crossings during the “refugee crisis.” Citing fears of a “humanitarian catastrophe,” the country tightened immigration controls, erected wire fencing along its border with Croatia, and introduced stringent new asylum legislation. Non-citizens have a mere three days to appeal their detention and they are obliged to pay the costs of their detention. Also, unaccompanied children and families are regularly placed in the country’s sole immigration detention centre and non-custodial alternatives to detention are rarely applied because few non-citizens are able to afford it. Read the full report at: https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/immigration-detention-slovenia-2019

Factsheet: Dadaab Movement and Intentions Monitoring: Dadaab Refugee Complex (November 2018), REACH. A survey conducted by REACH, in partnership with the Norwegian refugee council, in Dadaab refugee complex showed that a majority of the households (39%) not willing to return to Somalia mainly due to fear of conflict. This factsheet provides an overview of the third round of assessment conducted in February 2019 across the three camps of Dadaab refugee complex. More details available at:

http://www.reachresourcecentre.info/system/files/resource-documents/reach_ken_factsheet_intentions_monitoring_dadaab_refugee_camps_july_2018_0.pdf

News reports and blog posts

What is gained by stripping ISIL returnees of citizenship? By Ebby L. Abramson (March 20, 2019), Policy Options. In Europe, conversations about the fate of returnees have intensified since the UK Home Office decided to strip British citizenship from Shamima Begum, who joined ISIL at 15 along with two other schoolgirls from the UK. Debate has focused on legal questions that surround such a move, which would cause the troublesome dilemma of creating stateless individuals. However, human rights and counter-terrorism strategies deserve more consideration than they have gotten. The author in this article considers three main factors in the complex matter of ISIL recruits who want to come home: why they left their home country; how vulnerable to coercion were they; and what are the circumstances of their return. More available at:

http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/march-2019/what-is-gained-by-stripping-isil-returnees-of-citizenship/

How a multinational project is striving to change refugee research, by Emily Baron Cadloff (April 2019), University Affairs. About 85 percent of the world’s refugees can be found in the global south while most refugee research is based out of the global north; a Canadian study aims to bridge that gap. The study, called “Civil Society and the Global Refugee Regime,” involves researchers at 10 partner universities spanning seven countries. The researchers will spend seven years looking at the issue of refugee resettling practices in four key countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Kenya and Tanzania.  More available at:

https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/how-a-multinational-project-is-striving-to-change-refugee-research/

Refugees’ Self-reliance: The dilemma of implementing the Global Compact on Refugees in Africa, by Tsion Tadesse Abebe (April 3, 2019), RLI blog on refugee law and Forced migration. The author argues that the implementation of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) and the Global compact on refugees (GCR), should be guided by context specific assessments since, for instance, promotion of self-reliance of refugees among impoverished host communities can lead to tensions. As a result, the development interventions targeting host communities should be transformative enough to achieve strong public buy-in. Further, it is critical to employ a conflict sensitive approach to navigate through the delicate balance and for the benefit of all. To achieve the desired result at every stage of the GCR/CRRF implementation, the author proposes establishing a tripartite platform among humanitarian, development, and peace/conflict actors should be considered. More available at:

https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2019/04/03/refugees-self-reliance-the-dilemma-of-implementing-the-global-compact-on-refugees-in-africa/

Digital, social and multimedia

Podcast: RLI’s 9th International Refugee Law Seminar Series Speaker: Roger Zetter, Emeritus Professor of Refugee Studies, University of Oxford, discusses The Humanitarian-Development Nexus from a political economy approach and links it to the GCR. Available at: https://t.co/yGw0difKlF

Webinar: Immigrant Futures Forum: Designing a Welcoming Economy

Experts from Canada and the U.S share research, local experience and great ideas for how cities can leverage the potential of immigrant talent and contribution to benefit both newcomers and receiving communities. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-JzD8xzlHk&feature=youtu.be

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. 60

Recent Publications and New Research

FitzGerald, D. S. (2019). Refuge Beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers. Oxford University Press.

The author traces how rich democracies have deliberately and systematically shut down most legal paths to safety. Drawing on official government documents, information obtained via WikiLeaks, and interviews with asylum seekers, he finds that for ninety-nine percent of refugees, the only way to find safety in one of the prosperous democracies of the Global North is to reach its territory and then ask for asylum. The book identifies some pressure points and finds that a diffuse humanitarian obligation to help those in need is more difficult for governments to evade than the law alone. More information available at: https://t.co/BmD0KWoK0A excerpts from google scholar available at this link

Culcasi, K. (2019). “We are women and men now”: Intimate spaces and coping labour for Syrian women refugees in Jordan. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.

Many Syrian women refugees have become income providers for the first time in their lives. Bringing literature from critical feminist and migration studies, the author offers the ideas of coping and coping labour as a framework to examine the intimate spaces of displacement. The paper shows that in the intimate spaces of displacement women have taken on traditionally masculine practices, but while their gendered performances shift, they are simultaneously entrenched as the ideals of appropriate feminine and masculine performances are recreated. Though these multiple gendered performances are creating numerous demands and challenges for Syrian women refugees, these women are also experiencing an increased sense of strength, confidence and respect as a result of their shifting performances. Available at:

https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tran.12292

FMR 60 on Education – now online

Education is one of the most important aspects of our lives – vital to our development, our understanding and our personal and professional fulfilment throughout life. In times of crisis, however, millions of displaced young people miss out on months or years of education, and this is damaging to them and their families, as well as to their societies, both in the short and long term. In FMR issue 60, authors from around the world debate how better to enable access to quality education both in emergency settings and in resettlement and asylum contexts. Full articles available at: www.fmreview.org/education-displacement. 

Naujoks. D. (2019). Refugee Camps and Refugee Rights: A simulation of the response to large refugee influxes. Journal of Political Science Education.

This article introduces and analyzes a one-class role-play simulation during which students engage in stakeholder negotiations on how to respond to a large flow of refugees between two fictional African countries. The simulation addresses questions related to courses on development, conflict and refugee studies, international organizations, human rights, and international relations. Based on six iterations of the simulation, the essay discusses specific design decisions in the preparation, interaction, and debriefing stage and their impact on the simulation, as well as principal learning outcomes. This includes detailed discussions of briefing memos, role sheets, role selection, and key questions during the debriefing session. The online annex contains the full role-play simulation that can used to replicate the simulation. Unfortunately the article is not open access but more information are available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15512169.2018.1559066

Report, briefs and policy papers

“They don’t even understand why we fled’: the difficult path to reintegration in Burundi”, The International Refugee Rights Initiative, IRRI (February, 2019)

Based on interviews with returnees in Burundi, the report, describes the daily struggle of recently returned refugees from Tanzania to provide for their families. Most rely on the help of neighbours or local authorities, but this solidarity will be further strained as larger numbers are likely to return ahead of the upcoming electoral process. Available at:

http://refugee-rights.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Burundi-returns-report-IRRI-Feb-2019-1.pdf also available in French at: http://refugee-rights.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Burundi-rapport-retour-IRRI-FR.pdf

Wilkinson, L., et al (2019), Yazidi resettlement in Canada, Final report 2018, Immigration Research West (IRW)

In 2017, Canada resettled 1,215 Yazidis refugees who have experienced extreme violence, torture, and displacement at rates that astonished the international community. Early reports from settlement agencies in Canada reveal that the high degree of trauma Yazidis have experienced has made their resettlement and integration very difficult. The study examines the following questions: 1) what settlement services do Yazidi refugees require? Do they have access to these services? 2) what has their experience in attaining language training been like? 3) what might their job prospects be? and 4) what are their housing conditions? Available at:

https://mansomanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/YAZIDI-FINAL-FEB14.pdf

Forced into Illegality: Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in Trinidad and Tobago – Fielf Report by Melanie Teff, Refugees International

Based on the fact that Trinidad and Tobago has received more than 40,000 Venezuelans but has done little to support them, this report suggests several ways that Trinidad and Tobago can improve its response to the influx of Venezuelans fleeing their country and the dire circumstances they would confront upon their return. Among those discussed are: (a) a special regularization process, which would allow the undocumented migrants currently in the country to apply for residency and work permits. Second, a government legislation on refugees and asylum that reflects its international obligations under the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These include commitments to provide access to public education to all children, regardless of their legal status, and access to legal work by refugees. Finally, Trinidad and Tobago should also reduce its use of immigration detention and use alternatives to detention. Available at:  

https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports/2019/1/27/forced-into-illegality-venezuelan-refugees-and-migrants-in-trinidad-and-tobago

News Reports and Blog Posts

 Olliff, L (2019). Time to Reimagine Asylum, Asylum Insights

The blog argues that reimagining resettlement should mean not only increasing the number of resettlement countries and places globally, but also amplifying its (potential) protection benefits through a more considered and ongoing engagement with people who have been through this process. It is also important to acknowledge the significant ways in which communities change as borders are crossed and displaced populations continue to connect with each other and create their own solutions in the context of the significant failings of the international refugee regime to ensure effective protection. Available at:

https://www.asyluminsight.com/c-louise-olliff#.XJwYkihKhyx

Selection on the Rohingya, The New humanitarian (March 2019)

The IRIN is now “The New Humanitarian” to signal its move from UN project to independent newsroom and more clearly communicate its role in covering humanitarian crises and the response to them. The section in the link below, offers a selection of IRIN’s reporting on the deep roots of anti-Rohingya violence; the ongoing emergency in Bangladesh’s refugee camps; and the next steps for Myanmar’s rejected minority. Available at:

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/in-depth/myanmar-rohingya-refugee-crisis-humanitarian-aid-bangladesh

Multimedia and Social media

Podcast: Is it Time to Stop Putting Status Determination at the Heart of the Refugee Response?

This talk disentangles misconceptions about temporary protection and considers its relationship with a resettlement response and with definitions of a refugee, with reference to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Convention governing the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa and the Cartagena Declaration. Available at: https://soundcloud.com/refugeelawinitiative/is-it-time-to-stop-putting-status-determination-at-the-heart-of-the-refugee-response

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. 59

Recent Publications and New Research

Topak, Ö. E., & Vives, L. (2018). A comparative analysis of migration control strategies along the Western and Eastern Mediterranean routes: Sovereign interventions through militarization and deportation. Migration Studies.

In this article, the authors focus on two defensive aspects of the EU’s anti-immigration strategy in countries of origin and transit: the militarization of the external borders, and an increasing reliance on the deportation of those unwanted migrants who manage to cross the now-militarized border. In order to understand the development of the anti-immigration EU border, the authors compare how these two instruments have been deployed along the Western and Eastern Mediterranean routes since the pivotal year of 2005—the year Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency) became operational and the GAMM was adopted as the EU’s migration framework. The paper shows that a common goal (the closing of the border against unwanted migrants) has created a venue for the re-articulation of sovereignty among and between the EU (as a supranational actor) and its member states (as nation-state actors). It emphasizes that rather than one replacing the other, these entities cooperate to implement sovereign interventions (such as in the form of militarization or deportation practices). Available at: https://academic.oup.com/migration/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/migration/mny029/5064227

New book: Maestri, G. (2019). Temporary camps, enduring segregation: The Contentious Politics of Roma and Migrant Housing. Palgrave Macmillan.

The book interrogates the persistence of Roma and migrant segregation in camps, to understand how the creation of temporary enclosures can lead to enduring marginalisation. In order to do so, it develops a comparison between Italy and France and develop a new theorisation of the camp as a site of contentious politics, where the interaction between governmental and non-governmental actors produces different temporal arrangements and forms of segregation. More information available at:

https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030037352 More details about the chapters available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-03736-9

New Open-access special issue on Social Policies as a Tool of Migration Control, edited by Ilker Ataç and Sieglinde Rosenberger, the Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies,

This special issue contributes to academic debates on the intersection of migration control and social policies by analyzing policies and policy making towards irregular migrants and rejected asylum seekers in European countries. It shows a range of social policies, covering both legal regulation and practical implementation across countries and cities according to the perspective of internal migration control. It also deals with tensions, conflicts, and cooperation with regard to the provision of welfare services for irregular migrants. Finally, it addresses the policy designs and strategies of actors that provide, limit, or expand access to welfare services for irregular migrants. Below are the links to the individual articles:

• Introduction: Social Policies as a Tool of Migration Control by Ilker Ataç & Sieglinde Rosenberger: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2018.1539802
• Navigating the Representative-Politics–Liberal-Rights Dilemma: Social Policy Designs for Nonremoved Migrants by Sieglinde Rosenberger: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2018.1489089
• Municipal Activism on Irregular Migrants: The Framing of Inclusive Approaches at the Local Level by Sarah Spencer & Nicola Delvino: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2018.1519867
• Deserving Shelter: Conditional Access to Accommodation for Rejected Asylum Seekers in Austria, the Netherlands, and Sweden by Ilker Ataç: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2018.1530401
• Health Care Versus Border Care: Justification and Hypocrisy in the Multilevel Negotiation of Irregular Migrants’ Access to Fundamental Rights and Services by Reinhard Schweitzer: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2018.1489088
• Stuck in Mobility? Interrupted Journeys of Migrants With Precarious Legal Status in Europe by Anna Wyss: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2018.1514091
• Regularization of Irregular Migrants and Social Policies: Comparative Perspectives by Albert Kraler: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2018.1522561

Report, briefs and policy papers

Report: The Crisis Below the Headlines: Conflict Displacement in Ethiopia, by Mark Yarnell, refugees International, (November 14, 2018).

Significant displacement occurred between April and June along the internal border of Oromia and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). In September, a team from Refugees International (RI) traveled to southern Oromia and SNNPR to assess the situation of the displaced and the response. The team found that while the government made a proactive effort to partner with international humanitarian organizations early on, this positive trend was soon upended. In late August, the government began to restrict the delivery of assistance, telling IDPs that they would only receive help if they returned home. However, because many return areas were destroyed in the violence and remained insecure, a number of IDPs who tried to return home now find themselves living in secondary displacement sites.  The report concludes by some recommendations to the government to address the crisis.  Available at:

https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports/2018/11/14/the-crisis-below-the-headlines-conflict-displacement-in-ethiopia

Report: Barriers and exclusions: The support needs of newly arrived refugees with a disability, Refugee Council of Australia, (28 February 2019)

This report highlights the service issues facing refugees with disabilities in Australia. It presents recommendations to government on how to improve services and policies to support refugees and humanitarian migrants with disabilities. It identifies a range of issues for refugees with disabilities accessing appropriate support, including access to timely assessment, accessible and appropriate housing, adequate support within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and culturally appropriate disability services. It finally makes some recommendations to address the existing barriers and challenges for people from a refugee background with a disability. available at:

https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/disability-report/2/

IWYS researchers developed four new research summaries and infographics, Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS) (February 2019)

The immigrant women, youth and seniors research teams have developed 4 summaries and 4 infographics to launch of our first series of Knowledge Mobilization products for the IWYS project. More information can be found at: http://ceris.ca/IWYS/en/ , below are the direct links to the summaries and infographics.

• IWYS Composite Research: How do immigrant women, youth, and seniors experience settlement and services in Canada? | Summary| Infographic 
• IWYS Women’s Research: What are the settlement needs of immigrant women in Canada and how can settlement services help? | Summary| Infographic 
• IWYS Youth Research: What are the settlement needs of immigrant youth in Canada and what are the impacts of settlement services?|Summary | Infographic 
• IWYS Seniors’ Research: What are the settlement needs of immigrant seniors in Canada and what are the impacts of settlement services? | Summary| Infographic 

Report: Youth Engagement in Ethnocultural Organizations in Winnipeg, by Jill Bucklaschuk, Janelle Gobin, and Ray Silvius, The Community Engaged Research on Immigration (CERI), (February 2019)

This report supplements a previous report, “Ethnocultural Community Organizations in Winnipeg: A Legacy Document”, that was written in 2018. Collectively, the two documents explore the role of ethnocultural community groups and organizations in providing services and supports for newcomers, and particularly refugees, in Winnipeg. The present report provides a more comprehensive account of the types of services, programs, and supports provided by Winnipeg’s ethnocultural community groups to meet the needs of immigrants and refugees. In particular, this report focuses on the scope of immigrant and refugee youth engagement in ethnocultural community groups. Both documents are meant to inform staff at IPW as they develop initiatives to support the work of ethnocultural community groups and organizations and seek to better engage newcomer youth in their activities. Available at: https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/ceri-network/docs/youth-engagement-eccs-final-report.pdf

News reports and blog posts

Québec’s Trump-like immigration policies contradict Canada’s welcoming image, by Carlo Handy Charles, The conversation, February 27, 2019

In early February, the Canadian government temporarily halted deportations to both Venezuela and to Haiti as violent protests continued in major cities in both countries. This article explores the implications of these temporary suspensions for Haitians who live in the current anti-immigration climate of the province of Québec. Available at:

https://theconversation.com/quebecs-trump-like-immigration-policies-contradict-canadas-welcoming-image-112482. 

The Rohingya: A humanitarian emergency decades in the making, IRIN news.

This is a selection of IRIN’s reporting on the deep roots of anti-Rohingya violence; the 2017 refugee crisis; and the next steps for Myanmar’s rejected minority. It offers an overview of who the Rohingya are, how the current crisis has unfolder, the situation in the refugee camps, as well as the reaction of the international community. Available at:

https://www.irinnews.org/in-depth/myanmar-rohingya-refugee-crisis-humanitarian-aid-bangladesh

GCM Indicators: Objective 6: Facilitate fair and ethical recruitment and safeguard conditions that ensure decent work, by Jean-Baptiste Farcy, Refugee Law initiative, Feb 25, 2019

The aim of Objective 6 in the global compact for migration, is to ensure decent work for all migrants. This requires actions to protect them against all forms of exploitation and improve recruitment mechanisms and admission systems to guarantee that they are fair and ethical. The overall objective is to better protect migrants at work as well as maximise the socioeconomic impact of migrants in both their country of origin and destination, according to the triple-win formula. Building on the actions foreseen in the text of the Global Compact, this article identifies indicators that help measure whether Objective 6 is being achieved in practice. It focuses on issues of equal pay for equal work, prohibiting the confiscation of travel or identity documents, facilitating change of employer, among others. Available at:
https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2019/02/25/gcm-indicators-objective-6-facilitate-fair-and-ethical-recruitment-and-safeguard-conditions-that-ensure-decent-work/

Multimedia and social media

Video: Unwelcome stranger: An African asylum seeker in Israel, Roopa Gogineni

This short documentary tells the story of Anwar, a Sudanese anti-government activist who fled his home in Darfur in 2003. https://www.irinnews.org/video/2017/07/31/unwelcome-stranger-african-asylum-seeker-israel

The Cities of Migration e-newsletter 

This is a bi-monthly review of good ideas, news and events from Cities of Migration, its GDX family and international networks. You can browse past issues, or visit the online edition at Conversations in Integration for up-to-date information and new ideas about successful integration practices from cities around the world. http://citiesofmigration.ca/conversations-in-integration/newsletter/

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. 58

Recent Publications and New Research

Weidinger, T., Kordel, S. & Kieslinger, J. (2019). Unravelling the meaning of place and spatial mobility. Analyzing the everyday life-worlds of refugees in host societies by means of mobility mapping. Journal of Refugee Studies

Drawing on experiences from trial empirical studies with asylum seekers and recognized refugees in rural Germany, The article examins the potential of mobility mapping, a space-related visual tool. It identifies its advantages, in terms both of acquiring valid qualitative data and of empowering the interviewees according to the principles of participatory methods. It argues that this tool can help to diminish power asymmetries between the researcher and the participant and acknowledge individuals’ competencies in terms of language. For practitioners, the implementation of the tool provides an opportunity to enhance participant-oriented planning and capacity building, such as in terms of networks and infrastructures, that addresses both individuals’ needs and spatial structures. Available to subscribers at:

https://academic.oup.com/jrs/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jrs/fez004/5345130?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Bylander, M. (2019). Is Regular Migration Safer Migration? Insights from Thailand. Journal on Migration and Human Security.

This paper challenges the assumption within international development programming that regular and orderly migration is also safer for migrants. Based on data collected from Cambodian, Burmese, Laotian, and Vietnamese labor migrants recently returned from Thailand, this paper illustrates the limits of regular migration to provide meaningfully “safer” experiences. It observes that migrant workers who move through legal channels do not systematically experience better outcomes. While regular migrants report better pay and working conditions than irregular migrants, they also systematically report working conditions that do not meet legal standards, and routinely experience contract substitution. Regular migrants also have a higher likelihood of experiencing exploitation, contract breaches, harassment, abuse, and involuntary return. These findings challenge mainstream development discourses seeking to promote safer migration experiences through expanding migration infrastructure. The paper recommends: 1) re-examining the conflation of “safe” with “regular and orderly” migration and advocating for practices that increase migrant safety, 2) focusing on broadening rights offered to migrant workers, and 3) strengthening and expanding oversight of labor standards and migrant regulations.  Available open access at:  

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2331502418821855

Sontag, K. (2018). Mobile Entrepreneurs: An Ethnographic Study of the Migration of the Highly Skilled. Verlag Barbara Budrich.

Migration, mobility, and globalization are transforming ways of working and living. Business activities, relationships and a sense of belonging are often not tied to any one place. This book explores biographies of highly mobile startup founders who often run startups that have been called “born global”. It describes how they move, how they orientate and perceive themselves, and how migration and mobility play a role beyond the physical act of ‘moving’. Presenting current ethnographic research, the book critically discusses approaches in migration and mobility studies and the research field of the “migration of the highly skilled”. The book is available open access at:

https://www.oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=1000493  

Borges, I. M. (2018). Environmental Change, Forced Displacement and International Law: from legal protection gaps to protection solutions. Routledge.

This book explores the increasing concern over the extent to which those suffering from forced cross-border displacement as a result of environmental change are protected under international human rights law and addresses their “legal protection gap”. The book seeks to provide answers to two basic questions: whether and to what extent existing international law protects cross-border environmental displacement, and whether and how existing formalized regional complementary protection standards can interpretively solidify and conceptualize protection for cross-border environmental displacement. It aims to help states reconceptualise protection as a holistic and dynamic enterprise. Some selections of the book are available at Google Books. More information available at: https://www.routledge.com/Environmental-Change-Forced-Displacement-and-International-Law-from-legal/Borges/p/book/9780203712023
 

Reports, briefs and policy papers

Study: Syrian refugees who resettled in Canada in 2015 and 2016, StatCanada

For the first time, Statistics Canada is releasing a detailed analysis of the socioeconomic conditions and demographic characteristics of those Syrian refugees who resettled in Canada from January 1, 2015, to May 10, 2016, a period during which many Syrian refugees were admitted to Canada. The study, mainly uses census data, which is the richest source of current information available for Syrian refugees. Data from the 2016 Longitudinal Immigration Database are also used to examine the income situation of refugees who were admitted in November and December of 2015. As more data become available on the socio-economic situation of Syrian refugees in Canada, Statistics Canada will add to this analysis and provide a more comprehensive picture of their settlement and integration over time. The report can be downloaded at: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/190212/dq190212a-eng.pdf

Issue brief: Persons Uprooted by Disasters and Climate Change Opportunities to Enhance Protection and Promote Human Rights in the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees, refugees international; (April 2018)

Introduction and summary: Those moving across international borders in the context of disasters and climate change do not always fall neatly within existing definitions of refugees and migrants, leaving the most vulnerable individuals without sufficient protection and at risk of human rights violations. The extent to which disasters and climate change drive international forced displacement and unsafe, disorderly, and irregular migration in the future depends in part on state action to mitigate disaster and climate risk, as well as state support to build the resilience of the most vulnerable communities. But it will also depend on the extent to which states cooperate actively to enhance international protection and regularize migration pathways for vulnerable persons. As UN member states meet over the course of 2018 to agree upon the terms of global compacts on refugees and migrants, they must seize upon critical opportunities to enhance protection for vulnerable individuals uprooted by disasters and climate change through supporting more expansive, flexible protection mechanisms and migration pathways. Available at:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/506c8ea1e4b01d9450dd53f5/t/5ac28847562fa78c2a4857c3/1522698312014/2018+Global+Compacts+Issue+Brief.pdf

Immigration Detention in Slovakia: Punitive Conditions Paid for by the Detainees, The Global detention project

Since the onset of the “refugee crisis,” Slovakia has pursued restrictive immigration policies and employed anti-migrant rhetoric, despite the fact that the country has not faced the same migratory pressures as its European neighbours. Rarely granting alternatives to detention due to strict eligibility criteria, non-citizens are held in facilities that observers have described as punitive in nature, and where detainees are required to pay for their own detention. Monitoring bodies have also raised concerns that the country’s legislation enshrines a presumption of majority in cases of age disputes, resulting in some unaccompanied children being held alongside unrelated adults as they await the results of bone analyses. Full report available at: https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/europe/slovakia 

News reports and Blog posts

Nothing About Us Without Us: Why Refugee Inclusion Is Long Overdue by Sanaa Mustafa, Refugees Deeply (June 20, 2018)

“I was really invited to deliver a keynote address at an event on refugee inclusion… The master of ceremonies bellowed over the loudspeaker, “Please join me in welcoming a Syrian refugee to the stage.” I cringed. In a fleeting moment the event organizers had undermined the very project they had set out to address: empowering refugees. I had asked them to introduce me like they would anyone else, by my resume. By introducing me by my legal status, they had stripped me of my agency, further entrenching the narrative of dependent, passive refugees.” Sana Mustafa, tried in this piece to question tokenism and move towards meaningful participation of refugees. Available at: https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/community/2018/06/20/nothing-about-us-without-us-why-refugee-inclusion-is-long-overdue

Special Report: Venezuela: Millions at risk, at home and abroad – A collection of our recent reporting, IRIN (February 21, 2019)

This report compiles a collection of recent IRIN reporting from and about Venezuela. It covers the humanitarian situation of the 3-4 million people who escaped the economic meltdown as well as those who have stayed.  It also addresses the repercussions of the increasingly politicised humanitarian aid which had pushed some international aid agencies to sit on the sidelines rather than risk their neutrality. Others run secretive and limited operations inside Venezuela that fly under the media radar. More available at: https://www.irinnews.org/special-report/2019/02/21/venezuela-millions-risk-home-and-abroad

Citizenship: What Is It and Why Does It Matter? By Bridget Anderson, The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford (March 28, 2011)

An older but highly relevant piece today with the current immigration and policy debate in the UK regarding revoking Shamima Begum citizenship. This piece discusses the objectives and implications of citizenship policy and examines the concept of citizenship in the UK in the light of both its historical context and recent policy changes. More available at: https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/primers/citizenship-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter/

Multimedia and social media

UNHCR’s learning initiatives on the Immigration Detention of Asylum-seekers and Refugees

UNHCR is pleased to announce the official launch of the Fundamentals of Immigration Detention e-learning course and two thematic self-study modules on Immigration Detention Monitoring and on Alternatives to Detention, all developed jointly by the Division of International Protection (DIP) and the Global Learning Centre (GLC).The practice of detaining asylum-seekers and refugees has become routine rather than exceptional in a number of countries around the world, with serious lasting effects on individuals, in particular for those in situation of vulnerability or at risk, such as children. The e-learning course and the self-study modules have been developed under the framework of UNHCR’s Global Strategy – Beyond Detention. These learning initiatives aim at providing UNHCR staff and partners with practical tools, knowledge and best practices examples to continue advocating for the end of immigration detention of asylum-seekers, refugees and other persons of concern to UNHCR. The self-study modules are available for download at https://www.refworld.org/detention.html. You may also access the e-learning course through this web-page or directly at two platforms:

1. DisasterReady.Org www.disasterready.org/immigration-detention
2. Humanitarian Leadership Academy www.kayaconnect.org/course/info.php?id=1213

The e-learning course and self-study modules are available in English, French, Arabic and Spanish.

New web page: Building Bridges with Indigenous Communities, Canadian Center for Refugees

In 2018, CCR member organizations and allies were asked to share their initiatives, practices and resources that connect the work they are doing with newcomers to Canada with Indigenous communities. This web page is a place to find resources and practices relating to building bridges between newcomers and Indigenous peoples. The page is meant to be dynamic and is now ready to be consulted at: ccrweb.ca/en/indigenous

If you have a resource or practice to share, or any comments or questions please submit them to: sgasana@ccrweb.ca 

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. 57

Recent Publications and New Research

Dennler, K.T. (2018). Re/Making Immigration Policy through Practice: How Social Workers Influence What It Means to Be a Refused Asylum Seeker. Migration and Society 1(1).

Refused asylum seekers living in the UK face hostility and legal restrictions on the basis of immigration status that limit access to statutory support, employment, and social goods. Working at a non-profit organization that offered an advice service for refused asylum seekers, the author observes how the experiences of refused asylum seekers are constituted not simply by restrictions within immigration law, but rather by the ways in which laws are perceived and implemented by a wide range of actors. She argues that the legal consciousness of social workers hostile to refused asylum seekers plays an important role in making policy through practice. She shows that social workers prioritized immigration enforcement over other legal obligations, thereby amplifying the meaning of immigration status and deepening the marginalization of refused asylum seekers. Available for subscribers at:

https://www.berghahnjournals.com/abstract/journals/migration-and-society/1/1/arms010108.xml

Pearlman, W. (2019). Becoming a Refugee: Reflections on Self-Understandings of Displacement from the Syrian Case. Review of Middle East Studies, 52(2), 299-309.

International law, government policy, and a range of academic disciplines all demonstrate different approaches to the task of defining who is a refugee. Yet how do refugees define themselves? When, how, and why do they come to identify with this term, or not? This essay offers reflections on these questions based on interviews with hundreds of displaced Syrians in the Middle East and Europe from 2012 to 2018. Syrian experiences illustrate how individuals’ self-understandings as refugees evolve over time as a contingent process not necessarily coterminous with actual physical displacement. It traces how these self-understandings are generated as shifts in three indicative relationships: displaced persons’ relationships to their expectations of return to their homeland; their relationships to their pre-flight lives; and their relationships to the word “refugee” itself. It suggests that one’s self-definition is the product of a process of “becoming” more than “being.” The article is available through the Refugee Section of Review of Middle East Studies Free Access Collection at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-middle-east-studies/refugee-section-of-romes-52-2-free-access-collection

Bock, J. J., & Macdonald, S. (Eds.). (2019). Refugees Welcome?: Difference and Diversity in a Changing Germany. Berghahn Books.

The arrival in 2015 and 2016 of over one million asylum seekers and refugees in Germany had major social consequences and gave rise to extensive debates about the nature of cultural diversity and collective life. This volume examines the responses and implications of what was widely seen as the most significant and contested social change since German reunification in 1990. It combines in-depth studies based on anthropological fieldwork with analyses of the longer trajectories of migration and social change. Its original conclusions have significance not only for Germany but also for the understanding of diversity and difference more widely. The book is available at a 25% discount on the paperback until March 31^st (use code BOC352 at checkout): https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/BockRefugees

Ferreira, S. (2018). Human Security and Migration in Europe’s Southern Borders. Palgrave Macmillan.
This book examines the management of migratory flows in the Mediterranean within an international security perspective. The intense migratory flows registered during the year 2015 and the tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea have tested the mechanisms of the Union’s immigration and asylum policies and its ability to respond to humanitarian crises. Moreover, these flows of varying intensities and geographies represent a threat to the internal security of the EU and its member states. By using Spain and Italy as case studies, the author theorizes that the EU, given its inability to adopt and implement a common policy to effectively manage migratory flows on its Southern border, uses a deterrence strategy based on minimum common denominators. More details available at: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319779461 

Sadek, S. (2019). Understanding the impact of the Libyan Conflict on Egyptian Migrants, The Center for Migration and Refugee Studies.

This is the 11^th paper in the series “Cairo Studies on Migration and Refugees”. The paper examines issues related to push factors in Egypt, pull factors in Libya, security and economic hazards behind the return in 2011 and 2014/2015 and the long-term implications of the return of Egyptian migrants. The paper is the first in a series of publications by the center in an attempt to understand the impact of the changes in the regional geopolitical environment on the demand on Egyptian labor. Available at: 

http://schools.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/Documents/Egyptian%20%20Returnees_Libya.pdf

Silvius, R. (2019). Work, Social Reproduction, the Transnational Household, and Refugee Resettlement: A Canadian Case Study. Critical Sociology.

This article puzzles out the relationships between displaced peoples, their families, resettlement, the household, employment, and social reproduction – the often voluntary, feminized, and un- or under-compensated labour that reproduces a family, household, or labour force. Transnational refugee households and the conditions of refugee resettlement are co-constituted. These households are: 1) physical dwellings where a family is situated; 2) sites of emotional, care, and additional work required for the reproduction of the (often transnational) family; 3) necessitating ‘material’ inputs, in the form of paid labour, social provisions, or other sources. This article uses Social Reproduction Theory (SRT) to demonstrate the tradeoffs in securing the economic and care resources required for maintaining transnational refugee households. Profiling cases of resettling refugee families in Winnipeg, Canada, the article suggests that ‘small-n’ research reveals the challenges in meeting common resettlement imperatives amid expensive housing markets and restricted access to social and economic resources. Available at:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0896920518820936

Reports, briefs and policy papers

Report on the health of refugees and migrants in the WHO European Region: no public health without refugee and migrant health (2018)

This report creates an evidence base with the aim of catalysing progress towards developing and promoting migrant-sensitive health systems in the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region and beyond. It seeks to illuminate the causes, consequences and responses to the health needs and challenges faced by refugees and migrants in the Region, while also providing a snapshot of the progress being made across the Region. Additionally, the report seeks to identify gaps that require further action through collaboration, to improve the collection and availability of high-quality data and to stimulate policy initiatives. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/en/publications/abstracts/report-on-the-health-of-refugees-and-migrants-in-the-who-european-region-no-public-health-without-refugee-and-migrant-health-2018

Izza Leghtas and Jessica Thea (December 13, 2018) “You Cannot exist in this place”: Lack of registration denies Afghan Refugees protection in Turkey, Refugees International

In September 2018, the Turkish authorities fully transferred responsibility for the registration and processing of asylum applications of non-Syrians from the UNHCR to Turkey’s Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM). Although the transfer had been planned for at least two years, its implementation was sudden and came in the wake of a surge in Afghan arrivals in 2018. In October and November 2018, a Refugees International (RI) team visited Turkey to research the effects of transferring registration and processing operations to the Turkish authorities. Available at:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/506c8ea1e4b01d9450dd53f5/t/5c12e207575d1fee96a38864/1544741385940/Turkey+Report+-+November+2018+-+in+English+-+2.0.pdf

A Call to Action: Transforming the Global Refugee System

The World Refugee Council was established by the Centre of International Governance Innovation in May 2017 to support the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and leverage the skills and experiences of its diverse membership in order to realize transformational change for the refugee and IDP systems. This report makes actionable recommendations, with a focus on four key areas: political will, responsibility sharing, financing, and accountability. Among the key recommendations is to: create an independent Global Action Network for the Forcibly Displaced; promote leadership roles for women and youth, thereby giving a voice to more than half of those who are forcibly displaced globally; and hold perpetrators accountable before the law. More available at:

https://www.worldrefugeecouncil.org/sites/default/files/documents/WRC_Call_to_Action.pdf

News reports and Blog posts

Kakuma News Reflector

Kakuma News Reflector or KANERE is an independent news magazine produced by Ethiopian, Congolese, Ugandan, Rwandan, Somali, Sudanese and Kenyan journalists operating in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. It is the first fully independent refugee-run news source of its kind to emerge from a refugee camp. The implementation of an innovative technological application of refugee verification known as Kiosk to Access Services and Information (KASI) has supported communication between refugees and agency staff. The latest issue of 2018 along with more information are available at: www.kanere.org

Irwin Loy, Briefing: How the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh is changing (February 13, 2019), IRIN news.

Nearly 18 months after 700,000 Rohingya fled a violent military crackdown in Myanmar in August 2017, the aid sector finds itself shifting from emergency response to dealing with a protracted crisis. The report addresses some of the biggest issues coming up in delivering aid in city-sized camps, as the crisis continues to evolve and pushes toward a second full year. Such issues include gaps in health services including mental health services, and the lack access to formal education for Rohingya children. Available at: https://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2019/02/13/briefing-how-rohingya-crisis-bangladesh-changing

Digital and social media

Website and video: Superdiversity: Today’s migration has made cities more diverse than ever—in multiple ways By Steven Vertovec, Daniel Hiebert, Alan Gamlen and Paul Spoonley

Over the past few decades, multiple causes and categories of migration – combined with migrants’ new and varying origins – have been transforming urban populations in complex ways, worldwide. The graphics utilized here show us how. These interactive data visualizations help show patterns in data quickly and powerfully and give the ability to interact with the data. They also help foster a wider and more complex understanding of migration and diversity dynamics. In this way, we can come to appreciate that the ‘diversification of diversity’ does not entail chaos, but rather multifaceted and interconnected patterns that represent our changing urban fabric. More available at: www.superdiv.mmg.mpg.de

New Online Resource: Migrant Working Lives website

This website is about international migrants’ experiences in and around work – looking for work, doing work (paid and unpaid), leaving work, or being prevented from working. Currently content only covers migrants’ experiences within parts of England with the hope to expand beyond. The website is hoped to be used as a resource to increase understanding and inform discussion about the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, needs, skills, desires, world-views and contributions to society among people living outside the country of their birth. More available at: https://migrantworkinglives.org/

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. 56

Recent Publications and New Research

Hudson, G., Nakache, D. and Atak, I. (2018). Special Issue on: The Criminalisation of Migration and Asylum: A Comparative Analysis of Policy Consequences and Human Rights Impact. International Journal of Migration and Border Studies. Vol.4 No.4

The criminalisation of migration [or as the editors refer to it crimmigration], describes one of the ways in which state power is used to exclude non-citizens from social, legal and geographic spaces. This special issue reflects on the ways in which crimmigration is constituted, constructed, and challenged in diverse settings. It seeks to promote a better understanding of the dynamics and processes pertaining to crimmigration, and to provide a critical analysis of the practical and human rights implications associated with it. The editorial of the special issue is open access and offers a clear overview of the contributions. Available at:

https://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticletoc.php?jcode=ijmbs&year=2018&vol=4&issue=4

Gill, N. & Good, A. (eds.) (2019). Asylum Determination in Europe: Ethnographic Perspectives. Springer. Palgrave Macmillan socio-legal studies book series.

Drawing on research material from ten European countries, this book brings together a range of detailed accounts of the legal and bureaucratic processes by which asylum claims are decided. It includes a legal overview of European asylum determination procedures, followed by sections on the diverse actors involved, the means by which they communicate, and the ways in which they make life and death decisions on a daily basis. The contributors employ a variety of disciplinary perspectives – sociological, anthropological, geographical and linguistic – but are united in their use of an ethnographic methodological approach. Through this lens, the book captures the confusion, improvisation, inconsistency, complexity and emotional turmoil inherent to the process of claiming asylum in Europe. The book is open access available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-94749-5

Guruge, S., et al (2018). Healthcare needs and health service utilization by Syrian refugee women in Toronto. Conflict and health, 12(1), 46.  

Access to healthcare is an important part of the (re)settlement process for Syrian refugees in Canada. There is growing concern about the healthcare needs of the 54,560 Syrian refugees who were admitted to Canada by May 2018, 80% of whom are women and children. The article explores the healthcare needs of newcomer Syrian women, their experiences in accessing and using health services, and the factors and conditions that shape whether and how they access and utilize health services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6276153/

Reports, Working Papers and Briefs

Henley Passport Index and Global Mobility Report (2019)

The 2019 Henley Passport Index and Global Mobility Report is a unique publication that brings together commentary from leading scholars and professional experts on the major trends shaping global and regional mobility patterns today. The report uses cutting-edge research and historical data to explore regional and global mobility trends, and, significantly, to reveal the links between travel freedom, growth, and democracy. It includes specific chapters on talent migration, forced migration, and climate migration, with additional sections covering global mobility trends, and broader trends in travel freedom. Available at:

https://www.henleyglobal.com/files/download/HPI2019/HPI%20Global%20Mobility%20Report_Final_190104.pdf

Agrawal, S., & Zietouny, S. (2017). Settlement experience of Syrian refugees in Alberta. SSHRC

This report documents the settlement experiences of recently arrived Syrian refugees in Albertan cities. It compares them across the three streams of sponsorship to better understand the perspectives of the refugees, the sponsors, and the social agencies that work with them.  Our findings suggest that all three government and private sponsorship programs were largely successful in bringing in Syrian refugees, from various asylum countries in the Middle East, to safe places in Canada. However, the settlement experience of refugees varied after they arrived in Canada. PSRs seemed to benefit from the personal attention, care, and networks provided by their sponsors. Still, this experience can vary widely based on how committed and resourceful sponsors are. Challenges in learning English and finding employment were paramount among all three refugee streams, irrespective of the place of settlement. Refugees were not sufficiently prepared to become financially independent after the government support ended at one year—particularly in their proficiency in English or in training in their profession or vocation. Available at:

https://cms.eas.ualberta.ca/UrbanEnvOb/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2017/11/Syrian-Refugees-final-report-Nov-2017-1.pdf

A Right To Be Heard: Listening to Children and Young People on the Move, UNICEF report, December 2018

This report presents the perspectives of nearly 4,000 young migrants and refugees who responded to a recent global poll conducted by UNICEF. Globally, 30 million children and young people – including 12 million refugees and asylum seekers – lived outside their countries of origin in 2017. The report highlights many of the challenges faced by these uprooted youth, as well as their hopes and aspirations. It also reminds world leaders of UNICEF’s six-point agenda for action to protect the rights of all migrant and refugee children and young people. Available at:  https://www.unicef.org/publications/index_103433.html

New reposts and blog posts

Need to Solve a Border Dispute? Look to Ethiopia or Uzbekistan by Nick Megoran. Refugees deeply (Jan. 9, 2019).

What’s happening in America is the latest in a series of recent political crises over migrant deterrence around the world. The author argues however that the Western perspective isn’t the only one and that  2018 saw a number of hopeful and instructive developments for international borders, namely in Ethiopia-Eritrea and Central Asia. More available at: https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/community/2019/01/09/need-to-solve-a-border-dispute-look-to-ethiopia-or-uzbekistan

First Person: Returning to Dadaab by Moulid Hujale, IRIN (January 24, 2019)

A former refugee from Dadaab reflects on his visit back to the camp. He points the evolution of the camp socially and economically, the impact of uncertainty and the threats of the Kenyan government on the camps activities, as well as the effect of global events such as the US travel ban on the members of the camp. More available at:

https://www.irinnews.org/opinion/2019/01/24/Kenya-dadaab-camp-returning

Digital and social media

Podcast: Current Thinking in Refugee Law: State Protection and Internal Relocation

The boundaries of refugee status remain one of the most important aspects of the protection afforded to forced migrants by international and domestic law.​ In this lecture series – Current Thinking in Refugee Law – two of the foremost thinkers in refugee law, Mark Symes (Garden Court Chambers) and Hugo Storey (Judge of Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber), present a series of four discussions addressing the key constituents of refugee status. Available at:

https://soundcloud.com/refugeelawinitiative/current-thinking-in-refugee-law-state-protection-and-internal-relocation

Digital Archive: York researchers launch Syrian refugee archive for scholarly use

A team of researchers at York University has developed a web-based archive on Syrian refugee settlement. It is the first web archive at York that is publicly accessible and permanently protected within the library system. The digital, open-source scholarly archive is organized into five topics, including: the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Context; Political Debates in Canada; The History of Private Sponsorship and Private-Public Partnership Programs for Resettlement; Drawbacks of Hybrid/Blended Refugee Resettlement Schemes; and Back to the Future. It features an analytically organized display of important policy and legal documents. Available at: https://scalar.library.yorku.ca/syrian-refugee-settlement-in-canada/index

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. 55

Recent Publications and New Research

Peter Nyers (2019). Irregular Citizenship, Immigration, and Deportation, London: Routledge. 

The book brings deportation and anti-deportation together with the aim of understanding the political subjects that emerge in this contested field of governance and control, freedom and struggle. It looks at the ways that citizens get caught up in the deportation apparatus and must struggle to remain in or return to their country of citizenship. The book features stories about struggles over removal and return, deportation and repatriation, rescue and abandonment. It features eleven ‘acts of citizenship’ that occur in the context of deportation and anti-deportation, arguing that these struggles for rights, recognition, and return are fundamentally struggles over political subjectivity of citizenship. More information available at: https://www.routledge.com/Irregular-Citizenship-Immigration-and-Deportation/Nyers/p/book/9781138337008  (A google preview is also available).

Elisabeth Olivius (2018) Time to go home? The conflictual politics of diaspora return in the Burmese women’s movement, Asian Ethnicity (19)1.

This article explores how return to Myanmar is debated within the Burmese women’s movement, a significant and internationally renowned segment of the Burmese diaspora. Does return represent the fulfilment of diasporic dreams; a pragmatic choice in response to less than ideal circumstances; or a threat to the very identity and the feminist politics of the women’s movement? Contrasting these competing perspectives, the analysis offers insights into the ongoing negotiations and difficult choices involved in return, and reveals the process of return as highly conflictual and contentious. In particular, the analysis sheds light on the gendered dimensions of diaspora activism and return, demonstrating how opportunities for women’s activism are challenged, debated and reshaped in relation to return. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631369.2018.1519387

Dustin, N. Ferreira, S. Millns (2019). Gender and Queer Perspectives on Brexit, Palgrave Macmillan.

This book explores the barely recognised gendered and queer dimensions of Brexit while offering a multidisciplinary, policy-oriented and intersectional analysis. It examines the opportunities and challenges, rights and wrongs, and prospects and risks of Brexit from the perspectives of gender and sexuality. The collection explores how Brexit might change the equality, human rights and social justice landscape, but from the viewpoint of women and gender/sexual minorities. The book contains several chapters directly related to asylum and refugees, in particular: Unaccompanied Migrant Children and the Implications of Brexit and The Impact of Brexit on Gender and Asylum Law in the UKas well as a section in Queering Brexit: What’s in Brexit for Sexual and Gender Minorities? More information available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-030-03122-0

Note: the book editors have kindly shared a Special offer to receive 20% off the printed book or eBook. Use the following token on palgrave.com: K4PMf2Y9ckCTexG (Valid Jan 8, 2019 – Feb 5, 2019)

Susana de Sousa Ferreira (2019). Human Security and Migration in Europe’s Southern Borders

This book examines the management of migratory flows in the Mediterranean within an international security perspective. The intense migratory flows registered during the year 2015 and the tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea have tested the mechanisms of the EU’s immigration and asylum policies and its ability to respond to humanitarian crises. Moreover, these flows of varying intensities and geographies represent a threat to the internal security of the EU and its member states. By using Spain and Italy as case studies, the author theorizes that the EU, given its inability to adopt and implement a common policy to effectively manage migratory flows on its Southern border, uses a deterrence strategy based on minimum common denominators.   More information available at: 

https://www.palgrave.com/br/book/9783319779461

Kerwin, D., Alulema, D., & Nicholson, M. (2018). Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 2331502418820066.

This paper examines the characteristics of deportees from the United States and the effects of deportation on deportees, their families, and their communities. It analyzes the findings from 133 interviews with deportees at a migrant shelter in Sonora, Mexico and interviews with family members of deportees and others affected by deportation in three Catholic parishes in the United States. These findings include: 1) the deportees had established long and deep ties in the United States, including strong economic and family ties, 2) deportation severed these ties and impoverished and divided affected families, 3) most deportees planned to return to the United States, and 4) the US deportation system treated deportees as criminals and the Trump administration sought to instill fear in immigrant communities. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to mitigate the ill effects of the administration’s policies and promote the integrity of families and communities, including: using detention as a “last resort”; reducing funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and limiting collaboration between police and ICE and Customs and Border Protection.  Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2331502418820066

Reports, Working Papers and Briefs

Francisca Vigaud-Walsh, Still at Risk: Restrictions endanger Rohingya Women and Girls in Banglades, Refugees International.

In April 2018, Refugees International (RI) conducted a mission to Bangladesh, to research the GBV response for Rohingya women and girls. RI found that the entire humanitarian system is struggling under tremendous constraints in Bangladesh, and protection and health actors do deliver lifesaving services to survivors in an incredibly challenging environment. This report, however, focuses on key gaps and challenges in GBV programming, as communicated by practitioners deployed to Bangladesh at various stages of the emergency, by local organizations, and by the affected women and girls themselves. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/506c8ea1e4b01d9450dd53f5/t/5b58d8da6d2a735bfb2ec32e/1532549339585/Bangladesh+GBV+Report+-+July+2018+-+final.pdf

Adam Fishman, SDG Knowledge Weekly: Looking towards Humanitarian Efforts, Climate Impacts and Adaptation in 2019, January 8, 2019

The SDG Knowledge Hub (http://sdg.iisd.org/) is an online resource center for news and commentary regarding the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This policy brief reviews priorities for aid in the coming year and efforts towards SDGs on humanitarian issues such as modern slavery. It also summarizes articles and knowledge products on climate adaptation, impacts and finance released around the Katowice Climate Change Conference at the end of 2018. Available at: http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/policy-briefs/sdg-knowledge-weekly-looking-towards-humanitarian-efforts-climate-impacts-and-adaptation-in-2019/

News reports and Blog post

2018: A Year of Reporting Deeply on Refugees and Migration by Charlotte Alfred, Daniel Howden, Tania Karas

In this article the editors select 2018’s best stories and commentary on Refugees Deeply. The selections include stories about Refugees from Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, as well as the African Migrants to Europe, Afghan child soldiers, Migrant domestic workers in the gulf, and smuggling in Libya. It also covers topics around UNHCR funding, the global compact, using AI in refugee determination, and including refugees in policy discussions. Available at: https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2018/12/21/2018-a-year-of-reporting-deeply-on-refugees-and-migration

Are women escaping family violence overseas considered refugees?, The Conversation,  January 8, 2019,  by Tamara Wood

With the global attention the Saudi teenager has caught recently, this report reflects on the predicament of women like al-Qunun under international refugee law. It highlights the unique range of legal and practical hurdles Women fleeing family and domestic violence must deal with. Available at:

https://theconversation.com/are-women-escaping-family-violence-overseas-considered-refugees-109509

Digital and social media

The Right to Remain Toolkit

This toolkit is a guide to the UK immigration and asylum system. It gives an overview of the legal system and procedures, with detailed information on rights and options at key stages, and actions you can take in support of your claim, or to help someone else. Available at: https://righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/

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. 54

Recent Publications and New Research

Christopher G. Anderson and Dagmar Soennecken, “Taking the Harper Government’s Refugee Policy to Court,” in Policy Change, Courts and the Canadian Constitution, ed. E. Macfarlane, University of Toronto Press, 2018.

In this chapter, the authors focus on changes that occurred to Canada’s inland refugee policy with two larger goals in mind. First, they de-mystify the role of the courts in shaping refugee policy in Canada. Second, they contribute to a growing body of work that reflects on the contentious relationship between the Harper government and the courts. In particular, the chapter examines the mobilization that occurred through and beyond the courts in response to the government’s 2012 cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) for refugees. The research shows that while the role of the courts in overseeing Canadian refugee policy is generally quite limited, significant mobilization on behalf of refugees inside and outside the courts occurred in response to the Harper government’s particularly rights-restrictive approach. Overall, the authors argue that in order to understand the relationship between the courts and public policy, it is necessary to appreciate the broader policy and political contours within which court rulings emerge, and the specific contexts that prompt court involvement in the first instance. More information about the chapter and the book available at: https://utorontopress.com/ca/policy-change-courts-and-the-canadian-constitution-2

Karimi, A. (2018). Sexuality and integration: a case of gay Iranian refugees’ collective memories and integration practices in Canada.  Ethnic and Racial Studies, pp 1-19 
During the past two decades, Canada has accepted hundreds of LGBT asylum seekers, including gay Iranian men. Sociologists of sexualities and migration have yet to study this group as immigrants whose sexualities play a central role in their social interactions, immigration, and integration practices. Taking integration as a category of practice and relying on Halbwachs’s theory of collective memory, the author provides an empirical study of integration practices of gay Iranian refugees in Canada. He draws on 32 interviews with gay Iranian refugees to analyse their interactions with Canadian society at large, the Canadian gay community, and Iranian Diaspora. The findings indicate that memories play the role of proxies that inform gay Iranian refugees’ interactions in Canada at the intersection of race-ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and nationality. Available at: https://refugeeresearch.net/rrn_node/sexuality-and-integration-a-case-of-gay-iranian-refugees-collective-memories-and-integration-practices-in-canada/

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Ethnic and Racial Studies on 28 NOV 2018, available online at:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2018.1550207

Gordyn, C. (2018). Pancasila and Pragmatism: Protection or Pencitraan for Refugees in Indonesia?. Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights, 2(2), 336-357.

Since the 1970s Indonesia has been a transit country for refugees searching for resettlement. While it has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, Indonesia does allow the UNHCR to operate within its borders. Furthermore, Indonesian President Joko Widodo recently pledged humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. This paper asks what motivates Indonesia to assist refugees, despite not being a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention? What principles underlie Indonesia’s approach to refugees? Based on interviews conducted with government officials, practitioners, activists and academics in Indonesia, this paper finds that Indonesia is guided by Pancasila (Indonesia’s state ideology) and the preamble to its constitution in playing a humanitarian role in international society. At the same time, however, this humanitarian imperative is in tension with pragmatism. This means that there are a number of problems for refugee protection in Indonesia. This paper argues that while Indonesia is driven by humanitarian ideals in assisting refugees, it must sign the 1951 Refugee Convention to endorse its commitment to Pancasila and the preamble to the constitution, otherwise it risks using these foundations as simply pencitraan, or ‘window dressing’. available at: https://jurnal.unej.ac.id/index.php/JSEAHR/article/view/8414/6042

Sarah Khasalamwa-Mwandha (2018): Geographical versus social displacement: the politics of return and post-war recovery in Northern Uganda, Development in Practice

The civil war in Northern Uganda in the period 1986–2006 fundamentally altered former ways of life and created diverse and complex needs. Protracted conflict and displacement create, reveal, and enforce vulnerability, which can undermine resilience. Based on in-depth interviews with internally displaced persons and returnees, both before and after their return to Amuru District and Gulu District, this article argues that war and displacement constitute more than a temporary disruption. The physical and social wounds of war are engraved and embedded in people’s lives. Therefore, recovery interventions must take these effects into account to forge a new post-war future.Please see the complementary link: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/xucMg4IMGVKBcuS6Vzan/full

Migration Policy Practice, Special issue on Global Compact Migration Vol. VIII, Number 4, November 2018–December 2018

This issue of Migration Policy Practice examines a specific aspect of the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration: that of migration research and analysis. While  acknowledging that migration research output has significantly increased in volume and diversity globally, as outlined in the IOM World Migration Report 2018, the natural starting point for an examination of this issue in the context of the Global Compact and international migration governance more broadly is the Migration Research Leaders’ Syndicate. Full issue available at: http://gmdac.iom.int/mpp-36  

Reports, Working Papers and Briefs

M.Gkliati, H. Rosenfeldt, Accountability of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency: Recent developments, legal standards and existing mechanisms, RLI Working Paper No. 30, 2018

This working paper looks into the increased capacities, tasks and competences of Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency), brought about by the 2016 legislative reform. It examines whether this development was accompanied by an accountability regime of equal strength. The existing accountability mechanisms are measured against the standards of European Union (EU) primary and secondary law. The paper assesses the political, administrative, professional and social accountability of Frontex, including parliamentary oversight and the newly introduced individual complaints mechanism. The final part of the paper focuses on legal accountability, a strong, yet highly complex, form of accountability. There, we introduce the concept of systemic accountability and investigate possible courses of legal action against Frontex. In sum, Frontex is subject to moderately increased scrutiny under its renewed founding Regulation and to various EU accountability mechanisms of general application. But several procedural and practical hurdles could render legal accountability difficult to achieve in practice. available at: https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/9187/1/RLI_Working_Paper_No.30.pdf.

Focus Canada – Fall 2018: Canadian public opinion about immigration, refugees and the USA, Environics Institute for Survey research

As part of its Focus Canada public opinion research program, the Environics Institute updated its research on Canadian attitudes about immigration and about the USA. Results show that Canadians are more likely than not to be positive about immigration and its impact on making Canada a better place. However, opinions appear to have hardened a bit since February, in terms of the overall level of immigration, its contribution to the economy, and perhaps most noticeably the legitimacy of some refugees. Regarding the US, Canadians pay close attention to events in the USA, and this year they have also found their country in the crosshairs of an aggressive US administration over the renegotiation of a new continental free trade agreement. Not surprisingly, general opinion of the USA has declined sharply in 2018, with fewer than four in ten Canadians holding a favourable view; now at its lowest level since Environics began tracking this opinion in 1982. Available at: https://www.environicsinstitute.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/focus-canada-fall-2018—final-report.pdf?sfvrsn=fe91cb12_0

Global Migration Indicators 2018, IOM and Global migration data analysis centre

This report is a snapshot of what we know about migration today. The data is organized along 17 key migration themes and based largely on data taken from Global Migration Data Portal – IOM’s one-stop-shop for international migration data. The report aims to provide a baseline for objectives in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and migration-related targets included in the Sustainable Development Goals.” available at: http://gmdac.iom.int/global-migration-indicators-2018-report

News reports and Blog post

Taha, D. (2018). Ethical Reflexivity and Decolonizing Refugee Research: Reflections from the Field, CARFMS blog
The blog proposes reflexivity, or asking how the researcher’s position and positionality implicates the research process and the researcher’s interpretations, as a tool not only to sustain rigorous methodological and empirical practices but also as means to decolonizing research. it aims to extend the notion of ethical reflexivity to unravel how research can further marginalize the “Othered” stories by replicating colonial assumptions and reinforcing hegemonic discourses. In addition to reflecting on microethics or ethics in practice, ethical reflexivity thus should strive for a more egalitarian research experience which ensures that the researcher’s interpretations are not made in isolation from the research participants, their worldviews and ways of knowing. the author uses examples and interactions with her respondents during my fieldwork in 2017, where she interviewed Syrian refugee women in Egypt who married Egyptian men often as a coping strategy. available at: http://carfms.org/methodology-reflexivity-and-decolonizing-refugee-research-reflections-from-the-field-by-dina-taha/

The World has no protection for refugees of climate disasters, Lewis Gordon, The Outline, December 11, 2018

Legally speaking, people displaced by environmental disasters aren’t refugees, even if we recognise their temporary living conditions as reflective of such a definition. Neither are the 18.8 million people displaced by weather-related disasters in 2017, a figure that’s expected to rise sharply as the impact of climate change worsens. This article reflects on the realities of those people all over the world and points towards a platform on disaster displacement. available : https://theoutline.com/post/6778/the-world-has-no-protections-for-refugees-of-climate-disasters?zd=2&zi=eefl5o6i

Digital and social media

The Number One Ladies’ Landmine Agency, BBC sounds

After Donald Trump’s recent call for Spain to build a wall across the Sahara Desert to curb African migration into Europe, this documentary follows a unique group of Sahrawi women working alongside the world’s longest minefield, the 2,700km sand wall or berm built by Morocco across the region. Number One Ladies’ Landmine Agency reveals a story of hope and tolerance embodied by a group of young women redefining the stereotype of the veiled, subjugated Arab woman, whose shared mission is to tear down barriers in all their forms. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csy152

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. 53

Recent Publications and New Research

Journal issue: International protection and SOGI, Genius: Journal of legal studies on sexual orientation and gender identity – November 2018

This Issue explores some of the problematic aspects raised by sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) asylum claims. Going beyond the studies available in this field, which are often focused only on the refugee status determination, the contributions published in this issue scrutinize the entire process of claiming asylum undertaken by SOGI people in need of international protection. Adopting different perspectives based on international, EU and domestic law, all authors advance appropriate proposals to overcome the legal obstacles that prevent, to this day, the protection of SOGI claimants and the full enjoyment of their human rights in Europe and beyond. Articles are available in English and Italian at:

http://www.articolo29.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/genius-2018-02.pdf

Enns, T. (2017). The Opportunity to Welcome: Shifting responsibilities and the resettlement of Syrian refugees within Canadian communities, Dissertation, University of Oxford

This dissertation asks: to what extent have local and individual resettlement efforts been shaped by a rhetoric of “welcome”, and to what extent have national policies and practices of refugee resettlement reconfigured the scales of responsibility? It starts by providing a revisionist history of refugee resettlement in Canada, it then contextualises the latter within the recent Syrian resettlement effort, and assess the national, community and individual responses and responsibilities—with a particular focus on the community-led response within the Region of Waterloo. It argues that the Syrian example has revealed manifestations of neo-liberalization, regarding who determines one’s right to resettlement, and on whose shoulders the moral and economic impact of resettlement rests. Available (with an academia.edu account) at:

https://www.academia.edu/37800132/The_Opportunity_to_Welcome_Shifting_responsibilities_and_the_resettlement_of_Syrian_refugees_within_Canadian_communities

Akesson, B., Hoffman, D. A., El Joueidi, S., & Badawi, D. (2018). “So the World Will Know Our Story”: Ethical Reflections on Research with Families Displaced by War. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Vol. 19, No. 3, p. 19).

This article examines the ethical implications of a qualitative research study exploring the everyday mobilities of Syrian families displaced in Lebanon. The multiple methods of data collection—collaborative family interviews, children’s drawing and mapmaking, GIS-tracked neighborhood walks, and activity logging—encouraged children and family voices. At the same time, these methods provide an opportunity to explore family networks, relationships, and environments that are impacting their lives in the context of war and displacement. These methods, like all research with vulnerable populations, also raise several ethical questions. Using a process of ethical reflexivity, the authors discuss six ethical points related to both procedural and micro-ethics. In addition to shedding light on the importance of uncovering the everyday experiences of refugees using creative methods, they suggest broader ethical implications regarding how to respectfully work with vulnerable populations while still upholding research integrity. Available at: http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/3087

d’Orsi, C. (2018). To Stay or to Leave? The Unsolved Dilemma of the Eritrean Asylum-Seekers in Israel. Harvard Int’l law Journal, Volume 59.

This work seeks to analyze the conditions of Eritrean asylum seekers in Israel in order to highlight gaps in their protection and to identify gap-filling solutions that would be amenable to both Israeli authorities and Eritreans asylum-seekers. Part I, focuses on the arrival of Eritrean asylum-seekers in Israel. Part II focuses on the reaction of Israeli authorities once the Eritreans have managed to enter the country. It will review attempts to remove the Eritreans as unwanted guests. Part III scrutinizes the conditions of the Eritrean asylum seekers that manage, at least temporarily, to remain in Israel. The analysis cover recent domestic legislation and the sort of “limbo” in which Eritreans find themselves, with very few rights, and with no clear future in Israel or elsewhere. Part IV examines the status of essential socio-economic rights (right to work and right to health) that Eritrean asylum-seekers can claim within Israel. The article concludes by illustrating the major challenges for the Eritrean asylum-seekers in Israel and by making recommendations to improve their situation in the country. Available at:

http://www.harvardilj.org/wp-content/uploads/20181112_dOrsi_toStayOrToLeave_vFinal.pdf

Camminga, B. (2019). Transgender Refugees and the Imagined South Africa: Bodies over Borders and Borders over Bodies, Palgrave

This book tracks the conceptual journeying of the term ‘transgender’ from the Global North—where it originated—along with the physical embodied journeying of transgender asylum seekers from countries within Africa to South Africa and considers the interrelationships between the two.  The term ‘transgender’ transforms as it travels, taking on meaning in relation to bodies, national homes, institutional frameworks and imaginaries. This study centres on the experiences and narratives of people that can be usefully termed ‘gender refugees’, gathered through a series of life story interviews. It argues that the departures, border crossings, arrivals and perceptions of South Africa for gender refugees have been both enabled and constrained by the contested meanings and politics of this emergence of transgender. Some selections and previews are available at: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319926681

Gericke, D., Burmeister, A., Löwe, J., Deller, J., & Pundt, L. (2018). How do refugees use their social capital for successful labor market integration? An exploratory analysis in Germany. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 105, 46–61.

Using Germany as an example, this qualitative study explores how refugees use their social capital within and outside organizations to enter their host countries’ labor market. Following a grounded theory approach, it interviewed 36 Syrian refugees who had already secured employment in Germany. It aims to provide in-depth information regarding the available types, uses, and benefits of social capital with regard to their access and integration into the labor market. Results showed that refugees have access to different types of social capital and that these types can offer different forms of support to refugees during the labor market integration process. The findings provide insights into how different forms of social capital can facilitate labor market integration of refugees at different stages. Available at:

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ba1d/0dd2712adf36f936c14708ab269c368781d6.pdf

Reports, Working Papers and Briefs

Akesson, B. and Coupland, K. (2018). Without choice? Understanding war-affected Syrian families’ decisions to leave home, Migration Research Series No. 54

This report addresses the factors that influenced displaced Syrian families’ decision to leave Syria for Lebanon and how this has impacted the time they took to decide to leave. The research is grounded in the experiences of displaced Syrian families who have left the Syria and fled to Lebanon in the past eight years since the start of the conflict in 2011. The findings indicate that there is much diversity in the decision-making processes that families engage in and underscore the importance of family agency in making decisions. Although many Syrians came to Lebanon to escape risk and find safety, they continue to manage the risks in challenging conditions. The findings counter common popular depictions of refugees as helpless and without agency. In fact, they are making difficult decisions and balancing equally difficult decisions to ensure their family’s survival. Available at:

https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mrs_54.pdf

Mixed Migration Review 2018: Highlights. Essays. Interviews. Data, Mixed Migration Centre

The Mixed Migration Review 2018 provides an overview of the latest evidence, research-based thinking, and specialist comment on the sector. It aims to promote understanding and stimulate discussion of a complex and increasingly politicized field. This report is based on a wide range of research as well as exclusive access to 4Mi data from over 10,000 interviews with refugees and migrants in over twenty countries along seven major migratory routes. In three major sections (the migrants’ world, the smugglers’ world and global debates), the report offers a deep analytical dive into the world of mixed migration. The report does not offer one-size-fits-all solutions or simple conclusions, instead it raises many difficult questions and treats the mixed migration phenomenon with the complexity it deserves. Available at: http://www.mixedmigration.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Mixed-Migration-Review-2018.pdf

Banulescu-Bogdan, N. (2018). When Facts Don’t Matter: How to Communicate More Effectively about Immigration’s Costs and Benefits, Transatlantic Council on Migration

This report explores why there is often a pronounced gap between what research has shown about migration trends and immigration policy outcomes and what the public believes. To do so, it explores the social psychological literature on why people embrace or reject information, as well as recent changes in the media landscape. The report concludes with a re-examination of what it takes to make the “expert consensus” on these issues resonate with skeptical publics, including recommendations for policymakers and researchers seeking to communicate more effectively the costs and benefits of immigration. Available at:

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/TCM-WhenFactsDontMatter_Final.pdf

Molnar, P. and Gill, L. (September 2018). BOTS AT THE GATE: A Human Rights Analysis of Automated Decision Making in Canada’s Immigration and Refugee System, International Human Rights Program

This report focuses on the impacts of automated decision-making in Canada’s immigration and refugee system from a human rights perspective. It highlights how the use of algorithmic and automated technologies to replace or augment administrative decision-making in this context threatens to create a laboratory for high-risk experiments within an already highly discretionary system. Vulnerable and under-resourced communities such as non-citizens often have access to less robust human rights protections and fewer resources with which to defend those rights. Adopting these technologies in an irresponsible manner may only serve to exacerbate these disparities. Available at:

https://ihrp.law.utoronto.ca/sites/default/files/media/IHRP-Automated-Systems-Report-Web.pdf

News reports and Blog post

Aid emojis, El Nino warnings, and an Afghan summit: The Cheat Sheet, IRIN(November 23, 2018)

This is a weekly report where IRIN editors highlight some  of the most significant humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe. This week’s report covers funding for Palestinian refugees, a UN-hosted conference addressing the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, preparations for extreme weather alerts (El Niño) in many nations in the southern hemisphere, and emergency emojis: graphical icons that can be used in emergency-related reports, maps, and infographics. Available at:

https://www.irinnews.org/news/2018/11/23/aid-emojis-el-nino-warnings-and-afghan-summit-cheat-sheet

Deportation Monitoring Aegean

This blog, run by an independent monitoring group of activists and scholars, documents deportations from Greece to Turkey. While the blog does not represent an all-encompassing documentation of all deportations from Greece to Turkey, it offers a data breakdown and analysis of deportations; and brings to the fore discrepancies between official information and the actual practices. Available at: http://dm-aegean.bordermonitoring.eu/

Digital and Social Media

Refugee Law Initiative’s 9th International Refugee Law Seminar Series, Speaker: Professor Penelope Mathew, Griffith University, Date: 19 November 2018

This podcast explores the approach of the final draft of the Global Compact on Refugees – due to be endorsed at the current session of the UN General Assembly – to its primary task of providing ‘a basis for predictable and equitable burden and responsibility-sharing’. Notwithstanding the disappointment expressed by some about the level of ambition of the Compact during its drafting, a careful reading of the final draft reveals the outlines of a firmer mechanism for responsibility sharing that is to be constructed in the future. The talk poses a deeper question concerning the viability of development as the critical vehicle for change. Speaker: Penelope Mathew is a research professor at Griffith Law School, where she served as Dean from June 2014 to June 2018. Her primary area of expertise is international refugee law. Available at:

https://soundcloud.com/refugeelawinitiative/leaving-no-one-behind-a-look-at-the-global-compact-on-refugees

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. 52

Recent Publications and New Research

Orchard, Phil (2018) Protecting the Internally Displaced: Rhetoric and Reality, Routledge.

Orchard argues that while an international IDP protection regime exists, many aspects of it are informal, with IDP issues bound up in a humanitarian regime complex that divides the mandates of key organizations and even the question of IDP status itself. Through an in-depth examination of IDP efforts at the international level and across the forty states which have adopted IDP laws and policies, Orchard argues that while progress has been made, new and greater monitoring and accountability mechanisms at both the domestic and international levels are critical. This work will be valuable to scholars, students, and practitioners of forced migration, international relations theory, and the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. More information available at: https://www.routledge.com/Protecting-the-Internally-Displaced-Rhetoric-and-Reality/Orchard/p/book/9781138799226

Abji, S. (2018). Postnational acts of citizenship: how an anti-border politics is shaping feminist spaces of service provision in Toronto, Canada. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 1-23.

Using interviews with feminist advocates in Toronto, Canada, this research examines how postnational challenges to state power are being mobilized in spaces of service provision addressing gender-based violence. It shows how, for some advocates, a postnational politics deeply informed their critiques of state borders and restrictive immigration controls as fundamental sources of gendered and racialized violence. However, postnational approaches were also limited in offering few concrete alternatives to state protection from domestic or interpersonal violence, particularly for women with precarious immigration status. Significantly, it was through advocates’ everyday practices of service provision that they blueprinted an alternative feminist ethics of solidarity. The author argues that these practices constitute postnational acts of citizenship, in so far as they attempt – albeit imperfectly – to de-border institutional spaces from within. Available at:

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/yaqX5GgScSgxXQKitQrI/full   

Peterson, G. (2018). Forced Migration, Refugees and China’s Entry into the ‘Family of Nations’, 1861–1949. Journal of Refugee Studies.

This article is concerned with the broad imperial and colonial frameworks that have shaped forced migration and human displacement in Asia. What does it mean, for example, when the international jurisprudence surrounding asylum and refuge was formulated at a time when it was widely assumed—by international lawyers and states alike—that colonial powers could do more or less as they wished with the people under their control? This article argues that such contradictions were not peripheral or incidental, but central to the historical formation of the international regimes governing refugees and forced migrants. The goal is to put the cultural/civilizing discourses of colonialism into the heart of political and economic arguments over how to categorize the movement of people. It focuses specifically on China, and the experiences of Chinese migrants overseas, in order to reveal the complex interlocking of European colonialism in Asia around issues of political asylum, labour migration and a complex colonial apparatus of banishment, exile and deportation. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article/31/3/274/4792971   

Mcconnachie, K. (2018). Boundaries and Belonging in the Indo-Myanmar Borderlands: Chin Refugees in Mizoram. Journal of Refugee Studies.

This article examines the reception of Chin refugees from Myanmar in Mizoram State in north-east India through the framework of boundaries and belonging. Strong historical, cultural and ethnic connections between Chin and Mizo might suggest a strong claim to belonging. This has been true to some extent but the reception of Chin in Mizoram has also been shaped by perceived otherness. This article explores the co-existing discourses of Chin as other/brother in relation to processes of boundary-making, boundary policing and boundary manipulation. It argues that these contrasting narratives illustrate a dynamic relationship between national borders and boundaries of belonging that speak to deeper truths about the legitimacy of the nation state and the role of place, politics and identity in the construction of insiders and others. Available at:

https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article/31/3/314/4934132

Huennekes, J. (2018). Emotional Remittances in the Transnational Lives of Rohingya Families Living in Malaysia. Journal of Refugee Studies, 31(3), 353-370.

In this article, based on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork carried out in an urban Rohingya community in Kuala Lumpur, the author illustrates how transnational remittance practices act as an important strategy for maintaining collective wellbeing, both emotionally and financially. However, although remittance practices are imbued with feelings of love and gratitude, they are also infused with feelings of resentment, obligation and guilt. Thus, while remittance practices are important for maintaining family ties and providing a buffer to the precariousness of life locally and transnationally, they also put additional financial and emotional pressure on family members, who remain stuck in protracted transit countries like Malaysia. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article/31/3/353/5060034

Reports, Working Papers and Briefs

Atak, Idil and Nakache, Delphine and Guild, Elspeth and Crépeau, François (2018), ‘Migrants in Vulnerable Situations’ and the Global Compact for Safe Orderly and Regular Migration. Queen Mary School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 273/2018.

This Working Paper examines the concept of the vulnerability of migrants which has become a key term in the UN’s negotiations for a Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The authors argue that the concept must be interpreted inclusively and related to the human rights obligations of states through the UN conventions. All too often migrants are vulnerable because of state action. States must ensure that they deliver on their human rights obligations in ways which reduce the vulnerability of migrants. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3124392

Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences, a report by The Kino Border Initiative (KBI), the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), and the Office of Justice and Ecology (OJE) of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States
This report details findings from the CRISIS Study (Catholic Removal Impact Survey in Society), which interviewed deportees at KBI’s migrant shelter in Nogales, Sonora, and those affected by deportation in Catholic parishes in Florida, Michigan, and Minnesota. The interviews explored: (1) the impact of removals on deportees, their families, and other community members; (2) the deportation process; and (3) the relationship between deportees and their families. The report also includes policy recommendations to mitigate the ill effects of the administration’s policies and promote the integrity of families and communities, including: using detention as a “last resort;” reducing funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and limiting collaboration between police and ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Available at:

http://cmsny.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FINAL-Communities-in-Crisis-Report-ver-5.pdf.

Human trafficking vulnerabilities in Asia: What’s the incentive? Comparing regular and irregular migrant work experiences from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to Thailand, International Labour Organization and United Nations Development Programme (2018)

The report provides a synthesised outline of the regulatory framework for labour migration between the two countries, evaluates that against the recruitment, work and life experiences reported by regular migrant workers, and compares these with the conditions faced by irregular migrant workers. It is divided into four sections, covering respondents’ background information and pre-departure conditions; the recruitment process; the working and living conditions in Thailand; and the end of their work and the return to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The study concludes that, overall, regular labour migration has yielded more positive migrant work outcomes than irregular channels in the sample. Available at:

http://un-act.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Whats-the-Incentive_Final-Report.pdf

From Europe to Afghanistan: Experiences of child returnees, Save the Children (2018)

This report assesses the impact on children who were returned from Europe to Afghanistan. Through interviews with individual children, their parents or guardians, and with governmental and non-governmental actors, it builds a picture of children’s material, physical, legal and psychosocial safety during the returns process. Returns processes implemented by EU member states and Norway are examined to analyse where European governments are failing to provide appropriate support. Available at:

https://campaigns.savethechildren.net/sites/campaigns.savethechildren.net/files/SC-From_Europe_to_Afghanistan-screen%201610.pdf 

Summary Report: A Brief Timeline of the Human Rights Situation in the Calais Area, Refugee Rights Europe (2018)

On the occasion of the two-year milestone since the demolition of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp, Refugee Rights Europe and Help Refugees release a new report highlighting the human rights situation which has been unfolding in northern France over the past few decades. The report highlights many years of human suffering, characterised by precarity, rough-sleeping, dangerous and unauthorised border-crossings, and what appears to be excessive police violence. After decades of encampments and evictions, and two years on from the demolition of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp, it is evident that the state approach tried so far is simply not working. Available at:

http://refugeerights.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/History-Of-Calais_Refugee-Rights-Europe.pdf

Harm Reduction in Immigration Detention: A Comparative Analysis of Detention Centres in Europe, The Global Detention Project

This Special Report systematically compares conditions and operations at detention centres in five European countries – Norway, France, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland – to identify practices that may be used to develop “harm reducing” strategies in detention. Commissioned by the Norwegian Red Cross as part of its efforts to promote reforms of Norway’s detention practices, the report addresses several key questions:  In what ways has the Norwegian system met or exceeded internationally recognised standards? In what ways has it fallen short, especially when compared to detention practices of peer countries? And what are the key reform priorities going forward that may help reduce the harmful impact of detention? Available at:

https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/harm-reduction-immigration-detention

News Reports and Blog Posts

Refugia: Answering the Critics, Nicholas Van Hear, (Oct. 29, 2018). News Deeply

It is three years since Nicholas Van Hear and Robin Cohen, two Oxford academics, floated the idea of Refugia: a transnational polity created for and governed by refugees. It was conceived as an archipelago of self-governing refugee communities spread around the world but interconnected, freed from territory. In this article, Van Hear responds to five main criticisms of his proposed Refugia in advance of a book on the subject due out later this year. Available at:

https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/community/2018/10/29/refugia-answering-the-critics

Digital and Social Media

Documentary: Harrell-Bond: a life not ordinary, Katarzyna Grabska.

This documentary explores the achievements of Barbara Harrell-Bond – academic, refugee activist and a life-long advocate of refugee rights. Available at: https://vimeo.com/273494590

The 9th International Refugee Law Seminar Series: Niger: The Making of a Model Transit Country, Speaker: Daniel Howden, Refugees Deeply (7 November 2018)

Howden argues that, though unfortunate, Niger is seen by many as the European Union’s “model” for how other transit countries should manage migration. Thus, A critical examination of Niger offers insight into what this model actually means for those in search of international protection and for the countries whose economies have long depended on human mobility. Available at:

https://soundcloud.com/refugeelawinitiative/niger-the-making-of-a-model-transit-country