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. 80

Recent Publications and New Research

Stathopoulou, T., Eikemo, T. A. (2019), New Perspectives on the European Refugee Crisis. An Empirical Review, Journal of Refugee Studies, 32(1), i1–i252.

This Special Issue includes eighteen articles that contribute to evidence concerning refugees’ situation in European reception and destination countries from a multi-disciplinary perspective, highlighting priorities for policy and future research. The contributions consist of studies from final-destination countries in Northern Europe, first-reception or transit countries in Southern Central Europe and from the Eastern Mediterranean. Evidencing the health status of refugees is one of our key priorities, arguing that health and especially mental health-care provision should be the basis for the implementation of integration policies to be successful. The first aim of this special issue is to obtain more knowledge about the physical and mental health of refugees. The second aim is to evaluate existing screening mental health measurement tools. The third aim is to provide new knowledge about the conditions under which refugees live in terms of the attitudes of host populations, the media discourses that frame these attitudes and the asylum policies in several European countries. Available at (open access): https://academic-oup-com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/jrs/issue/32/Special_Issue_1

Easton‐Calabria, E., Herson, M. (2020), In praise of dependencies: dispersed dependencies and displacement. Disasters, 44: 44-62. This article reframes the humanitarian consequences of displacement in terms of ‘dispersed dependencies’, a term drawn from the field of mental health, sheds light on the disruptive experience of displacement and on affected individuals’ relations with other displaced people, hosts, states and humanitarian actors. Dependency for a person is neither a problem nor abnormal; independence is having a viable set of dispersed dependencies. This description, when applied in the context of disaster or displacement, challenges some humanitarian attitudes and offers some positive directions for humanitarian actors who seek to engage in assistance that is sustainable, contextual, and focused on human choice and dignity. Available at (Open-access): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/disa.12366

Rodgers, C. (2020). The ‘Host’ Label: Forming and Transforming a Community Identity at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. Journal of Refugee Studies. This article calls for greater critical attention to the meaning of the term ‘host community’ and the ways in which it is applied. Taking the Kakuma refugee camps in north-western Kenya as a case study, the author describes the rise of a ‘host community’ identity in the context of humanitarian programming, contested attempts to define it as a bureaucratic label and its transformations under a socio-economic-integration agenda. While the case presented here is specific to Kenya, the argument is relevant more broadly as hosts are brought under the purview of refugee-protection policies, especially in countries implementing the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fez109

Okafor, O. C. (2020). Refugee law after 9/11: sanctuary and security in Canada and the Us. Vancouver: UBC Press. Refugee Law after 9/11 undertakes a detailed, systematic examination of available legal, policy, and empirical evidence to reveal a great irony: refugee rights were already so whittled down in both countries before 9/11 that there was relatively little room for negative change after the attacks. It also shows that the Canadian refugee law regime reacted to 9/11 in much the same way as its US counterpart, raising significant questions about the power of security relativism and the cogency of the Canadian and US national self-image. The author explores the logic behind changes in refugee law in Canada and the United States following 9/11 and up to the present, uncovering the reasons for the orientation of their respective refugee rights regimes in specific ways. Available at: http://www.ubcpress.ca/refugee-law-after-911

Report, Policy Briefs and Working Papers

Briefing paper: Advancing multi stakeholder engagement to sustain solutions, Learning from the application of the CRRF in East Africa to inform a common agenda post GRF, (December 2019), ReDSS. This briefing paper aims to document learning around the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) application in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia and at the regional level with the role of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) through a thematic approach. It highlights learning from new ways of working as well as opportunities that the application of the CRRF has enabled in three key areas: (1) return and (re)integration; (2) area-based and locally-led approaches; and (3) regional and national level engagement around the CRRF process. Crosscutting issues such as multi-stakeholder approaches, accountability and adaptability are brought out across all themes. Available at: https://regionaldss.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ReDSS_GRF_BRIEF-003.pdf

Report: Immigration Detention in Austria: Where the Refugee “Crisis” Never Ends. Global Detention Project, (January 2020). Austria’s domestic politics have long been overshadowed by a divisive and bitter public debate over the treatment of migrants and refugees. This has had an important impact on the country’s detention practices. Despite years of declining detainee numbers prior to the onset of Europe’s short-lived refugee “crisis,” the increase in asylum applications that the country experienced during 2015-2016 became a cause for resurgent xenophobic political forces, who used the issue to rally support for numerous controversial policies and agendas. These developments have translated into persistent increases in detention numbers long after the “crisis” ended and asylum applications began to plummet to their lowest levels in years. Available at: https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ONLINE-GDP-Immigration-Detention-in-Austria-2020.pdf

News reports and blog posts

What Does ‘Social Cohesion’ Mean for Refugees and Hosts? A view from Kenya by Cory Rodgers
(January 17, 2020), Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS). Most refugee policies and programmes forgo definitions of ‘social cohesion’. Given this lack of specification, the author’s research looks at social cohesion initiatives through an anthropological lens. The aim is to understand how – in the absence of initial definitions by policymakers and planners – different meanings of social cohesion nonetheless emerge during the life of a programme. The author draws from a case study in Kakuma camp in north-western Kenya, where the UNHCR has provided protection to refugees and asylum seekers from South Sudan, Somalia, the Great Lakes Region and elsewhere since 1992. Available at: https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/2020/what-does-social-cohesion-mean-for-refugees-and-hosts-a-view-from-kenya/

Home affairs department racked up $6.1m bill transferring refugees and asylum seekers by Paul Karp (January 28, 2020), The Guardian. The author provides a breakdown of cost expenditures related to transferring refugees and asylum seekers interstate and between detention centres. Some argue that Australia’s immigration detention regime is unnecessarily punitive and cruel, as well as a colossal waste of money. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/29/home-affairs-department-racked-up-61m-bill-transferring-refugees-and-asylum-seekers

Digital and social media

The Observatory of Public attitudes to Immigration (OPAM), Scientific Hub  (2020), Migration Policy Centre. Observatory of Public attitudes to Immigration (OPAM) brings together and synthesises findings from a growing body of scientific research in political science on attitudes to immigration. The Scientific Hub created an interactive web tool that allows you to see the effect of diverse factors on attitudes to immigration. The Hub draws from all relevant articles published in the top 20 journals in political science between 2009-2019. It allows for exploration of evidence that seeks to account for the factors that can influence attitudes to immigration. Available at: http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/opam/scientific-hub/

News Audio: Syria, migration, and Ebola, United Nation News, (February 14, 2020).  This is the News in Brief from the United Nations covering top stories on vital Idlib aid deliveries resume after ‘heavy bombing’, world’s busiest sea route for migrants, and a drop in Ebola infections that are encouraging but fragile. Available at: https://soundcloud.com/unradio/news-in-brief-14-february-2020

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. 79

Recent Publications and New Research

Dina Sabie, Samar Sabie, Cansu E. Dedeoglu, Yasaman Rohanifar, Fatma Hashim, Steve Easterbrook, and Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed. 2019. “Exile Within Borders: Understanding the Limits of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Iraq.” In Proceedings of the Fifth Workshop on Computing within Limits – LIMITS ’19, 1–16. Lappeenranta, Finland: ACM Press. Research in Information & Communications Technology (ICT) about forced displacement focuses mainly on refugees. Internally displaced people (IDPs), however, are rarely discussed in ICT and related disciplines. This paper aims to fill in the gap and provide an insight into the everyday lives of conflict-driven IDPs and their ICTs usage based on original fieldwork at several IDP and refugee camps in northern Iraq. The work includes extended field observations, surveys with 86 IDPs and 47 refugees, and examination of recent reports about IDPs from international NGOs that have been active in that region. The findings illustrate that IDPs live under similar resource-constrained environment as refugees and, in some cases, suffer from even harsher restrictions. It highlights how these confines limit their ICTs usage and discuss opportunities for future ICT research and policy implication to improve the quality of life of the displaced residing within their own borders. (Open access) Available at: https://computingwithinlimits.org/2019/papers/limits19-sabie.pdf

Canefe, N. (2019). In Lieu of an Introduction: Orbis Tertius as Vantage Point. In N. Canefe (Ed.), Transitional Justice and Forced Migration: Critical Perspectives from the Global South (pp. 1-6). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This edited volume aims to foster an in-depth understanding of the link of transitional justice and forced migration studies in a comparative framework, with a particular emphasis on debates emanating from the Global South. Each of the contributions to this volume adheres to a multidisciplinary and multi-sectorial approach, incorporating academic, practitioner, and activist work, in tandem with both global and local perspectives. In order to achieve such a synthesis, the authors build upon the knowledge accumulated by collaborative networks, their involvement in both scholarly and activist organizations, and their experience as practitioners in select settings. Normatively or politically speaking, the study of human suffering, induced by mass political violence and at the hands of states turned against their own peoples, is not an easy one. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/transitional-justice-and-forced-migration/B2B65D943C5E568C54AF5BC5B1A09F3E

Canefe, N. (2018). The Syrian exodus in context crisis, dispossession and mobility in the Middle East. Istanbul: Istanbul Bilgi University Press. This book examines the Syrian crisis and exodus by focusing on the experiences of the dispossessed rather than the recipient states. Reintegration and resettlement after situations of mass displacement are generally long-term, multi-faceted and complex processes. Whether we are talking about acceptance in a new society as refugees, migrants, and guest workers, or returning home to postconflict situations, each scenario involves both specific physical challenges and difficult encounters with broader political communities. The debate presented here on precarity and statelessness in terms of systemic denial of access to rights, or, their selective attribution to Syrians on the move, allows us to reconsider the Syrian exodus in a new framework that links forced migration, labour studies, citizenship and rights debates rather than isolating the refugee experience. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Syrian-Exodus-Context-Dispossession-Mobility/dp/6053995258

Report, Policy Briefs and Working Papers

Report: Losing Their Last Refuge: Inside Idlib’s Humanitarian Nightmare by Sahar Atrache, Refugees International (September 2019). A Refugees International team traveled to Turkey in June 2019 to research the impact of the Syrian regime military offensive on Idlib and its surroundings, assess humanitarian needs, and examine the humanitarian response to the unfolding crisis. They conducted more than 50 interviews with representatives of Syrian, international and Turkish non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, Turkish think tanks, and western governments, as well as Syrian activists and western donor officials. In aim to better understand the humanitarian situation on the ground, the team conducted phone interviews with IDPs, relief workers, and activists inside Idlib. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/506c8ea1e4b01d9450dd53f5/t/5d6fc5522c6dce000188e2c2/1567606101805/Syria+Idlib+Report+-+September+2019+-+1.0.pdf

Working paper series: States of Refuge: Keywords for Critical Refugee Studies, Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, (January 9, 2020). This issue has contributions by authors from many universities across Canada. It is based on keywords that were collectively generated to animate discussions within the field of refugee studies. Participants reflected on their respective keywords and answered questions such as, what conversations are the keywords involved in and what is critical about them? The result was a range of interventions on keywords that open up critical thinking on what is at stake politically, culturally, and socially with new dynamics of migration, refuge, and reclamation. The keywords that follow speak to fundamental challenges facing refugee studies included community, decolonization, genders, sexualities, empathy, humanitarian exceptionalism, indebtedness, irregularity and more. Available at: https://globalization.mcmaster.ca/research/publications/working-papers/2019/working-paper-sep-2019.pdf

Liew, Jamie and Zambelli, Pia and Thériault, Pierre-André and Silcoff, Maureen, Not Just the Luck of the Draw? Exploring Competency of Counsel in Federal Court Refugee Leave Determinations (2005-2010) (November 8, 2019). Refugee claimants who have received a negative decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board sometimes judicially review the decisions at the Federal Court in Canada. Previous statistical studies, in particular Sean Rehaag’s (2012) study, “The Luck of the Draw”, have reported that rejected refugee claimants seeking judicial review face low and inconsistent leave grant rates, with chances of success largely dependent on judge assignment. The present research looks beyond these quantitative findings to identify additional factors that may explain the troubling statistics. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3483299 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3483299

UNHCR’s Recommendations for the Croatian and German Presidencies of the Council of the European Union, (January, 2020) United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees. UNHCR has launched what it views as a set of ambitious but achievable recommendations for the 2020 Croatian and German Presidencies of the Council of the European Union (EU). The Presidencies and the envisaged EU Pact on Migration and Asylum are seen as unique opportunities to better protect forcibly displaced and stateless people in Europe and abroad, while supporting host countries. Progress was achieved in multiple areas including on resettlement and statelessness. This paper provides the incoming Council Presidencies with key recommendations for areas of possible action to strengthen the implementation of the EU acquis on asylum and to forge common ground among member states on evolving issues of asylum and migration, in line with the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Migration.  These recommendations will also be of relevance for the incoming Commission’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum (new Pact). UNHCR’s full recommendations https://www.unhcr.org/be/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2020/01/200107-FINAL-UNHCR-Recommendations-for-the-Croatian-and-German-Presidencies-of-the-Council-of-the-EU-2020.pdf

News reports and blog posts

Why Rohingya women and girls are risking dangerous smuggling routes by Caleb Quinley, (January 16, 2020), The New Humanitarian. Facing years of deprivation and bleak future prospects, a growing number of Rohingya women and children are using once-dormant smuggling routes to escape refugee and displacement camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Despite the dangers, groups that work with Rohingya say many more women and children are willing to take the risk as a way of self-protection from sexual and gender-based violence. Available at: http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2020/1/16/Rohingya-trafficking-refugees-forced-marriage

Digital and social media

Aid policy trends to watch in 2020 by Ben Parker (January 2, 2020) The New Humanitarian.

Efforts toward reform seem a permanent fixture in the humanitarian sector, but change is slow. The author lists humanitarian policy issues to keep a close eye on as most likely to drive change, open up opportunity, or demand attention in shaping emergency response. Available at: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2020/1/2/Humanitarian-aid-policy-reform

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. 78

Recent Publications and New Research

D’Orsi, C. ‘Legal protection of refugee children in Africa: positive aspects and shortcomings’ (2019) 3 African Human Rights Yearbook 298-317. In Africa, refugee children are at risk mostly because the continent lacks a clear definition of ‘sovereignty’. African countries interpret the adjective ‘sovereign’ to their own advantage, in terms of the rights and responsibilities imposed on foreigners – including refugees – entering their territory. Although the overall treatment of refugee children has improved over the last decades, they remain vulnerable. If refugee children are targeted because they are ‘foreigners’, such discrimination could be curbed and even eradicated through the education of the youth. The various international treaties that African nations have adopted provide an important legal umbrella for the protection of refugee children. However, in many instances, the bulk of the protection is still carried out by NGOs. Consequently, there is still a long way to go before African refugee children will be treated with dignity that is due to all children in the world, irrespective of their origin. Available at: http://www.pulp.up.ac.za/images/pulp/books/journals/AHRY_2019/DOrsi%202019.pdf

Hopkins, G., L. Buffoni (2019) The IGAD Kampala Declaration on jobs, livelihoods, and self-reliance: from declaration to reality. Palgrave Commun 5, 157.  The article emphasizes the crucial importance of planned and active participation, inclusion and collaboration of all parties as being fundamental in realizing in practice refugees’ right to work and access to economic opportunities. Because the Kampala Declaration commitments form a central role in realizing Global Compact objectives, the article argues for high level meetings and fora to prioritize an approach to discussions which creates enabling contexts of formal but inclusive dialog. The article concludes, importantly, that the Kampala Declaration demonstrates that the commitment and language of inclusion exist. What remains is for truly collective action to ensure the Declaration achieves its transformative potential. Available at:  https://rdcu.be/bYI6r

Cénat, J. (2019). Multiple traumas, health problems and resilience among Haitian asylum seekers in Canada’s 2017 migration crisis: Psychopathology of crossing. Journal of Loss & Trauma. In summer 2017, thousands of Haitian asylum seekers entered Canada irregularly after taking an 11,000-kilometer pathway from Brazil to the U.S., often on foot and under difficult circumstances. This qualitative study examines how this pathway and associated multiple traumas impact their mental health. The findings showed that significant traumatic consequences and risk of deportation contribute to the development of a “Psychopathology of Crossing”. This study also highlights how meaningful social relationships, quality of health, and social services foster resilience. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2019.1703610

Bloch, A. (2020) ‘Reflections and directions for research in refugee studies’, Ethnic and Racial Studies. This paper reflects on how refugee studies have developed, and it identifies areas for future research. First, it sets the scene through an overview of refugee protection regime and on patterns of displacement. Second, it explores the development of theories that try to explain refugee movements. Third, examines the policy focus of refugee studies and the inherent tensions between stakeholders. This is followed by an exploration of three areas for further research: durable solutions, borders and bordering practices and the inter-generational impacts of refugee migration. The paper argues that social science disciplines have an important role to play in the field of study but need to include historical analyses and engage in inter-disciplinary alliances to enable shifting paradigms. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01419870.2020.1677928

Report, Policy Briefs and Working Papers

Report: Volunteers and Sponsors: A Catalyst for Refugee Integration? By Susan Fratzke and Emma Dorst (November 2019). Migration Policy Institute. This report considers where community members can add the most value to integration efforts, assesses the barriers that community organizations and integration service providers face in engaging volunteers, and offers recommendations for how policymakers can facilitate the effective engagement of communities in integration initiatives. While volunteer efforts cannot replace specialized social service agencies or well-resourced social assistance programs, they offer unique resources that can be an invaluable complement to the services that professional agencies and case workers provide. Yet engaging volunteers or community sponsors is hardly a cost-free or even cost-saving endeavour for most resettlement and integration agencies, and dedicated resources must be provided to establish and maintain effective community engagement. Available at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/volunteers-sponsors-refugee-integration

Skill utilization and earnings of STEM-educated immigrants in Canada: Differences by Degree Level and field of study by Garnett Picot and Feng Hou (December 13, 2019). Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series. This paper examines the skill utilization and earnings of employed immigrants educated in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), by field of study and degree level. Compared with the Canadian-born with similar levels of education and in similar fields of study, immigrants with a bachelor’s degree had considerably lower skill utilization rates and earnings outcomes than those of doctoral degree holders. This is mostly because immigrant doctoral graduates are more likely to be educated in a Western country. By field of study, immigrant engineering graduates, particularly at the bachelor’s level, had relatively weaker skill utilization rates and earnings outcomes; immigrant computer science graduates did somewhat better. Much of the gap between the earnings of immigrant and Canadian-born graduates was associated with differences in country of education. STEM immigrants educated in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom or France had outcomes similar to the Canadian-born. Available at: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2019023-eng.htm

News reports and blog posts

Our Silenced Voices: What we lose while working with international “humanitarian” organizations, by Ayah Al-Oballi (January 5, 2020), 7iber. “What I write today is an attempt to shed light on the voices that are lost and silenced in the realm of INGOs. It is also an attempt to find my own voice through documenting a set of questions and reflections on my experience in that space. A space which I respect those who choose to stay within, yet resist any relinquishment of their own voices or their silencing of others” read more: https://www.7iber.com/society/our-silenced-voices-what-we-lose-while-working-with-international-humanitarian-organizations/

Global Refugee Forum: EU MS Pledge 30,000 Resettlement for 2020, MEPs Urges More Ambition (December 20, 2019) European Council on Refugees and Exiles. During the Global Refugee Forum taking place in Geneva, December 16-18, EU member states made pledges for resettlement efforts in 2020, backed with financial support from the European Commission. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) hosting the event estimates the global resettlement needs at 1.44 million and a delegation of MEPs called for more ambitious resettlement efforts. Available at: https://www.ecre.org/global-refugee-forum-eu-ms-pledge-30000-resettlement-for-2020-meps-urges-more-ambition/

Digital and social media

Panel: rethinking community, rights and displacement: theory and practice. This panel was hosted at the refugee hosts international conference. this panel conceptualised ‘rights’ in relation to the lives, stories and experiences of those affected by displacement, including on the level of the individual and of ‘the community’. This included reflections on the conceptualisation of ‘the community’ itself in relation to rights. You can watch the videos of the presentations of  Prof Lyndsey Stonebridge (Refugee Hosts – University of Birmingham), Dr Tamirace Fakhoury (Lebanese American University), Dr Anna Rowlands (Refugee Hosts – Durham University), and Dr Zeynep Kivilcim (Humbodt Universitat zu Berlin) at: https://refugeehosts.org/panel-3-rethinking-community-rights-and-displacement-theory-and-practice-2/

Events and calls

The Here and Now in Forced Migration: Everyday Intimacies, Imaginaries and Bureaucracies An international workshop organized by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity 22-23 October 2020. For more information: https://www.mmg.mpg.de/496008/2019-12_CfP-The-Here-and-Now-in-Forced-Migration.pdf 

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. 77

Recent Publications and New Research

Jureidini, R., & Hassan, S. (Eds.). (2020). Migration and Islamic Ethics. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. This book addresses how Islamic ethical and legal traditions can contribute to current global debates on migration and displacement; how Islamic ethics of muʾakha, ḍiyāfa, ijāra, amān, jiwār, sutra, kafāla, among others, may provide common ethical grounds for a new paradigm of social and political virtues applicable to all humanity, not only Muslims. The present volume more broadly defines the Islamic tradition to cover not only theology but also to encompass ethics, customs and social norms, as well as modern political, humanitarian and rights discourses. The first section addresses theorizations and conceptualizations using contemporary Islamic examples, mainly in the treatment of asylum-seekers and refugees; the second, contains empirical analyses of contemporary case studies; the third provides historical accounts of Muslim migratory experiences. Available at: (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004417342

Mata, F. (2019). Occupational Niche Preferences of Canada’s Refugee and Non-Refugee Workers: Explorations Using Census Data. This grey literature piece explores the occupational niche preferences of refugee workers and non-refugee admission class workers who entered Canada between 1981 and 2016. Data explorations found that the Canadian immigrant workforce consists of a highly stratified arrangement of workers and that there is significant variability in terms of their occupational preferences according to admission class, gender, ethnicity and racial backgrounds. Multivariate data analysis found that two major dimensions explained more than half of the data variation: a gender-occupational and an admission class divide related one. In contrast to economic class workers, visible minority groups of various gender, admission classes and ethnic backgrounds were found in the most disadvantaged positions in terms of occupational status and their employment income returns. Presented at: “Inclusion: Third Annual Forum on Measuring Identities” November 21-22, 2019, Association for Canadian Studies, Gatineau, QC. Available at: https://www.fern2350.com/uploads/4/6/3/7/4637956/mata_occupational_niches_of_intake_classes_v15_ed_october_2019.pdf

Murat, M. (2019) Foreign aid, bilateral asylum immigration and development. Journal of Population Economics. 33(1). This paper measures the links between aid from 14 rich to 113 developing economies and bilateral asylum applications during the years 1993 to 2013. The results show that asylum applications are related to aid nonlinearly in a U-shaped fashion with respect to the level of development of origin countries, although only the downward segment proves to be robust to all specifications. Asylum inflows from poor countries are significantly and negatively associated with aid in the short run, with mixed evidence of more lasting effects, while inflows from less poor economies show a positive but non-robust relationship to aid. Moreover, aid leads to negative cross-donor spillovers. Applications linearly decrease with humanitarian aid. Voluntary immigration is not related to aid. Overall, the reduction in asylum inflows is stronger when aid disbursements are conditional on economic, institutional and political improvements in the recipient economy. Available at: (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-019-00751-8

Conant, L., Hofmann, A., Soennecken, D., and Vanhala, L. (2019). “Patrolling the boundaries of belonging? Courts, law and citizenship,” in Research Handbook on Law and Courts, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. This chapter explores how courts and law have contributed to the evolution of citizenship. Theoretically, it draws on Christian Joppke’s distinctions between citizenship as status, rights, and identity as a means to analyse different facets of belonging within political communities. Substantively, it emphasizes the United States and European Union as historical projects where law and courts were particularly important in constructing national and supranational citizenship, respectively. It also examines tensions evident in postnational memberships, such as the de facto partial citizenship of unauthorized immigrants and exclusion of many refugees from any citizenship. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788113205.00034

Report, Policy Briefs and Working Papers

Immigration, refugee, ethnocultural and racialized populations and the social determinants of health. (Feb, 2019). Mental Health Commission of Canada. This report highlights select sociodemographic trends and issues related to immigrant, refugee, ethnocultural, and racialized populations’ mental health and well-being, identified from 2016 Census data by the MHCC Collaborative on IRER Mental Health. The collaborative prioritized a number of key social determinants that influence mental health, including language, income, education, unemployment and underemployment, discrimination, and hate crimes. This data shows that immigrants experience a range of equity-related issues after settling in Canada — with many having an impact on outcomes related to health and well-being — and it speaks to an increasingly urgent need for action. Available at: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/2019-03/irer_report_mar_2019_eng.pdf

Good decisions: Achieving fairness in refugee law, policy and practice (2019). Insights Report Kaldor Centre Conference. Every day, decisions are made about whether people need international protection because they are at risk of persecution or other forms of serious harm. The 2019 Kaldor Centre conference explored aspects of refugee decision-making from the micro to the macro level – from individual cases through to wider public policy. It brought together decision-makers, scholars, civil society and people with lived experience of seeking asylum to discuss how to ensure that refugee decision-making is fair, transparent and protection-sensitive. Available at: https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/Insights_Report_Conference_2019.pdf

News reports and blog posts

Does the EU violate public procurement law in its external migration policy by Thomas Spijkerboer & Elies Steyger, EU Immigration and Asylum Law and Policy (November 28, 2019). In 2014-2015, the European Union adopted three financial measures in order to cooperate with neighbouring countries in the field of migration policy. The European external migration funds are subject to the ordinary public procurement rules to which both the member states and EU institutions themselves are subject. This requires open, transparent and objective procedures that are not taking place. In light of these concerns about the transparency of the way in which public funds are spent, this blog outlines how expenditure under the migration funds relates to European public procurement law. Available at: http://eumigrationlawblog.eu/does-the-eu-violate-public-procurement-law-in-its-external-migration-policy/

Why some EU countries are struggling to relocate migrants by Raluca Bejan, The Conversation (December 1, 2019) The relocation matter returned to public attention this September, when Germany, France, Italy and Malta called for the implementation of a new system to automatically distribute migrants across the EU. Implicitly the member states are expected to show solidarity in emergency situations and that solidarity efforts should be equally shared. This author discusses an ongoing debate regarding what constitutes an equal share of responsibility and what type of indicators are best suited to reflect a fair and equitable distributive scheme. Consensus on solidarity efforts and on how responsibility should be shared and implemented might lead to less political friction and more fruitful co-operation in the EU. Available at: https://theconversation.com/why-some-eu-countries-are-struggling-to-relocate-migrants-124827

Digital and social media

The Overlooked Undocumented Immigrants: From India, China, Brazil by Miriam Jordan (December 1, 2019) President Trump has focused on blocking unauthorized crossings at the southern border, however, nearly half of those living in the country unlawfully, entered with permission. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/us/undocumented-visa-overstays.html

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. 76

Recent Publications and New Research

Lancaster, J. (2019). Boats and borders: Australia’s response to refugees and asylum seekers. Court of Conscience, Issue 13. This issue considers Australia’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. The author highlights that it is a well-timed and sobering reminder that Australia is failing many of those whom it is bound to protect. The authors selected this topic because Australia’s cruel and inhumane treatment of irregular asylum seekers focuses more on discouraging people smugglers and less on upholding the obligations under international law, and because human rights are universal and absolute, and should not be enjoyed only by some. Lancaster argues that we must overcome our apathy to those we turn away from our borders and detain offshore in conditions that offend human rights, human dignity, and human conscience. This Issue features 14 articles written by academics, legal professionals, and students. A close reading of each text reveals nuanced perspectives covering five areas: ‘Rethinking the Popular Narrative’, ‘Increasing Support to Refugees and Asylum Seekers’, ‘Scrutinising Government Practices’, ‘Tension Between the Government and the Courts’, and ‘The Need for Statutory Reform’. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52db5a03e4b0ce27634860c1/t/5dbaa3629d2cb749b2e464ca/1572512651841/CoC_2019_Digital_SinglePages_Compressed.pdf

Lenette, C., Bordbar, A., Hazara, A., Lang, E., & Yahya, S. (2019). “We Were Not Merely Participating; We Were Leading the Discussions”: Participation and Self-Representation of Refugee Young People in International Advocacy, Journal of Immigrant & Refuge Studies. There is increased commitment to the participation and self-representation of people with lived experiences as refugees and asylum seekers in advocacy, especially at international, high-level events. However, we know very little about what opportunities and challenges such processes present. This paper reports on findings from a research project on youth participation and self-representation at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in collaboration with two young women and two young men from refugee backgrounds who live in Australia. It contributes new perspectives to contemporary debates on the potential for participation and self-representation in high-level consultations to effect policy change. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2019.1679404

Lokot, M. (2019) The space between us: feminist values and humanitarian power dynamics in research with refugees, Gender & Development, 27:3, 467-484. International humanitarian and development agencies striving to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment sometimes neglect to recognise the power hierarchies present in their own engagement with communities. Drawing from research on Syrian refugees and humanitarian workers in Jordan, this article explores research as well as monitoring and evaluation practices of international humanitarian agencies. It suggests that the emphasis on generating evidence has resulted in more transactional and less relational engagement with refugees. This paper asks how feminist values can inform research with refugees, and explores how these values may provide less extractive ways of engaging with displaced populations. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2019.1664046

Abdelaaty, L. (2019). Refugees and Guesthood in Turkey, Journal of Refugee Studies. Even as Turkey took in over 3 million Syrians at great expense, Turkish officials were referring to these individuals as guests rather than refugees. Despite significant legal developments in the country, and formalization of a temporary-protection regime, this choice of labels reveals the influence of underlying political trends on Turkish refugee policies. This article compares Turkey’s reactions to the Syrian inflow with its responses to previous refugee groups, including Iraqis in 1988, Bosnians in 1992, Kosovars in 1998 and Chechens starting 1999. It demonstrates that the refusal to designate certain populations as asylum seekers or refugees, enables Turkey to opt in or out of what might otherwise appear to be generally applicable, national-level policies. Through these strategic semantics, policymakers retain a freedom to manoeuvre in response to international and domestic political incentives. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fez097

Report, Policy Briefs and Working Papers

“A Refugee and Then…” Participatory Assessment of the Reception and Early Integration of Unaccompanied Refugee Children in the UK (June, 2019). UNHCR. This report summarises the findings of a participatory assessment (PA) of the reception arrangements and early integration support of unaccompanied and separated asylum-seeking and refugee children in the UK. The study, carried out from June 2018 to April 2019, was commissioned by UNHCR, and funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST). The report brings to light the increase of unaccompanied and separated refugee children living in the UK. While there is expansive literature examining the immigration law and policy framework for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK, less research has explored their reception arrangements and early integration support from the perspectives of local authorities, service providers and, mostly importantly, the children themselves. This research attempts to fill the gap and brings together first-hand accounts of young refugees and asylum-seekers and those who support them across the UK, as they describe the path from their arrival to early integration in British society. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/publications/legal/5d271c6a4/a-refugee-and-then.html

Policy Brief: Safe Journeys and Sound Policy: Expanding protected entry for refugees, by Clair Higgins, November 2019, Kaldor center for international refugee law. This Policy Brief draws on past and current state practice to outline what these procedures look like, and how they should operate as tools of refugee protection. It speaks to a core objective of the Global Compact on Refugees, which is to expand access to third-country solutions for refugees and asylum seekers. Available at: https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/Policy_Brief_8_Protected_Entry.pdf, a discussion of the brief is available in a podcast interview at: https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/publication/podcast-refugee-protected-entry-explained-dr-claire-higgins

Digidiki, V., & Bhabha, J. (2019). Returning Home? The Reintegration Challenges Facing Children and Youth Refugees from Libya to Nigeria. Harvard University and International Organization for Migration. This report from the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and International Organization for Migration (IOM) finds that young migrants who return home from Libya to Nigeria often face serious challenges in their efforts to reintegrate into society. Current migration policies doubling down on exclusion are leaving thousands of migrant children and young people trapped in transit, opting to return home as the only solution to a life of destitution and despair. The report highlights the dangers and risks that a particularly vulnerable population, children and young people from Sub-Saharan Africa, faces while migrating. Professor Bhabha emphasizes the need for more robust human rights protections for some of the most vulnerable migrants of our time, and the unmet responsibilities owed by some of the wealthiest nations on earth. Available at: https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2464/2019/11/Harvard-FXB-Center-Returning-Home-FINAL.pdf

News reports and blog posts

Refugee camps versus urban refugees: what’s been said – and done, by Cristiano D’Orsi, The Conversation (November 3, 2019). This news report summarizes the ongoing confusion on the policy front regarding camp vs. urban refugees. Though the UNHRCʼs current strategic plan acknowledges that more refugees are moving to cities, it offers few recommendations on how cities could serve them better. In practice, urban refuges are forced to fend for themselves. Lack of support, policy and their undocumented status, makes self-reliance difficult, often leaving them homeless and indigent. The author describes a recent improvement marked by a signed declaration on the rights of urban refugees in November 2017 by the International Organization for Migration and the umbrella group United Cities and Local Governments, which included 150 cities around the world. The declaration emphasizes the significant social, economic and cultural contributions that refugees bring to urban development and call on international organizations and national governments to support cities politically and financially to care for refugee populations. The author concludes that although recent initiatives to support urban refugees have been undertaken in Africa, urban refugees are still for the most part, invisible, untraceable and in need of support. Available at: https://theconversation.com/refugee-camps-versus-urban-refugees-whats-been-said-and-done-126069

Words matter: The vocabulary of Syrian talks in Geneva by Ben parker, The New Humanitarian (November 4, 2019). Detailed talks began in Geneva aimed at drafting a new Syrian constitution, with discussions between government, opposition, and civil society representatives being closely watched for signs of progress in the bitterly divided country after eight and a half years of war. The humanitarian wondered if the language used in opening speeches for the government and opposition suggest any commonalities that could help shape the way forward? They explored further creating two word clouds – one based on the government’s opening statements and one based on the opposition’s. Despite their differences, both sides used some common vocabulary, showing at least some shared hopes. Find the word cloud side by side at: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/maps-and-graphics/2019/11/04/Syria-peace-talks-negotiation-text-speeches

Digital and social media

Recorded lecture: “Migration: the movement of humankind from prehistory to the present” with Prof Robin Cohen, Nov. 12, 2019, Oxford Martin School. If migration is as old as the hills, why is it now so politically sensitive? Why do migrants leave? Where do they go, in what numbers and for what reasons? Do migrants represent a threat to the social and political order? Are they none-the-less necessary to provide labour, develop their home countries, increase consumer demand and generate wealth? Can migration be stopped? One of Britain’s leading migration scholars, Robin Cohen, probes these issues in this talk: https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/events/migration/

Social media: Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group is a registered charity offering support to people held indefinitely in immigration detention in the UK, near Gatwick Airport. In this short video two visitor volunteers, Margaret, and her husband Laurie, share 3 words that describe indefinite immigration detention for #Unlocked19. This is an example of advocacy efforts to generate support for people who are in detention among the public. Watch at: https://twitter.com/GatDetainees/status/1196758190085615616