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The State of Private Refugee Sponsorship in Canada: Trends, Issues, and Impacts

by Jennifer Hyndman, William Payne, York University & Shauna Jimenez, East Kootenay Friends of Burma [RRN/CRS Policy Brief Submitted to the Government of Canada, December 2, 2016] Executive Summary From academic, policy, and sponsors’ perspectives, what is known about the private sponsorship of refugees in Canada? Since its inception in the 1970s, the federal government … Continue reading The State of Private Refugee Sponsorship in Canada: Trends, Issues, and Impacts

“Global Minds, Local Bodies: Kosovar Transnational Connections Beyond British Columbia”

In 1999, 905 Kosovar refugees settled in the province of British Columbia (BC) in Canada. Despite their sudden and forced departure, many have maintained contact with and returned to visit Kosovo/a. We contend that these transnational links are different for refugees than for other classes of immigrants. In this case, “refugee transnationalism” refers to the … Continue reading “Global Minds, Local Bodies: Kosovar Transnational Connections Beyond British Columbia”

“Change and Challenge at UNHCR: A Retrospective of the Past 50 Years”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is arguably the lead UN agency in complex humanitarian emergencies. But this is a recent role, whereby UNHCR provides assistance to displaced persons both beyond international borders, in refugee camps, and within conflict zones. The agency has evolved, in practice, beyond its original mandate to protect refugees … Continue reading “Change and Challenge at UNHCR: A Retrospective of the Past 50 Years”

Early Warning and ‘Ethnic’ Conflict Management: Rwanda and Kosovo

The author examines the way in which past conflicts shape the responses to current crises. In examining the facts of the Rwandan case compared with what is known of the Kosovo crisis, he identifies a number of similarities shared in both contexts. However, these first order similarities prove to be outweighed by the differences in … Continue reading Early Warning and ‘Ethnic’ Conflict Management: Rwanda and Kosovo