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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:45 pm
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Results for refugees
98 results foundAuthor: Simpson, Gerry Title: Welcome to Kenya: Police Abuse of Somali Refugees Summary: Near Kenya's officially closed border with Somalia, abusive police intercept thousands of mostly women and children asylum seekers fleeing war-torn Somalia every month. Using the clandestine nature of their journey as an excuse to extort and abuse them, police beat and, in some cases, rape them, and deport or detain those who don't pay on false charges of unlawful presence in Kenya. In early 2010, hundreds, if not thousands, of Somalis unable to pay were unlawfully sent back to Somalia. Once in the camps, which only 3 percent of refugees were allowed to leave in 2009, they face further police violence. Police also fail to investigate sexual violence against refugees by other refugees and Kenyan nationals in the camps, leading to a climate of impunity for those responsible. The abuses are the direct result of the country's border closure and the related closure of a refugee transit center near the border which used to provide a safe place where most Somalis first sought refuge in Kenya and from where the United Nations previously transported them to camps. Without this transit center, Somalis have become fair game for corrupt police. This report outlines concrete steps Kenya should take to end the abuses and to proactively prevent and respond to sexual violence in the camps. It also calls on the UN refugee agency to improve its monitoring of abuses and to increase its advocacy with the authorities to end them. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2010. 94p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: Kenya URL: Shelf Number: 119109 Keywords: AliensAsylumPolice CorruptionRapeRefugeesSexual AssaultSexual Violence |
Author: Poljski, Carolyn Title: On Her Way: Primary Prevention of Violence Against Immigrant and Refugee Women in Australia Summary: Violence against women is a significant public health issue worldwide. It impacts negatively on women's and children's physical and mental wellbeing, and limits their access to human rights. It is also multi-dimensional- occurring in the home, general community, workplaces, educational institutions, or at the hands of the State. Violence against immigrant and refugee women in Australia can be prevented. However, the complexity of women's experiences of violence highlights the need for culturally-appropriate strategies that address the core issue of gender equality by working to improve the status of women. In this regard, it is equally important that violence prevention efforts address the specific and diverse situations of women from immigrant and refugee communities, within the cultural, religious and socio-economic contexts of their lives. In recent years, there has been a shift towards the primary prevention of violence against women. Primary prevention targets whole populations and/or high-risk groups with the aim of preventing violence before it occurs. This approach is the ideal form of prevention-albeit the most challenging and time-consuming-as it cultivates a safe environment for women, a world where violence against women is not an option because women are valued, respected and treated equally. The Multicultural Centre for Women's Health has prepared a comprehensive publication, On Her Way, based on extensive research and consultation, which provides an overview of the various groups of immigrant and refugee women in Australia that should be considered in violence prevention efforts, the nature of violence perpetrated against these women, and the factors that may increase women's exposure to violence. On Her Way also features violence prevention strategies that have been, and could be implemented in efforts to prevent violence against immigrant and refugee women. Good practice principles for strategies are also highlighted. Details: Collingwood, Victoria, Australia: Multicultural Centre for Women's Health, 2011. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 15, 2011 at: http://www.mcwh.com.au/downloads/2011/On_Her_Way_Final.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.mcwh.com.au/downloads/2011/On_Her_Way_Final.pdf Shelf Number: 123365 Keywords: Family ViolenceImmigrantsIntimate Partner ViolenceRefugeesViolence Against Women (Australia) |
Author: Australia. Commonwealth Ombudsman Title: Christmas Island immigration detention facilities: Report on the Commonwealth and Immigration Ombudsman's oversight of immigration processes on Christmas Island October 2008 to September 2010 Summary: In September 2008, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship requested, and the Commonwealth Ombudsman agreed, to take on an oversight role of the non statutory refugee assessment process for asylum seekers at the Christmas Island immigration detention facilities. Ombudsman staff have since made eight visits to the Christmas Island immigration detention facilities and have observed all the processes conducted from the time asylum seekers are brought to the wharf at Flying Fish Cove until their refugee status is determined, and they are advised that the Minister will allow them to apply for a visa or that they are likely to be removed from Australia. When visiting the island, Ombudsman staff have also taken the opportunity to undertake inspections of the immigration detention facilities and accept complaints from detainees. In the period since our first visit in October 2008, there have been many changes affecting the processing of asylum seekers and the circumstances of the people detained on the island. Most obviously the number of people passing through the non-statutory process has grown significantly and this has adversely affected conditions of detention. In October 2008 there were only 31 people in detention. In June 2010, 2454 people were detained on Christmas Island, including 270 children. By 1 September 2010, this had further increased to 2603, significantly exceeding the detention capacity by more than 500 people. The challenge that management of the Christmas Island detention facilities has posed for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship should not be underestimated. Impressions taken from our initial visit in October 2008 were that whilst the Department was clear about its own objectives, the planning process may not have given sufficient attention to co-ordination with and between other agencies, as well as internal to the Department itself. However, our office’s experience has been that the Department has been responsive to comments made in the reports we have provided to them after each visit and been willing to accept advice, learn from mistakes and make improvements. We have observed and made in all six recommendations on a number of issues core to the effective and appropriate operation of the Christmas Island detention facilities. Additional to improving cooperation and communication amongst agencies, we made recommendations to DIAC for a thorough review of the non-statutory Refugee Status Assessment (RSA) process as well as the processes for relocation of persons with a positive assessment to more appropriate community detention. Recommendation is also made on the appropriate numbers and use of interpreters, which has over time been a matter contributing to anxiety amongst detainees. The vexing issue of unaccompanied minors or families with children is one of key concern to this office. The Ombudsman welcomes recent announcements about changed procedures that will facilitate processing of their claims on the Australian mainland. It is our office’s view that pending the outcome of RSA claims and security clearances, that they (families and children) should be placed in community detention. The Ombudsman’s office has noted the clearance of the heavy backlog of torture and trauma cases requiring professional attention. Nevertheless, with the increasing number of detainees, tremendous pressure remains on the facilities and resources available at the Christmas Island detention facilities. Our office continues to receive complaints about a variety of issues, including processing delays and detention times, and the lack of services and facilities. We have recommended the expedition of movement of detainees to the Australian mainland so as to address overcrowding, as well as the need to address the shortage of facilities and services, in particular mental health services. Based on observations during the past two years, Ombudsman considers that the Department has on the whole managed the operation as well or better than could be expected. However, the Ombudsman considers that the stage has been reached where the current scale of operations on Christmas Island is not sustainable. At the time of this report, people detained at the Christmas Island detention facilities were 2757, a further increase from that in September 2010 and in excess of the operation’s Contingency Accommodation Capacity (CAC) of 2584. The Christmas Island detention facilities have a nominal operation capacity of 744. Simply put, there are too many people detained at the combined Christmas Island immigration detention facilities. Whether the solution is to make use of facilities on the Australian mainland is a policy decision for Government to make. However, the Ombudsman is concerned that attempting to manage more facilities by utilising the existing level of resources in geographically diverse areas potentially brings with it other problems not least of which is ensuring the presence of adequate infrastructure and mental health services. Details: Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth Ombudsman, 2011. 23p. Source: Report No. 02-2011: Internet Resource: Accessed March 20, 2012 at http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/files/christmas_island_immigration_detention_facilities_report.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/files/christmas_island_immigration_detention_facilities_report.pdf Shelf Number: 124588 Keywords: AsylumDetention Facilities (Australia)Immigration Detention (Australia)Refugees |
Author: Committee for Human Rights in North Korea Title: Lives for Sale: Personal Accounts of Women Fleeing North Korea to China Summary: This report calls the world’s attention to the suffering of North Korean women who have become the victims of trafficking and forced marriages when escaping their country for a new life in China. Not only are the political and economic rights of these women neglected by their own government, but also by the government of their country of asylum. Too often the failure of both North Korea and China to protect them has been overlooked by the international community. Women represent the majority of North Koreans who flee into China. One of the reasons they cross the border is lack of sufficient food or the means of survival in their own country. For almost twenty years, famine has stalked North Korea. It reached its peak in the mid-1990s but remains a specter, and may reach crisis proportions again. Caused largely by government policies, combined with natural disasters, the famine of the 1990s killed and displaced millions of North Koreans. Women of the classes defined by the regime as politically disloyal became especially vulnerable when husbands and fathers died, and they began to flee to China in search of food and economic opportunities for themselves and their families. Unauthorized departure, however, is a crime in North Korea. Although seeking opportunities in China, they instead became victims of traffickers and victims of men in China who paid traffickers to purchase a North Korean “wife.” The “marriages” the women enter, often through coercion, have no official standing in China and are given no legal protection. The women in these marriages are frequently “trapped,” unable to free themselves from arrangements in which they were sold for a price. They also live in fear of being returned to North Korea where they can expect incarceration, punishment, and even possible torture and death. Yet they are not permitted to prove they are political refugees or refugees sur place. Instead, they must bear exploitation and insecurity in China so as to avoid forced repatriation and punishment. Even when they are sold to partners who do not abuse them and raise families, they are still denied their basic rights. They and their children often have no legal status. Children conceived in China are usually not protected by the laws of either China or North Korea. The interviews in this report make clear the difficult choices facing North Korean women who describe in their own words what has happened to them. “They would not allow me to leave the house,” one woman recounted, “then someone from Yanji came to take me to Heilongjiang Province by train. Only when we arrived in a village in Heilongjiang did I hear I was going to get married.” Another recalled, “I ran away from the house, not knowing where to go. Within a few hours, I was caught and brought back by the Chinese man. He took out his leather belt and whipped me.” One woman who was forcibly returned to North Korea and escaped again to China said, “I was interrogated and detained for four weeks. During the interrogation, the man who was asking me questions suddenly punched me in my left eye with his fist. My eyeball cracked and I lost eyesight in that eye immediately…” These are stories of human suffering that have received far too little notice in the world at large. The human rights abuses of the North Korean regime, increasingly made known by news accounts, reports of the United Nations Secretary-General and Special Rapporteur, defectors, and organizations like ours, are beginning to be understood and condemned internationally. What is often ignored, however, is that these abuses do not stay in the confines of North Korea but spill over into neighboring countries, and inflict pain on the lives of North Korean citizens outside their borders. Often overlooked too are the special needs of North Korea’s women and the desperation many face. This is a report about women whose lives are at risk and for sale. It makes recommendations for change. We urge that these recommendations be widely read and acted upon. Details: Washington, DC: Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2009. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 18, 2012 at: http://hrnk.org/wp-content/uploads/Lives_for_Sale.pdf Year: 2009 Country: China URL: http://hrnk.org/wp-content/uploads/Lives_for_Sale.pdf Shelf Number: 125016 Keywords: Forced MarriagesForced RepatriationHuman Rights (North Korea and China)Human TraffickingRefugees |
Author: Global Detention Project Title: Immigration Detention in Canada: A Global Detention Project Special Report Summary: The issue of immigration detention has been at the centre of a burgeoning public debate in Canada since the summer of 2010, when several hundred Sri Lankan asylum seekers arrived on Vancouver Island aboard a rusty Thai cargo ship called the MV Sun Sea. Several political figures used the event to stoke fears among the public that the country’s asylum system could be used by Tamil terrorists (Naumetz 2011). Authorities detained all 492 asylum seekers, including 63 women and 49 children, for several months at a cost of several million dollars (AI et al 2011). Although boat arrivals represented only a tiny fraction of the total number of asylum claims made in Canada in 2010, the incident spurred the Conservative Party government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to introduce that year controversial “anti-smuggling” legislation that would impose mandatory 12- month detention without access to independent review for certain categories of arriving non-citizens. The legislation, currently under consideration in Parliament as part of Bill C-31 (Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act), has been widely condemned by national and international rights groups, as well as opposition political parties. One opposition member of Parliament argued that if the anti-smuggling legislation passed it would “put a lot of emphasis on putting people behind bars before they get due process” (Naumetz 2011). The Sun Sea episode and the ensuing debate over the anti-smuggling law are only the latest manifestations of what some observers claim is Canada’s increasingly restrictive approach to immigration and asylum. This trend has been bolstered by a number of opinion polls in recent years that reveal growing negative attitudes among large swaths of the Canadian public. A government poll conducted in 2007 found that a majority of Canadians think that immigrants who are in the country illegally should be deported, even if they have family members living in the country (Aubry 2007). In a 2008 poll by the Globe and Mail, 61 percent of respondents said that Canada makes too many accommodations for minorities (Laghi 2008). And a September 2010 poll found that 50 percent of Canadians thought the passengers and crew of the Sun Sea should be deported back to their countries even if they have legitimate refugee claims and are not linked to terrorist activities (Vision Critical 2010). Many of Canada’s detention practices compare unfavourably to those of other key destination countries. Thus, for example, although there are widely recognized international human rights norms against using criminal facilities for the purposes of immigration detention, Canada remains one of only a handful of major industrialized countries to make widespread—and, in the case of Canada, increasing—use of prisons to confine non-citizens in administrative detention, where immigration detainees tend to be mixed with the regular prison population. As the Global Detention Project has found in other federal systems like Switzerland and Germany, Canada’s use of local prisons makes accessing up-to-date information about detention activities extraordinarily difficult, raising questions about the overall transparency of the Canadian detention estate. Also, in contrast to other major detaining countries, Canada has no institutionalized framework for independent monitoring of detention conditions and making reports on these conditions publicly available. Additionally, Canada’s lack of detention time limits places the country in the company of a dwindling number of states. On the other hand, Canada has made an effort to reform some detention practices (including detaining fewer numbers of minors in recent years); the detention capacity of its three dedicated facilities is quite small (currently less than 300 total places, though this number is set to expand); its average length of detention (approximately 25 days) places it in the median with respect to other key detaining countries; and the total number of detainees (less than 9,000 in FY 2010-2011) is comparable to that of other countries facing similar migratory pressures, though these numbers could surge in the near future. Additionally, despite the increasing securitization of immigration in public discourse and steadily decreasing numbers of accepted refugees, Canada has continued to settle more than ten thousand refugees yearly and in 2010 it admitted nearly 300,000 permanent residents. As Canada continues to debate its social attitudes and legal responses to immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, this GDP special report aims to focus attention on one aspect of its immigration policy—detention—which could be significantly impacted by this debate. This report offers a comprehensive review of Canada’s immigration detention regime and attempts to situate its policies and practices in an international context to enable observers, policy makers, and engaged individuals—both in and outside Canada—to better observe how the country stacks up to its peers and the potential ramifications of its political decision-making. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Global Detention Project, 2012. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2012 at: http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/fileadmin/publications/Canada_special_report_2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Canada URL: http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/fileadmin/publications/Canada_special_report_2012.pdf Shelf Number: 125123 Keywords: Asylum SeekersIllegal Immigrants (Canada)Immigrant DetentionImmigrationRefugees |
Author: Wilson, Anne P. Title: Trafficking Risks for Refugees Summary: Refugees are at particular risk for human trafficking – a consequence of their vulnerable status, the devastating losses they have experienced, and their precarious life situations until durable solutions become available. According to the United National High Commissioner for Refugees, trafficking risks for refugees are at ever-increasing levels worldwide. This paper will provide an overview of both the constant and emerging facets of the refugee condition contributing to trafficking risk, and will offer policy and practice recommendations for risk reduction. The perspective offered is that of a national non-profit organization - Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service - which resettles refugees from around the world in forty-five communities across the United States, serves asylum-seekers and other at-risk migrants in detention, and works with smuggled and trafficked migrant children. LIRS is a national faith-based nonprofit organization, founded in 1939, which works to engage communities in service to and advocacy for migrants and refugees. Our primary expertise in the area of refugees and trafficking comes from two decades of experience working with migrant children, the insights we have gained in serving “women at risk”, and our knowledge of the vulnerabilities within refugee populations in the post-resettlement period. Details: Baltimore, MD: Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, 2011. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2012 at http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=humtraffconf3 Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=humtraffconf3 Shelf Number: 125353 Keywords: Crime ReductionHuman TraffickingRefugeesRisk Assessment |
Author: Danish Refugee Council Title: A Sexual and Gender-based Violence Rapid Assessment: Doro Refugee Camp, Upper Nile State, South Sudan Summary: Since December 2011, approximately 100,000 refugees have fled the State of Blue Nile (BNS) in Sudan and sought shelter in Maban County – Upper Nile State (UNS) – South Sudan as a result of aerial bombardments and armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudanese People Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N). There are four main locations where the refugees are sheltered in the county: (1) in Doro camp (near the village of Bunj) there are 41,7871 individuals, (2) in Jamam camp (near the village of Jamam) there are 25,176 registered refugees, (3) in Yusuf Batil camp there are 34,112 registered refugees and (4) in the recently opened Gendrassa camp there are 4,484 individuals as of beginning of August 2012. Sudanese refugees started to settle spontaneously in the area later to become Doro refugee camp as early as October 2011. Since then, new influxes of refugees continued to arrive up to May-June 2012 causing the camp to become more and more congested. As a result, some of these communities settled outside the camp boundaries. In May 2012 approximately 3.000 refugees were relocated from Jamam refugee camp to Doro due to increasingly precarious living conditions in Jamam - water provision much below standards, flooding and a hazardous health situation prompted UNHCR and aid agencies to decide for the relocation of part of Jamam camp. Details: Copenhagen: Danish Refugee Council, 2012. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 24, 2013 at: http://www.drc.dk/about-drc/publications/ Year: 2012 Country: Sudan URL: http://www.drc.dk/about-drc/publications/ Shelf Number: 127378 Keywords: Gender-Based ViolenceHuman RightsRapeRefugeesSexual AssaultSexual Violence |
Author: Carker, Cat Title: The People Smugglers' Business Model Summary: This paper examines first some of the more recent international research, and second, relevant Australian case law and the more limited body of Australian research on people smuggling, to determine whether this business model can be identified. It does not seek to evaluate the appropriateness or efficacy of specific anti-people smuggling policies that have been or are currently being pursued by Australian Governments. Key points: •Since the late 1990s, people smuggling has been a key focus of political debate on irregular migration to Australia. Most recently, attention has turned to how to ‘break the people smugglers’ business model’ . While there is continuing debate about how best to achieve this objective, the business model being referred to remains largely unarticulated, at least publicly . •Examination of recent open source research and Australian case law reveals there is no single ‘people smugglers’ business model’ that explains how people smugglers operate, either internationally or to Australia . However, certain themes are evident, including the predominance of fluid networks over more hierarchical organisations and the flexibility, adaptability and resilience of those involved. It appears that a variety of business models are employed (either explicitly or implicitly) and that they are constantly evolving. •Some basic characteristics of maritime people smuggling from Indonesia to Australia can be discerned from open source information that can be used to outline some of the basic components of a common business model that seems to operate. However, there appear to be many variations on different components of the model. Further, the Indonesia to Australia leg is only part of a much longer journey, and Indonesia is not the only departure point for boats to Australia organised by people smugglers. Finally, while political and popular attention has focused largely on irregular maritime arrivals, people smuggling to Australia also occurs by air. •The use of the singular terms ‘the people smugglers’ business model’ or ‘the people smuggling business model’ gives the impression of a homogeneous market for which a single measure or ‘one size fits all’ solution might exist. The reality of a variety of business models operating at different stages of the supply chain between source countries and destination countries, including Australia, points to the need for a more tailored and considered approach. The points at which to intervene in order to ‘break’ a certain business model, and the most appropriate modes of intervention, will depend on the particular characteristics of that model. Details: Canberra: Parliament of Australia, Parliamentary Library, 2013. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Paper No. 2, 2012-13: Accessed March 7, 2013 at: http://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/ParliamentaryLibrary_SmugglersBusinessModel_Feb2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/ParliamentaryLibrary_SmugglersBusinessModel_Feb2013.pdf Shelf Number: 127862 Keywords: Border SecurityHuman Smuggling (Australia)Human TraffickingIllegal ImmigrationMaritime CrimeMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Centro Internacional para los Derechos Humanos de los Migrantes (International Centre for the Human Rights of Migrants)– CIDEHUM Title: Forced Displacement and Protection Needs Produced by New Forms of Violence and Criminality in Central America Summary: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua have been characterized over the last three years as countries of origin, transit and destination of regular and irregular migrant workers1. The causes of the exit of migrants from their communities of origin are multiple, such as extreme poverty, social exclusion, lack of work, scarce possibilities for settling, intra-family violence, abuse of power and gender violence, etc. The situation of these people with regular or irregular status in the destination countries depends on the new legislation that these countries have about migration. Unlike the situation in decades past, today it can be said that no receiving country for Central American migrants is accepting workers who are not highly qualified. In the last three years the level of violence produced by OC in the countries of Central America‟s Northern Triangle and Mexico has increased. The patterns of exit or displacement of people have changed; now not only the previously mentioned traditional expulsion factors are present, but also forced displacement2 within national territory for causes linked to violence and organized criminality has increased. Although the original socio-economic causes of exit towards the north in search of work or a better life persist, the current scenario in these countries is very different due to the high levels of violence produced by organized crime. However, the variables of internal and regional security do not take into account the human dimension of internal and external forced displacement. The change corresponds to the strengthening of a very significant organized, functional structure at the territorial and social level, which has cut across these countries from another perspective (movement of drugs, arms, migrant smugglers and people traffickers) and affects the dynamics of human mobility, directly linked to violence and lack of security and protection3. Organized crime is concentrated in strategic areas, mainly in border areas and the urban centres of the main cities of the Central American region. In this new scenario, OC weakens the structures of the States whose institutions have been disrupted and experience difficulties in offering effective protection to their own citizens. In this situation it is worth noting that none of the countries of Central America‟s Northern Triangle have accepted or publicly defined the existence of a population forcibly displaced internally or externally by organized crime activity. It is around the existence of the forcibly displaced population on one had and the population at risk from OC activity on the other that this study develops its principal analysis with the aim of highlighting the protection needs of both groups. In the regional Central American framework, the States have incorporated the subject of security as one of their priorities, for example, in SICA Regional Security Strategy and recently in the Presidential Summit held in Guatemala. In turn the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights drew up a regional document on citizen security. Details: Geneva, SWIT: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2012. Source: Internet Resource: http://www.rcusa.org/uploads/pdfs/Violence%20in%20CA%20Final20%20July2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.rcusa.org/uploads/pdfs/Violence%20in%20CA%20Final20%20July2012.pdf Shelf Number: 129411 Keywords: HomicidesOrganized CrimeRefugeesViolence (Central America)Violent Crime |
Author: Lewis, Hannah Title: Precarious Lives: Asylum seekers and refugees' experiences of forced labour Summary: The overall aim of this research is to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of forced labour among asylum seekers and refugees (AS/R) based in England. This new evidence base will contribute to ongoing academic and policy debates on the causes of, and solutions to, forced labour in the UK among AS/R. The research focuses on a group of migrants whose susceptibility to forced labour in the UK remains under researched ie AS/R. Whilst it has been widely recognised that the lives of many AS/R are characterised by high unemployment, poverty, social exclusion and destitution there is no robust research documenting their experiences of forced labour and the reasons why they may be engaged in it, despite much anecdotal evidence that AS/R are touched by forced labour. The concept of precarity (ie lived experiences that are characterised by uncertainty and instability) will be used to help understand the key factors and processes that render AS/R vulnerable to forced labour. A range of qualitative methods will be used from socio-legal mapping, interviews with key informants working with agencies and in-depth semi-structured interviews with AS/R themselves. Findings will be disseminated to policy makers, users and academic and migrant audiences. Details: Leeds, UK: University of Leeds, 2013. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 22, 2013 at: http://precariouslives.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/precarious_lives_main_report_2-7-13.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://precariouslives.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/precarious_lives_main_report_2-7-13.pdf Shelf Number: 129483 Keywords: Asylum Seekers (U.K.)Forced LaborRefugees |
Author: Arbel, Efrat Title: Bordering on Failure: Canada-U.S. Border Policy and the Politics of Refugee Exclusion Summary: The report examines Canadian border measures designed to intercept and deflect "undesirable travelers", including asylum seekers, before they set foot on Canadian soil and make a claim for refugee protection. It also examines the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement, a "refugee sharing" agreement implemented by Canada and the United States to exercise more control over their shared border. In effect since 2004, the Agreement forces refugee claimants to seek protection in the first country they reach-either Canada or the United States. It prevents asylum seekers who are in the United States, or traveling through the United States, from making refugee claims at the Canadian border (and vice versa), subject to certain exceptions. The report finds that through these measures, Canada is systematically closing its borders to asylum seekers, and avoiding its refugee protection obligations under domestic and international law. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard Immigration and Refugee Law Clinical Program, Harvard Law School, 2013. 115p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2014 at: http://harvardimmigrationclinic.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/bordering-on-failure-harvard-immigration-and-refugee-law-clinical-program1.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Canada URL: http://harvardimmigrationclinic.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/bordering-on-failure-harvard-immigration-and-refugee-law-clinical-program1.pdf Shelf Number: 131809 Keywords: Asylum, Right ofBorder PatrolBorder SecurityRefugees |
Author: Seelinger, Kim Thuy Title: Safe Haven: Sheltering Displaced Persons from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Comparative Report Summary: As part of its Sexual Violence Program, the Human Rights Center conducted a one-year study in 2012 to explore and improve understanding of the options for immediate, temporary shelter for refugees, internally displaced persons, and other migrants fleeing sexual and gender-based violence in countries affected by conflict or natural disaster. We define "shelter" flexibly. For example, it may come in the form of a traditional safe house, a network of community members' homes, or another safe space coordinated by a base organization. Our aim was to generate research-based evidence to inform donors, policymakers, and international and local actors about types of relevant models, priority challenges, and promising practices. The study focused on three key objectives: 1. Identify and describe shelter models available to refugees, the internally displaced, and migrants fleeing sexual and gender-based violence. 2. Identify unique challenges experienced by staff and residents in these settings and explore strategies to respond to these challenges. 3. Explore protection needs and options for particularly marginalized victim groups, such as male survivors, sexual minorities, sex workers, and people with disabilities. The aim and objectives were the same across each of the studies carried out in Colombia, Haiti, Kenya, and Thailand. Our research focused primarily on programs that served communities of refugees, migrants, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), including those operating in a camp setting. We also studied mainstream shelters to identify protection options and innovations in urban settings. Study outputs include four country-specific reports and one comparative assessment that contain guiding considerations for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other stakeholders involved in the provision of protection to these populations. Details: Berkeley, CA: Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2013. 81p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2014 at: http://www.alnap.org/resource/8607 Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.alnap.org/resource/8607 Shelf Number: 132514 Keywords: Gender-Based ViolenceRefugeesSexual ViolenceVictim ServicesVictims of Violence |
Author: Freccero, Julie Title: Safe Haven: Sheltering Displaced Persons from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Case Study: Thailand Summary: With one of the longest-running civil wars in history, Burma has been plagued by internal conflict between a military-backed government and many ethnic minority insurgent groups for over six decades. Widespread human rights abuses, the confiscation of land, the destruction of villages, and livelihood vulnerability have forcibly displaced millions of people in Eastern Burma, primarily ethnic minorities. Many flee to neighboring Thailand, where an estimated 142,000 Burmese refugees reside in camps along the border and over two million Burmese migrants live throughout Thailand as a whole. Without access to official refugee status in Thailand, Burmese asylum seekers are allowed to temporarily reside in one of the nine camps along the Thailand-Burma border. If they leave the camps without proper documentation, however, they are generally regarded as illegal migrants and are subject to arrest, detention, and deportation by Thai authorities. In the refugee camps, it is believed that insufficient resources, protracted confinement, and high rates of alcohol use contribute, to a high incidence of domestic violence. Service providers have also documented rape, sexual exploitation, and trafficking as significant problems. Outside the camps, local women's groups have identified domestic violence, rape, and trafficking as significant problems in migrant communities. Reporting of this violence is rare, however, as it exposes undocumented migrants to arrest and deportation. Additionally, limited economic opportunity and the undocumented or temporary legal status of migrants leave many vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse by employers, Thai authorities, and others in their communities. In an era of increased attention to conflict-related violence, we are now beginning to understand the continuum of sexual and gender-based harm that men, women, and children can suffer during armed conflict, in flight, and while temporarily resettled in refugee or internal displacement camps. Violence such as rape, gang rape, sexual torture, and sexual slavery can occur during periods of armed conflict, perpetrated by different actors for different reasons. Those fleeing a conflict may still be susceptible to rape, sexual exploitation, or trafficking while attempting to secure transport, cross borders, and find lodging. Finally, even after flight - whether to refugee or internal displacement camps or within urban centers - vulnerability to harm persists, perhaps due to a lack of protective networks, immigration status, or basic resources. In fact, displacement is believed to increase vulnerability through new and exacerbating conditions, such as the breakdown of family and community ties, collapsed gender roles, limited access to resources, insufficient security, and inadequate housing in camp settings. When refugees or internally displaced persons experience sexual and gender-based violence, their needs can be particularly urgent and complex. Survivors may experience compounded levels of physical or psychological distress resulting from individual and collective harms suffered. Unfortunately, multisectoral service options are often scarce in forced displacement settings. It is important to better understand the options for immediate physical shelter that exist in these contexts. In addition to providing immediate physical protection, programs that provide shelter to displaced persons fleeing sexual and gender-based violence may help to facilitate access to other critical services in resource-constrained settings. However, data about shelter-providing programs in such contexts is extremely limited. Evidence-based information about shelter models, client and staff needs, service challenges, and strategies is urgently required to inform policy, programming, and implementation guidance for international, national, and local entities that design or oversee these protection programs. Details: Berkeley, CA: Human Rights Center, University of California - Berkeley, School of Law, 2013. 145p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2014 at: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/HRC/SS_Thailand_web.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Thailand URL: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/HRC/SS_Thailand_web.pdf Shelf Number: 132528 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceGender-Based ViolenceHuman TraffickingRapeRefugeesSexual ExploitationVictim ServicesViolence Against Women |
Author: Horn, Rebecca Title: Safe Haven: Sheltering Displaced Persons from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Case Study: Kenya Summary: In the first eight months of 2012, the Dadaab refugee camp complex at the Kenya-Somalia border registered nearly 6,000 new arrivals from Somalia, bringing the total population of the northeastern camps to 474,000. If the Dadaab complex were a city, it would be Kenya's third largest, after Nairobi and Mombasa. A similar population explosion occurred on the other side of the country, in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya's northwest. Nearly 13,000 new refugees were registered between January to August 2012, mostly from South Sudan. The total camp population is now over 101,000. By August 2012, the total number of registered refugees and asylum-seekers in Kenya came to over 630,000-with 55,000 of these residing having migrated internally to Nairobi.2 Camp overpopulation and ongoing security concerns have led to extreme resource constraints and protection challenges. UNHCR's implementing partners report cases of aggression within the camps, including rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence. Further south in the country, 664,000 Kenyan citizens were displaced as a result of the post-election violence that occurred immediately after December 2007's presidential election results were announced.3 During the two months of inter-ethnic conflict that ensued, approximately 1000 cases of sexual and gender-based violence were treated by the two major gender violence clinics in Nairobi.4 Today, many Kenyans remain displaced, with entire camp communities still clustered in central and western Kenya. Security and service delivery to the camps is low. Rates of sexual and gender-based violence are difficult to assess, but assumed to be largely underreported. In an era of increased attention to conflict-related violence, we are now beginning to understand the continuum of sexual and gender-based harm that men, women, and children can suffer during armed conflict, in flight, and while temporarily resettled in refugee or internal displacement camps. Violence such as rape, gang rape, and sexual torture or slavery can occur during periods of armed conflict and may be perpetrated by different actors for different reasons. Those fleeing a conflict may still be susceptible to rape, sexual exploitation, or trafficking while attempting to secure transport, cross borders, and find lodging. Finally, even in settlement-whether in refugee or internal displacement camps or in urban centers-vulnerability to harm persists due to a number of factors, including lack of protective networks, immigration status, and basic resources. Displacement also increases vulnerability through new and exacerbating conditions, including the breakdown of family and community ties, collapsed gender roles, limited access to resources, insufficient security, and inadequate housing in camp settings. Refugees and internally displaced persons fleeing armed conflict or even natural disasters have few options for immediate physical protection from sexual or gender-based violence-either during flight or in camps. Further, the needs of refugees or internally displaced persons who also experience sexual and gender-based violence are likely to be urgent and complex. They may experience compounded levels of physical or psychological distress stemming from both conflict-related displacement and their experience of sexual and gender-based violence. Providing services to people with such complex vulnerabilities requires multisectoral approaches that address the special needs created by these circumstances. It is important to better understand the options for immediate safe shelter that exist in these contexts. In addition to providing immediate physical protection, programs that shelter those fleeing sexual and gender-based violence may help to facilitate access to other critical services in resource-constrained displacement settings. However, data about shelter-providing programs in these contexts is extremely limited. Evidence-based information about shelter models, client and staff needs, service challenges, and strategies is urgently required to inform policy, programming, and implementation guidance for international, national, or local entities that design or oversee these protection programs. Details: Berkeley, CA: Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2013. 113p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2014 at: http://www.unhcr.org/51b6e2fd9.html Year: 2013 Country: Kenya URL: http://www.unhcr.org/51b6e2fd9.html Shelf Number: 132529 Keywords: Gender-Based ViolenceHuman TraffickingRapeRefugeesSexual ExploitationSexual ViolenceVictim ServicesViolence Against Women |
Author: Feldman, Sara Title: Safe Haven: Sheltering Displaced Persons from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Case Study: Colombia Summary: The Human Rights Center conducted a review of scholarly and non-governmental organization (NGO) literature on shelter services in Colombia and on the response to sexual and gender-based violence both generally and specific to internally displaced persons. This review provided information on the context of sexual and gender-based violence in Colombia, key actors, and available protection mechanisms. Fieldwork was conducted over five weeks in April and May 2012. In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with a total of ten shelter staff and seven shelter residents from a total of eight shelters located in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, and Pasto. Interviews were audio-recorded, and files were translated, transcribed, and coded with qualitative data analysis software (Dedoose). Human Rights Center researchers also carried out twenty-eight key informant interviews with representatives from the government, UN agencies, NGOs, and faith-based organizations involved in Human Rights Center researchers examined eight shelter programs available to displaced individuals fleeing sexual and gender-based violence in three locations: Bogota, Medellin, and Pasto. Shelters included in this study were designed to serve one of three different populations: survivors of domestic violence, the displaced population generally, and displaced persons at particularly high security risk. The domestic violence shelter programs visited were funded and managed by the mayor's offices of Bogota and Medellin. Shelters serving internally displaced persons were funded by government entities, faith-based organizations, and international donors. Displacement shelters were managed by faith-based organizations and NGOs. In Bogota, shelter sites included four a'traditional safe houses": one for survivors of domestic violence, two for the general IDP population, and one for the high-risk IDP population. Researchers also visited one "hybrid" income-generating program offering hotel or apartment-based housing to displaced indigenous women. In Medellin, shelter sites included a "community host system" in which women in the Medellin area shelter survivors of domestic violence in their homes and a traditional safe house program that houses IDPs at high risk. In Pasto, Human Rights Center researchers visited one traditional safe house serving the general IDP population. The length of stay in these programs ranged from three days to four months. Shelter programs offered a variety of services both on-site and through referral, including psychosocial support, legal aid, medical care, vocational training, and employment assistance. The extent of services varied considerably from one site to another. Details: Berkeley, CA: Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2013. 105p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2014 at: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/HRC/SS_Colombia_web.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/HRC/SS_Colombia_web.pdf Shelf Number: 132587 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceGender-Based Violence Refugees Sexual Violence Victim Services Victims of Violence |
Author: Spinks, Harriet Title: Destination Anywhere? Factors affecting asylum seekers' choice of destination country Summary: - At the end of 2011 there were over 16 million refugees and asylum seekers worldwide. By far the majority of these are hosted in the developing world, close to the refugee-producing hotspots. However significant numbers do make their way to developed countries to apply for asylum. - In the context of increasing numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat in recent years, there has been much debate about the impact of certain policy measures on numbers of arrivals, and the relative significance of 'pull' versus 'push' factors in influencing the rate of arrivals. - There is a growing body of research (albeit largely from outside Australia) into the issue of asylum destination choice - that is, the extent to which asylum seekers are able to exercise choice when it comes to their destination country, and their reasons for choosing certain countries over others. - This research reveals a number of common themes, chief among them being that asylum seekers generally have limited options available to them, and choices are made within a very narrow field of possibilities. Their choices and their journeys are often strongly influenced by the people smugglers, or agents, they engage to assist them. - Where asylum seekers are able to exercise choice in determining their destination country, factors such as the presence of social networks, historical ties between the countries of origin and destination, and the knowledge or belief that a certain country is democratic, where human rights and the rule of law are likely to be respected, are highly influential. - Policies and processes relating to the asylum procedure in destination countries are generally not well known and therefore not highly significant in influencing choice of destination. This represents a major challenge for governments which are attempting to curb flows of asylum seekers through changes to asylum policy. Details: Canberra: Parliament of Australia, 2013. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Paper no. 1, 2012-13: Accessed July 16, 2014 at: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/2209855/upload_binary/2209855.pdf;fileType=application/pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/2209855/upload_binary/2209855.pdf;fileType=application/pdf Shelf Number: 132683 Keywords: AsylumHuman SmugglingHuman TraffickingRefugees |
Author: End Immigrant Detention Network Title: Indefinite, Arbitrary and Unfair: The Truth About Immigration Detention in Canada Summary: Today, more migrants enter Canada on temporary permits than as permanent residents. Though this has been the case with economic immigrants versus migrant workers since 1993, Canadian policies over the last decade have accelerated this trend. The Federal skilled workers program is limited to 50 occupations requiring advanced degrees (an increase from 24 since April 2014), along with years of work experience. As a result, most low-income and racialized migrants can only come to Canada under various categories of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP). The move from permanent status towards temporary status is occurring in all aspects of the immigration system. Today, many parents and grandparents enter Canada as temporary migrants under the so-called 'Super Visa' - and only if strict income requirements are met. Many spouses and common-law partners arrive in Canada with "conditional" permanent residence, which is a temporary permit that may force some women to remain in abusive situations rather than risk revocation of status on separation. Refugee applications have dropped in half just over the last year. All of these changes disproportionately impact women, and low-income and racialized families. The Federal government has enacted increasingly harsh measures to remove people's permanent residence, particularly from those who have already served a sentence for a crime, resulting in a 'double punishment'. In the last few years, over 3,000 people have had their citizenship revoked. With more people in Canada in precarious immigration status, many migrants have to choose between living without full status in Canada or returning to places they may not want or be able to return. As a result, there are approximately 500,0005 undocumented migrants in Canada, while an unknown number of migrants on temporary visas are also engaged in unauthorized work. The legislated shift towards temporariness has been accompanied by an increase in immigration enforcement. As more people lose immigration status and become undocumented, immigration detention and deportation grows at an unprecedented rate. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), established in December 2003, and overseen by the Ministry of Public Safety has seen its immigration enforcement budget balloon in recent years, rising from $91 million in 2010-2011, to over $198 million in 2012-2013. Though latest data on specific expenditure on immigration detention is not available, in 2008-09, when CBSA enforcement budget was $92 million, immigration detention costs were $45.7million. In 2009, immigration detention cost an average of $3,185 per detained case. In the same year, CBSA was paying between $120 and $207 to jail migrants in provincial facilities per day. By mid-2013, approximately 80,000 immigrants had been detained under the current government. In 2013 alone, between 7,373 and 9,932 immigrants spent a total of 183,928 days in immigration hold. This is a combined total of 504 years in prison. Over the past seven years, the number of detained children has fluctuated between 807 children per year in 2008 to 205 in 2013. The actual number is higher as many children are not tracked as detainees but as "accompanying their parents," or are themselves Canadian citizens and thus "not subject to" immigration detention. Advocates point to the particularly severe impacts of incarceration on women and mothers due to the lack of medical facilities for pregnancies and neo-natal care. Migrants in detention thus include those facing deportation; children 'accompanying' their parents; migrant workers who have acted outside the terms of their visas; detention upon arrival in Canada while applications are processed; those held on security grounds such as the Security Certificate detainees and others. Details: s.l.: End Immigration Detention Network, 2014. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 28, 2014 at: www.truthaboutdetention.com Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: www.truthaboutdetention.com Shelf Number: 132792 Keywords: Immigrant DetentionImmigrants (Canada)ImmigrationImmigration EnforcementRefugees |
Author: Seelinger, Kim Thuy Title: Safe Haven: Sheltering Displaced Persons from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Case Study: Haiti Summary: As part of its Sexual Violence Program, the Human Rights Center conducted a one-year study in 2012 to explore and improve understanding of the options for immediate, temporary shelter for refugees, internally displaced persons, and other migrants fleeing sexual and gender-based violence in countries affected by conflict or natural disaster. We define shelter flexibly. For example, it may be in the form of a traditional safe house, or a network of community members' homes, or other safe spaces coordinated by a base organization. Our aim was to generate research-based evidence to inform donors, policymakers, and international and local actors about types of relevant models, priority challenges, and promising practices. The study focused on three key objectives: 1. Identify and describe shelter models available to refugees, the internally displaced, and migrants fleeing sexual and gender-based violence. 2. Identify unique challenges experienced by staff and residents in these settings and explore strategies to respond to these challenges. 3. Explore protection needs and options for particularly marginalized victim groups, such as male survivors, sexual minorities, sex workers, and people with disabilities. The aim and objectives were the same across each of the studies, carried out in Colombia, Haiti, Kenya, and Thailand. Our research focused primarily on programs that served communities of refugees, migrants, and internally displaced persons, including those operating in a camp setting. We also studied mainstream shelters to identify protection options and innovations in urban settings. Study outputs include four country-specific reports and one comparative assessment that contain guiding considerations for the UNHCR and other stakeholders involved in the provision of protection to these populations. The Haitian landscape of shelters for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence changed quickly after the 2010 earthquake. Two major safe houses suddenly ceased to operate. One was the Centre Yvonne Hakim Rimpel, run by the Ministere a la Condition Feminine et aux Droits des Femmes (hereinafter Women's Ministry) and funded in part by Eve Ensler's V-Day. The other was a short-term emergency house run by the women's rights organization Kay Fanm. In their place, post-earthquake Haiti saw a proliferation of new shelter efforts supported by international donors, including several of the programs we visited. Our researchers conducted interviews with staff and residents in six shelter programs, including the following: - three traditional safe houses run by local women's rights groups; - one independent living arrangement program funded by a private US-based foundation; - one LGBT rights group that did not run a formal shelter, but which provided ad hoc access to a community host network; - one hybrid shelter space that consisted of dormitory space downstairs in the office of a women's rights organization. We also learned of other developing shelter options, such as temporary plywood housing, or "T-shelters," erected by various international groups in certain camps, an IOM project in Croix-des-Bouquets, and a safe house planned by the French Red Cross in conjunction with a local Haitian organization in Petit Goave. However, these emerging programs were not included in our study sample. Details: Berkeley, CA: Human Rights Center, University of California - Berkeley, School of Law, 2013. 110p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 13, 2014 at: http://www.unhcr.org/51b6e2b29.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Haiti URL: http://www.unhcr.org/51b6e2b29.pdf Shelf Number: 133038 Keywords: Domestic Violence Gender-Based Violence (Haiti)Human Trafficking Rape Refugees Sexual Exploitation Victim Services Violence Against Women |
Author: Damm, Anna Piil Title: Does Growing Up in a High Crime Neighborhood Affect Youth Criminal Behavior? Summary: How does growing up in a residential area with many juvenile delinquents affect their risk of juvenile delinquency? Does it increase their risk of juvenile delinquency? In general, it is hard to measure the effects of growing up in a residential area with many juvenile delinquents because it may well be the case that families in which the children face a high risk of juvenile delinquency have a higher tendency to settle in such local areas. This selection problem does not exist in the specific case of children of refugees who were granted asylum in Denmark over the 1986-1998 period. The reason is that they did not choose where to settle in Denmark, but were placed in housing by the Danish Refugee Council. The analysis examines whether children of refugees have a higher probability of being convicted of crime committed over the 15-21 age interval if they were - as children - assigned to housing in a municipality in which a high share of youth had been convicted of crime. Details: Copenhagen: Rockwool Foundation Research Unit, 2014. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Study Paper No. 63: Accessed August 23, 2014 at: http://www.rockwoolfonden.dk/files/RFF-site/Publikations%20upload/Arbejdspapirer/Study%20Paper%2063%20-%20Does%20growing%20up%20in%20a%20high%20crime%20neighborhood%20affect%20youth%20criminal%20behavior.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Denmark URL: http://www.rockwoolfonden.dk/files/RFF-site/Publikations%20upload/Arbejdspapirer/Study%20Paper%2063%20-%20Does%20growing%20up%20in%20a%20high%20crime%20neighborhood%20affect%20youth%20criminal%20behavior.pdf Shelf Number: 133124 Keywords: Juvenile DelinquencyNeighborhoods and CrimeRefugeesResidential Areas and Crime (Denmark)Socioeconomic Status and Crime |
Author: Parker, Christina Title: For-Profit Family Detention: Meet the Private Prison Corporations Making Millions by Locking Up Refugee Families Summary: In this joint report by Grassroots Leadership and Justice Strategies, we review the history of charges of sexual abuse and neglect of children, indifference to medical needs, inadequate and unsanitary food, and brutal treatment by staff, levied in lawsuits, government investigations, and allegations by those held in family detention facilities operated by private, for-profit, prison corporations. These same corporations are now being contracted by the federal government to detain refugee families arriving at our southern border after fleeing the violence in Central America. Details: Charlotte, NC: Grassroots Leadership; Brooklyn, NY: Justice Strategies, 2014. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 9, 2014 at: http://www.justicestrategies.org/sites/default/files/publications/For%20Profit%20Family%20Detention%20Oct%202014_0.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.justicestrategies.org/sites/default/files/publications/For%20Profit%20Family%20Detention%20Oct%202014_0.pdf Shelf Number: 133907 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant ChildrenImmigrant DetentionPrison Privatization (U.S.)Private PrisonsRefugees |
Author: Amnesty International Title: The human cost of Fortress Europe: Human rights violations against migrants and refugees at Europe's borders, Summary: Every year, thousands of migrants and refugees try to reach Europe. Some are fleeing grinding poverty; others are seeking refuge from violence and persecution. The response of the European Union (EU) and its member states has been to invest in surveillance technology, security forces and detention centres, both internally and in neighbouring countries, with one overriding aim: to construct an impenetrable fortress at Europe's borders to keep people out. Fixated on "protecting" borders, EU member states are employing drastic measures, some of which breach their human rights obligations and cause immense human suffering. At some EU borders, migrants and refugees are denied access to asylum procedures and pushed back into neigbouring countries, often in ways that put them at grave risk. They are ill-treated by border guards and coastguards and left stranded in neighbouring countries where there are serious human rights concerns. With safer routes to Europe being closed off through increased securitization, and in the absence of legal channels into the EU, migrants and refugees are attempting ever more hazardous routes. Thousands have died on the journey since 2000; many more are missing feared dead. This report describes some of the key elements of the EU's migration policy and how this policy plays out at the EU border where Bulgaria and Greece meet Turkey, one of the main routes used by Syrian refugees seeking safety in the EU. The report ends with recommendations calling on the EU and member states to review their migration policy urgently in order to shift its primary focus from protecting borders to protecting people. Details: London: AI, 2014. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 9, 2014 at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR05/001/2014/en Year: 2014 Country: Europe URL: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR05/001/2014/en Shelf Number: 133928 Keywords: Border Security (Europe)Human Rights AbusesIllegal ImmigrantsImmigration EnforcementMigration PolicyRefugees |
Author: Centre for Multicultural Youth Title: Fair and accurate? Migrant and refugee young people, crime and the media Summary: The public perception of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds is often associated with crime or offending behaviour. Unbalanced media stories sometimes reinforce these stereotypes. This paper aims to gain a more accurate picture of migrant and refugee youth offending, by comparing media portrayals with available police, census and Youth Justice (Department of Human Services) data. To set the context, it briefly explores risk and protective factors, with specific regard to the migrant and refugee experience. It also examines the negative impact that misinformed public perception can have upon the lives of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. While the picture is still incomplete, as the data collected is currently inconsistent, CMY believes that the available data points to migrant and refugee young people being under-represented in the Victoria Police and Youth Justice systems. However, there are particular ethnic groups who appear to be over-represented in relation to their population in Victoria. There is an urgent need for increased and more accurate data which is essential to develop effective and culturally relevant programs for migrant and refugee youth; decrease the number of migrant and refugee youth entering the Youth Justice system; and to challenge inaccurate stereotypes. This is particularly important in regards to specific groups who seem to be overrepresented in crime statistics. In addition, it is evident that a better response is needed to not only challenges the negative media portrayal of many migrant and refugee young people but also allows these youth to better represent themselves in the media. Details: Melbourne: CMY, 2014. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2014 at: http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/cfmy_fairandaccurate_oct2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/cfmy_fairandaccurate_oct2014.pdf Shelf Number: 134050 Keywords: Immigrant Youth (Australia) Immigrants and Crime Juvenile Offenders Media RefugeesUndocumented Youth |
Author: Coalition for Organ Failure Solutions (COFS) Title: Sudanese Victims of Organ Trafficking in Egypt Summary: COFS-Egypt has accumulated compelling evidence that organ traffickers have exploited and are continuing to exploit Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt. These abuses include removing kidneys either by inducing consent, coercion, or outright theft. In some cases, sex trafficking was associated with incidents of organ removal. The victims include men, women, and children. Many of the victims came to Egypt seeking refuge from the genocide and armed conflict in their homeland. Based on its ongoing fieldwork, COFS-Egypt identified 57 Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt who said they were victims of organ trafficking. Each case involved the removal of a kidney. COFS-Egypt has conducted in-depth interviews with 12 of these individuals who described their experiences in compelling detail. COFS-Egypt arranged ultrasounds and physical exams for five of the victims as part of its follow-up care outreach services. These medical exams confirmed that kidneys had been removed in all five cases. Arrangements to interview and provide this care for the other victims are ongoing. Four victims also showed COFS' field researchers documents from the hospitals where their nephrectomies and the transplants occurred; the documents included their respective identifiers. Of the 57 victims identified, 39 (68%) are from Darfur, 26 (46%) are female and 5(9%) are children. The twelve victims COFS interviewed ranged in age from 11-36 years with an average of 23.5 years; four (33%) of the victims were 18 years old or younger; and five (42%) were female. Three of the interviewed victims said people smugglers/traffickers helped them to enter Egypt and worked directly with the organ traffickers who arranged their kidney removal. Statements by some of the victims interviewed indicated that some women and girls are simultaneously being trafficked for sex and organs (9 possible cases in the sample of 57), and that the actual number of females in general may far exceed that of males. Thus, women and children are of special concern. Three of the victims interviewed held official "refugee" status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). One victim's application for refugee status was under review; another had filed an application; and seven others were illegal and had not yet applied to UNHCR at the time that they said organ traffickers victimized them. One victim told COFS' researchers that they were imprisoned in an effort to prevent them from reporting their claims of organ theft; this victim escaped during the January 25, 2011 revolution. Four of the victims said they had met the patients who had received their kidneys. Seven of the victims said they knew the nationality of the recipient. These victims reported that three recipients were from Sudan, one was from Jordan, one was from Libya, and two were from countries of the Persian Gulf. Interviewed victims also reported theft of money by the broker. All of the victims interviewed said they had experienced a deterioration of their health in addition to negative social, economic and psychological consequences as a result of the experience. COFS estimates that there are at least hundreds of Sudanese victims of organ trafficking in Egypt as well as numerous others from Jordan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Iraq and Syria. The total number of victims of organ trafficking in Egypt is estimated to be in the thousands. The findings presented in this report include only living victim-survivors of the organ trade that COFS was able to identify. This report does not speak to claims of people death as a result of a commercial organ removal. This has special significance considering recent reports about the kidnapping and abuse of sub-Saharan African migrants smuggled into the Sinai Peninsula en route to Israel. The reports include claims of torture and removal of organs that have resulted in death. Details: Cairo, DC: COFS, 2011. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 15, 2015 at: http://www.cofs.org/english_report_summary_dec_11_2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Egypt URL: http://www.cofs.org/english_report_summary_dec_11_2011.pdf Shelf Number: 134407 Keywords: Human SmugglingHuman TraffickingOrgan TraffickingOrganized CrimeRefugeesTrafficking in Organs (Africa) |
Author: Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat Title: Migrant Smuggling in the Horn of Africa & Yemen: The political economy and protection risks Summary: This publication, the first in a new series of studies by the RMMS on specific mixed migration issues, focuses on migrant smuggling in the Horn of Africa and Yemen. Globally, migration and mobility are important survival and poverty reduction strategies for a large and growing number of people. This is no different in the Horn of Africa and Yemen, a poor, environmentally fragile and conflict-prone region that has generated a heavy flow of mixed migration in recent years. In 'mixed migration', different groups of migrants may travel with or alongside each other, using the same routes and means of transport but with different motivations and objectives. The term is relatively new and encompasses groups of refugees, asylum seekers, economic migrants, Internally Displaced People, stateless persons on the move and trafficked persons. The 'status' (regular, irregular) of people on the move often changes and adapts over the course of a journey, leading to increased difficulties in classification. In this report the term migrant is often used to include all those in the mixed migration flows, even if they include refugees and asylum seekers. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), such movements often involve irregular or clandestine travel, "exposing people to exploitation and abuse by smugglers and traffickers or placing their lives at risk. Most migrants, when they travel irregularly, are in vulnerable situations". The majority in the Horn of Africa and Yemen move with the assistance or under the control of migrant smugglers. Although the results of migration may contribute to social and economic development, such forms of irregular migration represent huge challenges for governments and international organisations with regard to promoting the rights of migrants, addressing the issue of irregular migration and border management, ensuring national security and correct immigration procedures, and countering the activities of criminal networks. Migrant smuggling is a disturbing phenomenon due to the power dynamics and attendant protection risks between migrant and smuggler as well as between migrant and officials in the states through which migrants travel. Unlike human trafficking, the migrant starts his or her journey on a consensual basis, but this often soon changes. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), migrant smuggling can be a 'deadly' business. Between 2006 and 2012, when regular monitoring of new arrivals first began, a conservative estimate indicates that almost half a million migrants (447,000) have set off to Yemen in boats from Djibouti or the Somali port city of Bossaso, almost all of them Somalis and Ethiopians. According to Human Rights Watch, and as this study will illustrate, asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants travelling to Yemen from the Horn of Africa suffer severe human rights abuses, violence or loss of life. They also claim that "despite the numbers and despite the human rights abuses, this has been largely ignored by the outside world". Many Eritrean migrants and asylum seekers take the western route through Sudan into Libya, while a large cohort of other Ethiopians and Somalis stream south through Kenya and towards South Africa. Almost all of this movement is facilitated by human smugglers. Details: Nairobi: RMMS, 2013. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 9, 2015 at: http://regionalmms.org/fileadmin/content/monthly%20summaries/series_booklet_Leo.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Africa URL: http://regionalmms.org/fileadmin/content/monthly%20summaries/series_booklet_Leo.pdf Shelf Number: 134573 Keywords: Asylum SeekersCriminal NetworksHuman Smuggling (Africa)Human TraffickingMigrantsMigrationOrganized CrimeRefugees |
Author: Girma, Marchu Title: I Am Human: Refugee Women's Experiences of Detention in the UK Summary: I Am Human, looks closely at the experiences of women detained in Yarl's Wood. It reveals that women are routinely watched and searched by male staff in the detention centre, despite Home Office denials. It is to be launched on 14 January at a conference in London with Stella Creasy MP, Richard Fuller MP, and over 100 refugee women and supporters. This report looks at the experiences of 38 women who came to the UK to seek asylum and were detained in Yarl's Wood detention centre between June 2012 and October 2014. It focuses particularly on what these women told us about how they were treated during their arrests, detention and attempted removals. We undertook this research in order to gain more insight into the way that the Home Office and their contractors treat women who come to this country seeking protection. 6396 women came to this country to claim asylum in their own right in 2013, out of 23,584 asylum applicants overall. During 2013, the Home Office detained 2038 women who had come to the UK to seek asylum. 43% were held for more than a month. (Many of those held in immigration detention are not asylum seekers, but we are only looking in our research at the experiences of those who come to the UK seeking asylum.) Details: London: Women for Refugee Women, 2015. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: http://refugeewomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/WRW_IamHuman_report-for-web.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://refugeewomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/WRW_IamHuman_report-for-web.pdf Shelf Number: 134681 Keywords: Asylum SeekersFemale InmatesImmigrant DetentionRefugees |
Author: Athwal, Harmit, Bourne, Jenny Title: Dying for Justice Summary: Dying for Justice which gives the background on 509 people (an average of twenty-two per year) from BAME, refugee and migrant communities who have died between 1991-2014 in suspicious circumstances in which the police, prison authorities or immigration detention officers have been implicated. It concludes that: - a large proportion of these deaths have involved undue force and many more a culpable lack of care; - despite critical narrative verdicts warning of dangerous procedures and the proliferation of guidelines, lessons are not being learnt; people die in similar ways year on year; - although inquest juries have delivered verdicts of unlawful killing in at least twelve cases, no one has been convicted for their part in these deaths over the two and a half decades of the research; - privatisation and sub-contracting of custodial, health and other services compounds concerns and makes it harder to call agencies to account; - Family and community campaigns have been crucial in bringing about any change in institutions and procedures Details: London: Institute for Race Relations, 2015. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2015 at: http://www.irr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Dying_for_Justice_web.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.irr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Dying_for_Justice_web.pdf Shelf Number: 135063 Keywords: Deaths in CustodyImmigrant DetentionMigrantsPolice Use of ForcePrisoners, Foreign (U.K.)Refugees |
Author: Papademetriou, Demetrios G. Title: Beyond Asylum: Rethinking Protection Policies to Meet Sharply Escalating Needs Summary: With more than half of all registered refugees displaced for at least five years and forced displacement at levels unseen since World War II, there is growing recognition that the global protection system is failing both those it was designed to protect and the communities that offer refuge. Responsibility for providing protection is falling extremely unevenly on countries and communities closest to the regions of crisis. This reality undermines overall public support for the refugee system in countries of first asylum. But publics in wealthy countries in Europe and elsewhere that seemingly have "gold-standard" protection systems are also experiencing increasing "protection fatigue." A new report from the Migration Policy Institute's Transatlantic Council on Migration discusses the growing strains on the protection system before proposing a series of goals that national governments and international actors should pursue to facilitate the development of an innovative, comprehensive protection system that better meets the needs of today's refugees and host communities alike. In Beyond Asylum: Rethinking Protection Policies to Meet Sharply Escalating Needs, Transatlantic Council Convenor and MPI President Emeritus Demetrios G. Papademetriou urges policymakers to respond proactively to instability and the inevitable displacement before it becomes unmanageable-as seen with the rising flows crossing the Mediterranean in search of refuge in Europe, in Southeast Asia's Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, and elsewhere. Investment in sustainable livelihoods and better living conditions for both refugees and host communities in the crisis region; wider legal channels for protection and alternative ways for refugees to submit claims (such as external processing); and the development of fairer, more effective asylum adjudication, reception and return policies are all necessary elements, Papademetriou suggests. "The scale of current protection demands has made the need for policy innovations clear, even to those outside the humanitarian community, and has created an ideal opportunity to experiment," Papademetriou writes. Among the recommendations, the report urges policymakers to move beyond the traditional care-and-maintenance model of protection by finding ways to empower refugees to gain access to secure living situations and the means to support themselves as quickly as possible. Policymakers "need to consider refugees not just as victims in need of shelter, but social and economic actors with a need for individual fulfillment and opportunities, and the potential to contribute to their host communities through their skills, international networks, access to unique streams of aid and resources, and purchase of local goods and services," Papademetriou writes. Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2015. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 4, 2015 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/TCM-Protection-CouncilStatement.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/TCM-Protection-CouncilStatement.pdf Shelf Number: 135898 Keywords: Asylum SeekersImmigrantsMigration PolicyRefugeesUndocumented Citizens |
Author: Naik, Asmita Title: Detained Youth: The fate of young migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in Libya today Summary: This study paints a damning picture of the immigration detention of young migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in Libya today. Based on in-depth interviews with 45 detainees (85 per cent of whom were unaccompanied children or young people), the study reveals a consistent pattern of arbitrary detention; of people held for months at a time without any form of due process in squalid, cramped conditions. Detention occurs in facilities across the country, many of which are reported to be under the control of the governing authorities or militia forces. Serious violations, including allegations of violence and brutality, are said to be commonplace, including in some of Libya's most well-known detention centres. As the first study of its kind to assess the particular plight of detained refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children and youth in Libya's immigration detention centres, it provides timely information about the current situation in the country. The right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention is among the most fundamental of rights belonging to all human beings, and its consistent denial, especially to vulnerable minors and young people, is a matter of the gravest concern. The absence of a humane and orderly framework for handling migration flows in Libya is no doubt a contributing factor to the ever increasing numbers of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees willing to risk their lives in the Mediterranean to reach the safety of Europe. Details: s.l.: Mixed Migration Hub, 2015. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 13, 2015 at: http://www.migration4development.org/sites/default/files/mhub_2015_detained-youth.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Libya URL: http://www.migration4development.org/sites/default/files/mhub_2015_detained-youth.pdf Shelf Number: 136000 Keywords: Asylum SeekersImmigrant DetentionImmigrant YouthRefugeesUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Hipsman, Faye Title: In-Country Refugee Processing in Central America: A Piece of the Puzzle Summary: In December 2014, the Obama administration established the Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee/Parole Program, an in-country refugee processing program for minors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras deemed deserving of humanitarian protection in the United States. An element of the government's response to the 2014 surge in arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border of unaccompanied minors from Central America, the CAM program seeks to provide certain minors with a legal, safe alternative to undertaking dangerous, unauthorized journeys to the United States. In fiscal year (FY) 2014, almost 69,000 unaccompanied minors were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol, up from 39,000 in FY 2013 and 24,000 the prior year. Unlike in prior years, when Mexico was the top sending country, the majority of unaccompanied children in 2014 came from Central America's Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The growing power of gangs and organized-crime groups, as well as rising rates of homicide, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and gender-based violence in the region are well documented, and the new CAM in-country processing program was created with the aim of providing minors affected by violence in Central America the ability to legally reunite with parents living lawfully in the United States. This report provides an overview of the CAM program and its operations, and reviews the history of U.S. in-country processing programs, which date to the 1970s and have operated in countries including Vietnam, Haiti, Cuba, and Iraq. It also examines the issues such programs have raised about goals, participation rates, and the process and criteria for in-country applications. Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2015. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/In-Country-Processing-FINAL.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Central America URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/In-Country-Processing-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 136400 Keywords: MigrantsMigrationRefugeesUnaccompanied ChildrenUndocumented Migrants |
Author: Newland, Kathleen Title: Irregular Maritime Migration in the Bay of Bengal: The Challenges of Protection, Management, and Cooperation Summary: In recent decades, maritime migration in Asia has become increasingly contentious, as refugees and irregular migrants traversing the region by sea complicate the attempts of governments in the Asia-Pacific region to control their borders, regulate immigration, and fulfill their obligations under international law. In the spring of 2015, irregular maritime migration across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia entered a period of crisis as a wave of migrants and refugees crossed or attempted to cross the Bay of Bengal to reach Southeast Asia. The discovery in April and May 2015 of smuggler camps on both sides of the Thailand-Malaysia border showed the critical dangers that attend the journey. At the center of the migration crisis is the exodus of stateless Muslims from western Myanmar (and in some cases, Bangladesh), mingled with Bangladeshi migrants seeking work opportunities in the wealthier countries of the region. Members of the Muslim minority, known as the Rohingya, have suffered extreme poverty and discrimination since the end of British colonial rule and establishment of the modern state of Myanmar. Communal violence between the Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar's Rakhine state flared in 2012, resulting in the flight of Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh, where at least 200,000 remain. Tens of thousands of others embarked on irregular maritime journeys from Bay of Bengal ports in Myanmar and Bangladesh. This MPI-International Organization for Migration (IOM) Issue in Brief attempts to put the crisis of 2015 into context, providing an overview of the routes and patterns of migration, the development of migration out of Myanmar's Rakhine state over the past few years and how policy responses to it have assigned priority to the protection of migrants and refugees, to the management of the maritime flows and to cooperation on migration with countries in the region and beyond. The brief concludes with several recommendations, and a consideration of what recent history has to teach us about responses to maritime migration crises. Details: Bangkok and Washington, DC: International Organization for Migration and Migration Policy Institute, 2015. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue in Brief, Issue No. 13: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/irregular-maritime-migration-bay-bengal-challenges-protection-management-and-cooperation Year: 2015 Country: Asia URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/irregular-maritime-migration-bay-bengal-challenges-protection-management-and-cooperation Shelf Number: 136406 Keywords: Border SecurityHuman SmugglingImmigrantsImmigrationMigrantsMigration EnforcementRefugees |
Author: Chester, Hilary Title: Child Victims of Human Trafficking: Outcomes and Service Adaptation within the U.S. Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Programs Summary: In the United States, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 and subsequent reauthorizations in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2013 define both the crime of trafficking of persons for the purposes of labor or commercial sex and the services and benefits available to victims. Foreign-born victims of human trafficking are eligible for many of the same protections,services, and benefits as refugees. Foreign-born victims of human trafficking also share many affinities with refugees - the need for support while rebuilding their lives in a new culture and assistance with healing from the trauma endured, including loss and/or separation from family. Child victims of trafficking have additional needs and vulnerabilities, especially as they begin to rebuild their lives in their new communities. Foreign-born child victims in the United States without the care of a parent or legal guardian are eligible to enter the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) program, a specialized system of community-based and licensed foster-care programs developed and funded specifically for certain foreign-born children.iii The URM programs operate under the principles of safety, permanency, and child well-being, coupled with the principles of integration and cultural competency. The URM network also employs a strengths-based and trauma-informed approach to meet the unique needs of these populations. For almost thirty-five years, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS) has coordinated a network of URM programs across the United States to provide care and custody for thousands of eligible children. From 2002 to 2013, the USCCB/MRS URM programs cared for 110 child victims of trafficking. This paper presents the features of the URM program model that most effectively meets the specialized needs of foreign-born child victims of human trafficking. Also shared below are key findings from the study related to individual outcomes for child victims of trafficking, the services and resources provided to child victims of trafficking, and the policies and practices of URM programs for the recruitment, training, and support of foster families and program staff. The URM program, with its specific adaptations and accommodations to meet the specialized needs of foreign-born child victims, can serve as a national and international model for the care and integration of both foreign-born and national/citizen child victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Details: Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2015. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://www.usccb.org/about/anti-trafficking-program/upload/URM-Child-Trafficking-Study-2015-8-15.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.usccb.org/about/anti-trafficking-program/upload/URM-Child-Trafficking-Study-2015-8-15.pdf Shelf Number: 136431 Keywords: Child Sexual ExploitationChild TraffickingHuman TraffickingRefugeesUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Bin Han, Chelsea Title: Smuggled migrant or migrant smuggler: erosion of sea-borne asylum seekers' access to refugee protection in Canada Summary: This paper argues that the criminalisation of smuggling has undermined refugee protection for sea-borne asylum seekers. It is pivotal to consider the categorical differentiation of sea-borne asylum seekers in the Canadian refugee system because, although there have been only seven notable cases of boat arrivals in Canada from 1986 to the present, they have triggered significant reforms in Canadian refugee law. At the intersection of international criminal law, Canadian criminal law and Canadian refugee law, the criminalisation of smuggling has resulted in an inability of sea-borne asylum seekers to access refugee status because they have assisted other presumptive refugees during a voyage. This paper argues that the broad grounds of 'ineligibility' for refugee status in Canadian refugee law and the broad concept of smuggling in Canadian criminal law erode access to refugee protection for sea-borne asylum seekers allegedly implicated in the smuggling of refugees. Moreover, interpretive contestation of sea-borne asylum seekers' complicity in smuggling in Canadian refugee law and the flawed assumption of the static identity of smugglers in international criminal law further undermine sea-borne asylum seekers' access to refugee protection in Canada. Sea-borne asylum seekers who do not align with the assumption of passivity of smuggled migrants are discursively framed as smugglers. International refugee law may fail to provide protection for bona fide refugees because of the artificial distinction between the smuggler and the migrant in international and national criminal frameworks on smuggling. Details: Oxford, UK: Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, 2015. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: RSC Working Paper Series, 106: Accessed October 2, 2015 at: http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/files/publications/working-paper-series/wp106-smuggled-migrant-or-migrant-smuggler.pdf/ Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/files/publications/working-paper-series/wp106-smuggled-migrant-or-migrant-smuggler.pdf/ Shelf Number: 136940 Keywords: Asylum SeekersHuman SmugglingMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Title: Human Rights Situation of Refugee and Migrant Families and Unaccompanied Children in the United State of America Summary: This report addresses the situation of migrant and refugee families and unaccompanied children arriving to the southern border of the United States of America. It analyzes the context of humanitarian crises that have been taking place over the past several years in the countries of the Northern Triangle in Central America - El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - as well as in Mexico. These crises have been generating increased migration northward, principally to the United States, and to a lesser extent Mexico and Canada. This report offers recommendations geared towards assisting the United States in strengthening its efforts to protect and guarantee the rights of the diverse group of persons in these mixed migratory movements - among them, migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, women, children, families, and other vulnerable persons and groups in the context of human mobility. 2. In recent years, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the "Inter-American Commission," "Commission," or "IACHR"), through its various mechanisms, has documented with concern the increasing number of persons, including children, fleeing various forms of violence in countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America - El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras - and Mexico. This violence, along with other factors, such as poverty, inequality, and various forms of discrimination, has led to the current state of humanitarian crises in the region. In its report on the Human Rights of Migrants and Other Persons in the Context of Human Mobility in Mexico (2013), the Commission documented, among other issues, the serious violence, insecurity, and discrimination that migrants in an irregular situation in Mexico encounter, in addition to troubling State responses such as immigration detention and deficiencies in due process guarantees for migrants and other persons in human mobility. In its Report on Immigration in the United States: Detention and Due Process (2011), the IACHR documented with concern the United States' response to increasing mixed migratory movements. Since the mid-1990s, this response has consisted of stepped up efforts to detect, detain, and deport migrants in an irregular situation. Some of the most dramatic spikes seen yet in the number of arrivals of unaccompanied children and families to the United States occurred between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014 ("U.S. fiscal year 2014"), and specifically in the months of May and June 2014. According to official data, during U.S. fiscal year 2014, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended a total of 68,541 unaccompanied children and 68,445 families, which represented a 77% increase in the number of arrivals of unaccompanied children and a 361% increase in families over fiscal year 2013. The majority of the arrivals of unaccompanied children and families were to the U.S. southwest border and particularly to the Rio Grande Valley of the state of Texas. The Commission considers that this drastic uptick in the number of arrivals signals a worsening human rights situation in the principal countries of origin. Official data shows that the top four countries of origin for both unaccompanied children and families were El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. 4. The IACHR conducted the visit to the U.S. southern border from September 29 - October 2, 2014. The visit was planned and carried out in the context of monitoring the human rights situation of arriving families and unaccompanied children with respect to their apprehension; immigration detention, in many cases over long periods of time; immigration proceedings; as well as deportations and removals. To this end, the Commission visited the Rio Grande Valley area, including McAllen and Harlingen, as well as Karnes City and San Antonio, Texas. 5. According to the information received, families for whom there is capacity at an immigration detention center are automatically and arbitrarily being detained for the duration of the immigration proceedings initiated against them, even in cases where the mother has passed an initial asylum screening. Other information received by the Commission indicated that unaccompanied children of Mexican origin are, in some cases, being turned around before entering U.S. soil (a practice called a 'turn-back") or U.S. officers are failing to correctly identify Mexican unaccompanied children who may have protection needs. While the Commission considers that aspects relating to the overall legal regime in place for unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries are consistent with international standards, it remains concerned over the lack of due process guarantees and access to mechanisms of international protection for these children in immigration proceedings. 6. For all the sub-groups identified herein, the Inter-American Commission is concerned over allegations of sexual, physical, and verbal abuse by U.S. border officials committed while migrant and refugee children and families are in the State's custody as well as the inadequate detention conditions at border and port of entry stations and family immigration detention centers. The Commission is also deeply concerned over expedited processing of these groups and the lack of access to legal representation in the immigration proceedings initiated against them. 7. The Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man constitute sources of legal obligation for OAS Member States including the United States. The organs of the international and regional human rights systems have developed jurisprudence that recognizes the rights of children, families, migrants, and refugees and asylum-seekers. International standards protect the right to equality and non-discrimination, the principle of the best interests of the child, the right to personal liberty, humane treatment during detention, due process and access to justice, consular notification, protection of the family and family life, seek and receive asylum, principle of non-refoulement, and the prohibition on collective expulsions. 8. The IACHR stresses that measures taken to securitize the border will not bring these crises to an end. Rather, the underlying factors generating the crises in the principal countries of origin must be comprehensively addressed. This approach must tackle the poverty, economic and gender inequality, multi-sectorial discrimination, and high levels of violence in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Without national and regional efforts to address such factors, mixed migratory movements will only continue. Without the ability to migrate safely and through more open or regular channels, these persons will be forced to take even more dangerous and clandestine routes in order to bypass increasingly securitized borders. Such new routes increase the likelihood that persons in the context of human mobility will fall victim to violence and exploitation at the hands of organized crime groups. 9. Based on its close analysis of the situation of migrant and refugee unaccompanied children and families arriving to the southern border of the United States of America, in the present report the Inter-American Commission issues a series of recommendations to the State. The IACHR notes and commends the United States for its sustained efforts to receive and resettle thousands of asylum-seekers and refugees from all over the world, year after year. In light of the State's global position as a leader on protecting the rights of persons in need of international protection, it is the IACHR's hope that the conclusions and recommendations contained in this report will assist it in upholding its human rights obligations and its commitment to serve as a refuge for many thousands of persons each year. In this regard, the Commission urges the State to end its practice of automatic and arbitrary immigration detention of families; to treat Mexican unaccompanied children with the same safeguards and procedures applicable to unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries; to investigate claims of abuses and mistreatment committed by U.S. border agents and to prosecute and punish, where necessary, the agents responsible; to ensure that the best interests of the child principle is the guiding principle in all decisions taken with respect to children, including in immigration proceedings; and to ensure migrant and refugee children and families enjoy due process guarantees and are provided with a lawyer, if needed, at no cost to them if they cannot cover the costs on their own; among other recommendations developed in this report. Details: Washington, DC: The Commission, 2015. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 30, 2015 at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Refugees-Migrants-US.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Refugees-Migrants-US.pdf Shelf Number: 137185 Keywords: Immigrant ChildrenImmigration EnforcementMigrant ChildrenRefugeesUndocumented Immigrants |
Author: Knippen, Jose Title: An Uncertain Path: Justice for Crimes and Human Rights Violations against Migrants and Refugees in Mexico Summary: In the report An Uncertain Path: Justice for Crimes and Human Rights Violations against Migrants and Refugees in Mexico released today, participating organizations explain how the Southern Border Program has significantly increased migration enforcement operations, apprehensions, and deportations of migrants. This stepped-up enforcement has led to an increase in human rights violations against migrants. These migration operations are increasingly conducted in conjunction with Mexican security forces, and migrant shelters have documented kidnappings, extortions, robberies, and abuses throughout the country. Given that Mexico's National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migracion, INM) has been the primary agency responsible for carrying out the Southern Border Program, it is clear that, far from a development program, the strategy is focused on migration enforcement actions. The report finds that in 2014, the year the Southern Border Program was announced, the INM spent the largest budget in its history, and that this increase goes hand in hand with the increase in migrant apprehensions. For its part, the United States government has provided political and financial support to the Mexican government for migration enforcement, especially following the 2014 "surge" of migrants, mostly unaccompanied children and families from Central America that arrived at the U.S. southwest border. In July 2014, it was revealed that the State Department was working with the Mexican government on enforcement at its southern border, providing some US$86 million in funds already included in the Merida Initiative, a multi-year U.S. security aid package to Mexico. Furthermore, Congress allocated up to US$79 million in additional funds in fiscal year 2015 for this same purpose. The report demonstrates how the Mexican government's efforts to strengthen protections for migrants have fallen far short of their actual needs. There is no evidence that migrants who are victims of crimes and human rights violations have effective access to justice, despite the creation of new specialized prosecutors for attention to migrants. There is a lack of conclusive data regarding justice for migrants in Mexico. The most detailed data are from the specialized prosecutor's office in Oaxaca, which reports that of the 383 complaints received over four years, only 96 resulted in a preliminary investigation being opened and only four resulted in sentences for the perpetrators. Although the National Human Rights Commission (Comisioin Nacional de los Derechos Humanos, CNDH) and state-level human rights commissions are more approachable for demanding justice, the report finds that their "procedures and investigative capacities are not particularly expeditious or effective." The report reveals that of the 1,617 complaints of human rights violations against migrants that the CNDH received from December 1, 2012 to June 15, 2015, only four resulted in a formal recommendation issued to the institution implicated in the complaint. The report also discusses why there are so many potential refugees in Mexico and so few recognized refugees. It stresses that the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comision Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados, COMAR), only has 15 protection officers in the entire country to ensure access to international protection for the more than 100,000 migrants that are detained over the period of a year. Moreover, COMAR's budget did not increase in real terms from 2014 to 2015. Given this context, An Uncertain Path: Justice for Crimes and Human Rights Violations against Migrants and Refugees in Mexico, provides concrete recommendations to the relevant governmental agencies within the Mexican government, including the INM, the Ministry of the Interior, and the federal Attorney General's office, as well as to the United States government. The report is the result of a close collaboration between the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Fundar, Centro de Analisis e Investigacion, and seven shelters and organizations that work to defend migrant rights in five areas of Mexico: Casa del Migrante "Frontera con Justicia," AC in Saltillo, Coahuila; the "Red Sonora" (a network composed of three organizations in Sonora: Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Centro de Recursos para Migrantes in Agua Prieta y Centro Comunitario de Atencion al Migrante y Necesitado, or CCAMYN, in Altar); Albergue de Migrantes "Hermanos en el Camino" in Ixtepec, Oaxaca; La 72, Hogar - Refugio para Personas Migrantes in Tenosique, Tabasco; and Un Mundo, Una Nacion in Apizaco, Tlaxcala Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), 2015. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 24, 2015 at: http://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/An%20Uncertain%20Path_Nov2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/An%20Uncertain%20Path_Nov2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137321 Keywords: Border SecurityHuman Rights AbusesImmigrantsImmigrationImmigration EnforcementMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Vaughan, Cathy Title: Promoting community-led responses to violence against immigrant and refugee women in metropolitan and regional Australia: The ASPIRE Project: State of knowledge paper Summary: This state of knowledge paper examines a broad range of national and international research to present the current knowledge about family violence against immigrant and refugee women. While the paper identifies critical evidence on the topic, it acknowledges that much of the available literature has methodological issues, including incomplete and inconclusive prevalence data; small sample sizes; and conceptualising family violence in ways that are not recognised by immigrant and refugee communities. The paper finds: - Overall immigrant and refugee report similar forms of family violence as women from non-immigrant backgrounds, however there are some differences in the types of violence experienced and the structural contexts where it takes place. - The constraints produced by immigration policies are of significant concern, where women depend on perpetrators for economic security and residency rights. - Many immigrant and refugee women are motivated to resolve family violence without ending relationships and breaking up families, for reasons including immigration concerns and family and community pressures. - There is scant evidence that the increase in criminal justice responses to family violence, such as "mandatory arrest" and "pro-prosecution" approaches, are helpful for immigrant women, and may deter them from seeking assistance in crisis situations. The paper also identifies key gaps in literature on this issue, particularly in connection to the ways immigration policies, structural disadvantage and location interact with immigrant and refugee women's experiences of family violence. Details: Sydney: Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS): 2015. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: State of Knowledge Paper: Accessed November 24, 2015 at: http://anrows.org.au/publications/landscapes/promoting-community-led-responses-violence-against-immigrant-and-refugee Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://anrows.org.au/publications/landscapes/promoting-community-led-responses-violence-against-immigrant-and-refugee Shelf Number: 137334 Keywords: Ethnic GroupsFamily ViolenceImmigrantsIntimate Partner ViolenceRefugeesViolence Against Women |
Author: Reitano, Tuesday Title: Survive and advance: The economics of smuggling refugees and migrants into Europe Summary: Violent conflicts, terrorism, long-standing repressive regimes, chronic poverty and inequality have driven an unprecedented number of refugees and migrants to Europe. Those making the journey are assisted by an increasingly violent and opportunistic smuggling industry. Sustainable profits made by this industry have allowed transnational networks to develop where they previously did not exist, with serious implications for human security and state stability. Effective responses will require an understanding of the drivers and dynamics of the crisis. This understanding should be sufficiently nuanced to recognise that each journey of migration is defined by the ethnicity, income level and country of origin of the migrants, as well as by a highly responsive smuggling industry. Details: Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2015. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: ISS Paper 289: Accessed January 25, 2016 at: https://www.issafrica.org/uploads/Paper289-2.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: https://www.issafrica.org/uploads/Paper289-2.pdf Shelf Number: 137646 Keywords: Human Smuggling Human Trafficking Illegal Immigration Immigrants Migrants Refugees |
Author: Hagen-Zanker, Jessica Title: Journeys to Europe: The role of policy in migrant decision-making Summary: With more than a million migrants reaching Europe, 2015 has become known as the year of Europe's migration crisis. The persistence and intensification of crises in other parts of the world fuelled the largest movement of migrants and refugees into Europe since World War II. With some exceptions, the European response has been guided by strategies of containment, restriction and deterrence. Rather than welcoming, settling and integrating the new arrivals, many EU member states have tried to drive them away from their borders through an escalation of restrictive migration policies designed to stop people coming in the first place. This report and policy briefing aims to increase understanding of the journeys made by migrants. Based on in-depth interviews with more than 50 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who have recently arrived in four European cities (Berlin, London, Madrid and Manchester), it explores: the journeys migrants take; the factors that drive them; and the capacity of destination country migration policies to influence people's decisions, both before their journey begins and along the way. Based on these findings, the authors make policy recommendations that could lead to the better management of, and a more effective and positive response to, the current migration crisis in Europe. Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, 2016. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: ODI Insights: Accessed February 11, 2016 at: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/10297.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/10297.pdf Shelf Number: 137845 Keywords: ImmigrantsImmigration EnforcementMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Healy, Claire Title: Targeting Vulnerabilities: The Impact of the Syrian War and Refugee Situation on Trafficking in Persons. A Study of Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq Summary: Conflict and violence in Syria since 2011 have caused massive loss of life and human suffering, as well as a complex displacement crisis. Four of Syria's neighbouring states are the most important hosting countries worldwide for refugees from the war-torn country. As of the end of September 2015, there are almost four million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq alone, whose registration is active with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). In addition, over six and a half million Syrians are internally displaced within their own country. Not all Syrians and stateless people who have fled abroad have registered with UNHCR or the national authorities (NRC, April 2015a), and not all those internally displaced are recorded as such, therefore the figures are likely to be even higher in all cases. Apart from the violence itself, the conflict and attendant refugee crisis in neighbouring countries have led to increased impoverishment, informal "coping" economies and war profiteering, rendering people displaced by the crisis vulnerable to exploitation and different forms of trafficking in persons. Uncertainty prevails as to when the war in Syria will end and internally displaced people (IDPs) will be able to return to their homes, whether Syrian refugees abroad will be able to return to their country of origin, and for how long the hosting states will be able to meet the refugees' needs in terms of providing access to basic services - accommodation, healthcare and education - and opportunities for income generation. As of mid-2014, the situation in Syria, as well as in parts of Iraq, has been further exacerbated by the seizure of large swathes of territory by Da'ish (ISIS/ISIL/IS), resulting in violence and further displacement of Syrian and Iraqi people, as well as of other people residing in those areas. This Study assesses the effects of the Syrian war and refugee crisis on trafficking in persons (TIP) in Syria and the surrounding region. The five countries under study - Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq (with a focus on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq - KR-I) - were selected on the basis of the magnitude of refugee and internal displacement. While around 6.6 million people are internally displaced in Syria as of the time of writing (October 2015), to the north of Syria, Turkey hosts around 1.9 million registered Syrian refugees, mostly in the southeastern and southern Turkish provinces. At Syria's western border, the second most important hosting country in absolute numbers, Lebanon, is currently hosting over 1.1 million registered Syrians. Syria borders Jordan to the south, which is currently hosting around 630,000 people who have fled from Syria. Finally, Syria shares its eastern border with Iraq, where the majority of Syrians in the country reside in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I), an autonomous region in the federal state, host to a total of around 250,000 Syrian refugees. Nevertheless, these numbers do not include people who have fled from Syria to the neighbouring countries, but are not registered as active with the UNHCR - nor, in the case of Turkey, with the national authorities. In addition, the situation is highly dynamic, with Syrian refugees newly arriving in host countries, moving outside the region, entering a situation of internal displacement within Syria and, in some cases, returning to Syria for various reasons. Throughout the text, the five countries under study are referred to by order of the size of the displaced Syrian population: Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq. The human trafficking phenomenon itself is the thematic focus of this research, which aims to understand the forms of trafficking in persons that are taking place and whom they affect, as well as who the perpetrators are, rather than examining anti-trafficking policies or initiatives. The forms of trafficking in the countries under study are the subject of investigation, as well as situations of vulnerability to trafficking, although reference is also made, where relevant, to trafficking from or through these countries. Relevant anti-trafficking legislation, institutions, policies and activities in the countries under study are briefly examined below, and throughout the rest of the Study are referred to only as and when relevant to understanding the trafficking phenomenon. This is driven by the conviction that the most important step in responding to the trafficking and exploitation of girls, boys, women and men is to first understand it. The chronological scope of the Study facilitates a comparison of the situation at the beginning of 2011, referred to throughout as the baseline date, with the situation throughout 2011-2015 inclusive, in order to assess the effects of the conflict. To better understand the situation prior to the outbreak of the war, the Study covers the decade 2001-2010, which is referred to as the baseline period. As set out below in the section on Methodology, the analysis of the baseline period principally draws on secondary research and data, while primary sources were also consulted for the period since the outbreak of the war. Research commenced in late 2014, with all of the field research taking place in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq during 2015. Details: Vienna: International Centre for Migration Policy Development, 2016. 258p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 17, 2016 at: https://www.icmpd.org/fileadmin/ICMPD-Website/Anti-Trafficking/Targeting_Vulnerabilities_EN__SOFT_.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Syria URL: https://www.icmpd.org/fileadmin/ICMPD-Website/Anti-Trafficking/Targeting_Vulnerabilities_EN__SOFT_.pdf Shelf Number: 137860 Keywords: Human TraffickingRefugeesWar and Crime |
Author: United Nations Refugee Agency Title: Initial Assessment Report: Protection Risks for Women and Girls in the European Refugee and Migrant Crisis Summary: For the first time since World War II, Europe is experiencing a massive movement of refugees and migrants, women, girls, men and boys of all ages, fleeing armed conflicts, mass killings, persecution and pervasive sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Many seek refuge in Europe from the ongoing armed conflicts that have torn apart their societies, and are entitled to protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention, its subsequent Protocol, and other international instruments. From January to November 2015, Europe witnessed 950,469 refugee and migrant arrivals through the Mediterranean, with Greece receiving the vast majority of arrivals (797,372). Those arriving by sea are fleeing the Syrian Arab Republic (49%), Afghanistan (20%), Iraq (8%), Eritrea (4%), Nigeria (2%), Pakistan (2%), Somalia (2%), Sudan (1%), Gambia (1%) and Mali (1%). The majority travel to Turkey, from where they undertake a treacherous journey by sea to Greece and then make their way through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria in an attempt to reach their destination countries, including Germany and Sweden. Each day brings new arrivals, and accurate data remains a challenge. Refugees and migrants are travelling en masse, striving urgently to reach their destination from fear of border closures, potentially increased restrictions in asylum policies and the onset of winter. It is a dangerous journey, with refugees and migrants often facing high levels of violence, extortion and exploitation along the way, including multiple forms of SGBV. Single women travelling alone or with children, pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, unaccompanied children, early-married children - sometimes themselves with newborn babies - persons with disabilities, and elderly men and women are among those who are particularly at risk and require a coordinated and effective protection response. Concerned by the protection risks faced by women and girls, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Women's Refugee Commission (WRC) undertook a joint seven-day assessment mission to Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in November 2015. This report describes the assessment's findings and key recommendations for the European Union (EU), transit and destination country governments, humanitarian actors and civil society organizations (CSOs). The assessment found that women and girl refugees and migrants face grave protection risks and that the current response by governments, humanitarian actors, EU institutions and agencies and CSOs are inadequate. The findings emphasize the urgent need to scale up response efforts, implement innovative solutions and strengthen protection mechanisms and services across borders to adequately address the protection threats facing women and girls. In this particular crisis, Europe's response needs to match its international obligations, responsibilities and stated values. There is a need for the European Union, as well as relevant governments in Europe, with the support of protection and humanitarian actors, to strengthen resources dedicated to ensuring effective protection, especially for persons with specific needs and those who are at heightened risk in this crisis. Details: (S.L.): UNHCR, 2016. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2016 at: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/EuropeMission_Protection_Risks_19_Jan_Final_0.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/EuropeMission_Protection_Risks_19_Jan_Final_0.pdf Shelf Number: 138042 Keywords: Gender-Related ViolenceMigrantsRapeRefugeesSexual ViolenceViolence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Hiskey, Jonathan Title: Understanding the Central American Refugee Crisis: Why They are Fleeing and How U.S. Policies are Failing to Deter Them Summary: In the spring and summer of 2014, tens of thousands of women and unaccompanied children from Central America journeyed to the United States seeking asylum. The increase of asylum-seekers, primarily from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala - the countries making up the "Northern Triangle" region - was characterized by President Obama as a "humanitarian crisis." The situation garnered widespread congressional and media attention, much of it speculating about the cause of the increase and suggesting U.S. responses. The increase of Central Americans presenting themselves at the United States' southwest border seeking asylum, President Obama and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), specifically, implemented an "aggressive deterrence strategy." A media campaign was launched in Central America highlighting the risks involved with migration and the consequences of illegal immigration. DHS also dramatically increased the detention of women and children awaiting their asylum hearings, rather than release on bond. Finally, the U.S. government publicly supported increased immigration enforcement measures central to the Mexican government's Southern Border Program that was launched in July of 2014. Together, these policies functioned to "send a message" to Central Americans that the trip to the United States was not worth the risk, and they would be better off staying put. Yet the underlying assumption that greater knowledge of migration dangers would effectively deter Central Americans from trying to cross the U.S. border remains largely untested. This report aims to investigate this assumption and answer two related questions: "What motivates Central Americans to consider migration?" and "What did Central Americans know about the risks involved in migrating to the United States in August 2014?" An analysis of data from a survey of Northern Triangle residents conducted in the spring of 2014 by Vanderbilt University's Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) reveals that respondents were more likely to have intentions to migrate if they had been victims of one or more crimes in the previous year. In a separate LAPOP survey of residents of selected municipalities across Honduras, carried out in late July and early August of 2014, we find that a substantial majority of respondents were also well aware of the dangers involved in migration to the United States, including the increased chances of deportation. This widespread awareness among Hondurans of the U.S. immigration climate in the summer of 2014, however, did not have any significant effect on whether or not they intended to migrate. In sum, though the U.S. media campaigns may have convinced - or reminded - Hondurans, and perhaps their Salvadoran and Guatemalan counterparts, that migration to the United States is dangerous and unlikely to be successful, this knowledge did not seem to play a role in the decision calculus of those considering migration. Rather, we have strong evidence from the surveys in Honduras and El Salvador in particular that one's direct experience with crime emerges as a critical predictor of one's emigration intentions. What these findings suggest is that crime victims are unlikely to be deterred by the Administration's efforts. Further, we may infer from this analysis of migration intentions that those individuals who do decide to migrate and successfully arrive at the U.S. border are far more likely to fit the profile of refugees than that of economic migrants. Upon arrival, however, they are still subject to the "send a message" policies and practices that are designed to deter others rather than identify and ensure the protection of those fleeing war-like levels of violence. Details: Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, 2016. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2016 at: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/understanding_the_central_american_refugee_crisis.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Central America URL: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/understanding_the_central_american_refugee_crisis.pdf Shelf Number: 138142 Keywords: Border SecurityImmigrantsImmigrationImmigration EnforcementImmigration PolicyRefugees |
Author: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Title: Women on the Run: First-Hand Accounts of Refugees Fleeing El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico Summary: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is entrusted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly with responsibility for providing international protection to refugees and others of concern and, together with governments, for seeking permanent solutions to their problems. UNHCR would not be able to carry out its essential duties without the support, cooperation, and participation of States around the world. UNHCR provides international protection and direct assistance to refugees in some 125 countries throughout the world. It has over 60 years of experience supervising the international treaty-based system of refugee protection and has twice received the Nobel Peace Prize for its work on behalf of refugees. UNHCR works closely with governments and others to ensure that the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol are honored, and that national and regional migration policies are sensitive to the protection needs of all individuals. International refugee protection centers on providing refugees the protection of asylum, ensuring their human rights are respected, and safeguarding the principle of non-refoulement: the prohibition against returning individuals to a place where they would face danger. The protection of women is a core priority of UNHCR at the global, regional, and national levels. Gender inequality systematically prevents women and girls from claiming and enjoying their rights, and is exacerbated by displacement. UNHCR is committed to promoting gender equality and ensuring equal access to protection and assistance so women can fully participate in all decisions affecting their lives. In 2014, for instance, the percentage of females playing active roles in leadership and management structures in refugee communities increased from 42 to 46 per cent;136 UNHCR's sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) reporting and awareness raising led to a doubling of reported incidents in 44 key countries; and women identified access to livelihood options as key to creating self-reliance and sustainable solutions to displacement. UNHCR's Executive Committee has adopted four general conclusions relating specifically to refugee women. These conclusions note the need for UNHCR and host governments to give particular attention to the international protection needs of refugee women; the need for reliable information and statistics about refugee women in order to increase public awareness of their situation; the need for an active senior-level steering committee on refugee women; and the need for the development of training modules on the subject for field officers. The UNHCR Regional Office in Washington, DC covering the United States of America and the Caribbean gives priority to enhancing protection for women arriving in and within the United States, including for women in detention. After coming into contact with increasing numbers of women and families fleeing El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, UNHCR undertook this study to understand the challenges they face. The overarching goal for the study was to hear from the women themselves the reasons they fled their countries of origin and the challenges they encountered while seeking protection. The women's voices provide the foundation for the ultimate aim of the study: to document profiles of women from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico with a need for international protection, and provide policy makers and adjudicators with necessary information to bolster regional asylum for women. Details: Washington, DC: UNHCR, 2015. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2016 at: http://www.unhcr.org/5630f24c6.html Year: 2015 Country: Central America URL: http://www.unhcr.org/5630f24c6.html Shelf Number: 138557 Keywords: Asylum SeekersGender-Based ViolenceImmigrantsRefugeesSexual ViolenceViolence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Mouzourakis, Minos Title: Wrong counts and closing doors: The reception of refugees and asylum seekers in Europe Summary: Europe's ongoing failure to find humane responses to the plight of refugees has led to severe difficulties in ensuring reception for those seeking asylum, according to the latest report of the Asylum Information Database (AIDA). The report documents the situation in 20 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Serbia and Turkey. The report demonstrates that the inability of reception systems to adapt to higher numbers of asylum seekers is a structural challenge throughout Europe. This has been the case in countries receiving the majority of refugees and migrants, but equally in those faced with much smaller increases in the number of arrivals. While some countries have shown great readiness to find accommodation solutions for the newly arrived, other states - often presented as countries of transit - have not enhanced their reception capacity even in the face of political commitments to do so at the Western Balkan Leaders' Meeting of October 2015. The lack of sufficient accommodation places has driven many persons in need of protection into inadequate living conditions and destitution. A central challenge to the operation of reception systems has been the obligation of states to identify vulnerabilities and provide appropriate reception to persons with special needs. Vulnerable persons such as unaccompanied children have been unduly subjected to detention due to the unavailability of appropriate reception places, not least in countries of first arrival. The implementation of the "hotspot" approach in Italy and Greece has reinforced the risk of detention of asylum seekers and migrants, contrary to states' obligations. The report also documents discrimination faced by asylum seekers of certain nationalities in the reception context. As many as eight European countries have resorted to some form of discrimination by privileging some nationalities over others when providing accommodation. In some countries, certain asylum seekers have found themselves arbitrarily detained on the basis of their nationality. Details: Brussels: European Council on Refugees and Exiles, 2016. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: AIDA Asylum Information Database: Accessed April 11, 2016 at: http://www.asylumineurope.org/sites/default/files/shadow-reports/aida_wrong_counts_and_closing_doors.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.asylumineurope.org/sites/default/files/shadow-reports/aida_wrong_counts_and_closing_doors.pdf Shelf Number: 138629 Keywords: Asylum SeekersImmigrant DetentionRefugees |
Author: Canadian Council for Refugees Title: Migrant Workers: Precarious and unsupported. A Canada-wide Study on Access to Services for Migrant Workers Summary: The report, "Migrant Workers: Precarious and Unsupported", released today by Canada's nine national, regional and provincial umbrellas of organizations serving newcomers, compiles the responses from 167 organizations on the needs and realities of migrant workers, by province and region.. In the first research of its kind, the Canada-wide study on access to services for migrant workers confirms that lack of access to information, language barriers, isolation and precarious status make these workers vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by those who seek to take advantage of their vulnerability, including some employers and recruiters. Details: Montreal: Canadian Council for Refugees, 2016. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 13, 2016 at: http://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/migrant-workers-2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Canada URL: http://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/migrant-workers-2016.pdf Shelf Number: 138657 Keywords: Forced LaborMigrant WorkersRefugees |
Author: Katwala, Sunder Title: Engaging the Anxious Middle on Immigration Reform: Evidence from the UK Debate Summary: The United Kingdom is often presented as having particularly hostile attitudes toward immigration compared to other countries. Momentum generated by those who are firmly opposed to current immigration levels was a major factor behind the call for a June 2016 referendum on UK membership in the European Union, and has also played a role in tough migration policies put forward by the coalition and Conservative governments. Certainly, immigration is an increasingly salient issue in UK politics and surveys indicate that public trust in the government's ability to manage inflows has fallen to abject levels. Immigration emerged as a key political issue in the late 1990s, and from 2013 onwards politics "caught up" with public views, as parties such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP) rose to prominence campaigning on a populist, anti-immigration platform. However, the authors of this report make the case that polls reveal far more nuanced public attitudes towards immigration and immigrants than commonly depicted in the media and political discourse. Though there are substantial minorities of strong opinion for and against immigration, most people fall into the "anxious middle." They are skeptical about the government's handling of immigration and worried about the effects of immigration on society and the economy, but are not hostile toward immigrants themselves, especially skilled ones who can contribute to the economy. This Transatlantic Council on Migration report analyzes polling data in an attempt to paint a more accurate picture of public opinion on immigration - focusing on the concerns of the anxious middle. It examines several drivers of public opinion in the United Kingdom, including media coverage of immigration, before considering how recent migration policy changes can be linked to public opinion - or, crucially, what policymakers perceive to be the public will. Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2016. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 11, 2016 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/engaging-anxious-middle-immigration-reform-evidence-uk-debate Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/engaging-anxious-middle-immigration-reform-evidence-uk-debate Shelf Number: 139001 Keywords: Asylum SeekersBorder SecurityImmigrantsImmigration EnforcementImmigration PolicyMigrationRefugees |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Closed Doors: Mexico's Failure to Protect Central American Refugee and Migrant Children Summary: Tens of thousands of children flee Central America's Northern Triangle - El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - each year, on their own or with family members, because they have been pressured to join local gangs, threatened with sexual violence and exploitation, held for ransom, subjected to extortion, or suffer domestic violence. Mexican law provides for refugee protection for children and adults who face persecution or other threats to their lives and safety in their home countries. Even so, less than 1 percent of the children who are apprehended by Mexican immigration authorities are recognized as refugees. Closed Doors examines the reasons for this gulf between the need for protection and Mexico's low refugee recognition rates, detailing the formidable obstacles children face in even applying for recognition. Immigration agents frequently fail to inform them of their rights and do not adequately screen them for possible refugee claims. They do not receive state-appointed lawyers or other government assistance in preparing applications for refugee recognition. More dauntingly, most are held in prison-like conditions, leading many children to accept deportation to avoid protracted time in detention. The report concludes with specific steps Mexico should take to address these shortcomings. Mexican authorities should ensure that children have effective access to refugee recognition procedures and end immigration detention of children; and they should provide appropriate care and protection for unaccompanied migrant children by identifying the housing arrangements that are most consistent with their best interests. Details: New York: HRW, 2016. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 7, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/mexico0316web_0.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Mexico URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/mexico0316web_0.pdf Shelf Number: 139305 Keywords: AsylumHuman RightsImmigrant ChildrenImmigrationRefugeesUnaccompanied Children |
Author: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Title: Beyond Detention: A Global Strategy to support governments to end the detention of asylum-seekers and refugees Summary: Putting people in detention has become a routine - rather than exceptional - response to the irregular entry or stay of asylum-seekers and migrants1 in a number of countries. Some governments view detention as a means to dissuade irregular migration to or applying for asylum in their territories. While acknowledging that irregular entry or stay may present many challenges to States, detention is not the answer. Research in fact shows that not even the most stringent detention policies deter irregular migration, and further, that there are workable alternatives to detention that can achieve governmental objectives of security, public order and the efficient processing of asylum applications. Importantly, as seeking asylum is not an unlawful act, detaining asylum-seekers for the sole reason of having entered without prior authorisation runs counter to international law. Under international law, individuals have the right to seek asylum, and if they do so, to be treated humanely and with dignity. Access to open reception arrangements and fair and efficient status determination procedures need to be part of the overall State architecture. Detention also has many negative lasting effects on individuals. It undermines their human dignity and can cause unnecessary suffering, with serious consequences for their health and wellbeing, in particular when they are detained for long periods. Detention increases anxiety, fear and frustrations and can exacerbate past traumatic experiences. It takes place, frequently, in places and in conditions that do not meet human rights standards. Detention of children is particularly serious due to the devastating effect it may have on their physical, emotional and psychological development, even if they are not separated from their families. Children should, in principle, not be detained at all. Detention removes asylum-seekers from the community, which is sometimes the goal, inhibiting opportunities to benefit from existing support networks (both formal and informal), and diminishing people's capacity to be independent, self-sufficient and fulfilled members of the community after release. All these factors are further aggravated by the uncertainty about its duration and outcome. Details: Geneva, SWIT: UNHCR, 2014. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 7, 2016 at: http://www.unhcr.org/53aa929f6.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.unhcr.org/53aa929f6.pdf Shelf Number: 139306 Keywords: Asylum SeekersImmigrant DetentionRefugees |
Author: Murdolo, Adele Title: Key Issues in Working with Men from Immigrant and Refugee Communites in Preventing Violence Against Women Summary: This report ...explores the key issues in working with men from immigrant and refugee communities in Australia to prevent violence against women. It applies a feminist intersectional approach to the question of men's engagement and examines a range of issues that need to be considered in the development of primary prevention engagement strategies for immigrant and refugee men. The report is divided into four sections. Section 1 outlines the context for engaging immigrant and refugee men in violence prevention and describes the need to apply a feminist intersectional approach. Section 2 discusses the ways in which immigrant and refugee men negotiate their conception of their masculinities during migration and settlement. Migration, employment-related difficulties and discrimination impact on immigrant and refugee men's sense of gendered identity. The diversity of immigrant and refugee men's responses to migration-related challenges should be accounted for in violence prevention programs. Violence against women is endemic across Australian communities and cultures. While marginalised women experience a heightened vulnerability to gendered violence, there is insufficient evidence that any one culture or community, migrant or otherwise, is more or less violent than any other. However, in media and popular culture, immigrant and refugee men and cultures are represented as being more 'traditional', oppressive to women and as having greater tendency to commit violence against women. Conversely, immigrant and refugee women are portrayed as more oppressed, passive and lacking in agency. In this regard, Section 3 examines conceptions of 'culture' as it relates to immigrant and refugee men and highlights the need to adapt a complex understanding of 'culture in order to re-frame our understandings of immigrant and refugee men's capacity to prevent violence. Section 4 outlines key strategies for engaging immigrant and refugee men in prevention. Immigrant and refugee men should be engaged in violence prevention through the leadership of women. Valuing, fostering and harnessing immigrant and refugee women's feminist activism and leadership boosts gender equity within immigrant and refugee communities. In addition, direct participation strategies aimed at men should be framed within a global human rights and social justice perspective, convey positive, concrete and meaningful messages, and be aimed at achieving long-term, gender-transformative gains and solutions. Importantly, developing and implementing strategies to engage immigrant and refugee men should focus on cultural specificity (as opposed to difference), which takes into account different men's relative spheres of influence within and across cultures. Although the report identifies promising and culturally appropriate practices and approaches, it is important to note that there is an extremely limited evidence base to draw from to make accurate assertions about the most effective ways of engaging immigrant and refugee men in violence prevention in Australia. Further research and evaluation, conducted along-side violence prevention efforts, are essential. Details: White Ribbon Australia, 2016. Source: Internet Resource: White Ribbon Research Series: Accessed June 9, 2016 at: http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/uploads/media/100-WR_Research_Paper_V7.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/uploads/media/100-WR_Research_Paper_V7.pdf Shelf Number: 139352 Keywords: Abusive MenGender-Related ViolenceImmigrantsMasculinitiesRefugeesViolence Against WomenViolence Prevention |
Author: Neville, Darren Title: Internal border controls in the Schengen area: is Schengen crisis-proof ? Summary: This study, commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizen's Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, analyses the Schengen area in the wake of the European 'refugee crisis' and other recent developments. With several Member States reintroducing temporary internal border controls over recent months, the study assesses compliance with the Schengen governance framework in this context . Despite suggestions that the end of Schengen is nigh or arguments that there is a need to get 'back to Schengen', the research demonstrates that Schengen is alive and well and that border controls have, at least formally, complied with the legal framework. Nonetheless, better monitoring and democratic accountability are necessary. Details: Brussels: Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament, 2016. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571356/IPOL_STU(2016)571356_EN.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571356/IPOL_STU(2016)571356_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 139587 Keywords: Human SmugglingHuman TraffickingIllegal MigrationMigration (Europe)Refugees |
Author: Akkerman, Mark Title: Border Wars: The Arms Dealers Profiting from Europe's Refugee Tragedy Summary: The refugee crisis facing Europe has caused consternation in the corridors of power, and heated debate on Europe's streets. It has exposed fundamental faultlines in the whole European project, as governments fail to agree on even limited sharing of refugees and instead blame each other. Far-right parties have surged in popularity exploiting austerity-impacted communities in putting the blame for economic recession on a convenient scapegoat as opposed to the powerful banking sector. This has been most potently seen in the UK, where leaders of the 'Leave EU' campaign unscrupulously amplified fears of mass migration to successfully mobilise support for Brexit. Refugees fleeing terrible violence and hardship have been caught in the crossfire; forced to take ever more dangerous routes to get to Europe and facing racist attacks in host nations when they finally arrive. However there is one group of interests that have only benefited from the refugee crisis, and in particular from the European Union's investment in 'securing' its borders. They are the military and security companies that provide the equipment to border guards, the surveillance technology to monitor frontiers, and the IT infrastructure to track population movements. This report turns a spotlight on those border security profiteers, examining who they are and the services they provide, how they both influence and benefit from European policies and what funding they receive from taxpayers. The report shows that far from being passive beneficiaries of EU largesse, these corporations are actively encouraging a growing securitisation of Europe's borders, and willing to provide ever more draconian technologies to do this. Most perverse of all, it shows that some of the beneficiaries of border security contracts are some of the biggest arms sellers to the Middle-East and North-African region, fuelling the conflicts that are the cause of many of the refugees. In other words, the companies creating the crisis are then profiting from it. Moreover they have been abetted by European states who have granted the licences to export arms and have then granted them border security contracts to deal with the consequences. Their actions are also in the framework of an increasingly militarised response to the refugee crisis by the European Union. Under the banner of 'fighting illegal immigration', the European Commission plans to transform its border security agency Frontex into a more powerful European Border and Coast Guard Agency. This would have control over member states border security efforts and a more active role as a border guard itself, including purchasing its own equipment. The agency is backed up by EUROSUR, an EU system connecting member and third states' border security surveillance and monitoring systems. Militarisation of border security is also demonstrated by the military objectives of the 'European Union Naval Force - Mediterranean Operation Sophia' (EUNAVFOR MED) as well as the use of military on many borders, including Hungary, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia. NATO naval missions in the Mediterranean are already actively assisting EU border security. Meanwhile, countries outside the EU are being pushed to take up a role as outpost border guards to try to stop refugees from reaching the EU borders. The recent EU migration deals with Turkey, which have been severely criticised by human rights organisations, deny refugees access to Europe and have resulted in more violence against them. The report shows that: The border security market is booming. Estimated at some 15 billion euros in 2015, it is predicted to rise to over 29 billion euros annually in 2022 The arms business, in particular sales to the Middle-East and North-Africa, where most of the refugees are fleeing from, is also booming. Global arms exports to the Middle-East actually increased by 61 per cent between 2006-10 and 2011-15. Between 2005 and 2014, EU member states granted arms exports licences to the Middle East and North Africa worth over 82 billion euros The European policy response to refugees which has focused on targeting traffickers and strengthening its external borders (including in countries outside the European Union) has led to big budget increases which benefits industry Total EU funding for member state border security measures through its main funding programmes is 4.5 billion euros between 2004 and 2020 Frontex, its main border control agency's budget increased 3,688% between 2005 and 2016 (from $6.3m to $238.7m) EU new member states have been required to strengthen borders as a condition of membership, creating additional markets for profit. Equipment purchased or upgraded with External Borders Fund money includes 54 border surveillance systems, 22,347 items of operating equipment for border surveillance and 212,881 items of operating equipment for border checks Some of the arms sales permits to the Middle-East and North Africa are also intended for border control. In 2015, for example the Dutch government granted a 34 million euro export license to Thales Nederland for the delivery of radar and C3-systems to Egypt despite reports of human right violations in the country The European border security industry is dominated by major arms companies, who have all set up or expanded security divisions as well as a number of smaller IT and specialist security firms. Italian arms giant Finmeccanica identified "border control and security systems" as one of the primary drivers for increase in orders and revenues The big players in Europe's border security complex include arms companies Airbus, Finmeccanica, Thales and Safran, as well as technology giant Indra. Finmeccanica and Airbus have been particularly prominent winners of EU contracts aimed at strengthening borders. Airbus is also the number one winner of EU security research funding contracts Finmecannica, Thales and Airbus, prominent players in the EU security business are also three of the top four European arms traders, all active selling to countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Their total revenues in 2015 amounted to 95 billion euros Israeli companies are the only non-European receivers of research funding (thanks to a 1996 agreement between Israel and the EU) and also have played a role in fortifying the borders of Bulgaria and Hungary, and promote their expertise based on the West Bank separation wall and the Gaza border with Egypt. Israeli firm BTec Electronic Security Systems, selected by Frontex to participate in its April 2014 workshop on 'Border Surveillance Sensors and Platforms', boasted in its application mail that its "technologies, solutions and products are installed on [the] Israeli-Palestinian border" The arms and security industry helps shape European border security policy through lobbying, through its regular interactions with EU's border institutions and through its shaping of research policy. The European Organisation for Security (EOS), which includes Thales, Finmecannica and Airbus has been most active in lobbying for increased border security. Many of its proposals, such as its push to set up a cross European border security agency have eventually ended up as policy - see for example the transformation of Frontex into the European Border and Coastguard Agency (EBCG). Moreover Frontex/EBCG's biannual industry days and its participation in special security roundtables and specialist arms and security fairs ensure regular communication and a natural affinity for cooperation. The arms and security industry has successfully captured the 316 million euros funding provided for research in security issues, setting the agenda for research, carrying it out, and then often benefiting from the subsequent contracts that result. Since 2002, the EU has funded 56 projects in the field of border security and border control. Collectively the evidence shows a growing convergence of interests between Europe's political leaders seeking to militarise the borders and its major defence and security contractors who provide the services. But this is not just an issue of conflicts of interest or of profiteering from crisis, it is also about the direction Europe takes at this critical moment. More than a half century ago, then US President Eisenhower warned of the dangers of a military-industrial complex, whose power could "endanger our liberties or democratic processes". Today we have an even more powerful military-security-industrial complex, using technologies that point outwards and inwards, that right now are targeted at some of the most vulnerable desperate people on our planet. Allowing this complex to escape unexamined poses a threat to democracy and to a Europe built on an ideal of cooperation and peace. As Eisenhower put it: "Down the long lane of the history yet to be written... this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2016. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/border-wars-report-web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/border-wars-report-web.pdf Shelf Number: 139605 Keywords: Border ControlBorder SecurityImmigrantsImmigrationRefugeesTrafficking in FirearmsTrafficking in Weapons |
Author: International Organization for Migration Title: Dangerous journeys -- International migration increasingly unsafe in 2016 Summary: On 19 September 2016, leaders from around the world will meet at the United Nations in New York to discuss how to address "large movements of refugees and migrants". 1 One of the issues for discussion will be how to ensure that migration is "orderly, safe, regular and responsible", 2 as the number of migrant deaths around the world continues to rise significantly. Worldwide, IOM's Missing Migrants Project has recorded 28 per cent more migrant deaths during the first half of 2016 compared with the same period in 2015 . This data briefing, produced by the International Organization for Migrations (IOM) Global Migration Data Analysis Centre in Berlin, takes an in-depth look at the available global figures for migrant deaths and disappearances during the first half of 2016. In the first six months of 2016, more than 3,700 people went missing or lost their lives during migration around the world. This is a 28 per cent increase compared to the same time period in 2015, and a 52 per cent increase for the same time period in 2014. This dramatic change can be attributed to a higher number of recorded migrant fatalities in the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. The number of people who went missing or died during migration in other regions of the world is comparable with the same period in 2015, with some differences - including a reduction in the recorded number of deaths by drowning in the Caribbean and South-East Asia. Details: Geneva: IOM's Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), 2016. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Data Briefing Series No. 4: Accessed September 3, 2016 at: https://publications.iom.int/system/files/gmdac_data_briefing_series_issue4.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://publications.iom.int/system/files/gmdac_data_briefing_series_issue4.pdf Shelf Number: 140139 Keywords: ImmigrantsImmigrationMigrant DeathsRefugees |
Author: Bacon, Wendy Title: Protection denied, abuse condoned: women on Nauru at risk Summary: This report details how women released as refugees into the Nauru community face grave danger from attacks on isolated bush tracks. They have been raped, bashed and even burnt as they scurry from their demountable cabins to the market for food. The resettlement infrastructure for single women consists of isolated cabins in the bush, which has left them open to attacks and rape by local men. This report draws together the evidence from multiple reports on the resettlement policy as well as the intimate stories of women living in fear on an island where neither the local police nor some of the commercial agencies charged with protecting them have shown much desire to do so. The placement of four Australian Federal Police officers on Nauru has seen no improvement in protection for women. Real concerns about the failure of the Nauru police to investigate and charge perpetrators means there is little likelihood that the women will be protected on the island or that perpetrators will be punished for their crimes. Details: Potts Point, NSW: Australian Women in Support of Women on Nauru , 2016. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 24, 2016 at: http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/women_on_nauru_web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/women_on_nauru_web.pdf Shelf Number: 140822 Keywords: Rape RefugeesSexual Assaults Violence Against Women |
Author: Amnesty International Title: Island of Despair: Australia's "Processing" of Refugees on Nauru Summary: The current policy of the Australian Government is that no person who arrives in the country by boat seeking asylum can ever settle in Australia. Instead, anyone who arrives by boat is forcibly taken to offshore "Refugee Processing Centres", one of which is on the remote Pacific island of Nauru. The government claims that the policy protects people who might otherwise undertake the hazardous boat crossing to Australia. However, since its inception, offshore processing has been designed to be punitive and has been widely promoted by a succession of Australian governments as a deterrent and as a demonstration of Australia securing its borders. Details: London: AI, 2016. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 1, 2016 at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa12/4934/2016/en/ Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa12/4934/2016/en/ Shelf Number: 145007 Keywords: Asylum SeekersBorder SecurityHuman Rights AbusesRefugees |
Author: European Programme for Integration and Migration Title: Forgotten: Administratively detained irregular migrants and asylum seekers Summary: i. FINDINGS 1. The number of administratively detained irregular immigrants and asylum seekers is significantly reduced compared to the prior to 2015 period. 2. The detention conditions diverge from the relevant legislation, regarding not only the international standards and the CPT recommendations, but also the governmental declarations of February 17, 2015. In particular, we observed: - Use of detention areas that the CPT has deemed inappropriate for more than a few days detention as well as use of the Special Juvenile Detention Center in Amygdaleza which has been declared inappropriate for the detention of minors - Inadequate maintenance of the facilities - Lack of yard time - Inadequate healthcare - Lack of support by social workers and psychologists - Inadequate and poor quality feeding - Inadequate heating/ cooling conditions - Lack of provision in clothes, shoes and personal hygiene items - Lack of recreational activities - Lack of interpretation services - Lack of information to the detainees regarding: - their legal status; - the Rules of operation of the detention centers - the impending forced return - Lack of free legal aid 3. The procedures followed by the competent authorities regarding administrative detention diverge from provisions laid down in the legislation and from the governmental declarations of February 17, 2015. In particular, we observed that: In the Hellenic Police Departments there are serious long-standing systemic problems: - Lack of an individualized approach based on the characteristics, the situation and the needs of foreign nationals who are under arrest - Lack of use of alternatives to detention - Systematic, unjustified detention of dubious legitimacy on the grounds of public order - Detention of individuals whose removal violates the principle of non-refoulement - Detention for a period longer than six months - Re-arrest for the purpose of return despite prolonged and ineffective previous detention - Detention of seriously ill people - Failure to take into account data that arise over the period of detention regarding the health status of detainees and extension of the detention of vulnerable persons - Lack of interpretation services, indispensable to the detainees in order to fully understand their legal status, the decisions that concern them and the documents they are asked to sign - Lack of free legal assistance - Lack of information regarding an imminent enforcement of forced return Details: s.l.: EPIM, 2016. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 1, 2016 at: http://www.asylumineurope.org/sites/default/files/resources/forgotten.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.asylumineurope.org/sites/default/files/resources/forgotten.pdf Shelf Number: 145008 Keywords: Asylum SeekersImmigrant DetentionMigrantsMigrationRefugeesUndocumented Migrants |
Author: Amnesty International Title: Stranded Hope: Hungary's Sustained Attack on the Rights of Refugees and Migrants Summary: Fences, teargas, and draconian legislation: over the last year the Hungarian authorities have baulked at little in their determination to keep refugees and migrants out of the country. The government's programme of militarization, criminalization and isolation has ushered in a set of measures which have resulted in violent push-backs at the border with Serbia, unlawful detentions inside the country and dire living conditions for those waiting at the border. This briefing documents the pernicious consequences of Hungary's current policies in flagrant breach of international human rights and refugee law and EU directives. Details: London: AI, 2016. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2016 at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur27/4864/2016/en/ Year: 2016 Country: Hungary URL: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur27/4864/2016/en/ Shelf Number: 145006 Keywords: Asylum SeekersHuman Rights AbusesIllegal MigrantsMigrant DetentionMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Canada. Department of Justice. Evaluation Division Title: Special Advocates Program Evaluation: Final Report Summary: This document constitutes the final report for the evaluation of the Special Advocates Program (also referred to as the Program or SAP). The Department of Justice Canada administers the Program, whose purpose is to implement the set of legislative requirements contained in Division 9 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). 1.1. Context for the Evaluation In 2008, the Department of Justice Canada established the SAP in response to the 2007 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Charkaoui case.1 In its ruling, the Court concluded that the existing scheme applicable to security certificates allowed for the use of evidence “that is never disclosed to the named person without providing adequate measures to compensate for this non-disclosure and the constitutional problems it causes”.2 The Program was first evaluated in 2010, as part of the evaluation of the Security Certificate Initiative led by Public Safety Canada.3 This time, the evaluation of the SAP was led by the Department of Justice Canada. Although it is meant to be a stand-alone evaluation, it is also expected to contribute to the 2014-2015 Horizontal Evaluation of the IRPA Division 9 and the National Security Inadmissibility Initiative led by Public Safety Canada. 1.2. Scope and Objectives of the Evaluation This evaluation covers all activities undertaken through the SAP over the past five years (2010– 11 to 2014–15). In accordance with the Policy on Evaluation, it addresses both the relevance and the performance of the Program. More specifically, the evaluation focuses on the following dimensions of the Program: • the extent to which SAP activities align with the role and current priorities of the federal government, as well as with the strategic objectives of the Department of Justice Canada; • the extent to which the Program responds to identified needs; and • the ability of the Program to achieve its expected outcomes efficiently and economically. Appendix A includes the complete list of issues and questions covered by the evaluation. 1.3. Structure of the Report This report contains five sections, including this introduction. Section 2 provides a description of the Program. Section 3 describes the methodology used to address the set of evaluation issues and questions. Section 4 summarizes the key findings that have emerged from the data collection process, while section 5 provides the overall evaluation conclusions and recommendations. Details: Ottawa: Department of Justice, 2015. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 14, 2016 at: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cp-pm/eval/rep-rap/2015/sap-pas/sap-pas.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cp-pm/eval/rep-rap/2015/sap-pas/sap-pas.pdf Shelf Number: 146142 Keywords: ImmigrantsImmigrationLegal AidRefugees |
Author: Laxminarayan, Malini Title: Can Conflict Resolution Reduce Fear in Crime Victims? A case study of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal Summary: Over 50 million people have been displaced from their homes into refugee camps in countries around the world. Accounts of insecurity in refugee camps are pervasive. This insecurity is due to crime, the presence of military elements and (forcible) recruitment of refugees into rebel and military movements, and high rates of sexual and gender-based violence. Concern over personal security and fear is often high in these settings. Refugees’ experiences of persecution contributes to this fear and can combine with experiences of victimization to increase fear in camp settings. At the same time, research on justice and legal processes suggests that conflict resolution procedures that respond to criminal behavior may, when well conducted, play a role in alleviating fear. This working paper examines different aspects of conflict resolution within Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal and investigates, using research conducted in 2011, the role of these factors in reducing fear among crime victims. The findings show that several factors relating to both legal processes and outcomes play a significant role in reducing fear among victims. The implications of these findings are discussed. Details: The Hague: Hague Institute for Global Justice, 2015. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Working paper 12: Accessed December 15, 2016 at: http://www.thehagueinstituteforglobaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Bhutanese-Refugees-Nepal.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Nepal URL: http://www.thehagueinstituteforglobaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Bhutanese-Refugees-Nepal.pdf Shelf Number: 146160 Keywords: Conflict ResolutionFear of CrimeRefugeesVictims of Crime |
Author: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime Title: Global Report on Trafficking in Persons: 2016 Summary: The 2016 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is the third of its kind mandated by the General Assembly through the 2010 United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It covers 136 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based primarily on trafficking cases detected between 2012 and 2014. As UNODC has been systematically collecting data on trafficking in persons for more than a decade, trend information is presented for a broad range of indicators. The thematic chapter of the 2016 edition of the Global Report looks at how migrants and refugees can be vulnerable to trafficking in persons, en route or at destination. It also analyses the particular condition of people escaping war, conflict and persecution. Most countries have passed legislation that criminalizes trafficking in persons as a specific offence; many have done so recently. The Global Report shows that there is a relation between how long a country has had proper trafficking legislation on its books, and how many convictions it reports. Countries with longer-standing legislation record, on average, more convictions. That said, the overall criminal justice response to trafficking in persons, which has historically been very weak, has not improved significantly. Details: New York: UNODC, 2016. 126p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 23, 2016 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_on_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_on_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf Shelf Number: 144837 Keywords: Human SmugglingHuman TraffickingIllegal ImmigrationMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Hansen, Randall Title: Constrained by its Roots: How the Origins of the Global Asylum System Limit Contemporary Protection Summary: Territorial asylum - the principle that a refugee must reach the territory of a host country in order to lodge a protection claim—has evolved as the principal mechanism for providing humanitarian protection. However, the refugee regime was designed to cope with regular, manageable outflows, not mass displacement. With unprecedented global displacement, with 65.3 million displaced persons in 2015, the territorial asylum system is overwhelmed. And fewer than 1 percent of displaced people in need of protection are resettled annually. Making access to protection contingent upon access to territory has been criticized as at best inefficient, and at worst deadly. It creates powerful incentives for asylum seekers to undertake dangerous, illegal journeys, often at the hands of smugglers, which come at high human and financial costs. But efforts to decouple access to territory from access to protection - either by processing applications in countries of first asylum or at consulates, or by resettling people directly from countries of first asylum - have remained small in scale. This Transatlantic Council on Migration report considers whether there are viable alternatives to territorial asylum, and explores how they might be implemented. Among the solutions proposed by the author: expanding resettlement, increasing financial responsibility sharing, and concentrating resources where most refugees can be found: in the Global South. Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2017. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 26, 2017 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/constrained-its-roots-how-origins-global-asylum-system-limit-contemporary-protection Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/constrained-its-roots-how-origins-global-asylum-system-limit-contemporary-protection Shelf Number: 145403 Keywords: Asylum SeekersMigrationMigration PolicyRefugees |
Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Title: Current migration situation in the EU: hate crime Summary: Asylum seekers and migrants face various forms of violence and harassment across the European Union (EU). As this month's report on the migration situation underscores, such acts are both perpetrated and condoned by state authorities, private individuals, as well as vigilante groups. They increasingly also target activists and politicians perceived as 'pro-refugee'. Meanwhile, a lack of relevant data is hampering efforts to develop effective measures to prevent these incidents. Outlining recent attacks in 14 EU Member States, this focus of the November report also examines the diverse factors that undermine the reporting of such incidents and highlights promising practices seeking to counter them. Details: Vienna: FRA, 2016. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 2017 at: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2016-november-monthly-focus-hate-crime_en.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2016-november-monthly-focus-hate-crime_en.pdf Shelf Number: 145998 Keywords: Asylum SeekersBias CrimesHate CrimesImmigrantsRefugeesVigilantism |
Author: Carrera, Sergio Title: The European Border and Coast Guard: Addressing migration and asylum challenges in the Mediterranean? Summary: The humanitarian refugee crisis in Europe of 2015-2016 has revealed several unfinished elements and shortcomings in current EU policies and approaches to migration, asylum and borders, particularly those applying in southern EU maritime borders and frontier states in the Mediterranean. This book provides a critical examination of the main issues and lessons learned from this crisis and gives an up-to-date assessment of the main policy, legal and institutional responses that have been put in place at the EU level. It further examines the extent to which these responses can be expected to work under the current system of sharing responsibilities among EU member states in assessing asylum applications and ensuring a consistent implementation of EU legal standards that comply with the rule of law and fundamental rights. This report is based on original research and draws upon the existing literature, along with the discussions of a CEPS Task Force that met over six months, under the chairmanship of Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po and former Prime Minister of Italy. The rapporteurs offer specific recommendations and possible scenarios for policy optimisation and assess the extent to which the establishment of a European Border and Asylum Service (EBAS) could address the current gaps and challenges in EU and member states' migration policies. Details: Brussels: The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), 2016. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 4, 2017 at: https://www.ceps.eu/system/files/TFR%20EU%20Border%20and%20Coast%20Guard%20with%20cover_0.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: https://www.ceps.eu/system/files/TFR%20EU%20Border%20and%20Coast%20Guard%20with%20cover_0.pdf Shelf Number: 145880 Keywords: AsylumBorder SecurityImmigration EnforcementImmigration PolicyRefugees |
Author: Gehrsitz, Markus Title: Jobs, Crime, and Votes - A Short-run Evaluation of the Refugee Crisis in Germany Summary: Millions of refugees made their way to Europe between 2014 and 2015, with over one million arriving in Germany alone. Yet, little is known about the impact of this inflow on labor markets, crime, and voting behavior. This article uses administrative data on refugee allocation and provides an evaluation of the short-run consequences of the refugee inflow. Our identification strategy exploits that a scramble for accommodation determined the assignment of refugees to German counties resulting in exogeneous variations in the number of refugees per county within and across states. Our estimates suggest that migrants have not displaced native workers but have themselves struggled to find gainful employment. We find very small increases in crime in particular with respect to drug offenses and fare-dodging. Our analysis further suggests that counties which experience a larger influx see neither more nor less support for the main anti-immigrant party than counties which experience small migrant inflows. Details: Mannheim: Centre for European Economic Research, 2016. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: ZEW Discussion Paper No. 16-086 : Accessed February 13, 2017 at: http://www.zew.de/en/publikationen/jobs-crime-and-votes-a-short-run-evaluation-of-the-refugee-crisis-in-germany/?cHash=d082c304ea3aca820856d2c78c22852b Year: 2016 Country: Germany URL: http://www.zew.de/en/publikationen/jobs-crime-and-votes-a-short-run-evaluation-of-the-refugee-crisis-in-germany/?cHash=d082c304ea3aca820856d2c78c22852b Shelf Number: 145103 Keywords: ImmigrantsRefugeesUnemployment and Crime |
Author: Ellis, B. Heidi Title: Understanding Pathways to and Away from Violent Radicalization among Resettled Somali Refugees Summary: The overall objective of the proposed project was to understand pathways to diverse outcomes among Somali immigrants: why do some embrace greater openness to violent extremism, while others with shared life histories move towards gangs, crime, or resilient outcomes such as civic engagement? To what degree do these outcomes overlap? In this project we empirically examined the principle of multi-finality, or pathways leading from a shared refugee experience to multiple outcomes. Understanding these different trajectories, and the factors that shape an individual's progress towards diverse outcomes, provides critical information to local and state government agencies as they respond to the potential threat of domestic radicalization. Somalis in North America offer a window into the remarkable potential that can be realized by refugees/immigrants despite experiences of severe adversity as well as the challenges some subgroups encounter when adjusting to life in a new country. Somalia has endured one of the longest and most brutal wars of the past 30 years. Civil war broke out in 1991 and the nation has existed in what has been described as a "perpetual anarchy" to this day (Agbiboa 2014). This enduring conflict has led to millions of Somalis being dispersed as refugees across the globe. As refugees with limited resources, many Somalis in North America are resettled in poor urban neighborhoods where they are visibly different, not only because of race or ethnicity but also because of dress, especially for women who wear a Muslim head covering. Somali refugees have also found themselves inserted into the unfamiliar black and white dichotomy that dominates American racial discourse (Kusow 2006). In this regard, though Somalis came to North America to escape the horrors of war, they often find themselves facing new problems, such as lack of jobs, loss of status, high levels of neighborhood violence, and racial and ethnic discrimination (Betancourt et al. 2014; Abdi 2015). In addition, the community has been plagued by violence. For example, in Minneapolis, MN, where the greatest number of Somali refugees in the US has settled, the community has faced gang violence and the threat of youth radicalizing simultaneously. In the two-year period between December 2007 and January 2010, eleven Somali American youth were killed in gang violence in the twin cities and twenty left to join Al-Shabaab (Yuen 2010). More recently, nine Somali youth have been arrested and have been sentenced or are awaiting sentences for their attempts to join (Yuen, Ibrahim, and Aslanian 2015;Yuen, Ibrahim, & Xaykaothao, 2016). While the number of Somali American youth joining these groups are small and while the majority of Somali Americans are law-abiding citizens, the terrorist groups' ability to recruit these youth and to convince some of them to engage in violent acts is concerning not only to policymakers and law enforcement but also to the Somali community's which fears losing more youth to violence or having the community reputation sullied by being associated with terrorism. While some of the social and cultural factors affecting Somalis are unique to that ethnic group, they also share experiences common to many immigrants - navigating identity development and duality as they move between home and host cultures, contending with discrimination as religious, racial and ethnic minorities, and striving to achieve their dreams while struggling to gain socioeconomic stability. Thus understanding their developmental trajectories may inform our understanding of other immigrant and refugee groups as well. Details: Boston: Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 2016. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2017 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250415.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250415.pdf Shelf Number: 146650 Keywords: ExtremismExtremist GroupsRadical GroupsRadicalizationRefugeesSomali ImmigrantsTerrorismViolent Radicalization |
Author: Cuthbert, Neil Title: Removal of Failed Asylum Seekers in Australia: A Comparative Perspective Summary: This working paper reviews the current policy of removing failed asylum seekers in Australia and draws lessons from similar policy areas and reforms in the United Kingdom and Canada. The authors put forward five policy recommendations. First, forcible removal of failed asylum seekers should be used as a last resort. Second, timely processing and removal is critical and deadlines could be reintroduced. Third, immigration detention periods can be shortened. Fourth, Australia would benefit from stronger international cooperation, including readmission agreements with countries of origin. Lastly, and most importantly, policymakers must ensure that removal of failed asylum seekers adheres to the principle of non‑refoulement. Details: Sydney: Lowry Institute, 2017. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 3, 2017 at: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/documents/Removal%20of%20failed%20asylum%20seekers%20in%20Australia.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/documents/Removal%20of%20failed%20asylum%20seekers%20in%20Australia.pdf Shelf Number: 144701 Keywords: Asylum SeekersHuman RightsImmigration EnforcementImmigration PolicyRefugees |
Author: Australia. Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee Title: Serious allegations of abuse, self-harm and neglect of asylum seekers in relation to the Nauru Regional Processing Centre, and any like allegations in relation to the Manus Regional Processing Centre Summary: Australia's policy of offshore processing has been the subject of a number of Senate inquiries. These inquires have been highly critical of many aspects of the Regional Processing Centre (RPC) policy. The evidence which this committee has received has fallen primarily within three main areas: - the operation and administration of RPCs, including service delivery, incident reporting, and health, safety and welfare; - the offshore processing policy itself, including whether it is effective, lawful, and/or represents 'value for money'; and - looking to the future, including how Australia can expedite third country resettlement options. A substantial part of this report is devoted to recording the high number of incident reports made public through the publication of 'the Nauru files', and supported by evidence from submitters to this inquiry. While evidence of this nature is not new, and reflects evidence which has been presented to previous inquiries, it is the first time that this volume and detail of information has been publicly available. Some of the reports are recordings of allegations made by refugees and asylum seekers, and many contain information which workers have observed first hand. The content is deeply concerning. Collectively, these reports paint the picture of a deeply troubled asylum seeker and refugee population, and an unsafe living environment - especially for children. Even more troublingly, these reports only record those incidents which have actually been reported to workers, or which workers have themselves observed. Undoubtedly, they do not reflect the true prevalence of such incidents. In its current manifestation, Australia's policy of offshore processing is deeply affected by structural complexity. Despite the efforts of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (the department), its contractors and sub-contractors, and other related stakeholders, there are clear failures by the department in administering the current policy in a safe and transparent manner. The policy structure is complex, and it relies heavily on the private sector to administer the day-to-day management of the scheme. This structural complexity has led to a lack of accountability and transparency in the administration of the policy, and a failure to clearly acknowledge where the duty of care lies in relation to those asylum seekers and refugees. For a policy which represents such a significant investment of Australian public funds, this lack of accountability is disturbing. Details: Sydney: The Senate, 2017. 245p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed May 2, 2017 at: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/NauruandManusRPCs/Report Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 145239 Keywords: Asylum SeekersHuman Rights AbusesRefugees |
Author: Rodriguez, Alicia Title: Unwelcome Visitors: Challenges faced by people visiting immigration detention Summary: Every day, ordinary Australians visit people detained in Australia's onshore immigration detention facilities. This is an important and often under-appreciated role. These visitors provide emotional support to people in detention, advocate on their behalf and fill in the gaps that exist in provision of services and information in immigration detention facilities. It is not easy to visit people in immigration detention, to hear their stories and to speak up for those who are the victims of Australia's current punitive approach to people seeking asylum. Visiting immigration detention facilities takes time, energy and commitment, and often has a significant impact on the wellbeing of visitors. Yet, all too often, we hear some politicians and media outlets falsely blaming these visitors and advocates for encouraging people to harm themselves or to disobey rules. Over the past year, the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) has increasingly heard from these visitors that security conditions in immigration detention facilities are being intensified and it is now more difficult to visit people in immigration detention. Correspondingly, people in immigration detention are becoming increasingly isolated from the wider community, with negative impacts on their mental and physical wellbeing. These concerns led us to conduct a national study to explore these issues further. This report is the result of our extensive research and consultations with detention visitors and people previously held in detention. It explores the challenges faced by people when trying to access detention facilities, including: constantly changing rules and their inconsistent application difficulties in arranging a visit, including searches and drug tests lack of adequate space in visitor rooms in some facilities arbitrary rules and intensified security conditions that make visits less friendly, and specific challenges faced by religious visitors. This report identifies the impacts of those difficulties on both visitors and people detained and puts forward a number of recommendations to address those challenges. This report showcases the spirit of volunteerism in Australia, presenting the accounts of many volunteers who continue visiting detention facilities despite difficulties, so they can bring people hope and get their voices and concerns heard. People who visit immigration detention often provide the only public information about what is happening in our immigration detention facilities. This is because Australia does not have an official national body that publicly and regularly reports on visits to immigration detention facilities. The Refugee Council of Australia welcomes the Australian Government's commitment to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) by the end of 201 We hope that this will result in greater scrutiny of immigration detention and ultimately better treatment of those in detention. Details: Sydney: Refugee Council of Australia, 2017. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Report No. 2/17: Accessed August 4, 2017 at: http://apo.org.au/system/files/100721/apo-nid100721-409001.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/system/files/100721/apo-nid100721-409001.pdf Shelf Number: 146696 Keywords: Asylum SeekersDetention CentersImmigrant DetentionImmigration EnforcementPrison VisitorsRefugees |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund Title: Harrowing Journeys: Children and youth on the move across the Mediterranean Sea, at risk of trafficking and exploitation Summary: Young migrants and refugees set out to escape harm or secure better futures - and face staggering risks in the process. For 17-year-old Mohammad, who travelled through Libya to seek asylum in Italy, violence and persecution back home meant the choice was clear: "We risked our lives to come here," he says, "we crossed a sea. We knew it is not safe, so we sacrificed. We do it, or we die." For children and youth on the move via the Mediterranean Sea routes to Europe, the journey is marked by high levels of abuse, trafficking and exploitation. Some are more vulnerable than others: those travelling alone, those with low levels of education and those undertaking longer journeys. Most vulnerable of all are those who, like Mohammad, come from sub-Saharan Africa. These findings come from a new UNICEF and International Organization for Migration (IOM) analysis of the journeys of some 11,000 migrant and refugee children (adolescents aged 14-17) and youth (18-24), as recorded in their responses to the Displacement Tracking Matrix Flow Monitoring Surveys conducted by IOM along the Central and Eastern Mediterranean routes to Europe in 2016 and 2017. The analysis reveals that while adolescents and youth are at greater risk than adults on both routes, the Central Mediterranean route to Italy is singularly dangerous. It takes most young migrants and refugees through Libya, where they contend with pervasive lawlessness and violence and are often detained, by state authorities and others. On both routes, additional years of education and travelling in a group, whether with family or not, afford young migrants and refugees a measure of protection. But where they come from outweighs either of these factors. An adolescent boy from subSaharan Africa, who has secondary education and travels in a group along the Central Mediterranean route, faces a 73 per cent risk of being exploited. If he came from another region, the risk would drop to 38 per cent. Anecdotal reports and qualitative research from the Mediterranean region and elsewhere suggest that racism underlies this difference. Countless testimonies from young migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa make clear that they are treated more harshly and targeted for exploitation because of the colour of their skin. The story that emerges from the data confirms the tragic reality that adolescents and youth are prepared to pay a high price for a chance at a better life. Those interviewed in the surveys are among millions on the move worldwide, as recent decades have seen high levels of displacement, across borders and within countries. Many flee brutal conflicts or violence, while others move in search of prospects for better education or livelihoods. With regular migration pathways barred for most, those seeking to make their way across borders often place their fates in the hands of smugglers. This alone leaves them dependent and vulnerable. They risk life and limb as they travel through harsh environments - and suffer appalling abuse and exploitation if they fall into the hands of traffickers, armed groups or other predators. As the world continues to grapple with the reality of migration and displacement, the findings from this report underscore the urgent need for action. To protect the most vulnerable among those on the move, UNICEF and IOM call for a multi-pronged strategy that addresses the interplay of factors that expose migrant and refugee children and youth to risk - or help keep them safe. Such a strategy includes expanding safe and regular migration channels to dampen the demand for smugglers, while fighting trafficking and exploitation. To enhance the resilience and protect the rights of children and youth, it entails investing in education and other basic services, coordinating child protection efforts across countries, and fighting racism and xenophobia in the countries migrants and refugees travel through and the ones in which they seek to make their lives. Details: New York: UNICEF, 2017. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 13, 2017 at: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Harrowing_Journeys_Children_and_youth_on_the_move_across_the_Mediterranean.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Harrowing_Journeys_Children_and_youth_on_the_move_across_the_Mediterranean.pdf Shelf Number: 147236 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsChild TraffickingHuman SmugglingHuman TraffickingRefugees |
Author: Harrington, Ben Title: Overview of the Federal Government's Power to Exclude Aliens Summary: The Supreme Court has determined that inherent principles of sovereignty give Congress "plenary power" to regulate immigration. The core of this power - the part that has proven most impervious to judicial review - is the authority to determine which aliens may enter the country and under what conditions. The Court has determined that the executive branch, by extension, has broad authority to enforce laws concerning alien entry mostly free from judicial oversight. Two principles frame the scope of the political branches' power to exclude aliens. First, nonresident aliens abroad cannot challenge exclusion decisions because they do not have constitutional or statutory rights with respect to entry. Second, even when the exclusion of a nonresident alien burdens the constitutional rights of a U.S. citizen, the government need only articulate a "facially legitimate and bona fide" justification to prevail against the citizen's constitutional challenge. The first principle is the foundation of the Supreme Court's immigration jurisprudence, so well established that the Court has not had occasion to apply it directly in recent decades. The second principle, in contrast, has given rise to the Court's modern exclusion jurisprudence. In three important cases since 1972 - Kleindienst v. Mandel, Fiallo v. Bell, and the splintered Kerry v. Din - the Court applied the "facially legitimate and bona fide" test to deny relief to U.S. citizens who claimed that the exclusion of certain aliens violated the citizens' constitutional rights. In each case, the Court accepted the government's stated reasons for excluding the aliens without scrutinizing the underlying facts. This deferential standard of review effectively foreclosed the U.S. citizens' constitutional challenges. Nonetheless, the Court refrained in all three cases from deciding whether the power to exclude aliens has any limitations. Particularly with regard to the executive branch, the Court left an unexplored margin at the outer edges of the power. In March 2017, President Trump issued an executive order temporarily barring many nationals of six Muslim-majority countries and all refugees from entering the United States, subject to limited waivers and exemptions. This order replaced an earlier executive order that a federal appellate court had enjoined as likely unconstitutional. Upon challenges brought by U.S. citizens and entities, two federal appellate courts determined that the revised order is likely unlawful, one under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the other under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Supreme Court agreed to review those cases and, for the meantime, has ruled that the Executive may not apply the revised order to exclude aliens who have a "bona fide relationship" with a U.S. person or entity. In reaching this interim solution, the Supreme Court considered only equitable factors and carefully avoided any discussion of the merits of the constitutional and statutory challenges against the revised order. Even so, the Court's temporary restriction of the executive power to exclude nonresident aliens abroad is remarkable when compared with the Court's earlier immigration jurisprudence. The merits of these so-called "Travel Ban" cases raise significant questions about the extent to which the rights of U.S. citizens limit the executive power to exclude aliens. It seems relatively clear that, under existing jurisprudence, the "facially legitimate and bona fide" standard should govern the Establishment Clause claims against the revised executive order. However, Supreme Court precedent does not clarify whether that standard contains an exception that might permit courts to test the government's proffered justification for an exclusion by examining the underlying facts in particular circumstances. Nor does Supreme Court precedent resolve whether the standard governs U.S. citizens' statutory claims against executive exercise of the exclusion power, or even whether such statutory claims are cognizable. The outcome of the Travel Ban cases would likely turn upon these issues, if the Supreme Court were to decide the cases on the merits rather than on a threshold question such as mootness (a key issue in light of a presidential proclamation modifying the entry restrictions at issue in the cases). Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2017. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: CRS Report R44969: Accessed October 4, 2017 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R44969.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R44969.pdf Shelf Number: 147541 Keywords: ImmigrantsImmigration EnforcementImmigration PolicyRefugees |
Author: Segrave, Marie Title: Temporary Migration and Family Violence: An analysis of victimisation, vulnerability and support Summary: Across Australia, governments at every level (federal, state and territory, and local) have moved to put family violence on the public agenda. Campaigns, policies and funding are being directed towards supporting victim-survivors and preventing future generations from experiencing the high levels of entrenched family violence that exist today. Family violence does not discriminate. However, it is known that for various subsets of the population, both the experience of family violence and the support and response options do vary, in some cases significantly. The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (VRCFV) acknowledged the importance of recognising these points of differentiation among key groups, which include, but are not limited to, immigrant and refugee groups, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer (LGBTIQ) community, and those who have physical or intellectual disabilities or impairments. In the Second Action Plan 2013-2016, as part of the Commonwealth National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022, it was recognised that 'learning more about violence against these groups of women [including CALD women, as well as Indigenous women and women with a disability] is critical if we are to make violence against all women stop' (Commonwealth of Australia 2013: 23). This report presents the results of the first comprehensive study of a subset of the immigrant and refugee community: temporary migrants. This group is comprised of those who are in Australia on temporary visas, which include partner-related visas, as well as working, student, visitor and other temporary visas. The visa and migration system in Australia is complex. This complexity is not canvassed in detail here but, where relevant, is referred to in the report for greater clarification. The main focus in this report is on temporary migrant women, whose status can be divided based on whether or not they are on a partner visa that offers a pathway to permanent residency. For women who are on such a partner visa, there are provisions in the Migration Act that enable women to access permanent residency if a relationship breaks down due to family violence, via the family violence provisions, as summarised (and simplified). For women who are not on this pathway - most often women not on temporary partner visas - there is no such safety net. Details: Melbourne: School of Social Sciences, Monash University, 2017. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 17, 2017 at: http://apo.org.au/system/files/114311/apo-nid114311-451086.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/system/files/114311/apo-nid114311-451086.pdf Shelf Number: 147699 Keywords: Family Violence Intimate Partner Violence Migrants Migration RefugeesViolence Against Women, Children |
Author: Kofol, Chiara Title: Child Labor and the Arrival of Refugees: Evidence from Tanzania Summary: The impact of hosting refugees on child labor in host countries is unclear. This paper estimates both the short and the long term consequences of hosting refugees fleeing from the genocides of Rwanda and Burundi in the Kagera region of Tanzania between 1991 and 2004. The study uses longitudinal data from the Kagera Health and Development Survey. Using the exogenous nature of refugee settlement in Kagera due to geographic and logistical reasons, we find the causal impact of hosting refugees on child labor and children's schooling outcomes. The results suggest that the impact of hosting refugees on children living in Kagera decreases child labor in the short run (between 1991 and 1994), but increases it in the longer run (1991-2004). The results are heterogeneous across gender and age. The study aims at understanding the mechanisms behind the variation in child labor outcome due to the forced migration shock exploring various channels. Details: Bonn: Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), 2017. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: IZA Discussion Paper No. 11242: Accessed January 31, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3097360 Year: 2017 Country: Tanzania URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3097360 Shelf Number: 148934 Keywords: Child LaborChild WelfareForced MigrationRefugees |
Author: Byrne, Kevin Title: Protected on Paper? An analysis of Nordic country responses to asylum-seeking children Summary: This research, commissioned by the Nordic National Committees for UNICEF, examines to what extent the rights of asylum-seeking children are respected and protected in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The report reviews relevant national legislative and policy frameworks; examines how these are implemented; documents good practices; and highlights gaps in national standards and their compliance to international standards. It makes some broad recommendations on how to strengthen and extend legal, policy and practice frameworks to ensure the full realization and protection of child asylum seekers' rights and entitlements in the Nordic region. It further provides country-specific detailed, practical recommendations on how to ensure protection and welfare for asylum-seeking children. It makes country-specific recommendations on how legal, policy and practice frameworks can be strengthened to ensure full protection of children's rights and entitlements. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, 2018. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2018 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/NORDIC%2028%20LOWRES.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/NORDIC%2028%20LOWRES.pdf Shelf Number: 149608 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsChild ProtectionRefugees |
Author: Park, Maki Title: Responding to the ECEC Needs of Children of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Europe and North America Summary: In Europe and North America, the arrival of heightened numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in recent years has challenged the ability of governments and service providers to both meet initial reception needs and provide effective long-term integration services. Young children make up a significant share of these newcomers. As a result, there is a pressing need for early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs equipped to serve culturally and linguistically diverse learners and their families, including by supporting the healthy development of children who have experienced trauma. his report explores the findings of a nine-country study of ECEC policies and practices designed to serve young children of refugees and asylum seekers. It draws on fieldwork conducted in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States-major host countries with varied refugee and asylum-seeker populations, migration-management policies, and ECEC systems-to highlights both common challenges and promising practices. In many of the countries studied, country-wide responses to the ECEC needs of this population have been weak or nonexistent, as has support for the local government actors charged with ECEC service provision. And while many ECEC programs recognize the importance of trauma-informed care, few feel they have the training or resources to adequately provide it. Nonetheless, some countries and individual ECEC programs have developed strategies to better serve these children-from expanding services and language supports, to offering health and educational services in one location, to boosting stakeholder coordination through interagency and community partnerships. Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2018. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 19, 2018 at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/responding-ecec-needs-children-refugees-asylum-seekers-europe-north-america Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/responding-ecec-needs-children-refugees-asylum-seekers-europe-north-america Shelf Number: 149857 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChildren of ImmigrantsImmigration PolicyRefugees |
Author: Bruni, Vittorio Title: Study on Migration Routes in West and Central Africa Summary: This report provides an overview of the complex migration trends in West and Central Africa. Based on a desk review of the existing literature and data, the report presents the main drivers and trends of migration in the region, the main routes migrants take to move from the region to get to Europe, migrant vulnerabilities, and the policy and programme responses to migration (multilateral and inter-regional frameworks, regional organizations, and bilateral agreements). The migration contexts of thirteen countries in West and Central Africa are examined: Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. These countries are, to different extents, all origin, transit, and/or destination countries of migrants. In West and Central Africa, asylum seekers, refugees, and economic migrants move within the region and beyond it, motivated by different and often overlapping factors, including conflicts, political and socio-economic conditions, and environmental causes. Economic migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, tend to use similar migration routes and modes of travel. Among the group of migrants originating from the focus countries there are also irregular migrants and victims of human trafficking. For most "irregular" West-African migrants, migration is "regular" in the sense that movements of citizens of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are prescribed by the freedom of movement protocols of ECOWAS. However, while citizens in this region have the right to free movement, they often lack the correct or recognised documents for movement, making them "irregular" migrants in the region. Even with the ECOWAS free movement protocol in place, there are many barriers to regular migration for prospective migrants, including administrative and bureaucratic challenges and a lack of governmental ability to implement ECOWAS legislations. Corruption is also a major impediment to regular migration, as paying bribes to border patrols is, in many countries, an institutionalised norm. Bribes are often required even when migrants are in possession of proper documentation. Most migrants in the West and Central African region move within the region, and they largely do so by travelling by highways in private cars or buses. Contrary to popular belief, the minority of people that migrate from the region seek to reach Europe. Among those migrants that seek to reach Europe, most rely for the last part of their journey on smugglers that will bring them from some northern Nigerien or Malian cities to either Algeria or, more commonly, Libya. Generally, the complex nature of migration in the region makes it a challenge to identify different types of migrants and their specific vulnerabilities and needs. For these reasons, the flows of migration in the region are often referred to as mixed or complex migration. Details: Maastricht, Netherlands: Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, 2017. 170p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed April 27, 2018 at: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/uploads/1518182884.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Africa URL: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/uploads/1518182884.pdf Shelf Number: 149927 Keywords: Asylum SeekersBorder SecurityHuman TraffickingImmigrantsImmigration PolicyMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Marchand, Katrin Title: Study on Migration Routes in the East and Horn of Africa Summary: This report provides an overview of the complex mixed migration trends in the East and Horn of Africa. Based on a desk review of the existing literature and data on the main drivers and trends of migration in the region, the main routes, migrant vulnerabilities and needs as well as policy and programme responses to migration are presented. Specifically, the mixed migration context of eight countries in the East and Horn of Africa is examined: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. These countries are, to different extents, all origin, transit and/ or destination countries of migrants. In the East and Horn of Africa, asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants move within the region as well as beyond for a variety of different factors, including conflicts, political and socio-economic conditions as well as environmental causes in their respective countries of origin. These migrants often use the same migration routes and modes of travel, including smugglers. In addition, victims of trafficking may also be among these migrants. Overall, this mixed nature of migration in the region makes it a challenge to identify different types of migrants and their specific vulnerabilities and needs. Drivers of Migration The factors that lead people to make the decision to migrate through both regular and irregular channels are often called the drivers of migration. This includes both voluntary and forced movements as well as temporary and permanent ones. The countries in the East and Horn of Africa share many characteristics, but differ in others. It can be said that the region as a whole faces challenges associated with low human and economic development. In addition, violent conflicts, political oppression and persecution are or have been main migration drivers in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. In the case of Eritrea the obligatory national service requirements present another significant driver of migration. Environmental factors are also increasingly affecting countries in the region and impact peoples' livelihoods and migration decisions. Migration from Uganda and Kenya is mainly driven by economic factors. Often it is a mix of different factors that lead to the decision to migrate. It is important to keep in mind that even though the eight focus countries share some common drivers of migration the specific country context matters. Details: Maastricht, Netherlands: Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, 2017. 114p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 27, 2018 at: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/uploads/1517475164.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Africa URL: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/uploads/1517475164.pdf Shelf Number: 149929 Keywords: Asylum Seekers Border Security Human TraffickingImmigrants Immigration Policy Migrants Refugees |
Author: Chung, Donna Title: Young Women from African Backgrounds and Sexual Violence Summary: Service providers have recently reported increasing numbers of young African women accessing unplanned pregnancy and relationship services, with related concerns about domestic violence. This research explores how young women, aged 18 to 25 years, from African refugee and migrant backgrounds understand and experience sexual coercion and violence, and how service providers respond to their needs. The study drew on an online survey of service providers, individual and group interviews with young women from African backgrounds, and focus groups with service providers. The researchers faced challenges due to the sensitive nature of the topic of sexual violence and the silence that surrounds it, but achieved interviews and focus groups involved 21 young women. They found no agreement among the young women about what constitutes sexual violence, which was mostly defined in terms of stranger rape. Concerns about community judgement and exclusion, arising from stigma associated with sexual violence and the myths, beliefs and attitudes surrounding it created barriers for young women from African backgrounds speaking about men's sexualised behaviour. These barriers were compounded by other barriers such as language, transport, caring responsibilities, work/study commitments and other settlement issues. Service providers' input to the study highlighted the need for future service efforts being directed towards education and awareness raising, using culturally appropriate methods and sites. There is a need for increased cultural sensitivity and responsiveness of organisational and worker practices to improve their capability of working with young people from African backgrounds, together with specialist sexual violence responses for younger women in their early teens. Details: Canberra: Criminology Research Advisory Council. 2018. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 30, 2018 at: http://crg.aic.gov.au/reports/1718/07-1213-FinalReport.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: http://crg.aic.gov.au/reports/1718/07-1213-FinalReport.pdf Shelf Number: 149969 Keywords: African Women Domestic ViolenceGender-Based Violence Migrants Refugees Sexual Coercion Sexual Violence Victim Services Violence Against Women |
Author: Liddell, Marg Title: Evaluation of the Walking Alongside Program (WAP) Summary: This report on the evaluation of the Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre's (FKCLC) Walking Alongside Program (WAP) presents findings on the extent to which the outcomes of the program have fulfilled its objectives to date. The WAP is a socio-legal support program for young people of Sudanese and other African migrant/refugee backgrounds pursuing police accountability through often long-running legal actions. It was developed as an adjunct to the FKCLC's Police Accountability Project (PAP)in recognition of its client group's vulnerability and need for ongoing support. The outcome objectives this evaluation set out to measure include enhanced legal, health and educational outcomes; enhanced police accountability; improvements in health and well-being; enhanced community capacity, safety and resilience; reduction in social exclusion and barriers to justice; and whether the WAP is an effective model for replication. A qualitative approach to the evaluation was taken involving interviews and case file analysis. Academic and policy literature on the themes of hope, social exclusion, wellbeing, and community capacity was reviewed as these represent important aspects of the migrant/refugee resettlement experience. While the complexity and overlap of these concepts is acknowledged in the literature, a general consensus emerges about their core meanings, as we discuss. We also consider the literature on therapeutic jurisprudence since this principle underpins the FKCLCs approach to its work. The assumption is that legal processes and interactions can have both harmful and helpful consequences. The FKCLC clearly sees its role as remedying any harmful effects and promoting access to justice for individuals and communities in the inner west region of Melbourne and beyond. These themes are central to the WAP and highlight the important role this kind of program plays to ensure that migrants and refugees in the Flemington and Kensington area (and elsewhere) are welcomed, supported and treated as equal members of our multicultural society. That is not, however, to downplay or disregard the rich diversity within and between communities. The emphasis on participant-driven evaluation in the literature cautions against adopting predetermined constructs or measures. We acknowledge, therefore, that the construct 'refugee youth' itself "can mask the diverse ways in which a young person from a refugee background experiences the world" (Brough et al. 2003: 195): as a young black person, man, woman, migrant, refugee, African, Somalian, Sudanese, Nuer, Dinka, Shilluk, for example. The literature highlights the need to allow and encourage interviewees to give voice to their own experience, rather than impose preconceived measures upon them. Also that in-depth narrative accounts provide a rich source of qualitative data about both individual and shared experience. We prepared interview questions that were designed to elicit and capture narrative accounts of the views and experiences of WAP participants, their family members, and support professionals. Thematic content analysis of the qualitative data provided the basis for this evaluation. A total of thirteen interviews were conducted. The very low take-up rate for interviews with WAP participants - only four were possible - reflects these young people's vulnerability, disengagement, and the difficulty gaining access to this group. Some of the professionals interviewed referred to a period of six to nine months needed to gain their trust. This timeframe extended beyond that available for the evaluation. Interview data was therefore supplemented by analysis of twenty WAP files, which enabled the researchers to obtain a broader picture of the role of the youth engagement officers (YEOs) as well as a view on whether the overall objectives of the WAP had been met. Difficulties also arose in locating family members to interview, with only one coming forward. Eight professionals were interviewed: three from FKCLC, and five support professionals who worked with the same group of young people or with other disengaged youth in the Western region. Although the sample was small, data from the file analysis and individual interviews indicated that most of the objectives of the WAP were being met. Frequent accolades of the YEO, both past and current, related especially to their unconditional care and positive regard for the young people and their families, and their ability to work collaboratively with other services to provide holistic case management. Interviews with professionals reflected a deep understanding of the WAP client group and many referred to this group's vulnerability and disengagement from family, community and the service system. The professionals commented on the value of the PAP and the WAP and the importance of the notion of 'walking alongside' people engaged in protracted human rights litigation. All professionals indicated that the YEO was able to undertake tasks that they were often unable to, due to the flexibility of the YEO's role in providing unlimited and unconditional support, regardless of the client's situation. They believed that, without the YEO, many of the young people would not have pursued or continued with their police accountability cases. The advocacy role of the YEO was pivotal in raising awareness of the plight of the people linked to both the WAP and the PAP. This was reinforced with examples of over-policing and discrimination. While there were criticisms of police there were also comments that some police engaged positively with African young people in inner west Melbourne. The overwhelming view expressed was that more police needed to understand and be prepared to engage in an appropriate and respectful manner with African migrants/refugees. WAP participants interviewed indicated the value of the program, with reference to the YEO's ability to stick with them or "hang in there" with young people "no matter what." Participants felt that this helped the young people combat a sense of helplessness and to feel empowered, more confident to pursue their rights. For some this had translated into an ability to advocate for themselves and others, leading their peers in ways to effectively respond to police and to become model responsible citizens. Testament to the YEO's commitment was that WAP clients maintained and/or resumed contact with them. Support and interpretation of court proceedings by the YEO enabled the legal and non-legal proceedings to be brought together and this reduced the stress for the WAP clients. This was important for not just the FKCLC staff but for other staff working with the WAP clients. All those interviewed, including the WAP clients, felt that there was value in the WAP concept being replicated in other community legal centres. They felt that as well as human rights and police accountability cases it could be extended to support people involved in criminal and civil litigation. This was reinforced in comments that the YEO was able to provide systemic advocacy and be inclusive and collaborative in her work with a range of services, both legal and non-legal. Without the WAP the participants felt that "things would return to the way they were" and this would mean a reduction in police accountability. It would also mean that young people would have no place to go when they felt that they were being targeted or discriminated against. All interviewees referred to there being insufficient funding and time for the current YEO position. All thought that the funding should be extended as this would give the YEO greater capacity to assist more young people, as well as advocate for change in the way that young people are dealt with in legal, criminal and civil proceedings. While the data sets were small, sufficient information emerged to determine that the WAP objectives were being met, and to support the recommendation that the program be continued and extended. Recommendations From the findings of this evaluation, we recommend the following: 1. The Youth Engagement Officer (YEO) should be funded to cover more days of the week - currently the position is funded for three days. 2. Consideration should be given to employing an additional YEO. 3. The funding for the Walking Alongside Program (WAP) should be extended to include more time: - to work with police to improve the collaborative relationships between police and the young people being supported by the WAP - while this is currently being undertaken by the Chief Executive Officer of the Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre (FKCLC) there is clearly a role for a YEO in this process; - to be able to provide support to more people over more days of the week; - to make improvements to the internal procedures in managing the cases; - so that collection of information from the point at which the Youth Engagement Officers commences contact with the Police Accountability Program and vice versa can be documented and internal file sharing and file management can be streamlined. 4. Consideration should be given for FKCLC to take a leadership and advocacy role to assist other Community Legal Centres to undertake legal and non-legal advocacy work. This could include: - Human rights and public interest litigation - Criminal and civil litigation. This emphasis should be on the collaborative role of the YEO to facilitate, support and advocate for program participants' access to the range of services required to meet their wider social and emotional needs. 5. FKCLC and the YEO should use these findings to continue to raise awareness, as Higgs (2013) suggests, of: - the value of giving young people hope to develop pathways away from behaviours that are harmful to themselves and others; - the need to recognise and acknowledge injustices that many young people experience and work to remedy these to improve their overall well-being; - the need to establish more inclusionary practices so that young people can feel part of a community of care, within the broader community. 6. Recognising that the FKCLC has helped clients to become advocates and peer leaders, we recommend this model be expanded to train other young people as mentors to work alongside the YEO and the community. 7. While the study was small there were sufficient comments on police behaviour to suggest that police training be enhanced to include anti-bias training. A recent example of six young African men being asked to leave an Apple store suggests that such bias is a wider community problem. 8. Further qualitative research (such as life narratives and participant observations- see Fangen 2010) is required to explore and raise awareness of the problems African youth and their families encounter in settling in a new country, given the traumatic experiences they have often faced in their home country. Details: Melbourne: RMIT University, 2015. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 31, 2018 at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Diana_Johns/publication/304269475_Evaluation_of_the_Walking_Alongside_Program_WAP/links/576b612808aef2a864d211ae/Evaluation-of-the-Walking-Alongside-Program-WAP.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Diana_Johns/publication/304269475_Evaluation_of_the_Walking_Alongside_Program_WAP/links/576b612808aef2a864d211ae/Evaluation-of-the-Walking-Alongside-Program-WAP.pdf Shelf Number: 150413 Keywords: Asylum SeekersMigrantsPolice AccountabilityPolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community RelationsPolice-Juvenile RelationsRefugees |
Author: Oikonomou, Spyros-Vlad Title: Borderlines of Despair: First-line reception of asylum seekers at the Greek borders Summary: The implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement on March 20, 2016 (henceforth the "Statement"), coupled with the closure of the so-called "Balkan Route", led to a drastic decrease of the unprecedented refugee flows experienced throughout 2015 in the Eastern Mediterranean. It also led to the entrapment of more than 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Greece, and especially on the five main island points of entry: Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos. Shortly afterwards, on April 3, 2016, the Greek Parliament adopted Law 4375/2016 (henceforth L.4375/2016), introducing the "fast-track border procedure", which though providing less safeguards for asylum seekers and applicable only under exceptional circumstances, has been since used with a view to the Statement's implementation. In the same context, the "first country of asylum" and "safe third country" clauses, which formed part of previous legislation, were now used to implement the Statement, by making it possible to return ("readmission") to Turkey not only newly arrived (at the islands) "irregular migrants," but also asylum seekers and refugees whose asylum applications would thereafter be found "inadmissible", as per a clause that had never before been previously enforced. Cumulatively, these events marked a new chapter in the Greek/European management of Migration, with one of its defining characteristics being the gradual (re)institutionalization of the overall management of Greek-bound mixed migration flows. In the meanwhile, and within this state-led re-appropriation of border management, the newly established island Reception and Identification Centers (RICs), as well as the land border RIC of Evros (RIC at Fylakio, Evros), became the frontline structures for the reception and accommodation of foreign nationals/non-nationals fleeing persecution and/or destitution. The project In this context, the current project was aimed at assessing how (and if) some aspects of the reception of third-country nationals/non-nationals at the Greek borders evolved since the Statement's implementation in March 2016, and up to the research's conclusion in April 2018. The point of reference for this was the recast European Directive on the reception of applicants for international protection (Reception Directive), which though belatedly transposed into Greek legislation on the 15th of May 2018, still provides/provided for the absolute minimum standards for the reception of third country nationals/non-nationals applying for asylum in Europe, and therefore in Greece as well. The primary analytical lens, however, was that of the experiences to which asylum seekers have been subjected throughout their initial reception at the Greek borders, in the context of their RIC-based reception and accommodation. Therefore, the main underlying questions revolved around what happens when asylum seekers arrive in Greece, to what extent are their reception and accommodation (living conditions) in line with the imperative to respect and protect their decency and rights, and what are the effects of reception towards both their short and long-term well-being, as well as their relation with their new host society. In terms of methodology, the project was based on interviews with officials and/or other professionals engaged in the field of refugee protection, field research and desk-based research. Interviews and discussions were primarily carried out with GCR personnel at the borders and in Athens and Thessaloniki, and were complemented by some 38 additional interviews with state and other officials and employees working in the field. Desk research consisted primarily of reviewing GCR's internal and published reports, legal documents, as well as reports and articles published by intergovernmental, nongovernmental and other organizations and professionals. Field research, lastly, consisted of visiting a number of refugee reception sites (RICs) and Pre-Removal Centers, of which those found at the island border regions of Lesvos and Kos, the Greek-Turkish land border of Evros, as well as two makeshift accommodation sites/squats at the city-port of Patra will be examined in the current report. Details: Athens: Greek Council Refugees, 2018. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 1, 2018 at: www.gcr.gr Year: 2018 Country: Greece URL: www.gcr.gr Shelf Number: 150433 Keywords: Asylum SeekersMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Akkerman, Mark Title: Expanding the Fortress: The policies, the profiteers and the people shaped by EU's border externalisation programme Summary: The plight of the world's 66 million forcibly displaced persons tends to only trouble the European Union's conscience when the media spotlight turns on a tragedy at Europe's borders or when displacment is perceived to be en route to Europe. Only one European nation - Germany - is even in the top ten countries worldwide that receive refugees leaving the vast majority of forcibly displaced persons hosted by some of the world's poorest nations. The invisibility therefore is only broken when border communities such as Calais, Lampedusa, Lesvos become featured in the news as desperate people fleeing violence end up dead, detained or trapped. These tragedies aren't just unfortunate results of war or conflict elsewhere, they are also the direct result of Europe's policies on migration since the Schengen agreement in 1985. This approach has focused on fortifying borders, developing ever more sophisticated surveillance and tracking of people, and increasing deportations while providing ever fewer legal options for residency despite ever greater need. This has led many forcibly displaced persons unable to enter Europe legally and forced into ever more dangerous routes to escape violence and conflict. What is less well-known is that the same European-made tragedy plays out well beyond our borders in countries as far away as Senegal and Azerbaijan. This is due to another pillar of Europe's approach to migration, known as border externalisation. Since 1992 and even more aggressively since 2005, the EU has developed a policy of externalising Europe's border so that forcibly displaced people never get to Europe's borders in the first place. These policies involve agreements with Europe's neighbouring countries to accept deported persons and adopt the same policies of border control, improved tracking of people and fortified borders as Europe. In other words, these agreements have turned Europe's neighbours into Europe's new border guards. And because they are so far from Europe's shores and media, the impacts are almost completely invisible to EU citizens. This report seeks to shine a spotlight on the policies that underpin this externalisation of Europe's borders, the agreements that have been signed, the corporations and entities that profit, and the consequences for forcibly displaced people as well as the countries and populations that host them. It is the third in a series, Border Wars, that have examined Europe's border policies and shown how the arms and security industry has helped shape European border security policies and have then reaped the rewards for ever more border security measures and contracts. This report shows a significant growth in border externalisation measures and agreements since 2005 and a massive acceleration since the November 2015 Valletta Europe - Africa Summit. Using a plethora of new instruments, in particular the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), the Migration Partnership Framework and the Refugee Facility for Turkey, the European Union and individual member states are now providing millions of euros for an array of projects to stop migration of certain people from taking place on or across European territory. This includes collaboration with third countries in terms of accepting deported persons, training of their police and border officials, the development of extensive biometric systems, and donations of equipment including helicopters, patrol ships and vehicles, surveillance and monitoring equipment. While many projects are done through the European Commission, a number of individual member states, such as Spain, Italy and Germany also take a lead in funding and training through bilateral agreements with non-EU-countries. What makes this collaboration in the context of border externalisation particularly problematic is that many of the governments receiving the support are deeply authoritarian, and the support they are receiving is often going to precisely the state security organs most responsible for repression and abuses of human rights. The European Union in all its policies has a fine rhetoric on the importance of human rights, democracy and rule of law, but there seems to be no limits to the EU's willingness to embrace dictatorial regimes as long as they commit to preventing 'irregular migration' reaching Europe's shores. As a result there have been EU agreements and funding provided to regimes as infamous as Chad, Niger, Belarus, Libya and Sudan. These policies therefore have far-reaching consequences for forcibly displaced persons, whose 'illegal' status already makes them vulnerable and more likely to face human rights abuses. Many end up in either exploitative working conditions, detention and/or get deported back to the countries they have fled from. Women refugees in particular face high risks of gender-based violence, sexual assault and exploitation. Violence and repression against forcibly displaced persons also pushes migration underground, reconfigures the business of smuggling and reinforces the power of criminal smuggling networks. As a result, many persons have been forced to look for other, often more dangerous routes and to rely on ever more unscrupulous traffickers. This leads to an even higher death toll. Moreover the strengthening of state security organs throughout the MENA, Maghreb, Sahel and Horn of Africa regions also threatens the human rights and democratic accountability of the region, particularly as it also diverts much needed resources from economic and social spending. Indeed, this report shows that Europe's obsession with preventing migrants is not only diverting resources, it is also distorting Europe's trade, aid and international relationships with the entire region. As many experts have pointed out, this is laying the ground for further instability and insecurity in the region and the likelihood of greater refugees in the future. There is however one group that have benefited greatly from the EU's border externalisation programmes. As the earlier Border Wars reports showed, it is the European military and security industry that have derived the most benefit for delivering much of the equipment and services for border security. They are accompanied by a number of intergovernmental and (semi-)public institutions that have grown significantly in recent years as they implement dozens of projects on border security and control in non-EU-countries. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute (TNI), 2018. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 30, 2018 at: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/expanding_the_fortress_-_1.6_may_11.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/expanding_the_fortress_-_1.6_may_11.pdf Shelf Number: 150748 Keywords: Border ControlBorder SecurityDeportationImmigrantsImmigrationImmigration PolicyRefugeesSmuggling of Goods |
Author: Shull, Kristina Karin Title: "Nobody Wants These People": Reagan's Immigration Crisis and America's First Private Prisons Summary: In 2013, the United States detained approximately 400,000 people in immigration custody in a network of 250 local, federal, and private jails across the country as they awaited deportation or release, at a cost of over $1.7 billion. This dissertation situates the rise of the current U.S. immigration detention system in the early 1980s within the broader context of Ronald Reagan's Cold War foreign policies and growing public xenophobia after the Vietnam War. When President Reagan entered office, he sought new ways to curtail a perceived "mass immigration emergency" caused by an increasing flow of Cubans, Haitians, and Central Americans to the United States. As the American public continued to express "compassion fatigue" towards new migrant populations, the Reagan Administration established a new security state that included the building of immigrant detention centers throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; the interdiction of migrants on the high seas; heightened border security under the "War on Drugs"; and the first uses of private prison contracting. This work traces the narratives surrounding these new enforcement measures by using Reagan Administration files, media portrayals of migrant groups, and evidence of community and public support for and against the practice of immigration detention in order to demonstrate how an ongoing fear of future mass migrations continued to justify more permanent structures of immigration detention--trends that persist to the current day. Details: Irvine, CA: University of California, Irvine, 2014. 240p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 2, 2018 at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4v54x9hp Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4v54x9hp Shelf Number: 150751 Keywords: Illegal Immigrants Immigrant Detention Immigrants Immigration Policy Private Prisons Privatization Refugees |
Author: Kanics, Jyothi, ed. Title: Migrating Alone: Unaccompanied and Separated Children's Migration to Europe Summary: The independent migration of children, while having several characteristics and many links in common with that of adults, has emerged as a specific phenomenon all over the world. The planned, forced or spontaneous decision to abandon the household and country of origin takes on a new dimension when the people involved in a long and often dangerous migration adventure are sometimes just in their early teens. Since the early 1990s, most European countries have been destination or transit points (sometimes both) for these young migrants. When confronted with the migration of unaccompanied and separated children, European national legal frameworks and government policies are known to be in continual conflict between the more or less repressive enforcement of their asylum and/or immigration rules and an ambiguous (but timid) interpretation of the international and national legal instruments created for the care of children 'in need', regardless of their origin or nationality. There is often a marked discrepancy between, on the one hand, the rights to which migrants in general, and child migrants in particular, are entitled according to international legal standards and, on the other, the effective protection they receive and the difficulties they experience in the countries where they live and work and through which they travel. This disparity between the principles agreed to by governments and the reality of individual lives underscores the vulnerability of migrants in terms of dignity and human rights. A major problem for children is that they are considered as migrants before they are considered as children - this automatically lowers their legal protection, as international standards regarding children are much more elaborated and more widely ratified than those regarding migrants. Migrants have rights under two sets of international instruments: first, the core human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the provisions of which apply universally and thus protect migrants; and second, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions that apply specifically to migrants, and to migrant workers in particular. Furthermore, children have rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). But, as with migrants generally, there is no international or regional legislative framework dealing directly with child migrants. Nonetheless, in addition to the ICCPR and ICESCR, norms regarding children's welfare in general and the protection of children from economic exploitation and harmful work are directly or indirectly relevant to children, accompanied or unaccompanied, who are in a process of forced or voluntary movement. Similarly, the protective measures within the CRC, the ILO Conventions on child labour, the UN Protocols on trafficking, and regional instruments are also relevant. Within the European Union (EU) legal framework, the protection of child migrants is very limited and no regional legal framework that adequately addresses this issue is in place. Generally, the ability to migrate or travel legally without an adult is quite limited for children, especially internationally. This means that children migrating alone are more likely to do so irregularly, thus increasing the risk of exploitation or abuse. Research into independent child migration suggests that it is usually older children who are involved in this phenomenon; that child migration is usually highest in regions where adult migration is also high; that independent child migration can be, and often is, a positive decision taken by the child with the aim of improving life opportunities; and that child migrants, like adults, rely on their social and financial resource networks when migrating. The current dominant debate in most European countries is still restricted to the national level and sometimes even to national/regional or local levels. The double or even triple level of competences in most of the national territories implies a significant spread of diverging national practices that shape the treatment of migrant children. The competences regarding immigration and asylum issues (access to the territory, identification, asylum process, immigration status) are generally assumed at national level. However, aspects relating to the care of children (evaluation of the individual situation, reception and care, guardianship or fostering) are often within the competence of regional or local authorities and practices therefore vary widely. This dispersion and confusion, combined with a lack of adequate responses to the main objectives of migrant children, mean that a significant number remain outside the control of the relevant authorities and care institutions. As a result, these unprotected migrant children live in situations of increasing vulnerability and instability as victims of trafficking and exploitation networks or simply surviving on their own, sometimes by committing illicit or unlawful activities. Despite the completion of various research studies on this issue, this reality remains broadly unidentified. The central issues of understanding how this migration is constructed in the contexts of origin, and the different factors playing a role in the migration of these children, require a more extensive examination. To date, hardly any research has been carried out on the children's main countries and regions of origin, which might indicate the main 'push factors' and the motivation behind the increasing number of departures. The main migrant children's profiles, the social and economic situation of their families and the role played by the household and the communities in the migration decision, the choice of the migration route and the function of those encountered during the journey are all key points that remain largely unknown. A better knowledge of these factors will allow not only an understanding of the migration fluxes and phenomena on a more abstract or academic level, but will prove essential if effective protection and respect for these children are to be secured. The desire to find answers to all these questions and uncertainties lay behind the organization of an international conference, 'The Migration of Unaccompanied Minors in Europe: the Contexts of Origin, the Migration Routes and the Reception Systems'. This conference, organized by the research centre MIGRINTER, University of Poitiers-CNRS and the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (based in Belgium) with the support of UNESCO's Social and Human Sciences Sector, was held in Poitiers (France) in October 2007 with the aim of creating a forum for discussion between researchers and practitioners in this field. Experts from over twenty countries participated and exchanged information on three main issues: - a comparative approach to the different legislative frameworks, policies and practices in various European countries and an overview and analysis of the protection offered at European level on the basis of international obligations; - an overview of the situation of children who lack protection in the destination countries; and - an analysis of the situation and definition of childhood and the different profiles of migrant and potential migrant children in the main countries of origin. The present publication brings together the main conclusions of the Poitiers conference. From a selection of the most relevant contributions, it seeks to provide an extensive overview of the main questions and issues outlined above. The contributors come from a wide variety of disciplines, combining mainly legal, sociological and anthropological backgrounds. They generally provide an analytical approach to the different issues from both a descriptive and a critical perspective. The three original parts of the conference have been condensed into two main parts in the book: the first five chapters describe the situation and treatment of unaccompanied and separated migrant and asylum-seeking children in the destination societies; and the following chapters analyse the main contexts of origin of migrant children and the different factors playing a role in migration choices. Details: Paris: UNESCO, 2010. 197p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 26, 2018 at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001907/190796e.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Europe URL: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001907/190796e.pdf Shelf Number: 150926 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild LaborChild Migrants Child Trafficking Immigration Enforcement Refugees Unaccompanied Children Unaccompanied Minors |
Author: Global Detention Project Title: Immigration Detention in Libya: "A Human Rights Crisis" Summary: Libya is notoriously perilous for refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, who often suffer a litany of abuses, including at the country's numerous detention facilities. Conditions at these facilities, many of which are under the control of militias, are deplorable. There are frequent shortages of water and food; over-crowding is endemic; detainees can experience physical mistreatment and torture; forced labour and slavery are rife; and there is a stark absence of oversight and regulation. Nevertheless, Italy and the European Union continue to strike controversial migration control deals with various actors in Libya aimed at reducing flows across the Mediterranean. These arrangements include equipping Libyan farces to "rescue" intercepted migrants and refugees at sea, investing in detention centres, and paying militias to control migration. KEY CONCERNS Refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants are regularly exposed to indefinite detention in centres run by the Interior Ministry's Department for Combating Illegal Immigration or local militias; Detention conditions across the country are a matter of "grave concern," according to the UN, as detainees are forced to live in severely overcrowded facilities with little food, water, or medical care, and suffer physical abuse, forced labour, slavery, and torture; The automatic placement of asylum seekers and migrants intercepted at sea in detention centres places them at risk of human rights abuses, which could be attenuated by expanding the use of shelters and other non-custodial measures that have been proposed by international experts; There do not appear to be any legal provisions regulating administrative forms of immigration detention and there is an urgent need for the country to develop a sound legal framework for its migration polices that is in line with international human rights standards; There is severely inadequate data collection by national authorities concerning the locations and numbers of people apprehended by both official agencies and non-state actors; Women and children are not recognised as requiring special attention and thus they remain particularly vulnerable to abuse and ill-treatment, including rape and human trafficking; Italy and the European Union continue to broker deals with various Libyan forces to control migration despite their involvement in severe human rights abuses and other criminal activities. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Global Detention Project, 2018. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 8, 2018 at: https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/africa/libya Year: 2018 Country: Libya URL: https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/immigration-detention-in-libya-a-human-rights-crisis Shelf Number: 151434 Keywords: Asylum SeekersHuman Rights AbusesIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigrantsImmigrationImmigration DetentionImmigration EnforcementRefugees |
Author: Podkul, Jennifer Title: Death by a Thousand Cuts: The Trump Administration's Systematic Assault on the Protection of Unaccompanied Children Summary: INTRODUCTION Since its first days, the Trump Administration has sought to limit protections for some of the most vulnerable migrants seeking protection in this country - unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children. These protections, which were carefully crafted over nearly 15 years through bipartisan dialogue and collaboration in Congress, are grounded in basic child welfare principles. These procedural protections recognize that a child who has taken a life - threatening journey of hundreds, if not thousands, of miles - without a parent or legal guardian - is uniquely at-risk and should be treated in ways that help promote fundamental fairness in helping the child access the U.S. immigration system to ensure that we do not return a child to the often life-threatening harm they have fled. Immediately after taking office in January 2017, President Trump, through a series of executive orders and published immigration priorities, categorized unaccompanied children in need of protection as opportunistic, and laws designed to give these children a fair opportunity to have their stories heard by our legal system as "loopholes." Since issuing these executive orders, the White House has also consistently supported legislative efforts that would undermine procedural protections for these children - as provided for by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), and the Flores Settlement Agreement - and limit children's access to a fair judicial process. Congress has so far not rolled back important legislative protections. Not finding legislative success, the Administration has instead turned to using its authority to implement policy changes that are dramatically undermining children's ability to access our legal system. On a surface level, these changes appear to make only small adjustments to existing procedures. But taken as a whole, they represent a systematic assault on the ability of children to access the U.S. immigration system and assert claims for protection for which they may qualify under law. Based on the Administration's own public statements and leaked drafts of forthcoming documents, the attacks on this vulnerable population will continue. Details: Washington, DC, 2018. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 11, 2018 at: https://supportkind.org/media/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-the-trump-administrations-systematic-assault-on-the-protection-of-unaccompanied-children/ Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://supportkind.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Death-by-a-Thousand-Cuts_May-2018.pdf Shelf Number: 152877 Keywords: Illegal ImmigrationImmigrantsImmigrationRefugeesVictiimization |
Author: Higginbothan, Sharon R. Title: A New Ethical Model for The Analysis of Care for Refugee Women Who Experience Female Genital Cutting Summary: The United States is rapidly becoming a location for refugee women who are migrating from countries that embrace different and distinctive practices. One such practice is Female Genital Cutting/ mutilation (FGC/m). FGC is a medical procedure that alters the natural structure and functioning of the female body. It is also a cultural tradition and custom. Until recently, worldwide studies estimated that approximately 80 to 140 million women have undergone FGC and that 228,000 of those women live in the U.S. However, the estimate of women and girls in the U.S. living with or at risk from FGC has grown from an estimated 228,000 to 513,000. Globally, FGC has raised justifiable concerns, particularly when the procedure is performed without consent. As female refugees migrate from FGC/m communities to a nonFGC/m reality, women not only bring their customs, beliefs, and values - they bring their health care needs. FGC is associated with alleged health consequences. A major challenge, then, for health care in the U.S. is how to provide care for this group of women whose native ethos is counter-cultural to the practices in the United States. When exploring FGC through a medical lens, FGC is considered an immoral practice that will result in harm and the need for healthcare. Conversely, however, when FGC is observed through the lens of respect for cultural diversity, it is not merely a negative construct, rather, it is a traditional cultural practice embraced by women who choose. The right for individuals to participate in their culture is a human right. Since FGC is a surgical intervention, care is needed for women who choose. FGC is relatively novel and unfamiliar in the United States. In that way, to provide care is realized through the Georgetown and the Global bioethics frameworks from which FGC is ethically examined. An investigation through the lens of FGC garners what is needed to construct a specific model of care. Therefore, the title of this dissertation was changed from "Female Genital Cutting: What Should Care Be For Refugee Women Experiencing Female Genital Cutting," to "A New Model for the Ethical Analysis of Care for Women Who Experience Female Genital Cutting." Details: Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University, 2015. 332p. Source: International Resource: Dissertation: Accessed October 13, 2018 at: https://dsc.duq.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1079&context=etd Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://dsc.duq.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1079&context=etd Shelf Number: 152929 Keywords: Female Genital Mutilation Medical Care RefugeesViolence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Merkle, Ortrun Title: A Gender Perspective on Corruption Encountered during Forced and Irregular Migration Summary: Policymakers are starting to pay more attention to the links between migration and corruption. This study explores a specific area of these links, by examining the ways in which corruption affects the migration journeys of women - be they regular, irregular, forced or voluntary. It does so by looking at experiences of corruption in countries of origin, transit and destination. The analysis is based on desk research and interviews with stakeholders and migrants conducted between April and May 2017. We find that corruption comes into play whenever legal options for migration are limited, and this seems to be a constant throughout all stages of the migration process of several migrant groups. While both men and women encounter corruption during the various stages of the migration process, this study finds that women are especially vulnerable to atypical forms of corruption, including sexual extortion ('sextortion') when their financial capital is limited. Women travelling alone are particularly vulnerable to different forms of corruption and sexual exploitation, which can have negative consequences on their short-, medium- and long-term mental and physical health. The report concludes that sextortion, which occurs at the intersection of sexual violence and corruption must be clearly defined as a form of corruption and a criminal offence. The report continues with policy recommendations for the country of origin, transit and destination both in the realm of anti-corruption as well as women's empowerment and concludes with suggestions for further research. Details: Eschborn, Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), 2017. 63p.p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 22, 2018 at: https://i.unu.edu/media/migration.unu.edu/attachment/4665/A-Gender-Perspective-on-Corruption-Encountered-during-Forced-and-Irregular-Migration.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://i.unu.edu/media/migration.unu.edu/attachment/4665/A-Gender-Perspective-on-Corruption-Encountered-during-Forced-and-Irregular-Migration.pdf Shelf Number: 153038 Keywords: CorruptionMigrantsMigrationRefugeesSexual ExploitationSexual ViolenceViolence Against Women |
Author: Camilleri, Michael J. Title: No Strangers at the Gate: Collective Responsibility and a Region's Response to the Venezuelan Refugee and Migration Crisis Summary: Venezuela suffers from a profound and multifaceted crisis. Years of mismanagement have led to a crippling economic contraction and an inflation rate projected to reach 1,000,000 percent in 2018. Citizens are chronically short of food and medicine and face some of the world's highest levels of violence. The governing regime has systematically dismantled democratic checks and balances, consolidating power through fraudulent elections, violent repression and the cynical use of scarcity as a tool of control. Unsurprisingly, Venezuelans are fleeing, generating the largest refugee and migration flow in the history of the Western Hemisphere - more than 1.6 million people since 2015. Most have sought refuge within Latin America, but Venezuelans are now also the leading requesters of asylum in the United States and Spain. With no end in sight for the economic, humanitarian and governance crisis in Venezuela, the forced migration challenge will only grow. The regional response to Venezuelan refugees and migrants has been marked by a spirit of solidarity. Latin American countries - particularly neighboring Colombia, where authorities report receiving 5,000 Venezuelans per day - have taken important steps to ensure freedom of movement and to provide avenues for legal stay and access to basic rights for those fleeing Venezuela. Nonetheless, many significant challenges to effective response remain. Meeting them requires reinforcing the existing regional solidarity toward Venezuelan refugees and migrants and combining it with greater creativity, collective responsibility and political will from the international community. This report aims to galvanize such an effort and offers concrete proposals for action. Details: Washington, DC: Centre for International Governance Innovation and Inter-American Dialogue, 2018. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2018 at: https://www.cigionline.org/sites/default/files/documents/CIGI_IAD_Venezuela_report-English-final.pdf Year: 2018 Country: South America URL: https://www.cigionline.org/publications/no-strangers-gate-collective-responsibility-and-regions-response-venezuelan-refugee Shelf Number: 153116 Keywords: Humanitarian ResponseMigrationMigration CrisisRefugee CrisisRefugeesSouth America |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: The Venezuelan Exodus: The Need for International Protection and the Region's Response Summary: The massive emigration of Venezuelans has generated the largest migration crisis of its kind in recent Latin American history. The Venezuelan Exodus provides an overview of where the more than 2.3 million Venezuelans who have left the country since 2014 are now living, the conditions they face, their prospects of obtaining legal status in host countries, and applicable international standards that should guide host governments' response. The political, economic, human rights, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela creates a mix of factors that cause Venezuelans to leave and makes them unable or unwilling to return. Some of these factors alone may qualify a person for refugee status, while for some others the cumulative impact of various factors could generate a valid claim for refugee status. Others fleeing Venezuela may not be refugees but would face severe hardship if returned to Venezuela and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in the countries to which they have migrated. Many governments have made considerable efforts to welcome Venezuelans. Recently, however, some governments have been shifting to a harder line, making it more difficult for Venezuelans to apply for legal status. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans remain in an irregular situation, which severely undermines their ability to obtain a work permit, send their children to school, and access health care. This makes them more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. An approach consistent with human rights requires treating Venezuelan immigrants humanely. Governments should carefully consider claims of all Venezuelans who apply for refugee status and consider adopting measures to offer legal status to other Venezuelans fleeing the crisis. They should also provide humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans who need it and carry out awareness campaigns to fight discrimination and xenophobia. Details: New York; HRW, 2018. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2018 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/venezuela0918_web.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Venezuela URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/venezuela0918_web.pdf Shelf Number: 153400 Keywords: Asylum Seekers Human Rights Abuses Immigrants Migrants Migration Policy Refugees |
Author: Rutter, Jill Title: National Conversation on Immigration: Final report Summary: Coordinated by British Future and HOPE not hate, the National Conversation engaged 19,951 people, with more than 130 meetings in 60 locations across every nation and region of the UK. Citizens' panels in each place were recruited to be representative of the local population and researchers also met local government, businesses, faith and civil society representatives. In addition to nationally representative research by ICM, an open online survey was completed by nearly 10,000 people. The approach builds on a model used by the Canadian Government to help shape its own approach to immigration. One thing we'll be calling for is that the UK Government follows their example and does more to engage the public on this important issue. The report provides a comprehensive evidence base of public views on immigration, including reports from each of the 60 locations visited and over 40 recommendations to national and local government, business and civil society. Some of the issues on which we make proposals for change include: What are the common issues raised across the UK? What are the local differences and place-specific concerns? How should Britain approach migration for work after Brexit? How do we build public confidence in the immigration system? International student migration and universities; Protecting refugees; Improving Home Office performance; How do we address prejudice, resentment and hate? How can we make integration work better? How are face-to-face discussions about immigration different to those online? Can we find consensus on immigration and, if so, how? Details: London: British Future; HOPE not hate, 2018. 268p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2018 at: http://nationalconversation.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/FINAL-2-national-conversation-september-report-2018-09-final.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://nationalconversation.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/FINAL-2-national-conversation-september-report-2018-09-final.pdf Shelf Number: 153511 Keywords: Asylum SeekersImmigrantsImmigrationImmigration PolicyMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Leutert, Stephanie Title: Asylum Processing tne Waitlists at the U.S.-Mexico Border Summary: "For more than two years, CBP has implemented "metering" procedures for asylum seekers in multiple ports of entry across the U.S.-Mexico border. However, over the past six months, these practices have become institutionalized and have been extended across the entire southern border. Currently, CBP officers are stationed at the international dividing line between the United States and Mexico at all ports of entry and provide a similar message" there is currently no processing capacity"-to arriving asylum seekers. Instead, each port of entry coordinates with Mexican officials to accept a certain number of asylum seekers every day. These shifts in CBP procedures have left lines of asylum seekers waiting in almost every major Mexican border city. Yet while CBP officers have standardized their practices, there is no set process for asylum seekers on the Mexican side of the border. While almost all border cities now have a "list" that functions as a virtual line for asylum seekers-for example, the infamous "notebook" in Tijuana-the list management and logistics vary significantly by city. For example, the actual list managers have ranged from Grupo Beta (the Mexican government agency in charge of humanitarian assistance for migrants) to civil society organizations to municipal governments, and the processing steps may entail providing asylum seekers with bracelets or taking their photos after they arrive to the U.S.-Mexico border. There are also a range of practices and dynamics in Mexican border cities that block asylum seekers from accessing U.S. ports of entry. In Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexican migration officials stationed near the international bridges have stopped all asylum seekers from crossing during the past three months. In Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Central Americans cannot access the international border bridges without temporary transit permits. In Matamoros, Tamaulipas there are allegations of asylum seekers having to pay a fee in order to get on the waiting list, and in Tijuana, Baja California asylum seekers currently face a three month wait time in order to make their claim. This report provides a snapshot of the asylum processing system at the U.S.-Mexico border, with particular attention to asylum seekers waiting in Mexico. The report compiles fieldwork carried out in eight cities along the U.S.-Mexico border in November 2018. It draws on in-person and phone interviews with government officials, law enforcement officers, representatives from civil society organizations, journalists, and members of the public on both sides of the border. The report also relies on observations carried out at ports of entry and neighboring areas, and draws from government and legal documents, and news articles to detail current asylum processing dynamics." Details: Austin, TX: Robert Strauss Center, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, Migration Policy Centre, 2018. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed Dec. 11, 2018 at: https://www.strausscenter.org/images/MSI/AsylumReport_MSI.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.strausscenter.org/images/MSI/AsylumReport_MSI.pdf Shelf Number: 153958 Keywords: Asylum SeekersBorder SecurityImmigrantsImmigration PolicyRefugees |
Author: National Juvenile Justice Network Title: Supporting Immigrant Youth Caught in the Crosshairs of the Justice System Summary: Executive Summary Out of the estimated 11.1 million noncitizen immigrants living in America today, approximately one million are children under 18 years old. Many of these youth have come to this country fleeing violence and oppression, carry complex emotional burdens from trauma, and face basic language barriers. As national anti-immigrant rhetoric has escalated to the point of associating immigrants with animals and infestation and equating immigrant youth with gang members, these youthful immigrants have often become caught in the crosshairs of the justice system. Rather than being supported to develop into successful adults, immigrant youth are more often being targeted for arrest, detention, and deportation. As immigrant youth engage with the school and youth justice systems in this country, it is incumbent upon us to treat these youth - as we aspire to treat all youth in the United States - equitably, with dignity, and in a way that supports positive youth development and the rehabilitative goals of the youth justice system. Supporting immigrant youth has become increasingly more difficult, however, as federal, state, and local jurisdictions have adopted laws and policies that are threatening to immigrant youth and their families and fail to humanely support them. These include policies that promote local cooperation with federal immigration authorities, facilitate the deportation of immigrant youth and families, fail to protect the confidentiality of young people's school and justice records, increase harm to immigrant youth involved in the justice system, and fail to provide trauma informed, culturally and linguistically competent services for immigrant youth. While some of these policies negatively impact all youth, they can have profound consequences for immigrant youth, including higher risk of detention and the possibility of deportation. All these policies further serve to traumatize and instill fear in immigrant youth, impeding their ability to follow through on the services that will lead them on the path to positive youth development. Recommendations NJJN makes the following recommendations to support policies that uplift all families and further best practices for positive youth development for all youth, regardless of immigration status. 1) Do not entangle local and state law enforcement, youth justice, and school officials with federal immigration enforcement and encourage laws and policies that support immigrant youth. 2) Do not use gang databases and, where used, do not share them with federal authorities. 3) Safeguard students with policies that prohibit federal immigration authorities from entering schools, require warrants or other court documents to review student records, and discourage the use of school resource officers for the handling routine disciplinary matters. 4) Protect the confidentiality of all youth in the justice system, including immigrant youth. 5) Avoid detaining youth, including immigrant youth. 6) Use an immigration lens when reviewing current and proposed youth justice policies. Consider the possibility that children and/or adults that care for them may be immigrants and take actions that support their healthy development, rather than further traumatizing or harming them. 7) Ensure youth in the juvenile justice system have access to defense counsel that understand the immigration consequences of juvenile justice system involvement and, where necessary, access to immigration attorneys. Details: Washington, DC: 2018. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 16, 2019 at: http://www.njjn.org/our-work/supporting-immigrant-youth-caught-in-the-crosshairs-of-the-justice-system Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://www.njjn.org/uploads/digital-library/Supporting%20Immigrant%20Youth,%20NJJN%20Policy%20Platform,%20August%20%202018.pdf Shelf Number: 154225 Keywords: DeportationImmigrant YouthImmigrantsImmigration and Customs EnforcementJuvenile Justice SystemJuvenilesMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Global Detention Project Title: Immigration Detention in France: Longer, More Widespread, and Harder to Contest Summary: France has one of Europe's oldest - and largest - administrative immigration detention regimes. Since 1981, the year it adopted its first law explicitly providing for immigration detention, the country has passed some 30 immigration laws. In 2017, the country placed 46,857 people in immigration detention, 42 percent of whom were held in overseas territories (by way of comparison, in the United Kingdom, during the year ending in March 2018, approximately 29,000 people "entered detention"). Detainees in France spent on average 12.8 days in detention, far below the 45 days legal limit in place at that time. France operates 24 long-term immigration detention centres, euphemistically labelled centres de retention administrative ("administrative retention centres"), which have a total capacity of 1,543 beds. The country also operates 26 short-term administrative detention facilities called locaux de retention administrative. In 2018, the Interior Ministry announced plans to boost bed space in CRAs by 450 during 2019. Although European Union (EU) law allows member states to detain migrants for up to 18 months for deportation purposes, France retained - until recently - one of the lowest limits among EU member states (along with Iceland [42 days] and Spain [60 days]). In 2018, however, the situation changed significantly - prompted by Europe's "migration crisis" - with the adoption of controversial new legislation which, inter alia, doubles the detention limit to 90 days and reduces the time frame to apply for asylum from 120 days to 90 days. Many civil society organisations and national human rights institutions challenged the new law, with some critics calling it the Code de la honte ("code of shame"). The French ombudsman said, "Contrary to the discourse that everything should be done in favour of asylum seekers, they are in fact badly treated by this project." According to the ombudsman, the accelerated asylum procedures will "impose impossible deadlines on asylum seekers - which risks causing asylum seekers to lose their rights to appeal." Another recently adopted law, the March 2018 asylum bill, also came under sharp criticism because of fears that it may lead to widespread detention of asylum seekers who are awaiting transfer to another EU country under the Dublin III procedure. The law, which allows for the detention of people who have not yet been served an expulsion order, represents a major departure from previous French asylum protection policies. French NGOs are present on a daily basis inside the centres de retention administrative (CRAs) to provide legal and other forms of advice to detainees. Each year, they publish joint authoritative analyses of laws, policies, and practices, as well as detailed information on every detention facility. While having a permanent civil society presence in immigration detention centres is not wholly unique to France (in Lebanon, for instance, Caritas has had an office in the countrys main immigration detention centre), the French system seems to stand apart from others in the breadth of involvement of NGOs inside its 24 long-term facilities. As a result, there is a tremendous amount of readily available information about operations at detention centres, which is exceedingly rare. In the French overseas territory of Mayotte (part of the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean), the French Constitution and successive immigration laws authorise important derogations to the application of immigration law. Local authorities expelled some 60 people a day from Mayotte during 2016 (with most denied access to a lawyer or judge before their expulsion)11 in defiance of the French ombudsman's recommendations as well as the European Court of Human rights' jurisprudence on the right to access an effective remedy. Although it has a population of less than 250,000, Mayotte manages to deport nearly 20,000 people each year: 17,934 in 2017 and 19,488 in 2016. In many countries the language of immigration detention can appear to be opaque or misleading. In the case of France, it crafted the terminology retention administrative ("administrative retention") as early as 1981, when it adopted its first immigration detention provisions. While some countries, including Argentina, have adopted this language, French-speaking countries like Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland continue to employ the word detention. A joint ministerial audit in 2005 found that this language created a "paradoxical" situation because "the alien placed in retention remains a free person, against whom no charge has been laid; he is only momentarily 'retained,' for the time required for organising his return. The whole paradox of retention lies in this principle. Before the judge of liberty and detention (JLD) the procedure is civil even if it borrows aspects of criminal law, in particular because the JLD can challenge the conditions of the arrest and the regularity of the custody." While many leading French advocates and academics have argued that detention centres should be called "camps" and denounced the use of euphemistic language when referring to places of deprivation of liberty, French civil society for the most part seems not to have specifically challenged the use of the word retention. However, the impact of this "paradoxical" phrasing is often clear in public and official discourse. For instance, during the debate over the 2018 legislation, the Minister of Justice misleadingly characterised the detention of families as allowing "children to be in an administrative centre with their parents." Civil society protest against immigration detention is common. Non-violent silence protests (cercles de silences) have been regularly held in many French cities since 2011. Many NGOs have argued that detention is a disproportionate response to irregular migration and that it largely fails in its stated purpose of enabling removal since less than half of the country's detainees are expelled following detention (40 percent of immigration detainees in mainland France were expelled in 2017, 42 percent of whom were expelled to another EU country). In contrast, officials bemoan that the high proportion of expulsion orders cancelled by judges creates obstacles, even though these judgments are based on respect for the rule of law. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Global Detention Project, 2018. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 17, 2019 at: https://reliefweb.int/report/france/immigration-detention-france-longer-more-widespread-and-harder-contest Year: 2018 Country: France URL: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Immigration-Detention-in-France-October-2018.pdf Shelf Number: 154243 Keywords: Asylum SeekersDeportationHuman Rights AbusesImmigrationImmigration DetentionImmigration EnforcementImmigration PolicyMigrationRefugees |
Author: El-Murr, Alissar Title: Intimate partner violence in Australian refugee communities: Scoping review of issues and service responses Summary: This paper looks at what is currently known about intimate partner violence in Australian refugee communities, and what service providers can do to ensure appropriate support is available to this client group. The first half of the paper provides a scoping review of current research. The second half of the paper looks at real-life case studies of service practice through consultations with organisations of importance to refugee communities in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Key messages - Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most commonly experienced form of family violence used against women in Australia and takes place across all cultures and faith groups. - In addition to physical and sexual violence, women from refugee backgrounds are particularly vulnerable to financial abuse, reproductive coercion and immigration-related violence. - Intersecting factors relevant to the experience of IPV in refugee communities include migration pathways and traumatic pre-arrival experiences, as well as settlement issues such as acculturation stress and social isolation. - Integrated, trauma-informed care is regarded as promising practice in services targeting individuals from refugee backgrounds to address women's experiences of IPV. - To assist in overcoming barriers to engagement, service providers can implement strategies to enhance cultural safety. Promoting community involvement and leadership has been shown to be important in developing culturally competent programming and should underpin violence prevention strategies. Details: Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2018. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: CFCA Paper No. 50: Accessed January 24, 2019 at: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/sites/default/files/publication-documents/50_intimate_partner_violence_in_australian_refugee_communities.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/sites/default/files/publication-documents/50_intimate_partner_violence_in_australian_refugee_communities.pdf Shelf Number: 154389 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceFamily ViolenceIntimate Partner ViolenceRefugeesViolence Against Women |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Global Report on Trafficking in Persons: 2018 Summary: The 2018 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is the fourth of its kind mandated by the General Assembly through the 2010 United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It covers 142 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based primarily on trafficking cases detected between 2014 and 2016. As UNODC has been systematically collecting data on trafficking in persons for more than a decade, trend information is presented for a broad range of indicators. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2018. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 24, 2019 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2018/GLOTiP_2018_BOOK_web_small.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2018/GLOTiP_2018_BOOK_web_small.pdf Shelf Number: 154401 Keywords: Human Smuggling Human Trafficking Illegal Immigration Migrants Refugees |
Author: XCHANGE Title: Central Mediterranean Survey: Mapping Migration Routes and Incidents Summary: The Central Mediterranean Route is the most active sea crossing in the world for migrants and refugees fleeing violence, poverty and persecution. This is something we know only too well at MOAS, which was founded in response to the October 2013 humanitarian disaster off the coast of Lampedusa, in which some 400 men, women and children drowned. Established in 2014 as an independent humanitarian organisation, MOAS was the first search and rescue (SAR) NGO of its kind in the Mediterranean. The Central Mediterranean Route; the main maritime route in which MOAS SAR operations were conducted, is also the focus of the research you are about to read from the Xchange Foundation. The team joined us during our mission in 2017, determined to trace back and fill in serious gaps in our knowledge of this migration route. MOAS had already been operating for three years at that point. We had been rescuing men, women and children who were packed, hungry and petrified, onto rubber dinghies, or close to suffocation in the holds of wooden boats. Some were found lying among the dead or dying bodies of family members and fellow travelers. What we now know, is that this was just one dangerous chapter in their journeys. Through extensive data collection, Xchange has been able to help us reveal through first-hand accounts, the extent of human resilience and perseverance. We now know that migrants and refugees have managed to traverse hundreds of miles of dangerous terrain and negotiated with people offering services with no guarantee of safety or reaching the next stage in their long journey. We also know of grievous human rights abuses committed against them and others, many having witnessed fellow travellers being killed by smugglers and militias, or by being abandoned in the harsh desert environment. The Central Mediterranean Survey shows, once again, the power and importance of data to tell stories and to help us unearth the experiences and journeys that are missing from our knowledge of human migration. Details: s.l.: The Author, 2018. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 4, 2019 at: http://xchange.org/wp-content/uploads/Central-Mediterranean-Survey.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: http://xchange.org/wp-content/uploads/Central-Mediterranean-Survey.pdf Shelf Number: 154481 Keywords: Human Smuggling Human Trafficking Migrants Migration Refugees |
Author: Pro Asyl Title: Walls of Shame: Accounts from the Inside: The Detention Centres of Evros Summary: What we have observed in Evros area is a multilevel deterrence system implemented by the Greek police and Frontex. The detention of refugees and migrants in Evros is synonimous with brutality, despair and dehumanisation. In this case, calling an emergency of mass-immigration has given the Greek government and the EU an excuse for violating human dignity. Greece has been repeatedly criticised for its human rights violations, specifically for the appalling detention conditions for immigrants in the border region Evros. Following this harsh criticism, the Greek government declared its commitment to improve the asylum and reception system and therefore announced a national Action Plan 2010. However, so far there have been almost no improvements. Human rights violations continue. Details: Berlin: Pro Asyl, 2012. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 8, 2019 at: https://www.proasyl.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/PRO_ASYL_Report_Walls_of_Shame_Accounts_From_The_Inside_Detention_Centers_of_Evros_April_2012-1.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Greece URL: https://www.proasyl.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/PRO_ASYL_Report_Walls_of_Shame_Accounts_From_The_Inside_Detention_Centers_of_Evros_April_2012-1.pdf Shelf Number: 154885 Keywords: Detention CentersHuman Rights AbusesImmigrant DetentionImmigrantsMigrantsRefugees |
Author: Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) Title: "Sold Like Fish": Crimes Against Humanity, Mass Graves, and Human Trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia from 2012 to 2015 Summary: On April 30, 2015, Thai authorities announced the discovery of a mass grave in a makeshift camp in a forested area near the Malaysian border. The grave contained more than 30 bodies of suspected victims of human trafficking believed to be Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals. Less than one month later, on May 25, the Royal Malaysian Police announced the discovery of 139 graves and 28 suspected human-trafficking camps in Wang Kelian, Perlis State, Malaysia. Rohingya Muslims have faced military-led attacks and severe persecution in Myanmar for decades. Fortify Rights, the United Nations, and other organizations determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Myanmar authorities committed genocide against Rohingya-a crime that continues to today. These crimes forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees to flee the country in recent years. Most fled with hopes of finding sanctuary in Bangladesh and Malaysia, the nearest predominantly Muslim countries. This report documents how a transnational criminal syndicate-a group of individuals or organizations working together for common criminal interests- in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia preyed on Rohingya refugees, deceiving them into boarding ships supposedly bound for Malaysia. Motivated by profit, between 2012 and 2015, a transnational criminal syndicate held Rohingya as well as Bangladeshis at sea and in human-trafficking camps on the Malaysia-Thailand border. Traffickers provided their captives with three options: raise upwards of 7,000 Malaysian Ringgit (US$2,000) in exchange for release, be sold into further exploitation, or die in the camps. Members of a syndicate tortured, killed, raped, and otherwise abused untold numbers of men, women, and children, buying and selling them systematically in many cases, in concert with government officials. Days after the mass-grave discovery in Thailand in 2015, Thai authorities arrested a Rohingya man from Myanmar named Anwar, also known as Soe Naing, for alleged involvement in a human-trafficking ring. Thai authorities went on to arrest 102 other suspects, including senior Thai government officials. Thai authorities then began the largest human-trafficking trial in the history of Southeast Asia. On July 19, 2017, a newly established, specialized human-trafficking court in Bangkok convicted 62 defendants for crimes related to the trafficking of Rohingya and Bangladeshis to Malaysia via Thailand. Those found guilty included nine Thai government officials, including Lieutenant General Manas Kongpaen, a military general who reportedly received approximately US$1 million (3.49 million Malaysian Ringgit) in profits from the trafficking trade, including payments amounting to more than US$400,000 (1.39 million Malaysian Ringgit) in just over one month alone. In contrast, since 2015, Malaysian courts convicted only four individuals of trafficking-related offenses connected to the mass graves discovered at Wang Kelian. All those convicted were foreigners, including one Thai national, two individuals from Myanmar, and a Bangladeshi national. The Royal Malaysian Police reportedly arrested 12 police officers but eventually released them due to a lack of evidence. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-the agency mandated to protect refugees-estimates that more than 170,000 people boarded ships from Myanmar and Bangladesh bound for Thailand and Malaysia from 2012 to 2015 and that the criminal syndicate organizing the vessels generated between US$50 million (174.5 million Malaysian Ringgit) and US$100 million (349 million Malaysian Ringgit) annually. Each ship reportedly earned traffickers an estimated US$60,000 (209,400 Malaysian Ringgit) in profits, according to UNHCR. The majority of people trafficked during this period were Rohingya Muslims; however, in late 2014 and 2015, the syndicate began targeting Bangladeshi nationals as well. This is a joint report by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM, referred to in this report as "the Commission") and Fortify Rights. It documents human rights violations perpetrated against Rohingya Muslims trafficked from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Thailand and Malaysia from 2012 to 2015, the discovery of mass graves in Wang Kelian in Malaysia's Perlis State, and the Malaysian authorities' response to the discovery of the mass graves. It analyzes the violence against Rohingya within the framework of relevant international law. Details: Belfast, ME: Authors, 2019. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2019 at: https://www.fortifyrights.org/downloads/Fortify%20Rights-SUHAKAM%20-%20Sold%20Like%20Fish.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Asia URL: https://www.fortifyrights.org/downloads/Fortify%20Rights-SUHAKAM%20-%20Sold%20Like%20Fish.pdf Shelf Number: 155353 Keywords: Criminal SyndicatesGenocideHuman Rights AbusesHuman TraffickingRefugeesSexual Exploitation |
Author: Global Detention Project Title: Global Detention Project Annual Report 2018 Summary: As representatives from countries around the world prepared to meet in Marrakesh to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in December 2018, a first-of-its-kind global agreement for humanely managing migration, negotiations became overshadowed by the news that a handful of states-including, notably, the United States, Australia, and a host of European countries-would refuse to sign it. The naysayers worried that the agreement would threaten their sovereignty and that its mention of the human rights of migrants would limit their ability to ramp up border security. "No to Marrakesh! - The UN's Sinister Blueprint for Globalist Migration Hell," clamoured the headline of one widely circulated oped in the United States. Although the compact was approved by the vast majority of states, the widespread fear-mongering spurred by the non-binding agreement reveals the hostility that migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees continue to face across the globe, even as many "crises" have faded. States continue to rely heavily on detention and deportation in their response to irregular migration, including using detention as a deterrent, despite a lack of evidence showing its effectiveness. From the de facto detention centres in Hungary's transit zones and Malaysia's grim migration "depots" where hundreds have died of preventable diseases in recent years, to Libya's nightmarish EU-financed migrant prisons and Mexico's burgeoning network of estaciones migratorias, countless thousands are locked behind bars and placed in extreme vulnerability every day across our planet solely because of their immigration status. Consider this: As of 21 December 2018, Saudi Arabia had arrested 1,996,069 people during the year as part of its "Homeland Without Illegals Campaign." Who knows about this? All too often, authorities fail to disclose information and statistics concerning their detention operations, and facilities are operated under deceptive forms and guises-they can be called "residential centres," "guesthouses," "hotspots," "shelters." This lack of transparency shields states from scrutiny and reforms. The need for detailed, systematic information about who is being deprived of their liberty, where they are locked up, and the conditions they face in detention are greater than ever. And the Global Detention Project's work holding governments to account and promoting effective, meaningful reforms remains pivotal. It was the recognition of these needs more than a decade ago that spurred the founding of the Global Detention Project at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Motivated by the goal of measuring the worldwide spread of immigration detention, GDP researchers developed a first-of-its-kind methodology for documenting where people are deprived of their liberty for migration-related reasons. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Author, 2019. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 26, 2019 at: https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/GDP-AR-2018-Online-V2_compressed.pdf Year: 2019 Country: International URL: https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/GDP-AR-2018-Online-V2_compressed.pdf Shelf Number: 155558 Keywords: Illegal Immigrants Immigrant Detention Immigrants Immigration Enforcement Immigration PolicyMigrationRefugees |
Author: Mouzourakis, Minos Title: Housing out of Reach?: The Reception of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Europe Summary: Access to adequate accommodation for people seeking and granted international protection is part and parcel of any functioning asylum system. Within the context of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) the recast Reception Conditions Directive, and the recast Qualification Directive set the standards to be observed by EU Member States in this regard. Applicants for international protection are entitled to "material reception conditions" which include housing, food and clothing. The right to material reception conditions starts from the moment the asylum claim is made, and entails conditions that "provide an adequate standard of living for applicants, which guarantees their subsistence and protects their physical and mental health". Under the recast Qualification Directive, beneficiaries of international protection are entitled to accommodation under equivalent conditions as other legally residing third country nationals. The 1951 Refugee Convention also requires states to "accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances." The right to housing is also enshrined in different instruments of human rights law. In recent years, and despite standards under EU and international law, accessing adequate accommodation has been problematic for considerable numbers of people in need of protection in many European countries, both in times of high and low pressure on their asylum systems. Following three consecutive years of substantial decreases in the total number of asylum applications registered in the continent, the EU Member States and Schengen Associated States have received 664,480 applicants for international protection in 2018. As a result, the number of applications lodged in these countries together is back at the level of 2014, i.e. before the steep increase recorded in 2015 and 2016. Despite the general decreasing trend, several countries have experienced an increase in asylum applications and demonstrated low levels of preparedness to deal with fluctuations in arrivals. At the same time, chronic lack of investment in reception capacity in some countries has resulted in permanent gaps in reception capacity, regardless of fluctuations in arrivals. As a result, many asylum seekers continue to be confronted with deficient reception systems or to face outright destitution in Europe. Obtaining international protection does not necessarily guarantee them better accommodation conditions. Beneficiaries of protection face an array of legal and practical obstacles which prevent them from effectively exercising the right to accommodation within a reasonable time and from moving out of facilities for asylum seekers. Notwithstanding the severe consequences for the individuals concerned, including destitution and delays in their integration into the host society as well as implications for the country's reception capacity for newly arriving applicants, the transition out of asylum seeker accommodation post-recognition is not widely researched and remains under the radar of policymakers. The transition from applicant to beneficiary of international protection should provide more legal certainty and a perspective of stable residence and integration in the host state, while access to private accommodation should make reception capacity available for new arrivals. Unfortunately, however, in many cases it proves a critical moment for the individuals concerned as well as the reception system as a whole. This comparative report provides an update to ECRE's analysis of reception capacity for asylum seekers in Europe,11 through an assessment of major developments in the reception systems of the 23 countries covered by the Asylum Information Database (AIDA) with a particular focus on management of reception capacity in light of varying pressure on the asylum systems, as well as the implications of the continued residence of beneficiaries of international protection in facilities for asylum seekers. The report is divided into two chapters: - Chapter I provides an analysis of the responses of countries to changing capacity needs of reception systems stemming from fluctuations in arrivals of asylum seekers. This chapter looks at the evolution of reception capacity in European countries, including systematic capacity shortages in some, the adaptability of reception systems to changing circumstances, and contingency planning as a possible response to rapidly changing reception demand. -Chapter II deals with the obstacles faced by beneficiaries of international protection with regard to accessing accommodation in the private housing market and the measures put in place by states to support beneficiaries in the process of moving out of reception facilities for asylum seekers. Furthermore, it analyses the scale and repercussions of continued presence of beneficiaries of international protection in accommodation for asylum seekers, as well as the challenges surrounding effective monitoring and enforcement of EU law obligations with regard to access to accommodation for beneficiaries of international protection. A final part formulates recommendations to EU institutions and states. Details: New York: ReliefWeb, Asylum Information Database, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, 2019. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 5, 2019 at: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/housing-out-reach-reception-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-europe Year: 2019 Country: Europe URL: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/aida_housing_out_of_reach.pdf Shelf Number: 156193 Keywords: Asylum Seekers Displaced Persons Europe Refugees |
Author: Global Detention Project Title: Immigration Detention in Croatia: Shrinking Space for Independent Monitoring Summary: As civil society groups have stepped up their criticism of Croatia's border policies, authorities have begun restricting their access to detention and reception centres. -Legislation refers to detention as a "restriction on freedom of movement" or as "accommodation." -Migrants may be detained even before they have received a return decision. -Grounds for detention in Croatian law appear to be at odds with the grounds permitted under the EU Returns Directive. -In practice, the administrative court usually confirms detention decisions adopted by the police or the Interior Ministry. Non-citizens are obliged to pay for their own detention. -"Alternatives to detention" are rarely provided. -Unaccompanied children above the age of 14 are frequently placed in juvenile public care institutions where they reportedly face hostility from other children. -Besides dedicated detention centres, migrants can also be confined in police stations and in airport transit zones for short periods of time. -There are no provisions protecting non-citizens who have been released from redetention. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Global Detention Project, 2019. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2019 at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/GDP-Immigration-Detention-in-Croatia.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Croatia URL: https://reliefweb.int/report/croatia/country-report-immigration-detention-croatia-shrinking-space-independent-monitoring Shelf Number: 156525 Keywords: Croatia Detention Centers Illegal Immigrants Immigrants Immigration Detention Immigration Enforcement Immigration Policy Migrants Refugees |
Author: International Organization for Migration (IOM) Title: Fatal Journeys Volume 4: Missing Migrant Children Summary: Fatal Journeys Volume 4 focuses on a special theme - missing migrant children - given the growing number of children embarking on journeys that are dangerous and often fatal. Since 2014, IOM has documented more than 32,000 deaths and disappearances during the migration journey worldwide, although the true number of migrant fatalities is unknown, as many deaths go unrecorded. Data on deaths and disappearances of missing migrant children tend to be even more limited. According to IOM's Missing Migrants Project, nearly 1,600 children have been reported dead or missing since 2014. This report discusses why it is often difficult to find data on missing migrants disaggregated by age. It explores what measures could be taken to improve data on missing migrant children, to help improve policy options and to prevent these tragedies from occurring. The report is a contribution to the joint efforts of UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM, Eurostat and OECD to improve data on migrant and refugee children. Without better data on missing migrants, any policy understanding of children's migration journeys and the risks and vulnerabilities they face will remain incomplete. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Migration, 2019. 140p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2019 at: https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/fatal_journeys_4.pdf Year: 2019 Country: International URL: https://publications.iom.int/books/fatal-journeys-volume-4-missing-migrant-children Shelf Number: 156740 Keywords: Detained Children Immigration Migrant Children Migrant Fatalities Migration Refugees |