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Financing matters: where funding arrangements meet resettlement in three Mexican dam projects
This paper investigates the implications for resettlement of the financial involvement of the World Bank and a coalition of private companies, in three separate Mexican dam projects in the early 1990s. This paper argues that financing arrangements can influence a project’s resettlement conditions. In two of the projects, the World Bank’s involvement was important in determining the high level of attention paid to resettlement planning and monitoring and the positive resettlement outcomes. In contrast, the lack of resettlement standards among the remaining project’s private sector financiers and the unresponsiveness of this group to pressures for reform on resettlement issues resulted in poor resettlement conditions. In an era of privatisation, the implications of this are serious. As governments turn to the private sector, rather than multi-lateral or bilateral development agencies, for assistance in infrastructure development, the likelihood also increases that the rights and needs of displacees will be marginalised.
Narrating displacement: oral histories of Sri Lankan women
This paper examines how traditional discourses on repatriation and the return home have developed, whether they are accurate or appropriate, and subsequently suggests alternative perspectives on return (Black and Koser 1999). In particular, this paper focuses on the resettlement of internally displaced Sri Lankan women to their native villages, and argues that despite physical return, a “generalized condition of homelessness” (Malkki 1992: 37) persists due to physical, social and political forms of violence which obstruct the ability of many women to return ‘home’. It contends that for many Sri Lankan women, resettlement has meant merely the return to their geographical place of origin, and no more. More generally, this paper argues that both scholars of forced migration and the international humanitarian community are working amidst a conceptual framework that has yet to truly comprehend the complexity of experiences involved in return and reintegration.
When forced migrants return 'home': the psychosocial difficulties returnees encounter in the reintegration process
Since the 1980s onwards, voluntary repatriation has been promoted by governments, NGOs and UN agencies as the ultimate solution to refugees’ displacement. This paper draws attention to some of the psychosocial difficulties refugee returnees encounter. It argues that forced migrants’ notion of home is continuously challenged and transformed from the time of the events that lead to one’s flight, up until one’s return. The way returnees perceive ‘home’ and the way they define their identity will impact their reintegration process. The objective of this study is not to provide a typology of the meaning of returning home but a hint of its complexity.
Refugees and their human rights
This paper was originally presented on the 12th November 2003, as the 2003 Annual RSC Barbara Harrell-Bond Lecture. The paper discusses why, at the level of the individual refugee and asylum seeker, there is a need for a more radical, rights- and protection-oriented approach, and how this can serve the ends of government, provided that government is concerned with fulfilling its international obligations in good faith. It examines two areas which have attracted attention in the United Kingdom, and in which human rights can and ought to influence policy and practice: the treatment of asylum seekers and the interpretation and application of the refugee definition – the criteria that determines whether to grant protection.
The meaning of place in a world of movement: lessons from long-term field research in Southern Ethiopia
This is a revised version of the Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture, sponsored by the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford and delivered at Rhodes House, Oxford on 12 May, 2004. Turton discusses the need for a theory of place that applies as much to the world of late modernity as to the pre-modern world, and helps us to understand what happens when pre-modern meets, and is overtaken by, modern. To this end, he examines what are called the ‘spatial practices’ of a small group of people who live in Southern Ethiopia.
AIDS, gender and the refugee protection framework
This paper aims to show the extent to which the HIV/AIDS pandemic is a socio-economic phenomenon, underwritten by social relations of inequality (Baylies & Burr 2000:483) and the consequences this has for the marginalisation of forced migrants. This paper develops a framework for response to HIV/AIDS through an analysis of the ethics, human rights and law relating to forced migrants and HIV/AIDS. It argues that HIV/AIDS issues need to be recognised as a social rather than essentially a medical phenomenon and receive greater prioritisation in the international agenda of refugee protection in all phases of the refugee cycle from emergency relief, to care and maintenance, to return and reintegration, with all associated implications for post-war reconstruction and peace building. This requires a shift in thinking that recognises the importance of long-term development aims at the initial stages of emergency response and can assimilate a gendered approach in to refugee relief and assistance programmes.
Protection through participation: young people affected by forced migration and political crisis
This paper was originally intended to provide background reading for the Cumberland Lodge Conference, “Voices Out of Conflict: Young People Affected by Forced Migration and Political Crisis.” It considers the situations of youth and adolescents affected by war and displacement throughout the world, and provides a summary of some of the key issues to be explored with regard to their protection. It draws upon insights and experience from researchers, practitioners and war-affected young people in an attempt to better understand the challenges young people face during war, and the resulting implications for policy and practice.
Contesting fraternité: vulnerable migrants and the politics of protection in contemporary France
This paper analyses the délit de solidarité debate through the discourse of politicians, NGOs and citizens. Through this it seeks to answer the following questions: (i) what role has the republican principle of Fraternité played in debates over vulnerable migrants in contemporary France? (ii) to what extent does the political instrumentalisation of the principle of Fraternité and the related concept of Solidarité reflect a broader tension in the way French citizens understand their responsibilities towards “outsiders”, between particularism and universal obligation? The argument proceeds in four parts. Chapter 1 traces the tension between particularism and universalism historically to the foundation of the French nation-state and its republican philosophy of citizenship. Chapter 2 offers an empirical analysis of the délit de solidarité debate as a case study for the ambiguity outlined in Chapter 1. It examines legislation and policy in light of critiques advanced by various institutional and civil society actors in order to explain the issue’s politicisation and elevation to a matter of national concern. Chapter 3 analyses the discourse of the government and opposition throughout the debate whilst Chapter 4 considers the shortcomings of the nationalist framing outlined in Chapter 3 through an examination of the marginalisation of non-citizens as well as alternative discourses of solidarity. On the basis of this analysis it is argued that the délit de solidarité debate politicised concerns regarding the protection of vulnerable non-citizens in France, reducing the issue to a debate over the rights and reputation of French citizens and the scope and substance of Fraternité.
Detention, alternatives to detention, and deportation
Asylum seekers and refugees – men, women and even children – are increasingly detained and interned around the world, as are numbers of other migrants. Sometimes detained indefinitely and often in appalling conditions, they may suffer not only deprivation of their liberty but other abuses of their human rights too. Detention may appear to be a convenient solution to states’ political quest to manage migration (often as a precursor to deportation) but it is an expensive option and has lasting effects on those detained. In the search for a more humane – and cheaper – approach, agencies and government authorities have trialled a variety of alternatives to detention. FMR 44 includes 36 articles on immigration detention, alternatives to detention, and deportation, plus a mini-feature on the Syria crisis and a selection of other articles.
Sexual orientation and gender identity and the protection of forced migrants
Around the world, people face abuse, arbitrary arrest, extortion, violence, severe discrimination and lack of official protection because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. This latest issue of FMR includes 26 articles on the abuse of rights of forced migrants who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex. Authors discuss both the challenges faced and examples of good practice in securing protection for LGBTI forced migrants.
Preventing displacement
Preventing displacement is obviously a worthwhile objective. Being displaced puts people at a higher risk of being both impoverished and unable to enjoy their human rights. Such a situation is worth preventing – but not at any cost. FMR 41 includes a major feature on ‘Preventing displacement’ plus a range of articles on other subjects such as North Koreans in China, East Africans adapting to the UK, the Rohingya, slum evictions in Tanzania, the Nansen Initiative and a new methodology for assessing the costs and impacts of displacement.
Being young and out of place
Being displaced involves not just a change of physical location but a dislocation of many aspects of normal life, and young people may be particularly susceptible to being physically and socially ‘out of place’ during this period of their lives. FMR 40 examines the stresses of ‘being young and out of place’, explores young people’s needs and coping strategies, and asks why relatively little attention is paid to their rights and needs. It also includes articles on other subjects such as national IDP policies in Afghanistan and Nigeria, resettlement in Argentina, mental health in Lebanese camps and why some issues make it onto the international agenda while others do not.
North Africa and displacement 2011–2012
The so-called Arab Spring continues to reverberate locally, regionally and geopolitically. The 20 articles in this issue of FMR reflect on some of the experiences, challenges and lessons of the Arab Spring in North Africa, the implications of which resonate far wider than the region itself.
The technology issue
The 32 articles and short pieces in the feature theme section of FMR 38 look at the effects of changes in technology – particularly in communications technology – on displaced people and those who work with them. FMR 38 also includes eight articles on other forced migration subjects. This issue is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
Armed non-state actors and displacement
Militia, freedom fighters, rebels, terrorists, paramilitaries, revolutionaries, guerrillas, gangs, quasi-state bodies... and many other labels. In this issue of FMR we look at all of these, at actors defined as being armed and being ‘non-state’ – that is to say, without the full responsibilities and obligations of the state. Some of these armed non-state actors behave responsibly and humanely, at least some of the time. Others seem to have no regard for the damage, distress or deaths that they cause – and may actually use displacement as a deliberate tactic – in pursuit of their goals of power, resources or justice. This issue of FMR looks at a variety of such actors, at their behaviours and at efforts to bring them into frameworks of responsibility and accountability.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo is unfortunately synonymous with its dreadful past and its terrible present, despite its beauty, complex history and unachieved potential. Locked not only into its own internal troubles but also into those of the Great Lakes region, it has provided more than enough material on forced migration, violence and political quagmires for the latest issue of FMR. While the articles contained in this issue of FMR make grim reading, they also offer glimmers of hope for better outcomes, at least potentially, alongside analysis of how and why these things have been happening. Authors come from Congolese civil society, UN agencies and NGOs, Congolese and donor governments, and international research – and include articles by the former UN Relief Coordinator John Holmes and the former Humanitarian Coordinator in DRC Ross Mountain. This issue also contains a further seven articles on other forced migration-related subjects.
HIV/AIDS, security and conflict (supplement)
The interconnections between conflict and HIV/AIDS are more complex and less obvious than is often thought. HIV/AIDS affects the lives of many: those people caught up in conflict, those who are the protagonists in conflicts, and those whose role it is to provide security during and after conflict. The AIDS, Security and Conflict Initiative (ASCI) undertook research over a number of years to examine the connections, to gather evidence and to advance analysis. This 32-page special FMR supplement presents a selection of the ASCI case-studies alongside a number of other articles on the subject – written by practitioners, policymakers and researchers – which were submitted in response to an FMR call for articles.
Disability and displacement
It is not common practice to include people with disabilities among those who are considered as particularly vulnerable in disasters and displacement and who therefore require targeted response – yet statistics tell us that up to 10% of all displaced people will have a disability. The 27 feature theme articles in this issue of FMR show why disabled people who are displaced need particular consideration and highlight some of the initiatives taken (locally and at the global level) to change thinking and practices so that their vulnerability is recognised, their voices heard – and responses made inclusive.
Adapting to urban displacement
Globally, urbanisation – the movement of people into cities and towns – continues to increase, and growing numbers of displaced people, whether refugees or IDPs, now reside in urban areas rather than camps. Relatively little is known about their precise numbers, demographics, basic needs or protection problems. In their introductory articles in this issue of FMR, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka emphasise the complexity of the challenges faced by those displaced into urban areas and by those seeking to protect and assist them, and argue for the need for a radical rethinking of approaches by the international community. This issue of Forced Migration Review includes 26 articles by a wide range of authors – practitioners, policymakers and researchers – on the subject of urban displacement, plus 13 articles on other aspects of forced migration, including a ‘spotlight’ on Haiti after the earthquake.
Protracted displacement
Increasingly, growing numbers of displaced people remain displaced for years, even decades. This latest issue of FMR includes 29 articles by academic, international and local actors which assess the impact of such situations on people’s lives and our societies and explore the ‘solutions’ – political, humanitarian and personal. The issue also includes a spotlight on the ‘internment camps’ in Sri Lanka and a mini-feature on collective centres, plus a selection of articles on other aspects of forced migration such as rights and responsibilities in Darfur, smuggling in South Africa, IDP health needs in Colombia, climate change agreement talks, peace mediation, and community resilience in East Timor.