Asia Pacific Consultation on Refugee Rights, Kuala Lumpur, 20-21 November 2008 [access]
- Organized by Forum Asia.
Beyond Humanitarianism in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Washington, DC, 19 November 2008 [access]
- Public event organized by the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Causes of Forced Migration and Systemic Responses: Human Rights of the Displaced in Ethical, Religious, and...
from the Miami Herald Cash crunch going on in Palestine. Tens of thousands of people withdrew money from banks today. - Kaleby IBRAHIM BARZAKIsrael promised to transfer more money to Gaza on Tuesday.But the shortage highlighted the daily hardships still faced by the coastal strip's 1.4 million people despite a June cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that has brought some badly needed relief.The delicate truce suffered a setback Monday when unidentified Gaza militants fired a rocket into Israel, hitting an open area in the town of Sderot but causing no casualties, Israeli police said.Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered crossings into Gaza closed Tuesday in response to the attack, for which no armed group immediately claimed responsibility. Militants have violated the cease-fire...
Some new poverty Statistics for Palestine. - KaleAccording to the Palestine News Agency: a new report estimates the average poverty ratio in Palestine at 65.8% of the population, which implies that 7 out of every 10 Palestinian families are living under the poverty line.A recently released survey by Mr. Loai Shabana, Head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, estimated the average poverty ratio in Palestine at 30% of the overall population by the end of 2007.The survey also reveals that the average poverty ratio in Palestine has withdrawn by 1.6% in 2007 compared with the previous year of 2006....
from Al Jazzera Most jobs for the Palestinian people are public sector jobs organized by Hamas. Very little private investing is happening in Gaza. - KaleConditions for Palestinians living in Gaza have deteriorated to unprecedented levels, according to a report by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).Aid granted to Gaza has failed to stop more than half of the population in the territory from sliding below the poverty line, UNRWA said on Thursday."The number of households in Gaza below the consumption poverty line [has] continued to grow, reaching 51.8 per cent in 2007 despite significant amounts of emergency and humanitarian assistance," the report said.But the agency said that conditions have improved in the occupied West Bank, where the poverty level in 2007 dropped by...
Barbour, Brian and Brian Gorlick, Embracing the 'responsibility to protect': a repertoire of measures including asylum for potential victims, New Issues in Refugee Research paper no. 159 (UNHCR, July 2008) [text]
Black, Richard et al., Demographics and Climate Change: Future Trends and Their Policy Implications for Migration, DRC Working Paper no. T-27 (Development Research Centre on Migration,...
In
NGOS,
South Africa,
Romania,
united kingdom,
asylum,
internally displaced persons,
protection,
urban areas,
climate,
humanitarian assistance,
Palestinians
Brynen, Rex, "The Past as Prelude? Negotiating the Palestinian Refugee Issue," Briefing Paper, The Regional Dimension of the Palestinian Refugee Issue (Chatham House, June 2008) [text]
Burnett, Jon, "Racism, Destitution and Asylum," PAFRAS Briefing Paper, no. 6 (PAFRAS, June 2008) [text]
Dowd, Rebecca, "Trapped in Transit: The Plight and Human Rights of Stranded Migrants," New Issues in...
from The Palestine News Agency A survey was recently released that updates some statistics on poverty indicators in Palestine. The survey was conducted by by Mr. Loai Shabana, Head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Here are some of the findings: - The estimated average poverty ratio in Palestine at 30% of the overall population by the end of 2007.- The average poverty ratio in Palestine has withdrawn by 1.6% in 2007 compared with the previous year of 2006.- The average poverty ratio in the Palestinian West Bank at 19.1% of the local population by the end of 2007.- The estimated average poverty ratio in the Palestinian Gaza Strip at 51.8% of the local population by the end of 2007.- The average poverty ratio in the Palestinian West Bank has withdrawn by 13.2% in 2007...
from Reuters By Mohammed AssadiRAMALLAH, West Bank - The percentage of Gazans living in poverty topped 50 percent in 2007, the highest level recorded, as Israel tightened its blockade of the enclave, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.Home to 1.5 million Palestinians, Gaza has been hard hit by Israeli sanctions meant to sideline Hamas Islamists who took over the coastal territory a year ago from more secular Fatah forces loyal to Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas.The Statistics Bureau, in an annual report, said 51.8 percent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in 2007 lived in poverty, versus 47.9 percent in 2006.In contrast, the poverty rate in the Israeli-occupied West Bank fell to 19.1 percent in 2007, compared with 22 percent a year earlier, due in large...
from The Day Connecticut By MUHAMMED MUHAISEN Ramallah, West Bank - Deep in the mechanic's pit, 12-year-old Jihad Robin found refuge, secretly smoking cigarettes on a break from his job in a car repair shop.He left school at age 9 when teachers told him that since he couldn't read, he would have to fall back two grades. His parents, unable to make ends meet, forced him to go to work.The West Bank has high unemployment, with the Palestinian economy still struggling from fighting with Israel and restrictions on travel because of security checkpoints that Israel says are needed to stop suicide bombers.So stories like Jihad's are common. Palestinian government regulations set the minimum working age at 15, but the law is not enforced. The most recent available figures show that about...
Assessment on Returns to Iraq Amongst the Iraqi Refugee Population in Syria (UNHCR Syria, April 2008) [text]
Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2008. Special Focus: In the Shadow of War (Plan International, May 2008) [text]
Beyond the School Gates: Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Secondary School (Refugee Council, May 2008) [text]
Hidden Cork: Perspectives of...
In
Youth,
Health,
Turkey,
Lebanon,
Annual Reports,
Ireland,
armed conflict,
Iraqis,
detention,
UNHCR,
humanitarian personnel,
returnees,
secondary education,
females,
asylum,
Palestinians
Amnesty International et al., "The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion," A Joint Agency Report (Oxfam, March 2008) [access]
Baraka, H., “Palestinians in Lebanon: Chains of Misery (Bound by the Law and the Market),” FMRS Working Paper, no. 9 (Forced Migration & Refugee Studies, American University in Cairo, Feb. 2008) [text]
Gammeltoft-Hansen, T., "The Refugee, the Sovereign and the Sea: EU...
Bialczyk, Agata, "‘Voluntary Repatriation’ and the Case of Afghanistan: A Critical Examination," RSC Working Paper, no. 46 (Refugee Studies Centre, Jan. 2008) [text]
Bitar, Maher, "Unprotected Among Brothers: Palestinians in the Arab World," RSC Working Paper, no. 44 (Refugee Studies Centre, Jan. 2008) [text]
Gonzalez Devant, Sara, "Displacement in the 2006 Dili Crisis: Dynamics of an Ongoing...
In
Afghanistan,
Timor-Leste,
Diaspora,
Research,
Europe,
conflict,
asylum seekers,
asylum policy,
migrants,
return migration,
voluntary repatriation,
Palestinians
from Reuters Alert NetThe UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, will adopt new criteria to identify hardship cases among the 1.9 million Palestinian refugees who benefit from its humanitarian assistance programme, according to an UNWRA official.The aim of the amendment is to ensure better intervention in local communities and to send aid to those who really deserve it, UNRWA spokesman Matar Saqer told IRIN."We are currently revising our old criteria to distinguish between absolute poverty and abject poverty cases in order to deliver assistance to the people who actually need it," he said. Only those in abject poverty will be eligible for the cash and food assistance provided to those classified as hardship cases, said Saqer.He said beneficiaries of assistance also enjoyed other...
from I AfricaThe Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated places in the world, is home to around 1.5 million Palestinians who struggle against overwhelming levels of poverty and violence.The territory — from which thousands of people streamed on Wednesday after militants blew up parts of the wall separating it from Egypt — reels from nearly two years of economic sanctions, Israeli army raids and deadly factional fighting.For four days over the past week the territory was subjected to a punishing blockade imposed by Israel in retaliation for continuing rocket and mortar fire from the coastal strip.The blockade was eased on Tuesday, with fuel, food and humanitarian aid once again allowed into the territory where the majority of the population depends on foreign aid.CrowdedSituated...
from the Middle East TimesBy MEL FRYKBERGThe head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency has made an emotional appeal for $238 million in emergency assistance for Palestinians in 2008 to ease the chronic unemployment, malnutrition and poverty that is gripping the occupied territories."The situation on the ground has deteriorated in recent months. From my offices in Gaza City I have witnessed first hand the pace and the extent of this decline," said AbuZayd, commissioner-general of UNWRA, which looks after Palestinian Refugees. "In Gaza, the entire population -- 1.5 million persons, including 1 million refugees -- are living under conditions of feudal siege," she added, "with borders closed to all but humanitarian goods and major reductions in the flow of electricity and fuel."The primary...
from AdnkronosNew York, 25 Oct. (AKI) - The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is "deterioriating alarmingly" with Palestinians facing increasing poverty and hardship, according to a top United Nations official.In a strongly worded statement, B. Lynn Pascoe, the UN's under secretary-general for political affairs, also warned humanitarian operations would be seriously affected by new Israeli measures to limit the activities of Palestinians.“Economic activity and humanitarian operations will be seriously affected by the decision of Israel to further restrict access for West Bank residents – including UN staff,” said Pascoe in a UN briefing.Pascoe said Israel's intention to halve the number of Gaza crossing points from 12 to six and the imposition of new customs regulations...
Addressing Internal Displacement in Peace Processes, Peace Agreements and Peace-Building (Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Sept. 2007) [text]
Developing Media in Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations (USIP, Oct. 2007) [text]
Exiled and Suffering: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon (Amnesty International, Oct. 2007) [text]
Human Rights Report, 1 April to 30 June 2007 (UN...
In
Publications,
Human Rights,
Media,
refugees,
UNHCR EXCOM,
peace efforts,
integration,
internal displacement,
reconstruction,
Iraq,
Lebanon,
Palestinians
Dealing with the Past in Post-Conflict Societies: Ten Years after the Peace Accords - in Guatemala and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Swiss Peace Annual Conference, Sept. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb]
Determining the Best Interests of Unaccompanied and Separated Children: Lessons from Guinea (International Rescue Committee, Sept. 2007) [text via ReliefWeb]
"Drug Donations in Emergencies, the Sri Lankan...
from The International Herald TribuneJERUSALEM: The Palestinian economy is sinking into dependence on foreign aid, and its public sector is swelling as its manufacturing and other businesses wither, according to a World Bank report released Tuesday.The 35-page report, prepared for a Sept 24 meeting of an international donor committee in New York, details how the Palestinian economies in the West Bank and Gaza have steadily deteriorated since 2000, when the peace process with Israel broke down and violence erupted.The latest crisis is in Gaza, where the takeover by Hamas in June led to closing border crossings, threatening most businesses, which rely on imported raw materials and exported products.The report marks two years since a donor's conference in London, where plans were made to...
The 2006-2007 edition of BADIL's Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons was released today. This resource begins with an historical overview of Palestinian displacement, provides facts and figures about the current Palestinian refugee/IDP population and their status, reviews assistance and protection measures, and concludes with a discussion of attempts to find durable...
from The Daily News Longview, WashingtonBy Associated PressNAZARETH, Israel -- For 15-year-old Issa, days of summer start when the sun rises over a northern Israeli hill, shining on a garbage dump, a thorny field and then the dirty mattress that is his bed.Issa is among hundreds of Palestinian child laborers who sneak into Israel from the West Bank, hawking or begging at traffic junctions.Israel's massive barrier of walls and fences separating it from the West Bank has made it harder for adult laborers to enter Israel, so families wracked by poverty are increasingly sending their children instead.Children as young as 3 stand at traffic lights for hours, in rain or baking sun. They beg for change or sell cigarette lighters and batteries. At night, they sleep in fields, cemeteries,...
DR Congo: A Regional Analysis (WriteNet, July 2007) [text]
EU needs common policy on asylum (ISN Security Watch, 31 July 2007) [text]
The New Myth about Climate Change (Foreign Policy, August 2007) [text]
Peace and Conflict 2008 (CIDCM, 27 July 2007) [access]
- Chapter extracts, supplemental materials, and executive summary provided.
Real-time evaluation of UNHCR's IDP operation in Uganda...
In
Uganda,
evaluation,
conflict,
European Union,
Lebanon,
Annual Reports,
asylum,
internally displaced persons,
climate,
Palestinians,
refugee camps,
Democratic Republic of the Congo
"Giving out their Daughters for their Survival": Refugee Self-Reliance, 'Vulnerability', and the Paradox of Early Marriage (Refugee Law Project, April 2007) [text]
Handbook on Integration for Policy-makers and Practitioners, 2nd edition (European Communities, May 2007) [text]
Keeping Up: A Brief on the Living Conditions of Palestinian Refugees in Syria (Fafo, 2007) [text]
Report on Destitute...
from The Independent On LineThe plight of Palestinians in the occupied territories has worsened dramatically, with2.4-million now living in poverty, according to a report published on Monday by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).In a study of territories including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, the UN agency said the economic crisis had accelerated with the number of households below the poverty line increasing 26 percent in the year to March 2007.Seven out of ten Palestinian households were in poverty today; nine out of ten in Gaza and one in two in the West Bank. Only one in three people had a job. Each employed person supported six dependents."More persons are in poverty, in deeper poverty and food insecurity than ever before," states the...
4th Immigration Law and Policy Conference, 24 April 2007 [more info.]
- Jointly sponsored by MPI, GU Law Center, and CLINIC. Focus is U.S. immigration reform.
Call for Papers for disClosure: a journal of social theory, Issue 17: Migration, Displacement, and Mobility, deadline 20 April 2007 [more info.]
- "seeks submissions that explore issues of migration, displacement, and mobility as it is...
(updated 15 May)
A Comprehensive European Migration Policy (EU, May 2007) [text]
Forced Evictions - Towards Solutions? Second Report of the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions to the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT (AGFE, 2007) [text]
Human tide: the real migration crisis (Christian Aid, May 2007) [text]
International Human Rights Research Guide (GlobaLex, March 2007) [text]
Iraq...
In
Housing,
Policy,
Migration,
environmental refugees,
minority groups,
Human Rights,
Europe,
Iraq,
Lebanon,
UNHCR,
Palestinians
Addressing the Palestinian Refugee Issue: A Brief Overview (R. Brynen, May 2007) [text]
Denied Refuge: The effect of the closure of the Kenya/Somalia border on thousands of Somali asylum-seekers and refugees (Amnesty International, May 2007) [text]
Last Hope: The Need for Durable Solutions for Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal and India (Human Rights Watch, May 2007) [text]
Palestinian Refugees:...
from the BBC By Alan JohnstonIn a courtyard off a back street in Gaza City, sunlight streams through the leaves of a pair of olive trees and children play beneath their branches.The scene is almost picturesque, but the poverty here is crushing.The children's mother, Na'ima Iyad, can no longer afford to feed them.And a new UN report says that more and more Palestinian families are in the same position.Sitting on her veranda holding one of her 10 children, Mrs Iyad says: "Everybody in Gaza - in all of Palestine - is suffering from the economic situation."If you go to our neighbours you'll find the same problems. All the houses suffer from poverty - and poverty is very hard on people."International sanctionsThe UN study, carried out by the World Food Programme (WFP), talks of a "marked...
from Reuters Alert NetThe United Nations has warned that rising unemployment and poverty in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, coupled with economic suffocation, are posing acute challenges to food security, leaving many families totally reliant on outside assistance, as well as threatening vital sectors of the Palestinian economy.The warning comes in a report by WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) due to be released this month, reviewing and analysing 2006 statistics and assessing food security and socio-economic conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Weakening economyIt says that while food security levels in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) have been maintained through regular humanitarian assistance and strong social solidarity among Palestinians, almost half of...