Contemporary Issues In Refugee Law

Refugee law is going through momentous times, as dictatorships tumble, revolutions simmer and the 'Arab Awakening' gives way to the spread of terror from Syria to the Sahel in Africa. This compilation of topical chapters, by some of the leading scholars in the field, covers major themes of rights, security, the UNHCR, international humanitarianism and state interests and sets out to map new contours. The concerns over our security are replacing humanitarian concerns over the plight of others. Securitization, exclusion and the internal relocation of genuine refugees are now the favoured polices. Yet, while central idioms of protection, persecution and non-refoulement have changed, there are also new demands on refugee law. The contributors to this book ask whether there are new spheres of protection emerging, for which refugee law must find a clear space, such as the protection of child refugees, trafficked persons, gender-related asylum and conscientious objectors to military service. This timely and valuable book shows that in these uncertain times, refugee law still has an exciting and challenging future ahead. Contemporary Issues in Refugee Law will appeal to academics, researchers, students and practitioners.

Forced Migration: Current Issues and Debates provides a critical engagement with and analysis of contemporary issues in the field using inter-disciplinary perspectives, through different geographical case studies and by employing varying methodologies. The combination of authors reviewing both the key research and scholarship and offering insights from their own research ensures a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the current issues in forced migration. The book is structured around three main current themes: the reconfiguration of borders including virtual borders, the expansion of prolonged exile, and changes in protection and access to rights. The first chapters in the collection provide both context and a theoretical overview by situating current debates and issues in their historical context including the evolution of field and the impact of the colonial and post-colonial world order on forced migration and forced displacement. These are followed by chapters framed around substantive issues including deportation and forced return; protracted displacements; securitising the Mediterranean and cross-border migration practices; refugees in global cities; forced migrants in the digital age; and second-generation identity and transnational practices. Forced Migration offers an original contribution to a growing field of study, connecting theoretical ideas and empirical research with policy, practice and the lived experiences of forced migrants. The volume provides a solid foundation, for students, academics and policy makers, of the main questions being asked in contemporary debates in forced migration.

This Handbook draws together leading and emerging scholars to provide a comprehensive critical analysis of international refugee law. This book provides an account as well as a critique of the status quo, setting the agenda for future research in the field.

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Sixty years on from the signing of the Refugee Convention, forced migration and refugee movements continue to raise global concerns for hosting states and regions, for countries of origin, for humanitarian organisations on the ground, and, of course, for the refugee. This edited volume is framed around two themes which go to the core of contemporary ‘refugeehood’: protection and identity. It analyses how the issue of refugee identity is shaped by and responds to the legal regime of refugee protection in contemporary times. The book investigates the premise that there is a narrowing of protection space in many countries and many highly visible incidents of refoulement. It argues that ‘Protection’, which is a core focus of the Refugee Convention, appears to be under threat, as there are many gaps and inconsistencies in practice. Contributors to the volume, who include Erika Feller, Elspeth Guild, Hélène Lambert and Roger Zetter, look at the relevant issues from the perspective of a number of different disciplines including law, politics, sociology, and anthropology. The chapters examine the link between identity and protection as a basis for understanding how the Refugee Convention has been and is being applied in policy and practice. The situation in a number of jurisdictions and regions in Europe, North America, South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East is explored in order to ask the question does jurisprudence under the Refugee Convention need better coordination and how successful is oversight of the Convention?

The contributions collected in the present book go beyond refugee law in its traditional sense - largely centred on questions of durable asylum and the plight of only a small tranche of the asylum-seeking population - in situating refugee law within the broader international legal system. The refugee problem is thus seen as a prism through which a host of exploding issues confront traditional international law and international relations: creation and dissolution of states, state responsibility, human rights, international jurisdiction and the United Nations mandate. These theoretical problems and their legal incidence on the refugee condition are debated against the background of UNHCR field operations in Former Yugoslavia, Africa and Eastern Europe. The contributions were originally presented at a Colloquium held in May 1994, organised by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Refugee law experts, members of the UN International Law Commission and practitioners were brought together in a dialogue between scholars and practitioners on a major and exponentially growing international problem.

Published in 1998. This title brings together 18 essays by a selection of experts in the area of refugee and asylum law and policy. Each essay examines an issue of contemporary interest to those working in the refugee field in the UK. They have been selected from papers presented at a highly successful conference on Refugee Rights and Realities which was held at the University of Nottingham in November 1996, organized by the Human Rights Law Centre at the University and funded by the Airey Neave Trust. The essays are organised into two sections. The first covers issues of legal process and policy ranging from the development of asylum law and policy in the UK to the country’s obligations under international law. Special emphasis is placed on the most recent developments surrounding the 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act. The second section provides the context for a more detailed examination of the social, health and welfare issues relevant to refugees and asylum seekers. These range from access to health care, housing rights and the education of refugees in London to questions of language and of race relations.

Protection challenges around the globe require innovative legal, policy and practical responses. Drawing primarily from a new generation of researchers in the field of refugee law, this volume explores the ‘boundaries’ of refugee law. On the one hand, it ascertains the scope of the legal provisions by highlighting new trends in State practice and analysing the jurisprudence of international human rights bodies, as well as national and international Courts. On the other hand, it marks the boundaries of refugee law as ‘legal frontiers’ whilst exploring new approaches and new frameworks that are necessary in order to address the emerging protection challenges.

Millions of people are forced to flee their homes as a result of various forms of persecution. The instruments to secure international protection are the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. This book examines challenges to the Convention.