March 2012
24 posts
a monthly forum for news and discussion on refugee legal aid
Issue 24, March 2012 ISSN 2049-2650 Editorial Team: Yara Romariz Maasri, Themba Lewis, Nora Danielson, Sara Gonzalez Devant, Annemarie Hulbert, Janet McGiffin
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In this issue:
How to apply for asylum in Brazil
Practice Advisory on Interim Memo regarding law students, graduates...
How to apply for asylum in Brazil
The following information was compiled based on an exchange with Brazilian lawyer Dr Liliana Jubilut, as well as on an article she co-authored with Dr Silvia M. O. S. Apolinário, published in Refuge.
Background In Brazil the refugee status determination (RSD) procedure is tripartite, involving the State, UNHCR and civil society, whose involvement dates from the early beginnings of refugee...
Practice Advisory on Interim Memo regarding law...
By Galya Ruffer, JD, PhD, Director, Center for Forced Migration Studies (CFMS), Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies, Northwestern University, with the assistance of CFMS student intern Catherine Tyson, Anthropology and International Studies, Class of 2014.
On 17 January 2012, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published an Interim Memorandum to...
The importance of psychosocial support in the...
This article, by Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor at the School of Law, Murdoch University, Western Australia, appears on the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid page on Psychosocial Support in Refugee Status Determination.
Introduction There has been much written on the importance of psychosocial support of refugees who were adapting to resettlement or recovering from torture. An issue which has...
Asylum approval rate in Japan still shockingly low
Contributed by Katsunori Koike, formerly a Legal Officer at the Japan Association for Refugees, and currently a UN volunteer with UNHCR in Kenya.
The 2011 statistics concerning asylum application were released on 24 February 2012 by the Immigration Bureau* of the Ministry of Justice of Japan. According to the report ‘The number of recognised refugees, etc. in 2011’ (‘Heisei 23 nen ni...
Changes to refugee system in Canada further...
In light of the proposed changes to Canada’s refugee system which the government claims would save tax-payers money, but critics say would strip the most vulnerable people of their rights, the Canadian Refugee Council issued the following press release on 16 February 2012.
New bill further undermines refugees The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) is seriously concerned with the proposed...
Italy rebuked by European Court after deportations...
In a victory for refugees and asylum seekers throughout Europe, the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously ruled that Italy violated the rights of 24 Somali and Eritrean migrants through their 2009 deportation to Libya. The deportation, which took place under the auspices of a now-suspended bilateral agreement between the Italian and Libyan governments, was ruled to violate Article 3...
Statement on the Kenyan Government plan to...
In October 2011, the Kenyan Government launched a military campaign aimed at eradicating Islamist militant group Al Shabaab in Somalia. In the February 2012 issue of the Newsletter, we discussed the impact this war is having on Somalis in Kenya, referencing the Kenyan government’s announcement of their intention to ‘relocate’ Somali refugees to ‘safe havens’ in Somalia. The below statement on this...
Deportation news
Tamil asylum seekers deported from UK to Sri Lanka Despite allegations that returned Tamil asylum seekers are being tortured upon arrival in Sri Lanka, the UK continues to schedule mass deportation flights. In December 2011, an article in the Guardian reported on a Sri Lankan national, holder of a UK student visa, who was tortured on a visit to Sri Lanka from the UK. This man was later granted...
Syrian refugees in Europe: news from Belgium and...
One year after the beginning of the Syrian uprising, the government’s brutal crackdown on activists and protesters increasingly attracts criticism from the international community. With the death toll surpassing 7,500, tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring countries, with some also arriving in Europe. Below are two translations of articles regarding asylum claims in...
Syrians in Jordan: guests, not refugees
In an article on Syrian army defectors who crossed into Jordan, the Jordan Times cited an official who ‘stressed that the government does not consider Syrians residing in the Kingdom as refugees, but rather guests who left their country temporarily because of the current unrest there’. Khair Smadi, a Jordanian pro bono legal representative for refugees and refugee rights activist, submitted the...
Democratic Republic of Congo London embassy staff...
Three staff members of the Congolese embassy in London resigned from their posts, ‘issu[ing] a lengthy statement denouncing their government’, and claiming asylum in the UK. First Secretary B. Kazadi Moussonzo, First Secretary M. Yaya Efunga and Second Secretary S. Kabengele Mamba, who have a collective 14 years of service, stated: ‘Our dream of a lawful state in DRC vanished with what is in...
Open letter from Eritrean refugees and asylum...
In our January 2012 issue, the Newsletter covered the topic of Eritrean refugees being held in inhumane conditions in Nagad detention centre in Djibouti. Recently, a group of urban Eritrean aslyum seekers and refugees published the following open letter, highlighting the problems they face in Djibouti city. The letter, which can be found here, is being re-printed with the authors’...
Letter from the Rwandan Refugee Community in...
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon visited Zambia in late February 2012, and in his address to the National Assembly, commended the government for giving ‘shelter and peace to hundreds of thousands of refugees.’ Regarding the Rwandan and Angolan cessation clauses, he stated he was ‘encouraged that [the] Government is considering local integration, in addition to voluntary repatriation.’ The Rwandan...
Refugees in Brazil denounce ‘exploitation network'
In an article about Refugee Status Determination in Brazil, the authors note that while asylum seekers have permission to work, ‘their language, background experience, and social discrimination are obstacles that they may face in trying to find jobs’. A recent article on BBC Brazil covered the topic of exploitation of refugees who are trying to find employment. Below are translated excerpts from...
Request for Sahrawi COI expert
A Sahrawi refugee claiming asylum in the UK, who suffered torture at the hands of the Polisario in Tindouf camp, was rejected on the basis that he could be safely returned to Algeria and claim Algerian nationality. This refugee was working under another Sahrawi who was likely to have been spying for Morocco, but who disappeared. If someone is able to comment on the Algerian nationality issue, or...
Publications
‘Recent and unprecedented research undertaken by the [International Detention Coalition] IDC found that there are cost-effective and reliable alternatives to prevent unnecessary immigration detention, currently used in a variety of settings that are beneficial to government, the community and the individual’ — ‘International Detention Coalition submission to the Special Rapporteur concerning his...
Country of origin and legal news
AFRICA GHANA: 11,000 Liberian refugees in Ghana to lose status on 1 July 2012 through Cessation Clause KENYA: Xenophobia and marginalisation of Somalis in Kenya on the rise; Tens of thousands flee violence in Northern Kenya; US urges Kenya not to refoule Somali refugees; Despite widespread intolerance, Kenya becomes a destination for regional LGBTI people seeking protection; Barbaric...
Conferences and courses
Three-day conference on psychocial support for refugees in urban settings The Psycho-Social Services and Training Institute in Cairo and the American University in Cairo (AUC) Center for Migration and Refugee Studies are offering a three-day conference titled ‘A growing challenge: Psychosocial and mental health support for refugees and migrants living in urban settings’. While refugee camps are...
Info links
Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog Still Human, Still Here Resources Page US asylum decisions on LGBTI/HIV issues
Resources
UNHCR re-issues RSD Handbook In December 2011, UNHCR’s Division of International Protection re-printed the Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, incorporating eight Guidelines on International Protection, and so changing the title of the document to Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures...
Vacancy announcements
Country Director, Africa & Middle East Refugee Assistance, Egypt Africa & Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) seeks a Country Director to provide strategic direction and leadership to AMERA-Egypt. Working with the support of the Director of AMERA-UK, the Country Director will be responsible for providing strategic leadership as well as managing staff, finances, programme development and...
Announcements
Confidential helpline for undocumented migrants in London The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) announces the opening of their new advice helpline for undocumented migrants in London. Undocumented migrants do not fall into any of the UK’s legal immigration categories. This includes migrants with rejected asylum applications or cases where refugee status was revoked, among...
Scholarships for African Commonwealth candidates...
The Department for Continuing Education and the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford are very pleased to announce that admissions are now open for five scholarships for candidates from African Commonwealth countries to study for the part-time Masters in International Human Rights Law, starting September 2012. The awards are intended for human rights advocates from African Commonwealth...
February 2012
22 posts
Note from the editors
This month, as we celebrate the two-year anniversary of Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter, we are pleased to announce that we are switching formats to become a blog-based publication. We believe this is a more dynamic and easily accessible way to publish the newsletter, and from now on, the new issues will no longer have a PDF version. However, past issues in PDF can still be found on our ‘back...
a monthly forum for news and discussion on refugee legal aid
Issue 23, February 2012 ISSN 2049-2650 Editorial Team: Yara Romariz Maasri, Themba Lewis, Nora Danielson, Sara Gonzalez Devant, Annemarie Hulbert, Janet McGiffin
Web Design Consultant: Kareem Traboulsi
Web links are in blue.
In this issue:
Note from the editors
STOP PRESS: Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid website United States...
STOP PRESS
The Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid website, formerly at http://www.srlan.org, has changed its address to http://www.frlan.org.
United States practice advisory concerning asylum...
This piece was submitted by Galya Ruffer, JD, PhD, the director of the Center for Forced Migration Studies (CFMS), Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies, Northwestern University, and written with the assistance of CFMS student intern, Catherine Tyson, Anthropology and International Studies, Class of 2014. The article was written based on a discussion on the Immigration Law...
Somalis in Kenya suffer the consequences of Kenyan...
After a spate of kidnappings of foreigners (including two Doctors Without Borders workers) in Kenya were attributed to Somali militant group Al-Shabaab, the Kenyan government formally launched a military campaign aimed at eradicating the group. In mid-October 2011, the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) entered Somalia and have been fighting battles there ever since, gaining some international support,...
Arbitrariness regarding Access to the Asylum...
This piece, by Dr Valeria Ilareva of the Legal Clinic for Refugees and Immigrants, was originally published on the Legal Clinic for Refugees and Immigrants blog on 2 January 2012, and is being reprinted with the author’s permission.
Introduction The following information note aims to raise awareness about the seriousness of the problem regarding access to the asylum procedure in Bulgaria and...
Life in exile: challenges facing refugees and...
By Charlotte Manicom, Fahamu Refugee Legal Network intern. This summer, I deviated from my path of working with refugees and ran away to join a Circus in Cape Town.[1] But in a city of shocking juxtapositions (rich, poor; black, white; nature, city), it was hard to ignore the hardships that exist — especially those relating to refugees. There are many difficulties facing refugees in Cape Town,...
Longing to repatriate or resettle? Bhutanese...
By Mishra Vidhyapati, Manager of Bhutan Media Society in Nepal and General Secretary of Association of Press Freedom Activists Bhutan. The third country resettlement programme of the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal is ongoing, and over 80 percent of these refugees should depart within a few years. By 15 December 2011 the refugees had already witnessed the resettlement of over 58,000 fellow...
How language testing used to authenticate asylum...
The following article summary, contributed by Fahamu intern Rebecka Jonsson, highlights the unreliability of language testing in the context of asylum claims. The use of such testing by the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (Immigratie en Naturalisatie Dienst) (IND) has been challenged by Massimiliano Spotti and Joachim Detailleur, in their paper ‘Placing Shibboleths at the...
Info links
Asylum Aid Women’s Asylum News Issue 106
Heartland Alliance National Immigrant Justice Center Useful Documents for Attorneys Representing Asylum Seekers
Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s information leaflets for asylum seekers in Hungary
Migreurop’s chronology of European migration policies
Practical guide for those seeking international protection in Italy
Kenya’s Nubians: Then and now
...
Announcements
Walk to raise awareness about flaws in US immigration system On 10 March 2012, a small team of brave, passionate students will embark on a 3,000 mile journey across the US, from San Francisco, CA all the way to Washington, DC, creating needed dialogue around the unspoken causes of immigration and the reality of abuses that take place due to the broken system. The communities and students will...
Requests
Fahamu website gathering information on sexual orientation and gender identity The Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Network now has a special page on sexual orientation and gender identity, managed by Eddie Bruce-Jones, who also offers help to refugee legal advisors who are representing LGBTI asylum claims. Attached to his page is a list of countries, and for each country page, a team of interns will be...
Conferences and courses
Webinar on Effective Communication Tools for Naturalisation Service Providers The Immigration Advocates Network invites you to join a free webinar, ‘From immigrant to new American: Effective communication tools for naturalisation service providers’, on 6 February 2012 at 5:30 pm GMT. The use of ethnic and mainstream media is a proven method of encouraging legal permanent residents to...
Funding appeal for FMR
Funding needed for FMR issue on ‘being young and out of place’ In May 2012 the Forced Migration Review(FMR) team will publish an issue on being young and out of place. Young people can be susceptible in particular ways to the stresses of being physically and socially dislocated at a time when they face important changes, rites of passage and the formation of adult relationships. FMR is a...
Publications and resources
The Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 24, no. 4 (Dec 2011) is now available, and includes articles on reflections on research with refugees, and experiences of Somali refugees encountering Swedish healthcare, among others.
‘Humanitarian emergencies are increasingly resulting in complex migration outcomes, where different categories of migrants move together, thus challenging the ability of the...
Country of origin and legal news
AFRICA CAMEROON: Penal code revision adds to existing penalties for homosexuality COMOROS: Conditions of detention centre on Mayotte island are a violation of human dignity DRC: Army spokesman blames Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda for deaths of at least 26 people in South Kivu province ETHIOPIA: International Press Institute condemns conviction of three Ethiopian journalists on...
Death at the gates of Europe: refugees drown off...
The following, by Fahamu intern Rebecka Jonsson, is a summary of a blog post by Chabaka, a network of NGOs in north Morocco dedicated to issues such as immigration and human rights, among others. The original post, in French, was published on 25 December 2011 and can be found here.
On 21 December 2011, Marcel Amiyeto, spokesman for the Refugee Collective in Morocco, made an announcement...
Language analysis in the UK Refugee Status...
The Editors received the following note from Dr John Campbell of the University of London’s School of African and Oriental Studies, referring to his recent publication on the use of language analysis by the United Kingdom Border Agency. The article examines claims made about the role of ‘expert knowledge’ in analysing the language of individuals seeking asylum in the UK.
In November 2001, the...
Updates on access to asylum in Switzerland
The following are translated excerpts from Swiss Refugee Council press releases.
The embassy asylum application procedure must be saved (Published on 12 December 2011. Full text, in French, can be found here)
The Swiss Refugee Council once again vigorously opposes the abolition of the asylum procedure from abroad, a decision that was taken today by the Council of States. It is now up to the...
Vacancy announcements
Legal Director, Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre The Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre (HKRAC) is seeking a Legal Director to direct all aspects of refugee legal aid. HKRAC was founded four years ago and is the only charitable organisation dedicated to pro bono legal aid for refugees making claims for asylum before UNHCR in Hong Kong.
Under the supervision of HKRAC’s Executive Director and Board...
Grants and awards
Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award Human rights advocates throughout the world are encouraged to nominate individuals or organisations for the 2012 Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award presented for exceptional commitment to international human rights in social networking and internet freedom, religious freedom, LGBT Rights, and/or freedom from torture. Named in honour of the principal...
Call for papers
Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration OxMo, the student journal dedicated to protecting and advancing the human rights of forced migrants, is currently accepting submissions for their third edition, which will be published in spring 2012. For further details on how to submit, visit the website. Questions or concerns can be sent to the Co-Editors-in-Chief. Deadline for submissions is 6 February...
January 2012
19 posts
19 tags
FAHAMU REFUGEE LEGAL AID NEWSLETTER
a monthly forum for news and discussion on refugee legal aid
Issue 22, January 2012 ISSN 2049-2650 Editorial Team: Yara Romariz Maasri, Themba Lewis, Nora Danielson, Sara Gonzalez Devant, Darshini Yoganathan, Annemarie Hulbert
Web links are underlined. In this issue:
Providing open access to legal literature
US required to consider testimony from asylum seeker
Refugees in...
7 tags
STOP PRESS: Refugee Act passes in Korea, giving...
This news was submitted by HoTaeg Lee, head of Refugee pNan in Korea. I just want to inform you all that the new Refugee Act, apart from Immigration Control Act, finally passed the National Assembly in Korea on 29 December 2011. Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network president PhilKyu Hwang, along with attorney JongChul Kim, WonGuen Choi of Nancen, HoTaeg Lee of the Refuge pNan, National Human...
Legal resource update
Current Law Journal Content (CLJC), one of the resources highlighted in ‘Looking online for legal literature’ (FRLAN, April 2011), is no longer being updated. Even though they do not provide the same features and functionality as CLJC, two alternatives for locating specific journals and/or articles are the American Bar Association’s ‘Free full-text online law review/journal search’ and ‘Law...
Erratum
In our editing of ‘Resettlement in exchange for protection and “local integration” in Egypt: a dubious bargain’ by Merrill Smith (FRLAN November 2011, p. 2), we incorrectly identified Michael Kagan, the author of the article under discussion, as ‘of Asylum Access’. This was incorrect: while Mr. Kagan previously served as Asylum Access’s Policy Director, he does not currently work...