The International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM)

8th IASFM Biannual Conference
Chiang Mai, Thailand, 5-9 January, 2003

FORCED MIGRATION AND GLOBAL PROCESSES

CALL FOR PAPERS

The International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) will
hold its 8th Biannual International Conference from the 5th to the 9th of
January 2003 in cooperation with its local host, the Asian Research Centre
for Migration, Chulalongkorn University. This will be the first time that
the association has held its bi-annual conference in Asia, having met
previously in the United Kingdom, Africa, and the Middle East. As such, the
8th Conference will be an important occasion for strengthening links between
the IASFM and Asian academics, policy-makers and practitioners. The
Conference will also provide an opportunity for strengthening all forms of
cooperation on forced migration issues between the existing and new members
of the Association.

The Asian Research Centre for Migration (ARCM) at Chulalongkorn University,
Thailand, developed out of the Indochinese Refugee Information Center
(IRIC). The IRIC was originally established in 1987 to act as a centralised
source of migration-related information for the South-East Asia region.
ARCM's staff are involved in research and documentation on issues related to
regional migration, including migrant workers, refugees and other
transborder movements of people, as well as the implications of such
movements, The Centre organizes lectures, seminars, training and
consultancies pertaining to migration for individuals and organizations in
the region

Chiang Mai is approximately one hour's flight from Bangkok and is served by
an international airport with good regional flight connections.


Conference Theme:
FORCED MIGRATION AND GLOBAL PROCESSES

Globalisation has been the buzzword of the last decade in all areas of
political, social, economic and cultural studies. The emphasis on
globalisation has signalled a general, though not total, departure from
state-centred and local-level analysis and a recognition of the growing
impact of global changes on governmental and multilateral policy and
academic research.

Migration has been at the centre of much of the discussion on globalisation.
This is partly a result of the very fact that many migrants move across
state boundaries and thus defy state-centred enquiry. In addition, however,
migration movements are often caused and/or influenced by the following
aspects of global change:
- The transformation of the world economy, with the expansion of free-trade,
the reorientation of development policies towards market-based economies and
the demise of the State as a central actor in socio-economic life.
- The modification of the balance of power. Only one state is now able to
claim the status of super-power. However, various (trading) regions are
emerging as powerful collective entities. At the same time we see the
resurgence of (violent) ethno-nationalist claims or religious
particularisms, and the development of sources of individual and state
insecurity in many other areas.
- The emergence of the global environment as an important political
preoccupation, with attention being given to issues such as climate change,
water supply, biodiversity, biotechnologies, etc.
- As a result of migration itself, and of increased communication and
transport facilities, communities are no longer necessarily confined to the
geographical areas in which they have developed over centuries. Networks of
migrants, with common routes, or attachments developed en route are
emerging, bringing new understandings to questions of identity.

As the study of migration has developed, the term 'forced migration' has
been coined to both encompass many of the migrations which are part of the
changing socio-political landscape described above and to allow us to
discuss involuntary displacement in all of its manifestations as alternative
to the more limited 'refugee studies' which refers only to those who fall
under the international legal definition of 'refugee'.  Meanwhile, attempts
to regulate migration have also been subject to new forces. As the details
of migration policies have become the subject of intense international
discussion and scrutiny, they are increasingly forming precedents that have
regional and global ramifications.

Three sub-themes are set out as broad categories which papers and panels at
this meeting are encouraged to address. Each of these covers one broad range
of global process that can be approached through a multitude of
perspectives: anthropological, economic, geographical, health-related,
historical, legal, philosophical, political, psychological, sociological,
etc.  Contributions are welcome from theoretical as well as
empirical/applied perspectives, from academics, policy-makers and
practitioners.

a. Forced migration and development

Evaluations of the forced migration consequences of international
development policies show varied results. How can these consequences become
more central in the formulation of international development policies?

Development policies have radically changed since the inception of the first
structural adjustment programmes.  International Financial Institutions have
been influential in bringing about dramatic economic, administrative, social
and political changes within developing societies, both positive and
negative. These have often resulted in an acceleration of the movement of
persons, both internally (often towards cities) and internationally
(generally towards more prosperous regions), even where such migration is
not always clearly spurred only or primarily by economic considerations. How
can we analyse development-induced migrations? How can we evaluate the
impact of development projects or policies on migratory movements? What
migrations are caused by changes in the environment and what changes in the
environment are caused by migrations? Is it possible to evaluate the costs
and benefits of migratory movements in economic terms? Will the deepening of
the economic divide between North and South trigger more massive forced
population movements?

b. Forced migration and human rights

Human rights concerns cross-cut all forced migration issues. Not only are
many forced migration movements undertaken as a result of human rights
violations, but the very experience of being forcibly displaced renders the
migrant's human rights vulnerable to abuse, violation, or deprivation. Where
can we expect them to make a real difference for the most vulnerable, i.e.
women, children, elderly, victims of torture, minorities, etc.?

Forced migration results from and constitutes a violation of basic human
rights: right to physical integrity, freedom of movement, right to food,
freedom from torture, right to health, right to an education, etc. How do
individuals and families cope with being forced to move? How do communities
deal with both outward and inward migrations? How can we best ensure the
principle of family unity? How is it possible to preserve the rights of
children and protect them effectively through migratory movements? How can
forced migrants benefit from their experience and how can they be helped in
their adaptation to new life parameters? What role do education and
employment play in facilitating integration, resettlement or eventual
repatriation? How can we ensure that the experience of involuntary
displacement ends as quickly as possible and that the displaced are offered
the most appropriate durable solution? How can we ensure that the reforms
imposed by structural adjustment programmes do not result in the violation
of the core human rights of the most vulnerable, including forced migrants,
and especially women, children, elderly, victims of torture, minorities,
etc.? What is the role of international human rights institutions in
situations of forced migration, if any? Is anyone or any institution to be
held accountable for guaranteeing that the human rights of the displaced are
respected? How about an independent treaty monitoring mechanism for the 1951
Geneva Convention? What is the relationship between a violation of human
rights and "a well-founded fear of persecution?" and what are the
differences in protection issues for each? What treatment should a host
country offer to asylum-seekers in order to respect their human rights? How
can we secure policies that will uphold the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being, and taking into account the impact
of both local and global socio-economic, historical and geo-political
factors?

c. Forced migration and security

Irregular migrations are nowadays considered primarily security issues. What
security are we considering: security against forced migrants or security
for forced migrants? How can we ensure that the protection of forced
migrants is included in the full range of domestic and international
security policies?

Illegal movements of persons have come to be considered primarily as
national and international security threats, alongside terrorism and drug
trafficking, rather than as an act of last resort taken by forced migrants
who might otherwise be unable to escape persecution or to reunite with
family members. Numerous instruments and policies, as well as significant
international cooperation, address human trafficking, migrant smuggling,
illegal entry, detention of migrants, and other migration issues from a
security perspective. This is especially true in the wake of the Sept. 11th
2001 events. What impact do containment and interception policies have on
migratory movements? Conversely, how do forced migrants react to such
preventive measures? Should a legal, academic or policy distinction be made
between trafficking in persons and smuggling migrants? How can the
legitimate interests of States in protecting their borders be balanced with
the recognition of the legitimate protection needs of forced migrants?
Instances of regularised migration are sometimes also perceived as
threatening, if not to national security as such, then to the identity of a
state and the societal structures its people have created. How can states
intervene with their own populations to address issues of racism and
xenophobia? Furthermore, domestic security issues arise when displacement is
internal rather than international. How can the protection of internally
displaced persons (IDPs) best be guaranteed? Are there cases in which focus
on protection of IDPs provides a degree of impunity to perpetrators of
persecution and human rights violations to the non-displaced? How should the
protection and/or return of forced migrants be included in conflict
management strategies and peace building efforts? How to ensure the security
of refugee camps when they are build near borders? How can one deal with
threats of armed elements on refugee camps or flows of forced migration? How
can the security of the staff of aid organisations be ensured? Is there a
role for the military in the protection of forced migrants? What is and will
be the impact of the global fight against terrorism on the asylum options
for forced migrants? How do concerns about terrorism impact states'
willingness to accept asylum seekers from certain countries, and in what
ways (if any) is their treatment by immigration officials affected?


Proposals for Papers and Panels:

IASFM seeks proposals for individual papers and panels which address issues
of forced migration under the above sub-themes. Panels will be expected to
include three paper presenters, a chairperson and a discussant. Full panel
proposals will be particularly welcome. The programme committee will group
accepted individual paper proposals into panels. IASFM would especially
welcome papers and/or panels which deal with theoretical issues, as well as
'mixed' panel proposals: i.e,. those which are inter-disciplinary, and/or
include both practitioners and academics, and/or cover more than one region
of the globe.

Any panel or paper proposals which seem to fall outside the specified themes
should be discussed with the IASFM Programme Committee chair, Professor
Francois Crepeau ([log in to unmask]).

In addition to full paper presentations, sessions on "ideas in progress"
will take place. These are intended to be opportunities for participants to
present a particularly challenging idea, or the core of new research
project. The sessions will provide an opportunity for discussion of a
particular topic, without the need for a full-blown paper. The themes in
this section should be generally in line with the overall theme, but could
include other areas of forced migration research. In particular, this could
be an arena for the discussion of methodological and theoretical issues,
crossing both disciplinary boundaries and the practitioner-academic divide.
Ideas in progress may be submitted by individuals or groups. The programme
committee will group accepted proposals.


The Deadline for submission of panel, individual paper and ideas in progress
proposals is 31 March 2002.

For more information, please visit the IASFM web site at
http://www.iasfm.org.


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