RIGHTS IN EXILE
Janus-Faced Humanitarianism
Guglielmo Verdirame and Barbara Harrell-Bond
Of the 12 million refugees in the world, more than 7 million have been
confined to camps or segregated settlements, effectively
"warehoused", in some cases for 10 years and more. Refugee camps have become
wards of the international community, a community that too often holds itself
above serious scrutiny, sometimes even above the law, infringing the
fundamental rights of refugees it should protect as well as the sovereignty of
host countries. Holding European refugees in camps was anathema to the
founders of the refugee protection regime. Today, with most refugees encamped
in the less developed world, the office of the UN High Comissioner for
Refugees and the humanitarian apparatus originally designed to protect and
safeguard their human rights has in many ways been transformed into a
custodial regime for innocent people.
Based on the analysis of rich ethnographic data, Rights in Exile exposes the
gap between human rights norms and the mandates of international
organisations, on the one hand, and the reality on the ground, on the other.
It will be of wide interest to social scientists, human rights and
international law scholars, and those interested in the work of international
organisations. Policy makers, donor governments and humanitarian
organisations, especially those beginning to develop 'rights-based'
approaches, will also find it an invaluable resource. But it is refugees
themselves who could benefit the most if these actors absorb its lessons and
apply them.
Guglielmo Verdirame is Lecturer in International Law at the University of
Cambridge, and a fellow of Corpus Christi College. Barbara Harrell-Bond is the
Founding Director of the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, formerly
Visiting Professor at Makerere University, Uganda and Distinguished Visiting
Professor, American University in Cairo.
480 pages, bibliog., index
December 2004 ISBN 1-57181-526-0 hardback $75.00/£50.00 ($60.00/£40.00
discounted price)
December 2004 ISBN -57181-527-9 paperback $29.95/£19.95 ($23.96/£15.96
discounted price)
Volume 17, Forced Migration
Berghahn Books
http://www.berghanhnbooks.com
(**NOTE**: If any list member is interested in this publication, let me know
and I can email you a PDF flyer that offers a 20 percent discount - Elisa
Mason <[log in to unmask]>.)
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