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RefWorld CD-ROM: Information on Refugees and Human Rights UNHCR's new Protection Information Section is launching RefWorld 2003. It constitutes the most comprehensive, reliable and updated refugee information resource available, drawn from a wide range of current and authoritative sources. What does RefWorld 2003 contain ? A collection of reliable documents from UNHCR specialists and information partners throughout the world; includes 20,000 comprehensive in-depth reports and 270 detailed maps. RefWorld 2003 consists of two sets of four CD-Roms. The first set will be published at the beginning of 2003 and will cover data until December 2002; the second updated set, to be published in the autumn of 2003, will cover data until mid-2003. UNHCR Information For those interested in the work and history of UNHCR, this section provides, among others, historical documents on its creation; documents from UNHCR's Executive Committee, and selected speeches from all the High Commissioners. This section also includes asylum statistics, full text UNHCR publications and bibliographic listings of articles, books and official documents. A large selection of detailed, newly developed, UNHCR and UN maps is also available. Country Information Includes UNHCR background papers, as well as human rights and country reports from governmental and non-governmental organizations. The sources included are necessarily selective, taking into account global coverage, relevance and reliability, as well as the reputation of the producers. They are also diversified in order to provide different perspectives for purposes of comparison and/or corroboration. Governmental sources include Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Non-governmental sources include ACCORD, Amnesty International, the Danish Refugee Council, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Open Society Institute and the US Committee for Refugees. Finally, this section contains country reports from a network of regional research specialists on human rights, forced migration, ethnic and political conflict. Legal Information Refugee lawyers, those involved with refugee-status determination within governments, UNHCR staff, and others concerned with the rights of refugees and asylum seekers can find hundreds of public-domain UNHCR policy and position papers and guidelines, including those from the recent Global Consultations process. A completely restructured and improved database with international instruments relating to refugees and human rights is available, together with the most recent lists of states parties to key conventions. More than 300 previously unavailable pieces of Spanish-language legislation and jurisprudence are added (from www.acnur.org). The updated database with refugee-related national legislation (as of 1 December 2002), is a valuable tool for those looking for information on the national context. Some legal information is also available in French and German. United Nations Documents Contains the latest as well as historical refugee- and UNHCR-related reports, resolutions, decisions and other documents produced by United Nations organs such as the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights. Also included are documents from UN human rights treaty-monitoring bodies such as the Committee Against Torture and the Human Rights Committee. How to access information in RefWorld 2003 RefWorld 2003 on CD-Rom is a browser-based, easy to use and self-contained resource with full searching and printing capabilities. Acrobat ReaderŠ will enable the user to view a large diversity of UNHCR documents and maps. Users will find that they can navigate this immense information resource quickly and accurately. Search tips facilitate the finding of relevant documents and information. Custom-designed search forms make looking for information easy. Even first-time users can quickly conduct complex searches to pinpoint the required information. RefWorld 2003 takes full advantage of the powerful features of Verity PublisherŠ software. Why a CD-ROM? The great advantage of a CD-Rom, is that it provides stand-alone access to large volumes of information. It is especially useful, for those who need to take all information with them. Using a CD-Rom, and being able to save all the contents to a hard-drive, is often much quicker than having to use the Internet. The Internet is not always reliable/accessible and large files such as maps can not always be downloaded. Pricing information: The complete package of two sets of RefWorld 2003 CD-Roms will cost: - US$150 for governments, UN agencies, academic institutions, libraries, bar associations. - US$75 for non-governmental organizations, legal clinics, individuals or lawyers involved in work with refugees and asylum-seekers. A reduction of 30% of the total price will be given for any order of 5 sets or more. System requirements: IBM-Compatible PCs 486 processor or higher 32 MB RAM recommended Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT, ME, 2000 Standard Microsoft TCP/IP stack 10-30 MB available hard disk space (per platform) Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x or greater, or Netscape Navigator 4.x or greater Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.x or greater To order, or for more information: UNHCR Department of International Protection Protection Information Section Case Postale 2500 CH-1211 Genčve 2 Switzerland Tel: +41-22 739-8142 Fax: +41-22 739-7344 Email: [log in to unmask] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Note: The material contained in this communication comes to you from the Forced Migration Discussion List which is moderated by the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), University of Oxford. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the RSC or the University. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this message please retain this disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources.