Forced Migration Conference ** February 11-12, 2005 ** The Fletcher School
Join us for an exciting 1 1/2 day conference exploring the linkages between
different stages of displacement for FORCED MIGRANTS. Panel session
will cover: EDUCATION, HEALTH & NUTRITION, SECURITY, AND LIVELIHOODS.
'The Inter-University Forced Migration Conference at the Fletcher School'
"From Flight to Freedom?: Tracing the Path of Displacement"
February 11-12, 2005
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/refugeeconference/
Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in dialogue with representatives
of refugee communities, practitioners, academics, government officials,
students, and representatives of international organizations on issues
of relevance to the study of forced migration! We are especially
honored to include the Honorable Leonard Ngaithe, The Kenyan Ambassador
to the United States.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
*** Lavinia Limón ***
Lavinia Limón is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S.
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. During the Clinton Administration, Ms.
Limón served as the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Department
of Health and Human Services designing and implementing programs to assist
newly arriving refugees in achieving economic and social self-sufficiency.
In her keynote address, Ms. Limón will be discussing how long term refugee
wharehousing denies refugees their rights to livelihood, health, education,
and self-determination.
REGISTRATION:
The conference is free of charge and open to all individuals interested
in forced migration issues. Please register online.
- http://fletcher.tufts.edu/refugeeconference/
PANELIST ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDE:
• Catholic Relief Services
• Embassy of Kenya
• Famine Center, Tufts University
• Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University
• Institute of War and Peace Studies & Program on Force Migration and
Health, Columbia University
• International Institute of Boston
• International Rescue Committee
• Refugee Community
• Refugees International
• Refugee Livelihoods Network, a UNHCR Initiative
• Refugee Studies at AMIDSt, University of Amsterdam
• World Health Organization
• UNICEF
• UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
• USAID
• U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
=========================================
PANEL DESCRIPTIONS
LIVELIHOODS PANEL
"Surviving or Thriving? The Challenging Pursuit of a
Sustainable Livelihood"
The ability to secure a sustainable livelihood is a primary concern for
persons who are forced to flee from their homes. The livelihood
strategies employed by forced migrants as an adaptation to new
environments often impact existing social structures and concepts of
identity. In light of these issues, international organizations, aid
agencies and advocates must carefully assess how they can best assist
forced migrants in securing sustainable livelihoods.
EDUCATION PANEL
"Who Gets to Learn What? Challenges in the Field of Forced
Migrant Education"
Although education is enshrined as a human right in international law,
in practice opportunities for education are often restricted in forced
migration settings. Even where education exists, it is limited and of
questionable content and utility. These inadequacies obstruct refugee
and internally displaced persons’ abilities to ensure future livelihoods
and adapt to changing environments, as well as affecting their own
perceptions of productivity and self-worth. This panel hopes to address
some of these challenges and offer potential solutions for overcoming
current limitations in the field of education for forced migrants.
SECURITY PANEL
“Threats & Opportunities for Protecting National and Human Security”
States often look at forced population movements as a threat to their
territorial integrity and as a destabilizing factor in their political
and socio-economic order. During the past decade, the human rights,
humanitarian and development fields have pushed for greater emphasis to
be placed on understanding the security and protection of persons in
complex situations of forced migration. Human security, as opposed to
state security, includes the protection of an individual’s physical
safety, economic and social well-being, and the protection and promotion
of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is between these differing
rights, priorities, and responsibilities where the most pressing
tensions between state security and human security lie.
HEALTH & NUTRITION PANEL
“Competing Interests in the Realization of Health Rights”
A number of refugee crises during the last two decades have forced
practitioners and academics to rethink how they approach refugee and IDP
issues relating to health and nutrition. Increased health and
nutritional needs and vulnerabilities have always defined displaced
populations, but several issues appear particularly significant to
today’s forced migrants: HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, mental health,
needs of the young-adult population, and a reassessment of nutritional
needs and interventions. However, a number of tensions still exist
within the field of health and nutrition, representing competing demands
that complicate interventions.
SPONSORS:
The Inter-University Committee on International Migration, The Institute
for Human Security, Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation, The
Feinstein International Famine Center, FIFC Livelihoods Program, International
Security Studies Program, Fletcher Office of Career Services, Ralph Bunche
Society, Human Rights Project, International Negotiation & Conflict Resolution
Club, Global Women, Fares Center for Mediterranean Studies, Tufts International
Relations Program, Refugee Roundtable
QUERIES:
[log in to unmask], Logistics Coordinator
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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.
List archives are available at: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/forced-migration.html
