Resources: Digest of Forced Migration Discussion List Messages

****************************************************************************************************

Resource: New Eurasylum interview: Prof John Skrentny

Eurasylum (www.eurasylum.org) has just released its new monthly policy 
interview, featuring Prof John Skrentny, Director of the Center for 
Comparative Immigration Studies (CCIS), University of California at San 
Diego. The interview is on: ‘Key variations in immigration policy in 
East Asia, Europe and North America’

The interview can be accessed from:

http://www.eurasylum.org/Portal/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=2&tabid=19

Eurasylum’s interviews may be reproduced freely on condition that both 
the original source and the URL are explicitly acknowledged.

Contact: [log in to unmask]

****************************************************************************************************

Resource: RSC Resources on UNHCR voluntary pledges

New RSC resource a tool for adoption of UNHCR voluntary pledges

To commemorate its 60th Anniversary, the Office of the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is facilitating a 
ministerial-level meeting on 7 and 8 December 2011 to review protection 
gaps and measures to address them. States are being encouraged to make 
voluntary pledges [link 'voluntary pledges' to 
http://www.unhcr.org/4d1c95859.html] at this meeting. The pledging 
process will serve as an opportunity for States to identify issues and 
challenges of importance to them and promote realistic ways to respond.

The Refugee Studies Centre, as a leading centre for multidisciplinary, 
independent and critical scholarship on the causes and consequences of 
the forced displacement of populations, is supporting this process by 
highlighting a number of the RSC’s resources which are relevant to the 
proposed pledges and which, we hope, will help States in their thinking 
about the issues at stake.

These resources are organised along the themes of addressing 
statelessness, preventing discrimination, resolving protracted refugee 
situations and improving humanitarian response and contain highlights of 
the most relevant:
- RSC research reports
- Forced Migration Review issues
- Working Papers
- Policy Briefings
and more...

View the resource [LINK TO 
http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/resources/support-state-pledges]
-------
Claire Lauterbach
Communications and Publications Officer
Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford Department of International Development (QEH)
3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1865 281707
Website: www.rsc.ox.ac.uk


****************************************************************************************************

Resource: No Place to Go But Up: Urban Refugees in Johannesburg, Women's 
Refugee Commission

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to share with you the report, No Place to Go But Up: 
Urban Refugees in Johannesburg, South Africa. The report, based on 
household surveys and interviews with 237 forced migrants, urban poor 
and service providers, highlights the constraints and opportunities to 
improve the livelihoods of urban forced migrants in Johannesburg.

Our findings suggest that forced migrants in Johannesburg are more 
vulnerable to poverty and violence than the urban poor, and those living 
in the townships are worse off than forced migrants in the inner city. 
New arrivals are at a disadvantage due to fragmented social networks 
which support forced migrants’ access to food, jobs, housing and 
security. Women are commonly targets of sexual violence, are more likely 
to be dependent on a spouse, friends or NGOs, and are less likely to 
earn income than men.

Many forced migrants come with high levels of education and professional 
skills, but are found in unskilled labor. Approximately 75 percent are 
economically active and many are engaged in multiple, simultaneous 
livelihood strategies. Regardless, some 50 percent of forced migrants 
are poor.

You can download the report from: 
http://womensrefugeecommission.org/reports/doc_download/758-no-place-to-go-but-up-urban-refugees-in-johannesburg-south-africa

We hope you’ll find the report a useful tool for improving economic 
programs that target urban refugees. Please feel free to send comments 
or questions to Jina Krause-Vilmar at: [log in to unmask]


****************************************************************************************************