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41. 2023 Kaldor Centre Conference Report: Learning from the future: Foresight for the next decade of forced migration

Author:
Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Sydney
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Sydney
Abstract:
At Learning from the future: Foresight for the next decade of forced migration, the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law convened leading experts for a day of compelling discussions designed to explore the greatest challenges for forced migrants in the decade ahead. Scholars, policy experts, decision-makers, civil society leaders, refugee community representatives and others gathered at UNSW Sydney on 20 November 2023, on the unceded territory of the Bedegal people. Together we reckoned with seismic challenges underway – legal, political, technological, environmental, demographic, economic and social – to consider how they will shape our world in the coming decade. We set ourselves the task of imagining what the landscape of global protection could look like 10 years from now. Our aim was to unearth the issues we need to grapple with and opportunities we need to seize today, in order to ensure protection for those who need it tomorrow. This report summarises the key takeaways from each session, which can also be replayed on our website. The ideas revealed by our speakers will be valuable to anyone around the world interested in the protection of refugees and other forced migrants. We hope the report and other resources enable you to share and benefit from this knowledge.
Topic:
International Law, Conference, Future, Forced Migration, and Protection
Political Geography:
Global Focus

42. Asylum Capacity Development: Building New and Strengthening Existing Systems

Author:
Brian Barbour
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Sydney
Abstract:
Refugees are guaranteed a set of rights under international law, but whether a refugee can enjoy those rights depends on the asylum system that they encounter in the country where they seek refuge. An ‘asylum system’ can be understood as the legal, institutional, and social arrangements in place to meet the needs of refugees. Asylum capacity development (ACD) is the emerging area of policy and practice concerned with strengthening asylum systems. The concept of ACD is still being developed, but there is a tendency to equate ACD with building State capacity to conduct refugee status determination (RSD); that is, the institutional processes in place to decide asylum claims. The success of ACD is sometimes measured by the passage of legislation or regulations, the establishment of a new RSD unit, or ‘handover’ of RSD functions from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the State. ACD is often centred on building government capacity, without engaging civil society actors. A focus on RSD alone will not equip States to meet the diverse protection needs of refugees in practice. In the worst-case scenario, asylum systems are established that do not meet relevant needs or resolve asylum cases, resulting in frustrations for both people seeking asylum and governments. When non-governmental stakeholders are excluded, key capacities may be missing and there is no shared ownership of the asylum system that is established. Clarifying the purpose and scope of ACD is important to ensuring that initiatives to strengthen asylum systems are effective. This Policy Brief seeks to contribute to both the conceptual and operational development of ACD, by setting out an approach to strengthening asylum systems that is grounded in the protection needs of refugees and reflects a whole-of-society approach. ACD can be conceptualised as the process of developing institutional, national, and local capacity so that States and UNHCR, in collaboration with individuals, organisations, and society as a whole, can each do their part to meet the protection needs of refugees and resolve protection claims effectively, efficiently, fairly and sustainably. This Policy Brief provides practical guidance by setting out a framework that can be used to evaluate existing or proposed asylum systems. While there is a remarkable diversity among asylum systems around the globe, a comparative analysis of State practice reveals that effective asylum systems share a number of common characteristics. This Policy Brief identifies eleven characteristics: accessibility; specialisation; expertise; independence and impartiality; transparency; integrity; accountability; efficiency; adaptability; and collaboration. This Policy Brief provides a set of indicators that can measure progress towards achievement of these characteristics or standards. This Policy Brief promotes a needs-based approach that seeks to develop capacities or scale them up, in order to meet the identified needs of refugees. It also emphasises the importance of a wholeof-society approach that engages all stakeholders, governmental and non-governmental, with the capacity to contribute. A well-coordinated platform for cooperation and coordination among all relevant stakeholders should be a target of ACD. Ultimately, the success of ACD efforts should be assessed with reference to whether there are improved protection outcomes for refugees, and whether case processing capacity is strengthened such that asylum claims can be resolved effectively, efficiently, fairly, and sustainably.
Topic:
International Law, Refugees, Capacity, Protection, and Asylum Seekers
Political Geography:
Global Focus

43. Biden’s Opportunity To Protect the Western Arctic in the Wake of the Willow Project

Author:
Sam Zeno and Jenny Rowland-Shea
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for American Progress - CAP
Abstract:
The Biden administration has the opportunity to champion conservation by strengthening protections in the Western Arctic to ensure the United States isn’t faced with another controversial Willow Project.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Conservation, and Protection
Political Geography:
Arctic

44. The Tampa, Afghan Refugees and New Zealand: A Commentary on the Duty to Protect and Refugee Integration

Author:
Edwina Pio Onzm and Sakina Ewazi
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:
Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:
New Zealand has a long history of receiving persons in search of safety and security. These populations span Danes fleeing suppression during the German occupation in the 1870s, Jews escaping persecution from Tsarist Russia in the 1880s, Polish orphans during World War II, Asians expelled from Uganda in 1972–73, Vietnamese boat people between 1997 and 1993, and refugees from Afghanistan starting in 2001. New Zealand’s formal refugee resettlement program dates from 1944 with the arrival of the Polish orphans and their caregivers. This commentary discusses a case that builds on this history — New Zealand’s reception of Afghan refugees who were rescued by the MV Tampa, a Norwegian container ship. The authors — a researcher and a refugee saved by MV Tampa — explore New Zealand’s reception of refugees in light of the “Kew Garden” ethical principles on the responsibility to assist imperiled persons.
Topic:
History, Refugees, Integration, and Protection
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, South Asia, New Zealand, and Asia-Pacific

45. Between Humanitarian Assistance and Externalizing of EU Borders: The EU-Turkey Deal and Refugee Related Organizations in Turkey

Author:
Ludger Pries and Berna Safak Zülfikar Savci
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:
Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:
This paper examines whether multilevel transnational cooperation makes a difference in refugee protection, especially in protracted displacement. In response to the forced migration of millions of Syrians to Turkey starting in 2011, the EU and Turkish government published a joint statement in March 2016. The so-called EU-Turkey deal (EUTD) provided a substantial flow of money (EUR 6 billion in four years) from the EU to Turkey. In return Turkey had to commit to contain and control migration movement toward the EU. In social science, there are quite diverse evaluations of the EUTD. Whereas some studies focus on its effectiveness and efficiency in reaching the outlined goals, other publications stress its geo-political effects on migrants’ mobility and (externalized) border control. Meanwhile some studies look for points to improve the EUTD while others criticize it fundamentally. This article analyzes the involvement of different types of international governmental and non-governmental organizations (IGOs and INGOs) in the four main action fields of the EUTD and its implicit side effects on the Turkish regime of migration management. It first summarizes some crucial findings and pending questions in the social science literature. Based on analysis of available documents and our own interviews in Turkey, we then shed light on the organizations involved in the implementation of the EUTD and its effects on the Turkish regime of refugee protection. In 2022, Turkey hosted some 3.7 million Syrian refugees of a total of almost four million registered international forced migrants. The EUTD of 2016 was mainly a response by the EU to the large numbers of Syrian refugees arriving in its members’ territories. When more than 1.2 million asylum seekers were registered in the then EU-28 in 2015 alone — more than twice the number in the preceding year — some EU member states (MS) negotiated with the Turkish government (Eurostat 2015, 2016). Based on a meeting of the European Council and its “Turkish counterpart” the so-called “EU-Turkey statement” was published on March 18 in 2015 (European Council 2016). From the very beginning, this EUTD was controversial — both in public discussions and in the social science literature. Was it primarily a payment from the EU to the Turkish government for externalizing its responsibilities of refugee protection? Or was it an appropriate measure for sharing the burden of an urgent humanitarian crisis? Was the money spent for refugee-oriented humanitarian aid and development expenses or was it instrumentalized by the Turkish government for its own ends? How did refugee related IGOs and INGOs participate in the management of the EUTD? In the following sections, we focus on some selected aspects of the role of national and international, governmental and non-governmental organizations active in the field of refugee protection, specifically the role and cooperation dynamics of these refugee related organizations (RRO) in implementing the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT) as part of the EUTD. Based on expert interviews in Turkey and an analysis of spending under the EUTD, the paper analyzes (1) how the landscape of RROs developed in the context of the EUTD, (2) how the budget of the EUTD was spent, and (3) how the cooperation between these RROs developed. The paper adds new insights into the contradictory dynamics between organizing services for refugees and controlling and containing refugee movements to the EU, between assisting and instrumentalizing forced migrants in Turkey, and between humanitarian aid and development activities. Especially the last point is relevant for contexts of protracted displacement as instruments of immediate humanitarian assistance have to be combined with means of longer-term development. From a perspective of organizational sociology, it argues that the EUTD contributed to a multi-level transnational organizational field of refugee protection, where collective and corporate actors relate in conflict and cooperation between the poles of rational self-interests and mutually recognized norms, between control-oriented state authorities up to grass root action networks. Analysis of the EUTD enables us to draw out specific insights and practical lessons for a broader audience. Before presenting our own empirical findings we first will sketch out the broader landscape of social science research and analysis of the EUTD.2
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, European Union, Refugees, Borders, Protection, and Humanitarian Assistance
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Middle East

46. Containing Militancy in West Africa’s Park W

Author:
International Crisis Group
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Insurgents have established bases in an important nature reserve spanning parts of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. They pose a growing danger to local ecosystems and people living around the park. The three countries need to collaborate more closely to keep the threat at bay.
Topic:
Environment, Regional Cooperation, Insurgency, Natural Resources, Biodiversity, Countering Violent Extremism, and Protection
Political Geography:
Africa, West Africa, Sahel, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin

47. Resolve to Protect: The War in Ukraine and Challenges to Protecting Civilians in Evolving Warfare Dynamics

Author:
Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP)
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP)
Abstract:
What can the states and governments do to protect civilians in conflict and prevent further civilian losses in war in Ukraine? Read about it in the new analysis written by a member of the BCSP International Advisory Committee, Marta Martinelli. The war in Ukraine marks a turning point in the history of Europe and of the relations between the West and Russia, as well as more broadly, the configuration of alliances that the conflict contributes to shaping as it protracts and evolves. The situation in Ukraine is a powerful indication of a world we used to take for granted. The old framework provided a more or less reliable ecosystem designed to provide predictability and a level of stability acceptable to the world’s large powers. It included the use of diplomacy to address international confrontations, reliance on international law to regulate relations amongst states including in the conduct of hostilities, and a general ‘agreement’ that provoking a direct confrontation between Russia and the West belonged to the realm of the irrational and unacceptable. That predictability was shattered in February 2022. If there is one element that emerges starkly from the conduct of the war in Ukraine, it is the insignificance of diplomacy to restore peace and the total disregard for International Humanitarian Law and civilians caught in the war. Whilst not new to contemporary conflicts (as seen in Darfur, the Central African Republic, Yemen, and Syria, amongst others) the scale and speed of the harm inflicted to civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine is unprecedented, facilitated also by the use of new technologies.
Topic:
Civilians, Armed Conflict, Protection, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

48. The Challenges of Data Collection in Conflict-affected Areas: A Case Study in the Liptako-Gourma Region

Author:
Shourjya Deb and Virginie Baudais
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract:
Conducting research in the Sahel has become more challenging over the past 10 years, and the continuing deterioration of the security situation has restricted access to many areas. This SIPRI Insights paper provides an overview of the main challenges for researchers when conducting data collection in conflict-affected areas. The paper employs a case study of a humanitarian protection project that SIPRI has been working on in the Liptako-Gourma region. The project was designed in collaboration with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and three local research partners: the Centre for Democratic Governance (CGD) in Burkina Faso, Point Sud in Mali and the Laboratoire d’Études et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (LASDEL) in Niger. Using the case study, the paper identifies and outlines how the project addressed specific challenges. The paper also highlights key considerations for researchers to take into account when carrying out data collection and fieldwork in conflict zones. Evidence-based research can influence humanitarian and development initiatives and support shifts in policy and programming. The bottom-up research approach gives a voice to communities and alternative perspectives and advances evidence-based solutions that are locally driven, meaningful and sustainable for target populations.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Governance, Conflict, Peace, and Protection
Political Geography:
Africa and Sahel

49. Social Protection in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons from South Africa

Author:
Lena Gronbach, Jeremy Seekings, and Vayda Megannon
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
South Africa responded to the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown using a combination of existing social protection programmes, unemployment insurance, and additional measures to support those most affected. This paper reviews policies and implementation with the objective of highlighting lessons for the global community, including on the use of digital mechanisms. The government adopted a two-pronged and largely cash-based approach: unemployment benefits for formal sector workers and cash transfers to vulnerable individuals, informal workers, and beneficiaries of existing grants. Top-up payments for existing grants were rolled out efficiently; the new Special Relief of Distress (SRD) grant posed challenges but ultimately succeeded in reaching over six million previously uncovered beneficiaries. It may even become a permanent feature of South Africa’s social protection system. Overall, the government reached over 30 million South Africans with cash-based relief measures. A distinctive feature of cash-based emergency relief was the use of digital technologies, especially in the application and verification process for the new SRD grant. The payment system, however, relied heavily on manual cash disbursements, thus failing to reflect the adoption of innovative digital technologies observed in many other African countries.
Topic:
Security, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Protection
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

50. Toward an Environmental and Climate-Sensitive Approach to Protection in UN Peacekeeping Operations

Author:
Agathe Sarfati
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Environmental degradation, including degradation caused by climate change, armed conflict, or the illegal exploitation of resources, can be a catalyst for violence against civilians. While addressing environmental degradation goes well beyond the mandates of UN peacekeeping operations, missions are increasingly focusing on climate-related security risks, and several missions have environment and climate-related language in their mandates. Overall, however, missions’ work in this area remains ad hoc. This issue brief discusses how peacekeeping operations can better factor environmental and climate-related security risks in planning and implementing protection-related activities. It provides an overview of the impact of environmental degradation on armed conflict and the impact of armed conflict on environmental degradation. The paper then highlights current best practices for considering the environment and climate in protection-related activities in peacekeeping. The brief concludes by suggesting that UN peacekeeping operations include environmental and climate security considerations in their assessment, planning, and implementation of mandated activities related to protection through a whole-of-mission approach and in close partnership with the UN country team and the host government. It also suggests that missions continue exploring opportunities for new approaches, including environmental peacebuilding and mediation.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Civilians, and Protection
Political Geography:
Global Focus