28
Jul
Syrian Torture Trial: German Court Upholds The Principle of Universal Jurisdiction
Background of the case On 24 February, 2021, a German court in Koblenz sentenced Eyad al Gharib, a low-ranking former officer of the Syrian secret service to four-and-half years of imprisonment for complicity in crimes against humanity. The prosecutors have described the role of Eyad along with Anwar Raslan, the principal defender who is still... Read More
13
Jul
Gender in Conflict and Post-Conflict Reconstruction: An Ethnographic Study of Northern Uganda
Introduction In 1995, the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action formally established the undertaking of the integration of gender perspectives in matters of international peace and security. The indispensable role of fostering gender equality was broadly recognised by governments and international organisations and further integrated in several national and international declarations and humanitarian responses.... Read More
9
Jun
Upcoming Event: ‘We don’t want to give away how you hack the system’: An Emotional History of the Department of Immigration and Child Refugees
Dr Jordy Silverstein explores what can be learnt about the place of child refugees in Australian policy history. Presented by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute as part of the Migration, Refugees and Statelessness Seminar Series, in partnership with the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness There are many ways in which we can write a history... Read More
30
Apr
Liberation bibliography: Towards open access to powerful knowledges to enhance forced migration advocacy
The new Australian Research on Refugee Integration Database (ARRID) clearly demonstrates that there has been a proliferation of research on issues relating to forced migration over the last 10 years. This research translates into a large and rich body of scholarship, mostly published by academics in academic journals that are hidden behind paywalls. According to... Read More
28
Apr
Collateral diplomacy: Kenya’s diplomatic failure with Somalia
In March 2020 President Kenyatta warned Somalia to ‘stop and desist from unwarranted provocations’ from what he termed as ‘provoking Kenya by violating her territorial integrity’. Fast forward to March 2021, Kenya pulls out of the Kenya-Somali maritime dispute hearing at the International Court of Justice and then gives a 14 day ultimatum for the... Read More
14
Apr
Reflections on Refugee Backlash and Gendered Harms
Within a window of 15 hours, I virtually travelled in time zones from GMT -5 to GMT +5. These journeys reminded me yet again about some of the most haunting downfalls of humanity. First, I participated in the Bold New Voices in Migration Research Conference organised by the Immigration Initiative at Harvard and Perry House. Sarah Mardini and Salaam... Read More
10
Feb
Can Uganda’s global refugee-assisting image subsist in a possible shift in political regimes?
Uganda’s legacy of accommodating forcibly displaced people dates back to pre-independence when our British colonial masters offered refuge to 7,000 prisoners of war in 1942 during World War II. Standing with over 1.4 million forcibly displaced people, Uganda holds the highest refugee population on the African continent, and ranks fourth globally following Turkey, Colombia and... Read More
21
Jan
Essay: How should we define refugees?
“A Proper Conception of refugeehood is an important matter” – Shacknove (1985, 276). In this piece, I offer a critical look at the scholarly discussion on how to define refugees, prompted by a Deutsche Welle (2020) report on the Moria refugee camp in Greece, which was set on fire in September 2020. Thousands fled... Read More
6
Jan
Afghan Diaspora in Pakistan: Healthcare and Education Policy Recommendations
Politically charged philosophical debates concentrate more frequently than ever on the rights of displaced persons. They are ‘moving people’ in both senses of that term: on the move or migrating as well as stirring various emotions in host countries. My study presents evidence about the reception of one group of moving people, Afghan refugees in... Read More
18
Dec
StepUp.One: Connecting refugees with opportunities that pay
“We need access to education whilst at the camp, we need access to opportunity. In a time when goods and capital move freely, humans are locked up in camps for years” – Mohammed Hassan Mohamud, Co-Chair World Economic Forum (2019). Somali-born Mohammed Hassan Mohamud (pictured) was confined to Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp for more than... Read More