In the past, African and other governments in the South have granted asylum seekers refugee status automatically on the prima facie basis of their nationality. Today, it is increasingly common for asylum seekers to have their refugee status determined on an individual basis. This approach results in many rejections of otherwise legitimate claims because of procedural flaws, language barriers, and other concerns.” (Excerpt from the homepage of the organization for Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), http://www.amera-uk.org/).
RELATED ARTICLE:
“Confronting the Realities of Forced Migration”, 2004 article http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=222
REFUGEES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
“The Middle East hosts more refugees than any other region in the
world, an estimated 5.3 million as of December 2002. This includes an
estimated three million Palestinian refugees, as well as nearly 2
million from Afghanistan and more than 200,000 from Iraq.” Beyond the
number of refugees from within the region of the Mashrek, there are an
increasingly high number of African refugees who, having fled crises
especially in Sudan and Somalia, are seeking transit, refuge, and
asylum in many Middle Eastern countries. (Source: Human Rights First,
International Refugee Policy, http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/intl_refugees/regions/mid_east/middle_ea...)
RELATED ARTICLES:
“Migration in the Middle East and Mediterranean”, 2005 in-depth report from GCIM, http://www.mmo.gr/pdf/news/Migration_in_the_Middle_East_and_Mediterranea...
“Senders Turned into Receivers: Transit Migration in the Middle East and North Africa”, 2007 Workshop paper, http://www.iue.it/RSCAS/Research/Mediterranean/mrm2007/pdf/WS16_MRM2007....
RELATED ARTICLES AND PAPERS BY COUNTRY:
Refugees in LEBANON:
“Refugees and asylum seekers in Lebanon make up about 10 percent of
the country's total population. Palestinians make up the majority of
refugees, followed by Kurds, Iraqis, and Sudanese.” (2006 article,
excerpt from http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=419)
“Rights, Needs and Responsibility: Challenges to Rights-Based
Advocacy for Non-Palestinian Refugees’ Health and Education in
Lebanon”, 2006 report
http://www.migrationdrc.org/publications/research_reports/Trad&KaganLeba...
Refugees in TURKEY:
“Refugee detention denies rights: Report” (08.04.08)
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=101116
Refugees in EGYPT:
“During the 1970s, Egypt opened its doors to emigrants from the
Sudan. But things changed with the resurgence of civil war in Sudan in
the 1980s that led to the arrival of a great number of refugees and
asylum seekers in Egypt. Although party to the 1951 Geneva Convention,
Egypt then decided to revise its policies by considerably restricting
the influx of refugees.
“In September 2005 the treatment by the Egyptian authorities of
Sudanese refugees having fled the ongoing conflicts raging in Darfur
confirmed this trend and illustrates Egypt’s failure to meet its
international commitments in this domain.” (Source: 2007 report, http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ANMO_Eng.pdf))
“IRRI CONDEMNS HORRIFIC ATTACK ON REFUGEE DEMONSTRATORS IN CAIRO”, January 2006 article
http://www.refugee-rights.org/Newsletters/NorthAfrica/PR01-02-06.htm
Refugees in YEMEN:
“The only signatory of the 1951 Geneva Convention in the Arabian
peninsula, Yemen attracts a large number of asylum seekers from
sub-Saharan Africa who endanger their lives by crossing the Red Sea to
reach the Aden coast. Refugees live in urban areas and in refugee camps
located mainly in the southern part of the country.” (Source: 2007
report, http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ANMO_Eng.pdf)
“Ethiopia-Somalia-Yemen: People traffic set to escalate”, 2007 article
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74075
Refugees in SYRIA:
“SYRIA: No bullets or militias, but Somali refugees still face hardship”, 2006 article
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/fa8dafa468c8bfba22fae6f58a...
Refugees in ISRAEL:
“ISRAEL-SUDAN: Government to turn back refugees at border”, IRIN Global 2007 article, http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73078
“African Refugees Pose a Dilemma for Israel”, US News article (28.02.08) http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/world/2008/02/28/african-refugees-po...
Refugees in JORDAN:
“Jordan: A Refugee Haven”, 2004 report, http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?id=236
CAMPAIGNS/PROJECTS:
International Refugee Rights Initiative: http://www.refugee-rights.org/index.htm
Refugee Law Project: http://www.refugeelawproject.org/
Forced Migration Review, a journal published by the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford:
http://www.fmreview.org/index.htm
Refugees and Forced Migration News, Pambazuka News: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/
Refugee Case Law, program run by University of Michigan Law School:
http://www.refugeecaselaw.org/
Forced Migration Project, Development Research Center (DRC):
http://www.migrationdrc.org/research/typesofmigration/forced_migration.h...
Forced Migration and Policy in the Middle East, Project 6b, DRC: http://www.migrationdrc.org/research/projects/project6b.html
RESEARCH CENTERS:
Forced Migration and Refugee Studies, American University in Cairo
http://www.aucegypt.edu/researchatAUC/rc/fmrs/Pages/default.aspx
Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC), Notre Dame University-Lebanon
http://www.ndu.edu.lb/lerc/
Program on Forced Migration and Health, Columbia University, New York:
http://www.forcedmigration.columbia.edu/index.html
The Refugee Studies Centre, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford
http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/
Centre for Refugee Research, University of New South Wales, Australia
http://www.crr.unsw.edu.au/
The Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins University
http://www.jhsph.edu/refugee
ASSOCIATIONS:
The UN Refugee Agency
http://www.unhcr.org/home.html
Forced Migration Online
http://www.forcedmigration.org/
Refugee Action
http://www.refugee-action.org.uk/default.aspx
Refugee Relief International
http://refugeerelief.org/
Refugee Action Committee
http://www.refugeeaction.org/
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
http://www.womenscommission.org/
InterAction: American Council for Voluntary International Action
http://www.interaction.org/refugees
Al Mashriq on displaced persons
http://almashriq.hiof.no/base/refugees.html
Hargeisa Women’s Rescue Association in Somalia
http://www.refugee-rights.org/Assets/PDFs/Hargeisa.profile.pdf
