Afghanistan deserved recognition for its role in the fall of the repressive Soviet empire. Instead, it became the biggest producer of drugs in the world and the centre of command and training for Islamic fundamentalist terrorists. The Taliban acted more…
This was a welcome change, sharply contrasting with the international response in Kosovo or Rwanda where the lion's share of international aid and attention went to those fleeing the country, while those left inside basically remained unaided and unprotected until…
With a new interim government in place, over 3.5 million Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan now have hope that they may be able to return and rebuild their homes and communities. Other refugees, however, have once again had their…
The feeling of vulnerability engendered by the attacks and the perception that the hijackers exploited open and liberal societies to commit their heinous acts have intensified an already restrictive climate for refugees and asylum seekers, justified in the name of…
It is now beyond contention that, in situations of composite population flows, persons not deserving international protection should be excluded from refugee status and those likely to jeopardise protection must be separated from ordinary refugees.(1) Some suggest that a consensus…
The US, among others, has argued strenuously - both before forming a global coalition to fight terrorism and now, while maintaining a military presence in Afghanistan but resisting a major role in what it derisorily calls nation-building - that it…
"On it", he argued, "we depend for all our immunity from evil, and for the whole value of all and every good, beyond the passing moment".(1) On 11 September, the citizens of Western countries had the truth of Mill's words…
Israel, more than any other country, has jumped on the American bandwagon of 'anti-terrorism's global war' in the aftermath of the tragic events of 11 September. As Israel invades Palestinian self-governing areas and dismantles and destroys the institutions of the…
Since the Gulf war, Iraq has been effectively divided in two. Two Kurdish administrations control an area the size of Switzerland. Despite constant interference from the regime in Baghdad and from Iran and Turkey (fearful that the example in Iraq…
Established in 1994, the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) emerged from a process of consultation with educational, cultural and interfaith institutions in the Middle East and the West started a decade earlier. RIIFS was originally intended to serve as…