On 1 May 2004 ten new countries joined the European Union,[1] increasing the EU’s overall membership to 25 countries with a combined population of around 500 million. This date also marked the end of the five-year ‘transitional period’ for the…
When asylum seekers and refugees were relatively few in number in the UK, RCOs were considered to be prime movers in facilitating their integration. ‘Integration’ is the process of ‘getting used to’ the new environment, of individual adaptation, but also…
The European Union’s Hague Programme[1] aims at “strengthening freedom, security and justice” within the EU in the next five years. What is likely to be the impact of this and other European policy developments on separated children? Separated children are…
The civil war that raged in Angola until 2001 displaced millions of people. From August 1998 until April 2001 the Netherlands granted temporary status to all Angolans seeking asylum. Over roughly the same period, some 11,000 Angolans – of whom…
Across Europe, employers are experiencing difficulty in recruiting both skilled and unskilled staff. The overall employment rate in the EU stands at 63.4%, significantly below the level of 72 % in the USA. Meeting the EU’s goal of raising this…
Prior to 1990 Albania was isolated from East and West, strictly controlled all movement across its borders and did not recognise the 1951 Refugee Convention. Border controls collapsed as the post-communist authorities were keen to allow Albanians to leave the…
A million Somalis are thought to have fled their country as a result of fighting and the collapse of the Somali state following the overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. At the end of 2003 nearly 280,000 officially registered…
The tiny republic of Chechnya proclaimed its independence from Russia in late 1991, a declaration that went unrecognised by Russia and the international community in general. Since then, Chechen civilians have lived through two major waves of conflict: the first…
Aware of US preparations for an attack on Iraq, the humanitarian community was ready to receive thousands of Iraqis expected to pour into Syria and Jordan at the end of March 2003. However, instead of arriving as expected en masse[1]…
Abkhazia, a small strip of land in northwestern Georgia that hugs the Black Sea, has traditionally been inhabited by a mix of nationalities. By the time the USSR broke up, the Abkhaz population of Abkhazia was estimated at 18%, while…