Trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling are only two forms of irregular migration; the term ‘trafficking’ describes movements of persons against their will, whereas ‘smuggling’ refers to voluntary movements of the migrants.[1] Due to the clandestine nature of irregular migration,…
July 2007, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): A woman has been in labour for three days. The child is obstructed; the mother, in unbearable pain, has been trying to reach the main district hospital for the last 48 hours…
Recent years have seen a growing interest in the use of cash grants as a tool for humanitarian assistance and as a component of social protection programmes. After major emergencies such as the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Pakistan earthquake,…
A seminar held in Bogotá in November 2008 brought together representatives of the Colombian government, IDP associations, civil society organisations, donors, UN agencies and academic researchers to explore the relationship between Colombia’s protracted IDP situation and transitional justice processes currently…
This grim scenario has unfolded amidst a regrouping of paramilitary groups and disputes between the ELN[1] and the FARC[2], involving repeated attacks on civilians, sexual violence and child recruitment. Military efforts to control territory and eradicate coca crops have only…
Xenophobic government policies designed to drive out farm owners and undermine the political opposition have left large numbers of farm workers with nowhere to go. By 2000, Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party were facing, for the first time…
“FMR aroused my consciousness about issues relating to the reproductive health of refugees and I decided to go to the Oru refugee camp in Ogun State to volunteer as a peer educator and work in the area of health communication…
Refugees may be recognised as such either on a group basis (‘prima facie’) or individually. The vast majority of the world’s refugees are recognised by way of a prima facie group determination, based on an evaluation of the situation in…
Asylum seekers are subject to a variety of procedures examining their individual reasons for being outside their country of origin, and thus determining their status as refugees. Even within states, procedures can vary based upon location, country of origin and…
From 2002 to 2007 the number of refugees, asylum seekers and other persons of concern in the ten countries which constitute the geographical south of Africa has steadily declined. Voluntary repatriation to Angola, the Grand Lac countries and the Democratic…