These were fundamentally borne of my academic grounding in UN law, international promotion and protection of human rights. I reminded myself of the basic principles of refugee protection in the 1951 Convention and read documents on UNHCR’s evolving mandate. I…
Protracted social conflicts do not erupt overnight. They are the result of a slow accumulation of tensions and hostilities built up over time. In the Horn of Africa an innovative early warning mechanism being explored by the Intergovernmental Authority on…
In its report last Saturday(1) of William Hague’s(2) speech on asylum policy, the Times referred to ‘asylum seekers’ in its first paragraph; ‘immigrants’ in its second; and ‘refugees’ in its third. The terms appeared to be used interchangeably. The Guardian…
It is perhaps too soon to define the broad historical significance of 11 September 2001. It may eventually be seen as the start of a new period of transition from the post-Cold War era to a 'Grey War'. However, for…
In fact, Afghanistan has experienced one of the world's largest refugee crises for more than two decades. Between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the present day, one in four Afghans has been a refugee. At the peak…
Four months after the establishment of the Interim Administration(1), the central authority and regional power holders are still finding a balance and a modus vivendi. The most striking feature of the situation is perhaps this contrast - between the warlords…
Unlike recent peacekeeping experiences in the Balkans, the civil-military relationship in Afghanistan is complicated by the fact that there are two distinct foreign military forces operating in the country. The British-led, multinational International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) works under UN…
In this article I will examine the ways in which foreign policy considerations played a role for Western states and Pakistan in their handling of the potential refugee crisis resulting from the US bombing of Afghanistan and the simultaneous spread…
On 22 January 2002, the Chairman of the government-appointed Council for Multicultural Australia, Neville Roach, resigned his position. In a newspaper article three days later, this prominent and highly-respected businessman explained why he had taken such a dramatic step, which…
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…