Forced Migration Review often covers themes across many regions but once in a while we focus on a particular part of the world in order to explore a theme in more depth. In partnership with the University of Oslo’s REF-ARAB project, in this special issue we look at how people are working to ensure that the rights of forced migrants are respected and made real in the Middle East and in North Africa.
As part of our commitment to including a broader range of voices in FMR and connecting people together, we put in place a few new initiatives for this special issue. We had an open call for articles and invited potential authors to a workshop to discuss their ideas prior to submitting their proposals. We then selected a group of 15 authors to write their full articles for us to review. This enabled a richer dialogue between authors interested in this theme and is something we hope to do again in future.
The REF-ARAB team have been engaged partners throughout and the quality of submissions is testament to their hard work shaping the call, sharing it with their extensive networks and reviewing articles, alongside the Editors. I am also grateful to Olivia Berthon who managed the editorial process before finishing her time at FMR. We wish her all the best with her new endeavours.
This issue will be available in Arabic, English and French online and in print. See www.fmreview.org/rights-mobilisation.
We hope you enjoy this special issue and welcome your feedback!
With best wishes,
Alice Philip
Editor, Forced Migration Review