CRN11_Newsletter_Vol2Iss2&3_Feb-Mar2020_Final

WELCOME: COVID-19 & Displacement

Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to the CRN 11 February-March 2020 Newsletter, our second issue in volume 2. Humanity is faced with a public health emergency- the coronavirus disease.

On 10 December 2019, one of the earliest known cases of a newly discovered coronavirus was reported in Wuhan Central Hospital. By 31 December 2019, 27 cases of what is now known as COVID-19 were confirmed by the Wuhan health officials as China officially notifies the World Health Organisation. On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the Outbreak of COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and the Director General raised the outbreak to a pandemic on 11 March 2020.  According to the World Health Organisation Situation Report 75, as of 4 April 2020, there were 1,051,635 cases and 56,935 deaths of COVID-19 reported in 208 countries and territories world-wide.

We are aware of the disproportional impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations especially internally displaced peoples, refugees and forced migrants. We know how challenging it can be to practice social distancing in transit whether during flight or displaced at a make-shift camp. Whatever the situation, we encourage you to do all you can to keep surviving.

Interested in making the best use of your time during COVID-19 lockdown? Apply for the CRN11 newsletter editor position.  Submit a cover letter and CV to veronica.fynnbruey@tuki-tumarankeh.org  and benders@seattleu.edu.

Veronica Fynn Bruey and Steven W. Bender

DISPLACED PEOPLES’ RIGHTS AND PROTECTION

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says there should be no exception with COVID-19: People with disabilities, older persons, minority communities, indigenous peoples, internally displaced people, people affected by extreme poverty and living in overcrowded settings, people who live in residential institutions, people in detention, homeless people, migrants and refugees, people who use drugs, LGBT, and gender diverse persons – these and other groups need to receive support from governments. More information is available here.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), although the number of reported and confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection among refugees remains low, over 80 per cent of the world’s refugee population and nearly all the internally displaced people live in low to middle-income countries, many of which have weaker health, water and sanitation systems and need urgent support. The UN Refugee Agency provides a series of measures it is taking in its field operations to help respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and prevent further spread. More information is available here.

The International Chamber of Commerce is supporting a call from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to prevent further spread of COVID-19 to the world’s most vulnerable communities and to advocate for inclusion of refugees and displaced people in national response plans. More information is available here.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) released guidance for employers and businesses on protection of migrant workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Antonio Vitorino, IOM Director General, said the private sector, governments, and other stakeholders must protect the rights and well-being of the estimated 164 million international migrant workers and their communities around the world, as the number of COVID-19 cases passed 1.3 million. More information is available here.

In a statement released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director, Henrietta Fore cautioned that COVID-19 will almost certainly gain foothold in refugee camps, crowded receptions centers, or detention facilities holding migrant families. Given how quickly the virus is spreading, such a scenario is looking imminent. More information is available here.

In a press release, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) raised concern over increasing COVID-19 cases recorded in the Greece Mainland Refugee and Migrant Camp. Some 23 migrants have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Ritsona open accommodation site in Central Greece – an IOM-managed camp which hosts 2,700 people. More information is available here.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)temporarily suspend resettlement travel for refugees. As countries drastically reduce entry into their territories owing to the COVID-19 global health crisis, and restrictions around international air travel are introduced, travel arrangements for resettling refugees are currently subject to severe disruptions. Some states have also placed a hold on resettlement arrivals given their public health situation, which impacts their capacity to receive newly resettled refugees. More information is available here.

A joint statement by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs, UNHCR, OCHA and IOM marked the 10^thanniversary of the adoption of the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention) on 23 October 2019. This ground-breaking treaty (the Kampala Convention) has been ratified by 28 of the 55 countries on the continent. As the world’s first and only continent-wide legally binding instrument for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Kampala Convention is a testament to the determination of African States to address the multiple challenges of IDPs. More information is here.

EVENTS CANCELLATION AND COVID-19

Postponement of the 24^th Annual Conference of ASRF

On 12 March 2020, the Executive Committee of the African Studies and Research Forum decided to postpone the 24th Annual Conference, which was scheduled to be held in Cape Coast, Ghana, from March 26-28, 2020.

LSA 2020 In-Person Annual Meeting Cancelled

On 20 March 2020, the Law and Society In-Person Annual Meeting was canceled, and plans are underway to move to a Virtual Conference. If you have registered for the in-person Annual Meeting and you choose to join the virtual meeting, your registration will be honoured, otherwise, you can request a refund of your registration fee and not participate in the virtual meeting by filling out the refund form by April 15th. Refunds will not be processed after 15 April and you will remain in the program.

IASFM 18 In-Person Annual Meeting Postponed

Due to current travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 virus, and uncertainties about when these restrictions will be lifted, the IASFM Executive Committee has taken the difficult decision to postpone the Ghana conference to July 26-29, 2021. If your paper or panel has been accepted, this acceptance will be carried over to next year.

GENERAL CALLS: CRN 11 EVENTS

Call to Participate in LSA 2020 Virtual Conference

Despite the LSA 2020 face-to-face meeting cancellation, CRN 11 is calling on its members to kindly register and participate in the LSA 2020 Virtual Conference (probably via Zoom meetings). Here are some of the Program Committee Plans:

• Paper sessions that allow panelists to deliver papers to an audience of interested participants, with those participants able to engage in meaningful ways – with a “chat” function, everyone can ask their question!
• Plenaries will be available both live and recorded giving you an option to attend even if it’s scheduled at an inconvenient time.
• Author Meets Reader sessions may be longer, allowing us to discuss more thoroughly the newest books in our field.
• Professional development panels – on getting grants, publication, tenure, and other topics – available at the LSA web site all year long.

Since plans are underway and details are still sketchy, please do not hesitate to forward your questions to me at veronica.fynnbruey@tuki-tumarankeh.org.

Call for Book Chapters

As the CRN 11 lead on the Research and Development Committee, I am planning to publish an international book on displaced children. I have already contacted potential publishers (e.g., Rowman & Littlefield). The book will attempt to engage academics, researchers, and specialists working on the topic of displaced peoples with a focus on displaced children globally. I am interested in papers concerning:

• children rights
• children with families
• the right to home
• displaced children
• children in society
• children and war
• children and families of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)
• children and families during migration

The deadline for chapter proposal is 25 June 2020. Please send your proposal to

magdalena.butrymowicz@upjp2.edu.pl and ollytola@yahoo.com

Call For Members: Research and Development Committee

CRN 11 is currently recruiting members to join Magdalena Krystyna Butrymowicz who leads the Research and Development Committee. Those interested, please email Magdalena: magdalena.butrymowicz@upjp2.edu.pl.

Call For Volunteers

CRN 11 is currently recruiting volunteers to lead the Advertisement and Promotion Committee. Those interested, please send a cover letter and CV to veronica.fynnbruey@tuki-tumarankeh.org.

The Journal of Internal Displacement

Are you interested in being a part of a vibrant and scholarly network of passionate academic-advocates of displaced peoples globally? Consider applying for the following positions with the

Journal of Internal Displacement: editorial board membership, reviewer, and research assistant. Contact Veronica Fynn Bruey, Editor-in-Chief for more information at veronica.fynnbruey@journalofinternaldisplacement.com.

The Journal of Internal Displacement—Call for Submissions

The Journal of Internal Displacement (ISSN 1920-5813 Online) is now accepting submissions for its January 2021 issue (Volume 11, Issue 1). Established in 2009, the Journal of Internal Displacement is the only scholarly and inter-disciplinary platform for raising the profile of displaced populations through discussions, critical dialogue, emerging themes, reflections and explorations on a wide range of topics and regions around the globe. The JID promotes free and open access and does not charge authors for submissions. Visit our website to submit a paper or subscribe for free.

COVID-19 & Queer Asylum

COVID-19 & Queer Asylum is a virtual symposium featuring NGO representatives and lawyers working on queer asylum, LGBTQI+ activists and LGBTQI+ persons seeking asylum and refugees from Germany. This symposium is intended to provide a platform for discussing the manner in which such pandemic and its political responses affects LGBTQI+ persons in terms of  isolation and trauma, access to health services, and EU-policy. These panels are followed by a counselling forum led by lawyers and  judges. Join in from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM on 29 April 2020.  For more information, click here.

Become a CRN 11 Research Collaborator

Interested in being a bona fide research collaborator with CRN 11? Email veronica.fynnbruey@tuki-tumarankeh.org for details on how to apply.

Invitation to be a Guest Blogger for CRN 11

Do you have an interesting story to tell about internal and international migration and displacement? CRN 11 is eager to share your piece as a guest blogger for our monthly newsletter.  Please submit your stories to veronica.fynnbruey@tuki-tumarankeh.org and benders@seattleu.edu.

RESEARCH, JOBS, AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa, Two Interdisciplinary Fellow Groups (Junior/Senior), University of Ghana, Ghana. Deadline: 10 April 2020.

IASH-CTPI Duncan Forrester Fellowship, University of Edinburgh, UK. Deadline: 30 April 2020.

University of Edinburgh – University of Leiden Joint Funded PhD Studentship, UK and The Netherlands. Deadline: 1 May 2020.

Galina Starovoitova Fellowship on Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Kennan Institute, USA. Deadline: 15 May 2020.

Sheffield Methods Institute PhD scholarships, UK. Deadline: 31 May 2020.

Journal of Transient Migration – call for submission on Contemporary dynamics of the future of work, the platform economy and transient migrants. Deadline: 15 July 2020.

UQIDAR joint-PhD Program 2020, Australia and India, University of Queensland. Deadline: 31 December 2020.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Conflict Research Network West Africa

Conflict Research Network West Africa, Micro Dynamics of Armed Conflict and Political Violence in West Africa, 20-23 April 2020, Lagos State University, Lagos State, Nigeria.

International Conference at Universidad de la Salle

Boundaries of the Natural: Matter, Territory, Community (Limites de lo natural: Materia, Territorio, Comunidad), 28-30 May2020, Universidad de la Salle, Bogotá, Colombia.

Armenia and Byzantium Without Borders III

‘Armenia & Byzantium Without Borders III’ Austrian Academy of Sciences, 8–10 May 2020, Vienna, Austria.

ZEW Research Department

The Integration of Immigrants and Attitudes towards the Welfare State (IMES) group, a joint research group of ZEW Mannheim and the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) at the University of Mannheim Workshop, Immigration, Integration and Attitudes, 5-6 June 2020, Mannheim, Germany.

Summer School – Central Eurasian Studies Society

Summer School – Innovations in Disaster and Climate Risk Reduction, 29 June – 3 August 2020, CEU, Hungary.

Colloque International de l’APAD 2020

Colloque international de l’APAD 2020, Les Circulations Dans le Sud Global: Ethnographies des échanges Mondialisés, 23-26 June 2020, l’ Université of Lomé, Togo. For more information contact: Elieth Eyebiyi (eelieth@yahoo.fr) and Johara Berriane (johara.berriane@gmail.com).

Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza Universita di Napoli Federico II

The 2020 EULAB Summer School on Labour Migration in the European Union, 7-16 July 2020,Department of Law of the University of Naples Federico II, Italy.

VAD 2020

VAD 2020, Africa Challenges, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, 22-25 September 2020, Frankfurt, Germany.

Association of Commonwealth University Summer School

Association of Commonwealth University Summer School 2020, The Migration Generation? Climate, Youth and Refugees, 2-10 August 2020, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Utrecht University, The Netherlands: Connecting Europe Project

Utrecht University, The Netherlands and Connecting Europe Project Conference, Migrant Belongings: Digital Practices and the Everyday, 4-6 November 2020, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

German Historical Institute

Annual Academic and Policy Symposium, Contested Meanings of Migration Facilitation: Emigration Agents, Coyotes, Rescuers, and Human Traffickers, 16-17 November 2020, Washington, DC.

The Centre for History of the University of Lisbon

The Centre for History of the University of Lisbon, 11^th Iberian African Studies, African Transits in the Global World: History and Memories, Heritage and Innovation, 21-23 January 2021, Lisbon, Portugal.

Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration, and Development

Visit the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development, Maastricht University, The Netherlands for a list of events on Migration.

PUBLICATIONS

Cees Gorter, Peter Nijkamp, Jacques Poot, Crossing Borders: Regional and Urban Perspectives on International Migration (30 June 2020).

Caroline Favas, Guidance for the Prevention of COVID-19 Infections among High-risk Individuals in Camps and Camp-like Settings (31 March 2020).

Refugee International, COVID-19 and the Displaced: Addressing the Threat of the Novel Coronavirus in Humanitarian Emergencies (30 March 2020).

Freedom United, Refugees subjected to forced labor in Libya now threatened by coronavirus (26 March 2020).

Oleg Bazaluk, Svitlana Balinchenko, Discursive Adjustments Indicators: The Case of Internal Displacement in Ukraine  (12 March 2020).

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Women and Girls in Internal Displacement (5 March 2020).

Justin Mudekereza, A Word of Warning to the World (24 February 2020).

Sonia Elks, Slavery not a crime for almost half the countries in the world – study (12 February 2020).

Human Rights Watch, Deported to Danger: United States Deportation Policies Expose Salvadorans to Death and Abuse (5 February 2020).

Johannes Hoogeveen, Utz Pape, Data Collection in Fragile States: Innovations from Africa and Beyond (February 2020).

Marion Noack, Protracted Displacement in the Horn of Africa (February 2020).

Raymond A. Atugaba, Francis Xavier, Dery Tuokuu, Vitus Gbang, Statelessness in West Africa: An Assessment of Stateless Population and Legal Policy, and Administrative Frameworks in Ghana (31 January 2020).

Lisa Brown Buchanan, Jeremy Hilburn, Cara Ward, Wayne Jounell, Examining Internal Displacement through the Rohingya Crisis (8 January 2020).

International Organization for Migration, World Migration Report 2020 (December 2019).

Svitlana Balinchenko, Conflict-related Democracy Predictors in Ukraine: Tolerance and Participation Tendencies in Migration-affected communities (15 November 2019).

The World Bank Group, Informing Durable Solutions for Internal Displacement in Nigeria, Somali, South Sudan, and Sudan(November 2019).

Krista Rand, Margaret Kurth, Cody H. Fleming, Igor Linkov, A Resilience Matrix Approach for Measuring and Mitigating Disaster-induced Population Displacement (10 September 2019).

Sue Easton, Loretta Lees, Phil Hubbard, Nicholas Tate, Measuring and Mapping Displacement: The Problem of Quantification in the Battle against Gentrification (8 July 2019).

IN THE NEWS

UNHCR Live Blog, Refugees in the COVID-19 Crisis (8 April 2020).

Danish Refugee Council, DRC will remain and continue support to displaced people during COVID-19 crisis (8 April 2020).

Marie McAuliffe and Celine Bauloz, The coronavirus pandemic could be devastating for the world’s migrants 6 April 2020.

The Economist, The world’s refugee camps are on coronavirus disaster in waiting 6 April 2020.

AfricaNews, Coronavirus-Mauritania: Holding the line, border officials mobilise against COVID-19 1 April 2020.

Human Rights Watch, Myanmar: Displacement camps are COVID-19 tinderboxes (30 March 2020).

Ali Al Bayaa, Global displacement, COVID-19 and the risk of a False-positive flattened curve (25 March 2020).

Wendy Williams, COVID-19 and Africa’s Displacement Crisis (25 March 2020).

Tyler Gillett, New Uzbekistan law grants citizenship to nearly 50,000 stateless persons (22 March 2020).

Maysoon Dahab, Keven van Zandvoort, Stefan Flasche, et al., COVID-19 control in low-income settings and displaced populations: What can realistically be done? (20 March 2020).

Soleiman Al-Khalidi, Over 800,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, flee Russian backed offensive: U.N. (13 February 2020).

Zenit, Pope at Angelus calls for halt to human trafficking (9 February 2020).

Helen Davidson, ‘Finally, a life’: Canada comes to the rescue when a refugee family loses hope in Australia (7 February 2020).

Stefanie Glinski, US-Iran tensions fuel Afghan returns (6 February 2020).

Zita Holbourne, Stop the mass deportation flight to Jamaica on 11 February 2020 (4 February 2020).

Ryan Devereaux, Federal judge reverses conviction of border volunteers, challenging government’s “gruesome logic’ (4 February 2020).

Ruth Maclean and Abdi Latif Dahir, New U.S. travel ban shuts door on Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria (2 February 2020).

Justice for Immigrants, U.S. Bishop Chairmen voice opposition to Proclamation that further restricts immigration and family reunification (2 February 2020).

UNHCR, Nakout, a refugee from South Sudan, pens a letter to her long-lost daughter (23 January 2020).

Damian McIver, Boy with Down syndrome, leukemia likely to go into foster care if Chinese mum is deported (3 June 2019).

SUBSCRIBE // SEND US YOUR NEWS AND EVENTS

Displaced Peoples (CRN11) newsletter is published monthly.  The Newsletter is a venue for sharing information regarding displaced peoples, broadly defined. Your contribution to the monthly newsletter is crucial to its sustenance, success and quality. To contribute to the Newsletter, please contact Veronica Fynn Bruey and Steven Bender: veronica.fynnbruey@tuki-tumarankeh.org and benders@seattleu.edu. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit CRN 11 Displaced Peoples.