Refugee protection in International Law - Essay Example

?Annotated Bibliography Feller, Erika Tuerk, Volker, and Nicholson, Frances. Refugee protection in International Law. UNHCR’s Global Consultations onInternational Protection. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print. This publication is edited by Erika Feller, in 2003 the Director of International Protection Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Its credibility is established by virtue of its source and it brings together contributions from international policy institutes and refugee protection agencies, among them Kathleen Newland’s, co-director and founder of the Washington based international migration think thank. The essays together give a broad overview of the dimensions of refugee protection, especially setting out to what extent and how refugee protection is at present grounded in international law. It also points out the paradox that despite an emerging ‘theory of race’ that stipulates that race is not biological, in order to achieve protection, membership of a certain group, and thus race, has once again to be established – often based on biological criteria. The publication will be particularly helpful because of the breadth of its cover and also due to the legal aspects that are covered. When looking at the question of refugees, it is often unclear what means are legally open to people who are fleeing their country and how effective these avenues may be. There is often evidence that refugee-seekers are not following established pathways, with blame often attached to these people as ‘not genuine’ or as ‘queue-jumpers’. However, a different picture emerges once the processes by which refugee status can be obtained are better understood. The publication also gives some insight into the ‘internal protection’ and other assistance that refugee agencies and the international community are actually able to offer. In addition, it gives a brief overview of the countries that take refugees at present, for which the graph (see above) is illuminating; Banton, Michael. ‘Race, theories of’ in E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1998. Web. viewed 1st April 2011. . The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy was established in 1998 and contains thousands of articles from the world’s most respected scholars and philosophers. The Editor in Chief is Professor Edward Craig and the source has become an essential research tool for university faculties and students alike. The definition sought from this source was that of ‘theory of race’, for which an entry by Michael Banton was available. In his article, he argues that race is not pure , as stipulated by Cuvier, nor does it develop over time, as Darwin suggested. Both these views mark racial discrimination as an integral part of race. Banton argues instead that racial discrimination is ‘learned’ and that race does not constitute ‘genetic or social’ difference and that there is no biological evidence that such a distinction exists in nature. For his summation, he draws on the findings of scientists as well as social scientists, including Freud, Linden, Martin and Jupp). At the outset of research into ‘races’ it is vital to understand what is meant by this term, as the word ‘race’ has been and still is used in a multitude of ways and understanding (including my own) has been quite ambiguous. It is startling to find to what extent we are taking for grated that ‘race’ is a fact and to what degree the ‘certainty’ of belonging to a race pervades communication. Refocusing this issue is therefore of paramount importance before writing about it. From this new perspective, it is possible to approach the task of ‘races and refugees’ with a deeper understanding of the problems of identification that exist in the home countries of those who flee. Suhrke, Astri. “Human security and the protection of refugees”, in Edward Newman and Joanne van Selm (eds.), Refugees and Forced Displacement: International Security, Human Vulnerability, and the State. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. 2003. Print. The Suhrke essay on human security, which is of interest for the research topic, is one of fifteen contributions to Newman and Selm’s book of refugees and forced displacement. All contributors are experts in one or more areas of the critical issues that surround population movements and the publication has been peer reviewed1. This collection is significant in so far as has been compiled fairly recently and it addresses a number of newly emerging concepts, such as ‘human security’ and the controversies that may be attached to such a term. Although all essays in this edition are to some extent about human security, it is particularly the article by Astri Suhrke which deals with this issue and which argues that it will be necessary to adopt a broader definition of security than has so far been the practice, as traditional approaches do no longer account for the particular situations in which potential refugees may find themselves. She also attempts to shift the focus away from the security of the state – which is how ‘security’ has so far been understood and to the individual, by pointing out that the security of the state is not superior to that of the individual. In fact, she suggests that the state can not have the security if the individuals within it are deprived of security. Suhrke’s insights will be helpful when coming to terms with a definition of ‘refugee’, since it clarifies the complex issues behind the decision of people to flee their countries and seek shelter elsewhere. Hadjiyanni, Tasoulla, The Making of a Refugee: Children Adopting Refugee Identity in Cyprus. Westport, CT. : Praeger. 2002. Print. Tasoulla Hadjiyanni is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota and a refugee. She and her family left Cyprus when she was a child to live elsewhere in Europe. Her 2002 book is the both the story of her return and also an attempt to probe the long-term consequences of being a refugee. The main thrust of the book is to delve into the ‘refugee consciousness’ and to tease out the various strands of impact that develop, in the immediate aftermath of the removal or voluntary exit and long-term. Among the different consequences, loss of identity is singled out as perhaps the most devastating, caused by a loss of the past and the struggle to get a foothold in the ‘new’ present. Beyond that, the author poses, a ‘refugee mentality’ often develops, especially when children were affected and that the new identity they eventually manage to develop is ‘grounded in loss’ which causes them to live in the past and be apathetic about the future. Hadijanni has a Phd in sociology and work with refugees in the sector of housing. I consider this book particularly relevant for my research because it enables me to look at the refugee issue from the viewpoint of real people, who have experienced violence, displacement, loss of loved ones and the whole spectrum of settling in another land. The narrative particularly sheds light on long-term effects of being a refugee and the way in which consciousness is altered by the loss of the past. Read More