On pathways for admission of Syrian Refugees

A one-day, high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees was held 30 March 2016 in Geneva . The meeting was bookended by the 4 February 2016 Supporting Syria conference in London, the 23-24 May 2016 World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, and the 19 September 2016 Summit Addressing Large Movements of Refugees […]

On implementing EU-Turkey agreement

Standard Operating Procedures implementing the mechanism for resettlement from Turkey to the EU as set out in the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016 EU-Turkey refugee deal: staff shortages and rights concerns pose twin threat / Fears grow over refugee safety with EU returns plan set to take effect / Greece insists refugee deportations will […]

On China hosting refugees

Over at Foreign Policy, Liang Pan just posted a great overview on why China isn’t hosting Syrian refugees — China almost certainly will not adopt a refugee resettlement plan that will help relieve the heavy burden faced by the other developing countries in the region currently overwhelmed by the influx. China lacks the institutions conducive […]

On getting to the US

An excellent, if unsettling, snapshot of the current process of resettlement to the US: Eliza Griswold’s Why is it so difficult for Syrian refugees to get into the US? in the NYT Magazine. Relatedly, Intelligence Squared US just held a debate: “The US Should Let in 100,000 Syrian Refugees” — 22.02.2016 update: The US Promised […]

On graphics

The Good People at Vox once again make a great chart: Javier Zarracina illustrates UNHCR data on registered Syrian refugees to contextualize US involvement with resettlement —

On cities

David Miliband, writing in the Guardian, asks why no one is talking about cities — In all the many column inches on the European refugee crisis, one point has barely received a mention: the overwhelming majority of Syrian refugees are not in refugee camps. Rows of white tents in an otherwise sparse landscape are often […]

On interviews

A recap of a selection mission held in Turkey for Syrian refugees run by UDI, IMDi, and PST: via Marianne Virik at TV2 — Det er nå over fire millioner syriske krigsflyktninger i Syrias naboland. I år og de neste to årene har Norge bestemt at 8000 kvoteflyktninger skal komme herfra. Familier med barn På […]

On fluctuating quotas

[this post will be continually updated] Many reports show that states are upping their quotas for resettling (Syrian) refugees: USA: 10,000 70,000 85,000 / 100,000 Canada: up to 50,000 by the end of 2016; 25,000 in 2015 (*just not single men – but maybe them, too. here’s how.) 10,000 / 4 years + Quebec: 3,650 + private sponsorship. 01.03.2016: Canada says […]

On vulnerability

Emily Cousens in the Independent asks the question “Are Syrian men not innocent and vulnerable too?” — If our humanitarian sympathies are only summoned in response to children and families, then we risk dehumanising Arab men. This only helps to reinforce a history of Western misrepresentation, in which Arab men are viewed as dangerous, uncivilized, […]

On safe passage, asylum and R2P

Alex J. Bellamy over at IPI’s Global Observatory writes about safe passage and asylum on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the international community’s adoption of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle — The relationship between R2P and the protection of refugees was understood from the outset. Indeed, R2P itself grew out of earlier […]