After a decade of reporting, this year’s focus shifts to how to move forward. In the words of Ambassador-At-Large Lou CdeBaca, “This year’s TIP Report focuses on how governments can move toward a more targeted, purposeful approach that fully addresses the minimum standards to fight trafficking in persons… For a maturing modern approach, it is […]
Freedom House’s 2010 edition of Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa is out and a great resource. It analyzes the status of women in the region country by country. As Queen Noor has said, “It is vital that MENA countries more urgently recognize that the status of women is the key determinant […]
Last week Arizona’s governor, Jan Brewer, signed into law what are now the country’s harshest measures for responding to irregular (often referred to as illegal) immigration. The state has 90 days to put the law into effect. In summary, it has four main provisions: – it is a crime to be in the state without […]
UN-Habitat released its biannual “State of the World’s Cities” report in March, a 250+ page document that covers all manner of subjects about our increasingly urbanized world. More than half of all people now live in cities, and this figure will reach 60% in less than twenty years, and 70% by 2050. A very interesting […]
The United States is a country of immigrants – even more so if they are counted successfully in the current 2010 Census. Extra efforts have been made to reach previously undercounted populations, including those arriving as migrants. One reason that recent immigrants are less likely to participate may be lack of information about the Census, […]
News of irregular immigration into the United States often focuses on those trying to cross the border via land. Huge fences and security cameras monitor the divide between the US and Mexico (less so the northern border with Canada – that is material for another blog post), while scanning machines and dogs search cars and […]
Last week President Barack Obama granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians for a period of 18 months. This applies those already living in the US, but without legal papers. It prevents their detainment or deportation, and enables them to work legally. The purpose of this status is to protect persons who cannot return to […]
The movie Avatar is a blockbuster, and now the third-highest grossing movie of all time. It is also a story about migration. In short, it depicts humans in the year 2154, seeking to extract a valuable mineral from a far-off planet called Pandora, and willing to do so at any cost, including the extermination of […]
As with the international aid community, Haitians living overseas are seeking ways to help from a distance after a devastating earthquake struck Port-au-Prince on Tuesday evening. Many migrants already send significant proportions of their earnings each week or month in the form of remittances. Rather than foreign assistance from governments, they may provide the most […]
It can be tough to be a migrant – but even worse should one be persecuted by the local population. By moving to a new place economic migrants – and displaced persons – leave behind well-known surroundings, and often other family members too. They may not speak the language at their new location, might have […]
New Year’s is seen as a time of renewal, but it does not always bring desired changes. This week the Thai government forced over 4,000 Hmong over the border into Laos, despite the possibility that they will be persecuted upon their return. This action runs counter to international human rights law, as some of the […]
As the negotiations in Copenhagen reminded us, scientific evidence demonstrates that the process of climatic change is now more concentrated and more threatening. As a result, human displacement due to environmental change remains an increasing concern in the 21st century. Populations are forced to move due to fast-paced events like hurricanes, slower processes like desertification, […]
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