Rights In Exile

by Verdirame, Guglielmo; Harrell-Bond, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9781571815262
• ISBN10: 1571815260
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-08-30
• Publisher: Berghahn Books

Summary

Socio-legal studies of compliance with human rights standards are scant, and negligible scholarly attention has been given to the violations of the rights of refugees. Combining rich ethnography drawn from Kenya and Uganda with an evaluation of these data based on legal standards, this book will no doubt raise the hackles of some readers. But policy makers, donor governments, and humanitarian organisations, especially those beginning to develop a "rights-based" approach to their protection work among refugees and are striving for greater effectiveness, will welcome it as an indispensable resource and gain inspiration for further research in this field.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Justice Albie Sachs	ix
Preface	xii
Acknowledgements	xix
List of Abbreviations	xxv
Introduction	1	(25)
The setting	1	(1)
Main movements of refugees into Kenya and Uganda	2	(3)
Aims and objectives of the research	5	(2)
Assumptions underlying the research	7	(2)
Research methods	9	(6)
Main findings	15	(6)
A research and advocacy agenda for the future	21	(5)
1 Refugee Law and Policy in Kenya and Uganda	26	(29)
Introduction	26	(1)
The Legal Framework in Kenya	26	(2)
The Legal Framework in Uganda	28	(3)
Refugee policy in Kenya	31	(5)
Refugee policy in Uganda	36	(9)
Refugee law-making in fits and starts	45	(4)
Conclusion	49	(6)
2 Getting In	55	(23)
Introduction	55	(1)
The influence of donor countries	55	(2)
The OAU Convention and group recognition	57	(1)
Admission: standards and procedures	58	(1)
Legal hurdles to admission	59	(4)
Ordeals of arrival	63	(7)
New arrivals and local people	70	(2)
Conclusion	72	(6)
3 Status-Determination Procedures: '...and when you go to UNHCR, pray'	78	(42)
Introduction	78	(1)
Procedural standards in status determination	79	(1)
Who is in charge?	80	(7)
The role of NGOs	87	(4)
Confidentiality	91	(1)
Interpreters	92	(1)
Advocacy	93	(1)
Standards of evidence	94	(2)
Decisions	96	(11)
Exclusion	107	(3)
Cessation	110	(3)
Conclusion	113	(7)
4 Civil and Political Rights	120	(94)
Introduction	120	(1)
Non-discrimination	121	(9)
Right to Life	130	(3)
Freedom from torture and from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment	133	(18)
Freedom from slavery and forced labour	151	(1)
Liberty and security of the person	152	(27)
Freedom of movement	179	(3)
Access to courts and right to fair trial	182	(13)
Privacy and family life	195	(3)
Freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion, and freedom of assembly and association	198	(3)
Conclusion	201	(13)
5 Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights	214	(57)
Introduction	214	(1)
Employment	215	(10)
An adequate standard of living	225	(16)
The highest attainable standard of physical and mental health	241	(12)
Education	253	(7)
Cultural rights	260	(3)
Conclusion	263	(8)
6 Refugee Protection: What Is Going Wrong?	271	(61)
Introduction	271	(1)
Host countries	272	(5)
Donor countries	277	(6)
Resettlement	283	(4)
UNHCR	287	(25)
NGOs	312	(12)
Conclusion	324	(8)
Conclusions	332	(8)
Bibliography	340	(32)
Index	372

Excerpts

"The articles in this volume offer new perspectives on the experiences of Holocaust survivors returning to their countries of origin after World War II. These contributions are essential to our understanding of the manner in which returning Jews were received by governments, aid organizations, and societies in general. They show that surviving Jews returning from the camps or emerging from hiding were met with distrust. After the war the survivors were once again faced with the "Jewish problem", for they continued to be seen as aliens, and it was not long before a resurgence of antisemitism became evident."--BOOK JACKET.