Refugees

Proceedings of an experts group consultation in Nairobi, Kenya 4-5 August 1994 sponsored by UNIFEM’s African Women in Crisis Umbrella Programme (AFWIC) and UNICEF ESARO.displaced and refugee women in situations […]

Migrants and refugees are, by their very status as foreigners, vulnerable to violence. Violence against foreigners and violence against women are normalised ways in which South African society interacts with […]

Connue pour son hospitalité légendaire, la RDC s’emploie par les temps qui courent Á  rechercher les moyens de secourir plus de 7500 réfugiés burundais qui ont fui les tensions préélectorales dans la ville de Bujumbura, capitale du Burundi. La plupart de ces réfugiés sont des femmes et des enfants.

RDC, 2 avril: Masisi, un des six territoires de la province du Nord-Kivu Á  l’est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), est une étendue de terre où les Forces Armées Congolaises de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC) traquent les groupes armés qui y pullulent. La population de ces contrées fuit ces combats et certains ont trouvé refuge au camp de Muheto, ville située Á  près de 100 kilomètres Á  l’ouest de la ville de Goma. Malgré les difficultés du camp et l’angoisse d’avoir été obligés de fuir leurs villages natals, ces populations conservent leur ingéniosité. Un de ces réfugiés vient de mettre sur pied une radio qui émet dans le camp pour distraire et égayer ses semblables. Cette radio de fortune redonne le sourire Á  plus de 2000 familles qui vivent dans le camp de Muheto.

Antananarivo, 30 mars: Depuis le début de la période cyclonique, la Grande Ile présente un décor pitoyable. Et pour cause: entre janvier et mars, deux cyclones se sont abattus sur le pays, faisant «plus d’une soixantaine de morts et de lourds dégâts matériels », selon le bilan communiqué par le Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes (BNGRC), laissant désemparés et sinistrées des milliers de personnes. Il faut dire que durant ces dernières années, les cyclones sont beaucoup plus violents et dévastateurs qu’autrefois et ce, en raison du changement climatique.

The practical attachment report (FAR) establishes that violence against refugee women in Meheba Refugee Settlement exists. It is important to state that the \violence recorded in this report, is only a tip of an ice-berg of what transpires in this settlement, flris report, as a result, documents onLy some types, causes, effects and ways of preventing and or alleviating this violence. The PAR groups \Violence against refugee women in Meheba Refugee Settlement under six categories. This is done to enable easy reading and comprehension of the subject of discussion. The six categories are physical, psychological, sexual, and cultural \violence. They also include girl child abuse and deprivation of financial and material resources. This report points out that violence against refugee women in Meheba Refugee Settlement is a deprivation of human rights. It is also a indrance to development in this settlement, which must be dealt with. The Par recognises that the Tutheran World Federation (LWT) is working to induce gender and human rights development. Yet, there is still a mammoth task to be done to prevent and or reduce this \violence. To this effect, this report makes recommendations not only to LWT’, but also to its sponsors. .4mong the recommendations are the communication strategies deemed fit for gender and human rights development in this settlement. This report suggests communication strategies to induce development under the assumption that there is no development without communication. This implies that the beneficiaries of development must be involved in their development, f his report, as a result discusses participatory’ communication as the main base of gender and human rights development.

Articles in this issue cover migration, refugees and the African diaspora. Government performance underlies most migration stories. Improving it promotes voluntary, desirable migration.

This dissertation will argue that the normative and procedural protection framework established under the international refugee law regime is inadequate to provide protection to refugee victims of sexual violence. It will also argue that the various duty bearers vis-Á -vis the right to security of refugee women in Kenya are not living up to their legal obligations. It will also illustrate the po- tential benefits of using the human rights law regime to enhance the protection of refugee women from sexual violence. The study includes a detailed analysis of the international and regional treaties, declarations, general comments and resolutions which make explicit and implicit reference to the right to life, security of person, freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to health and draws upon relevant case law which outlines the obligations of the various duty bearers.

After the democratisation of South Africa in 1994, the influx of migrants from other African countries increased dramatically. Despite reconciliation initiatives, old patterns of racism (deeply rooted in the country’s apartheid past) combined with new forms of discrimination, such as xenophobia, have played out through the country’s period of political transition. Migrants and refugees are, by their very status as foreigners, vulnerable to xenophobia, which can be defined as Violence against foreigners and violence against women are two forms of violence that are internationally condemned but are normalised ways in which South African society interacts with minority and vulnerable groups. Foreign women2 in South Africa therefore face a double jeopardy: they are at the intersection of these two groups that are so vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and violence. Although the term ‘xenophobia’ may conjure up images of the violent attacks against foreigners in May 2008, migrant women in South Africa have been experiencing more subtle and insidious forms of xenophobia on a daily basis for as long as they have been in the country. These forms include not only physical violence, but verbal and psychological abuse, structural and institutional violence, as well as cultural and ethnic discrimination.

Recent studies by Gender Links Botswana has revealed that ovr two thirds of women in Botswana (67) experience some form of gender violence in their life time.
The study says 44% of men admit to perpetrating violence against women . Roos van Dorp , Gender Links Program Officer told Global Post that while Botswana is doing enough to eliminate gender based violence , statistics still show that violence is still high and prevalent in the country.