E.g., 04/16/2024
E.g., 04/16/2024
Refugee & Asylum Policy

Refugee & Asylum Policy

Asylum Seekers
Refugees & Resettlement
_RefugeeAsylumPolicy credit

Tens of millions of people around the globe have been forcibly displaced by conflict, natural disaster, or persecution, seeking refuge either within or beyond the borders of their country. Humanitarian protection, whether for refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced persons (IDPs), represents a key policy area for many major immigrant-receiving countries as well as nations bordering locations where war, political upheaval, or natural disaster have disrupted daily life. The research offered here relates to the law and practice of protecting refugees and IDPs in areas of conflict as well as in industrialized nations, with a focus on secure solutions and effective institutional arrangements for comprehensive protection.

Recent Activity

A local volunteer in Spain watches the children in a sponsored refugee family as they play.
Multimedia
February 8, 2016
Scaling Up Resettlement: The Role of Private Sponsorship Programmes in Addressing the Refugee Crisis
JoelHernandez KaraTepe_2
Articles
January 29, 2016
Refugee Flows to Lesvos: Evolution of a Humanitarian Response
By Joel Hernandez
SyrianRefugees UNHCR MarkHenley
Multimedia
January 27, 2016
Focusing on Protection: Previewing Upcoming High-Level Fora on Migration
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Reports
February 2016
Getting the Balance Right: Strengthening Asylum Reception Capacity at National and EU Levels
By  Michael Kegels
stjc nt ColombiaTumacoDisplacedCommunity Flickr
Articles
January 14, 2016
Protecting the Forcibly Displaced: Latin America’s Evolving Refugee and Asylum Framework
By Marissa Esthimer
coverthumb uacfacts
Fact Sheets
January 2016
Trends in Unaccompanied Child and Family Migration from Central America
By  Marc R. Rosenblum and Isabel Ball
Cover Top10 1Crisis
Articles
December 18, 2015
Migration Crisis Tests European Consensus and Governance
By Demetrios G. Papademetriou
Cover Top10 2Displacement
Articles
December 17, 2015
Displacement Reaches Record High as Wars Continue and New Conflicts Emerge
By Susan Fratzke

Pages

Recent Activity

Audio, Webinars
February 8, 2016

Scaling Up Resettlement: The Role of Private Sponsorship Programmes in Addressing the Refugee Crisis

Analysts discuss how private sponsorship programs for refugees, used by Canada and a handful of other countries, could alleviate some of the pressure from the European refugee crisis by allowing individuals, groups, businesses, and other entities to sponsor individual refugees for resettlement.

Articles
January 29, 2016

Refugee Flows to Lesvos: Evolution of a Humanitarian Response

Lesvos became a major focal point in Europe's migration crisis as more than half a million migrants and asylum seekers transited the Greek island in 2015. Describing the work of ad hoc volunteer-led efforts and professional aid organizations, this article delves into the evolution of the aid response across the island and the challenges of integrating humanitarian operations.

Audio, Webinars
January 27, 2016

Focusing on Protection: Previewing Upcoming High-Level Fora on Migration

The Special Representative on International Migration for the UN Secretary-General, Peter Sutherland, and the former UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, T. Alexander Aleinikoff, preview upcoming high-level humanitarian protection and migration summits in 2016, focusing on likely agendas and what tangible results might occur.

Reports
February 2016

Getting the Balance Right: Strengthening Asylum Reception Capacity at National and EU Levels

With arrivals of asylum seekers overwhelming the resources and institutional capacity of some European Union Member States, this report examines the reception capacity challenges faced by national reception systems. Authored by the Operational Director of Belgium's reception agency, the report offers recommendations to improve coordination across Member States in ways that could effectively better utilize existing capacity.

Articles
January 14, 2016

Protecting the Forcibly Displaced: Latin America’s Evolving Refugee and Asylum Framework

Signed more than 30 years ago, the Cartagena Declaration sought to address rising flows of refugees and establish regional solidarity in refugee protection in Latin America. This article explores the evolution of refugee and asylum policies in Latin America amid the long-running Colombian civil war, as well as the region's response to the current global refugee crisis.

Fact Sheets
January 2016

Trends in Unaccompanied Child and Family Migration from Central America

This fact sheet uses U.S. and Mexican apprehensions data to trace the evolving trends in unaccompanied child and family migration from Central America through Mexico and to the United States, and discusses the push factors and pull factors responsible for the increase in flows seen in recent years, as well as the growing role of smuggling organizations.

Articles
December 18, 2015

Migration Crisis Tests European Consensus and Governance

Europe's defining challenge in 2015 was the exponential growth in the number of asylum seekers and migrants arriving on its shores. The European Union and its Member States were slow to respond, and reactive when they did. As trust among Member States and between national and EU-level authorities began to erode, the European Union has found its ability to implement a comprehensive response severely handicapped.

Articles
December 17, 2015

Displacement Reaches Record High as Wars Continue and New Conflicts Emerge

Global displacement reached a new high with nearly 60 million people worldwide displaced internally or externally in the greatest number since record-keeping began. The trend continued in 2015 as conflicts in places such as Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen drove millions of people to leave their homes and seek refuge in other communities or across borders.

Pages