Justice and home affairs

2009 was a year of transition for the justice and home affairs (JHA) domain: The Hague Programme which had governed much of the development of the Union's `area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) since 2004 came to an end and new perspectives were opened up by the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the adoption of the new 2010 to 2014 Stockholm Programme. While the intense negotiations on the Stockholm Programme were overshadowed until October by the uncertain fate of the Lisbon Treaty, the institutions focused mainly on a range of leftovers from the Hague Programme. Whereas several significant legislative texts were adopted on immigration and criminal justice co-operation issues, other fields were marked primarily by continuing negotiations and new Commission proposals (asylum), the strengthening of external action capacity (civil law), efforts to improve the implementation of adopted measures (border controls, the fight against organized crime and terrorism) and institutional consolidation (Europol). The total annual output of the JHA Council dropped from 144 adopted texts the year before to 121 texts,1 perhaps a sort of end of programming period fatigue which could also be observed at the end of the preceding Tampere period

Hepatitis C and HIV incidence and harm reduction program use in a conflict setting: an observational cohort of injecting drug users in Kabul, Afghanistan

BACKGROUND: Armed conflict may increase the risk of HIV and other pathogens among injecting drug users (IDUs); however, there are few prospective studies. This study aimed to measure incidence and potential predictors, including environmental events and needle and syringe distribution and collection program (NSP) use, of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV among IDUs in Kabul, Afghanistan. METHODS: Consenting adult IDUs completed interviews quarterly in year 1 and semi-annually in year 2 and HCV and HIV antibody testing semi-annually through the cohort period (November 2007–December 2009). Interviews detailed injecting and sexual risk behaviors, NSP service use, and conflict-associated displacement. Quarters with peak conflict or local displacement were identified based on literature review, and key events, including insurgent attacks and deaths, were reported with simple counts. Incidence and predictors of HCV and HIV were measured with Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Of 483 IDUs enrolled, 385 completed one or more follow-up visits (483.8 person-years (p-y)). All participants were male with a median age of 28 years and a median duration of injecting of 2 years. Reported NSP use among the participants ranged from 59.9 to 70.5 % in the first year and was 48.4 and 55.4 % at 18 and 24 months, respectively. There were 41 confirmed deaths, with a crude death rate of 93.4/1000 p-y (95 % confidence interval (CI) 67.9–125) and overdose as the most common cause. HCV and HIV incidence were 35.6/100 p-y (95 % CI 28.3–44.6) and 1.5/100 p-y (95 % CI 0.6–3.3), respectively. Changing from injecting to smoking was protective for HCV acquisition (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) = 0.53, 95 % CI 0.31–0.92), while duration of injecting (AHR = 1.09, 95 % CI 1.01–1.18/year) and sharing syringes (AHR = 10.09, 95 % CI 1.01–100.3) independently predicted HIV infection. CONCLUSION: There is high HCV incidence and high numbers of reported deaths among male Kabul IDUs despite relatively consistent levels of harm reduction program use; peak violence periods did not independently predict HCV and HIV risk. Programming should increase awareness of HCV transmission and overdose risks, prepare clients for harm reduction needs during conflict or other causes of displacement, and continue efforts to engage community and police force support

Factors in use of family planning services by Syrian women in a refugee camp in Jordan

Background The Syrian conflict presents the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world today, with over four million people now displaced outside the country. Existing literature suggests that family planning services are often still neglected in crisis response efforts. Methods A small-scale qualitative study conducted in May 2013, interviewing Syrian women residing in a Jordanian refugee camp about use and barriers to accessing family planning services. Results The study shows that significant barriers remain, and suggests that international attempts to address refugees’ family planning needs remain inconsistent. Conclusions Several practical measures are identified to address barriers to access, making the article of both practical and academic relevance

Asylum recognition rates in Western Europe : their determinants, variation, and lack of convergence

Substantial variation in recognition rates for asylum claims from the same countries of origin and therefore prima facie equal merit subjects refugees to unfair and discriminatory treatment. This article demonstrates the extent of variation and lack of convergence over the period 1980 to 1999 across Western European destination countries. Refugee interest groups also suspect that political and economic conditions in destination countries as well as the number of past asylum claims unduly impact upon recognition rates. This article estimates the determinants of asylum recognition rates. Origin-specific recognition rates vary, as they should, with the extent of political oppression, human rights violations, inter-state armed conflict and events of genocide and politicide in countries of origin. Recognition rates for the full protection status only are lower in times of high unemployment in destination countries. Such rates are also lower if many asylum seekers from a country of origin have already applied for asylum in the past

Pengungsi - Indonesia's internationally displaced persons

© Scalabrini Migration CenterIndonesia currently has one of the largest groups of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of any nation in the world. This paper assesses the scale and patterns of such movement in Indonesia as at the beginning of 2002. It begins by assessing conflict as a cause of internal migration and shows how such movement was significant during the first two decades of independence in Indonesia. The current patterns of movement of IDPs in Indonesia are then outlined with the main origins being in the Outer Island provinces of Maluku, East Timor, Aceh, Central Sulawesi, Central Kalimantan, Papua and West Kalimantan. Around half of the current 1.3 million IDPs are housed in "refugee camps," often in crowded and unhygienic conditions. Several of the expulsions of IDPs have come from areas where there have been earlier influxes of migrants, especially transmigrants of Java-Bali origins and the so-called BBM (Bugis, Butonese and Makassarese from South Sulawesi), with different ethnoreligious backgrounds than the native residents. The release of central control following the fall of the Suharto regime and the onset of the financial crisis have seen simmering newcomer/native, ethnic, religious and economic tensions rise to the surface to create the large scale expulsions. The Indonesian government has put forward a strategy to "solve" the IDP problem by the end of 2002. This is assessed and some of the medium and long-term implications of the movement discussed.Graeme Hugohttp://www.smc.org.ph/apmj