Compiled by- Kruthika NS

Walter G. Craddock Paper Prize:

Dr. Lopita Nath, Associate Professor of History and Chair, University of the Incarnate Word, USA was awarded the Walter G. Craddock Paper Prize for best paper in European/Asian/Middle Eastern History by the Southwest Historical Association at the Annual Conference of the Southwest Social Science Association. The title of the paper was: Legality, Accountability and Responsibility: the Case of the Lhotshampa Refugees from Bhutan. Dr. Nath was a participant for the Eleventh Annual Orientation Course on Forced Migration which was organized by the Calcutta Research Group (CRG) in 2013. The awarded paper was prepared for CRG’s Orientation Programme.

Concerns Over Rejection of Asylum Applications in Japan:

Japan has rejected 99.9% of the asylum applications it considered in 2013, which has raised major concerns regarding the legitimacy and efficacy of Japan’s domestic refugee systems. Reports show that all Syrian asylum seekers were denied protection. However, the Immigration Bureau of the country has granted special permission to stay for humanitarian reasons to 151 of the 3777 requests.

Burma's Ethnic Persecution is State Policy:

Burma’s serious rise in ethnic violence has raised quite a large number of eyebrows. There have been serious accusations against the government for meting out abusive "population control" measures against Rohingya, a sect of Muslims, which demonstrates that state and central government authorities are responsible for denying Rohingya fundamental human rights by limiting their freedom of movement, marriage and childbirth, among other aspects of daily life, in northern Rakhine State. For instance, a 2005 order from local Rakhine State authorities, requires Rohingya "who have permission to marry" to "limit the number of children, in order to control the birth rate so that there is enough food and shelter." This order is imposed as a strict two-child limit which prohibits Rohingya from having children out of wedlock. As a result, fearful Rohingya women have fled the country and undergone illegal abortions that have resulted in severe injury and even death. This shows dangerous precedents for the future.

Proof of Registration Card Renewals held in Pakistan:

The most number of cards renewed has been in Lahore, which is a whopping 3494 out of 12409. The UNHCR has however, suggested a number of techniques for Pakistan to up its game. A suggestion to increase processing speed has been put forth, and the UNHCR review this on February 25, 2014. Similarly, a suggestion has been made to install more active Queue management, such as physical barriers.

20,000 Civilians in Danger of Starving to Death in Yarmouk Refugee Camp:

The United Nations has cautioned that more than 20,000 people are in unavoidable risk of starving to death in a Palestinian exile camp that has turned into a key battleground in the Syrian civil war. The approaching humane emergency in Yarmouk, on the edge of the Syrian capital, Damascus, was depicted as "beyond desperate" by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees. A delicate understanding between the warring factions to permit sustenance into the camp has broken down, and for 10 days no food parcel has been permitted through an administration barricade of the range, the scene of furious battling between the Syrian Army and dissidents. Chris Gunness, of UNRWA, has confirmed that there will be no further UN food assistance in the camp.

Until the flare-up of war in Syria, Yarmouk was a flourishing sanctuary for upwards of 250,000 Palestinian outcasts living nearby many Syrians. Anyway in December 2012 the range was invaded by radical gatherings, who were marked "terrorists" by President Bashar al-Assad's administration. People who couldn't escape ended up trapped as a Syrian armed force barrage lessened most structures to rubble. In July 2013, administration powers succeeded in forcing a tight bar around the locale. It wasn't until January not long from now that a delicate agreement was facilitated between all warring factions to permit food to be given as aid.

Mr. Gunness said even before the arrangement's breakdown, the circumstances had been basic for exactly 18,000 Palestinians and more than 2,000 Syrian citizens trapped in Yarmouk. He said: “Just about 100 food parcels allocates day were traversing; 700 were required.”