South Africa is one of the top regional destinations for refugees and asylum seekers. The South African government has chosen to adopt local integration as its main strategy in dealing with the refugees and asylum seekers it currently hosts, as opposed to housing refugees in camps. This step has been hailed as progressive, and the Refugee Act has espoused the issuing of progressive identity documents to refugees and asylum seekers as the viaduct through which refugees and asylum seekers can become fully integrated. In this regard then, refugee and asylum seeker identity documents are critical and the study sought to investigate the extent to which this policy intent of using identity documents to facilitate integration had become a reality. The study began by looking at the evolution of refugee and asylum seeker law in South Africa. From there it looked at the differences between refugees and asylum seekers, and what distinguishes them from other migrants such as economic migrants. Thereafter the study looked at theoretical frameworks surrounding migration and integration, especially as pertains to the refugee and asylum seeker context. In particular, the study sought to present the experiences of identity documents in facilitating integration from two main perspectives namely the refugees and asylum seekers who are issued with and make use of these identity documents, and service providers who interact with these documents on a daily basis and provide services to the refugee and asylum seeker communities. The findings presented highlight that despite the progressive evolution of refugee law in South Africa, the role of these identity documents, in facilitating access to services and promoting integration, has largely failed, from the practical to the policy level.

Yes / Asylum-seeking and refugee women currently residing in Europe face unique challenges in the perinatal period. A range of social support interventions have been developed to address these challenges. However, little is known about which women value and why. A critical interpretive synthesis was undertaken using peer reviewed and grey literature to explore the nature, context and impact of these perinatal social support interventions on the wellbeing of asylum-seeking and refugee women. Four types of interventions were identified which had varying impacts on women’s experiences. The impacts of the interventions were synthesised into five themes: Alleviation of being alone, Safety and trust, Practical knowledge and learning, being cared for and emotional support, and increased confidence in and beyond the intervention. The interventions which were most valued by women were those using a community-based befriending/peer support approach as these provided the most holistic approach to addressing women’s needs.

Magister Legum - LLM / This study set out to analyse Zimbabwe’s obligations under international law for the protection of UARC. Chapter one was an introduction to the study laying out the background of refugee and child protection. The background established that it was after World War II that the international community saw the need for an international instrument to define the legal status of refugees, after the refugee problem had not been resolved after World War I. This development saw the creation of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. On the African continent the large number of people fleeing wars and internal conflict led to the adoption of the OAU Convention to address the unique problems associated with African refugees. The chapter also established that the protection of UARC should be integrated early into the design and implementation of assistance programmes. A child ought to be treated as a child first and as a refugee second. The main hypothesis of the research as set out in the chapter was that the children and refugee policies and laws in Zimbabwe do not sufficiently protect children in vulnerable situations such as UARC. Subsequent chapters addressed the issues raised in chapter one, that is outlining the obligations that Zimbabwe has internationally and showing whether these obligations are being fulfilled. Chapter two of the study examined Zimbabwe’s obligations in both international and regional law for protection of UARC. The study concluded that Zimbabwe by ratifying all refugee and children’s conventions, regionally and internationally is bound to protect refugee children, especially those who are unaccompanied. The chapter also established that the refugee Conventions do not fully protect UARC, as the definition of a refugee does not cater for children. It was submitted that these definitions require amendment. Specific protection for refugee children is provided in Art 22 of the CRC and Art 23 of the ACRWC, establishing that the best interests’ of the child principle is paramount especially to unaccompanied refugee in all stages of their displacement cycle until they receive appropriate accommodation. General Comment 6 lays out the various legal obligations that States have which include the obligation to respect the best interests of the child, the obligation pertaining to non-discrimination, providing care and accommodation arrangements and respect for the child views. Although being soft law, the General Comment as discussed in chapter two cannot be simply ignored as it is a vital tool used by treaty bodies to further explain or give flesh to rights provided in a UN Convention. Included in these obligations are also procedural needs and general and special protection needs. Chapter two also established that pertinent to the issue of refugee protection is the issue of burden sharing which entails that a State that faces difficulties in refugee protection issues can appeal for help from other States. Zimbabwe needs to cooperate with other States such as South Africa which hosts most refugees in Africa, if the rights of UARC are to be fully realised. Such cooperation can range from assisting children to trace their families, reunification and the issuing of identity documents. The government though has and continues to engage with non-governmental organisations to ensure that it fulfils its obligations. It is also established that the UNHCR plays a very significant role in refugee protection and is the central agency for refugee protection. It has published various executive committee conclusions on UARC emphasising the need for cooperation between States in protection issues.⁴⁶² In chapter three, the study examined Zimbabwe’s legislation that protects unaccompanied refugee children and Zimbabwe’s encampment policies, concluding that there are still gaps in the law that protects UARC and asylum seekers. By and large, the Children’s Act of Zimbabwe conforms with international treaties. In particular, it declares that the best interest of the child shall be paramount in matters concerning them; however, it is largely silent on children’s right to participation.⁴⁶³ Reference to UARC in the Children’s Act can be inferred from the reference made to children in need of care. As highlighted in chapter 3 above, this provision is highly inadequate and in need of amendment. The Refugees Act of Zimbabwe, as discussed in chapter three, clearly falls short in addressing the specific needs of children by not providing a specific section that relates to children. It, further, omits to take into account the fact that children in some instances become refugees as a result of socio economic factors such as poverty amongst others. The definition of a refugee in the Act does not accommodate children since it is basically a duplication of the 1951 Convention and the OAU Conventions’ definitions which do not cater for children as discussed in chapter 2 above. The Constitution of Zimbabwe is very significant in that it provides for rights exclusively applying to children over and above those provided to everyone resident in Zimbabwe.⁴⁶⁴ The State is obliged to adopt policies and measures to fulfil these rights, however, subject to the limitation of available resources. The limitation, however, has not been subjected to progressive realisation, which implies that the State is not committed to the immediate and tangible progress towards realising children’s socio economic rights.⁴⁶⁵ The CESCR has reiterated that progressive realisation implies a specific and continuing obligation on states to, as much as possible, be expeditious and effective in working towards the full realisation of the rights.⁴⁶⁶ Implementation of these laws is also still a problem in Zimbabwe. The current economic problems in Zimbabwe, in which the State is failing to cater for its own people, hinders the State from fully fulfilling its obligations towards UARC. Thus, although the government has in place a social and legislative mechanism aimed at promoting the rights of children, it has not been able to fulfil its obligations in full because its duty has been limited to the State’s available resources. This study, therefore, makes the submission that NGO support and international cooperation is highly necessary for the realisation of refugee children’s rights in Zimbabwe. The study also established that there is need for proper accommodation, adequate food and quality education for UARC at the Tongogara refugee camp in Zimbabwe.

Yes / Vulnerable migrant women are at an increased risk of developing postnatal depression, compared with the general population. Although some symptoms are the same as in other pregnant women, there are specific reasons why vulnerable migrant women may present differently, or may not recognise symptoms themselves. Factors associated with migration may affect a woman’s mental health, particularly considering forced migration, where a woman may have faced violence or trauma, both in her home country and on the journey to the UK. Vulnerable migrant women engage less with maternity care than the average woman for reasons including a lack of knowledge of the UK healthcare system, fear of being charged for care, or fear that contact with clinicians will negatively affect their immigration status. This article explores the issues surrounding vulnerable migrant women that increase their risk of developing postnatal depression and presents reasons why this may go unrecognised by health professionals such as midwives.

Yes / Purpose Perinatal depression is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental health conditions in the general maternity population but whilst the prevalence is thought to be much higher in asylum seeking and refugee (AS&R) women, it is less frequently identified and diagnosed by health care professionals. Method A systematic review was undertaken to address ‘what factors influence help-seeking behaviours in asylum seeking and refugee women with symptoms of perinatal depression’. The review focussed on women accessing care in high income countries. 12 studies met the eligibility criteria and a narrative synthesis was undertaken resulting in two main themes: women's perceptions of depression and access to healthcare and support services. Results Findings indicated that many of the influences on help-seeking were also present in the general population and women from ethnic minority populations, with the exception of migration experiences; but that women from a AS&R may experience more of these barriers, exacerbating inequality in access to and engagement with healthcare. Conclusion Further research is needed to provide more detailed insight into the experiences of asylum seeking and refugee women to identify ways that barriers in help-seeking can be addressed.

Unaccompanied children that arrives in Sweden are usually placed in homes for care and residence, called HVB. It is the municipality's responsibility to provide adequate care and protection for the children. The aim of the study is to examine how a workgroup on a HVB home for unaccompanied children is working to meet the needs of the children, and how the workgroup improves the children’s integration process. The study also aims to examine the emotional labour of the workgroup, which illustrates how they can manage their own emotional behavior when working with the unaccompanied children. The study is based on a qualitative approach with detailed descriptions of five semi-structured interviews with the workgroup and assistant managers. The study relieved that the workgroup of the HVB home are able to cater to the individual needs of the unaccompanied children based on difficulties and their past experience. The result shows that the professional approach of the workgroup differs when working with the unaccompanied children’s needs and integration process. The results also relieved that the overall goal of the studied HVB home – to make the unaccompanied children completely independent and responsible young adults, is not completely fulfilled. In order to further improve the children's development in their new environment, previous studies have found that it is important to not only understand the importance of a professional approach but also to collaborate with others. This in order to contribute to the children’s development in the new society.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Despite the lack of robust empirical evidence, a growing number of media reports attempt to link climate change to the ongoing violent conflicts in Syria and other parts of the world, as well as to the migration crisis in Europe. Exploiting bilateral data on asylum seeking applications for 157 countries over the period 2006-2015, we assess the determinants of refugee flows using a gravity model which accounts for endogenous selection in order to examine the causal link between climate, conflict and forced migration. Our results indicate that climatic conditions, by affecting drought severity and the likelihood of armed conflict, played a significant role as an explanatory factor for asylum seeking in the period 2011-2015. The effect of climate on conflict occurrence is particularly relevant for countries in Western Asia in the period 2010-2012 during when many countries were undergoing political transformation. This finding suggests that the impact of climate on conflict and asylum seeking flows is limited to specific time period and contexts.

Under 2016 var över 65 miljoner människor på flykt världen över. Personer som flyr har en ökad risk för ohälsa och för att hantera den nya situationen beskrivs värdet i att ha fritid och engagera sig i aktiviteter, då fritiden är en central del av livet under ungdomstiden. Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka aktiviteter som unga vuxna, nu boende i Sverige på grund av flykt, utövar på fritiden samt hur dessa aktiviteter upplevs. Data samlades in genom 18 aktivitetsdagböcker och sex intervjuer. Insamlad data analyserades genom deskriptiv kvantitativ analys och deskriptiv kvalitativ analys. Resultatet visade att deltagarna till största del (59%) skattade fritiden som “extremt meningsfull” och “meningsfull”. Möjligheten till självbestämmande och den sociala miljön hade inverkan på upplevd meningsfullhet av fritid. Exempel på aktiviteter som genomfördes mest på fritiden var att spela fotboll, spela spel och religiösa aktiviteter. Vilka aktiviteter som utfördes samt den mängd fritid deltagarna hade varierade beroende på hur varje individ såg på sin fritid. Upplevelsen av aktivitet och fritid är subjektiv och påverkar vilket värde aktiviteten har för individen. / In 2016, more than 65 million people were refugees for reasons of feared persecution, conflict, violence etc. Refugees have an increased risk of decreased health, and for them to handle their new situation, it is important to engage in activities. Leisure is an important part of life during adolescence and the aim of this study was to investigate what activities young adults who had fled to Sweden performed in their leisure time and how these activities were experienced. Data was collected through 18 activity diaries and six interviews. The collected data was analyzed by descriptive quantitative analysis and descriptive qualitative analysis. The results showed that the participants mostly (59%) perceived their leisure activities as "extremely meaningful" or "meaningful". The ability of self-determination and the social context had impacts on the perceived meaningfulness of leisure. Examples of activities that were performed most in leisure time were playing football, playing games, and religious activities. The amount of leisure and the activities that were performed in leisure time varied depending on how each individual perceived their leisure. The perception of activity and leisure is subjective and affects the value of each activity for the individual.

<p>This paper focuses on the Swedish migration discourse and investigates if and to what extent it is dominated by a security perspective. Analysing a number of official texts and documents I want to show how the discourse describes migrants and what implications this carries with it for the migrants and for the Swedish migration politics. Through discourse analysis I have analysed whose security that is prioritised, the Swedish or the refugees, who is the refugee and the asylum seeker, and who is the illegal migrant in the Swedish official migration discourse. As a theoretical frame for the analysis I have used theories on migration and security. These include theories on the securitisation of politics, the globalisation and the creation of political identity from the nation state perspective and theories on the connection between migration and security.</p><p>My results show that a security discourse is dominating the Swedish official migration discourse and is therefore defining our reality and the identities of refugees, asylum seekers and illegal migrants. Migration is in this discourse seen from a national security perspective where migrants in different ways are perceived as threats to Sweden. The perhaps main and most surprising find is the way that the migrants are described as part of the reason why generous refugee politics are not possible, and also indirectly why the public support of the right to seek asylum should decrease.</p><p>I have found that several of the theories on migration and security are important to be able to understand and analyse the Swedish official migration discourse.</p>