Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Sociology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-291). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR45990

This thesis is concerned with a 'problem' in a humanitarian context: an identified gap between the rhetoric and 'reality' of refugee children's participation in their protection and a refugee protection process that is thought not particularly participatory for the child. Through directly engaging with refugee children and humanitarian practitioners - in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, Uganda - it seeks to explore empirically the extent to which this is the case and whether refugee children's increased participation in refugee protection procedures might produce a better, safer alternative for children. From a theoretical perspective, this thesis engages critically with a significant body of academic literature on the theory and practice of children's participation as well as related literature on the conceptualisation of 'childhood' and 'the child'. It explores the ambiguity and tensions in children's participation, particularly in relation to their protection, and responds to debates surrounding participation, agency and power. It engages with the literature on forced migration, refugee camps and the construction of the refugee (child). Linking these to the debate on children's participation in protection, it explores notions of 'vulnerability' and 'agency' and the transformative potential of participation for a reconstruction of refugee children with consequences for their everyday spaces and lives.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Detroit Mercy, 2008. / "28 April 2008". Includes bibliographical references (p.323-327).

Thesis (M.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page; viewed on Sept. 22, 2009. "August 2009." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of Science in Architecture." "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo." Major professor: Jens Pohl, Ph.D. Bibliography pages unnumbered. Includes bibliographical references (p. [109]-[111]).

Communities affected by climate impacts, political or cultural conflicts and rapid demographic shifts are the most vulnerable to the effects of poverty, disease and communal violence. Addressing their needs through appropriate architectural responses can help them to recover social, economic and environmental well-being. This thesis defines strategies to address the challenges involved in the design of spaces after three causes of forced migration: natural disaster, conflict and urban development. The methodology is based on literature review which served as theoretical background to work in three design competitions related to shelter after natural disasters, refugee camps and slums. The need to provide accommodation after a natural disaster is essential. Therefore, a shelter that can be transported and deployed quickly and effectively, and that contemplates the uniqueness and complexity of the event, is studied in this thesis. Refugee camps have become the protective and safe place that provide shelter, food and health safety to all kinds of survivors and refugees. Due to the complexity of the problems related to this forced migration situation, the presence of refugee camps tends to be longer than the expected. Therefore, a design that contemplates this duality of time and that addresses peoples' needs and rights is part of this research. Slums are often related to deprivation and socio-spatial exclusion and due to the lack of security of tenure, they are vulnerable to evictions caused by redevelopment pressures, gentrification processes and episodes of ethnic cleansing. Therefore, a neighborhood's transformation with cohesive public spaces and incremental housing prototypes is proposed in this thesis. Through the study of architectural responses to natural disaster, refugee camps and slums design considerations related to the site, the culture and the urban context are established as guidelines. In addition, a time-based design strategy, a dual design approach and a multiple scales design strategy are defined as essential to give an architectural response to forced-displaced communities. / Master of Architecture / Devastating effects of natural disaster, political conflicts and demographic changes are experienced everyday worldwide. People who have faced them long for protection, safety and peace to have the strength to start again. Therefore, this thesis proposes some possible architectural solutions for situations where entire populations have lost their homes or have been displaced. Temporary shelters provided after a natural disaster was the first theme studied. The research was complemented with the design of a shelter for a rural community in Ecuador which was devastated by the 2016 earthquake. Research and design demonstrated the need to design a structure aligned with the features of its context and that could be easily and quickly transported and deployed. Thousands of people are forced to flee every day due to political and social conflicts. The second design that was part of this thesis was for Mosul, one of the cities that had been destroyed due to the conflicts in Iraq. The aim was to provide shelter for people that want to return to this city during its reconstruction. Through the design and research, it was defined that it is important to integrate the temporary camps in the reconstruction plan of the city to obtain a more appropriate approach towards the refugees’ needs and values. Neighborhoods wrongly categorized as slums are exposed to human displacement due to real state pressures, urban interventions and social reforms. The third and last project that was part of this thesis looked for a response to this problem in a neighborhood in Mumbai. Several projects were reviewed and diverse sources were consulted leading to the conclusion that public space should work in these neighborhoods as the meeting point of different groups of people and activities. In addition, it was established that affordable housing solutions should respond to economic situation of the dwellers and their future needs. The importance of understanding the site, the culture and the context of every scenario was established essential to formulate an accurate solution for people that seek shelter after a natural disaster, armed conflict or eviction. In addition, considering different design scales and providing spaces with diverse uses and with the possibility to change through time was defined important to develop these projects.

This research aims to find architectural and urban design related solutions to enhance the living conditions of refugees who are trapped in protracted refugee situations. One key issue that could be considered the main problem-generating factor in protracted refugee situations, is the lack of a clear definition for the appropriate deign life-span of refugee camps in general. As an example of that refuge situation, focus within this research is upon the two refugee camp models found in Jordan; the Zaatari camp and the Azraq camp. Both were established in response of the recent civil war in Syria, started in 2011. A comparison between the two refugee camps resulted in identifying the strong points and the shortcomings of the current models. In addition, an assessment of the refugees’ needs is made based on the refugee camp’s design guidelines and the official reports published by the different humanitarian organizations. The above mentioned researched information is utilized to develop and apply an adaptable design solution that aims to overcome the unpredictable future of the refugee situation in Azraq refugee camp in Jordan. The proposal includes a long-term plan that may develop over time and which is divided to three stages depending on the longevity of the refugee camp. Each stage takes into consideration the changing requirements and needs that the refugees develop over time.

No description available.

This dissertation is a material-archival history of the Palestinian refugee camp. Its primary claim is that to read Palestine-Israel one must read the camp; the refugee camp, I argue, is the settlercolony’s irreducible foil. How, then, has the question of the camps (neither synonymous with nor reducible to the ‘refugee problem’) exerted its own gravitational force on Palestinian, Israeli, and humanitarian politics? What kind of historical relation is there, I ask, between camp-form and that spatial form from which it seems inseparable—the colony? Working with a range of textual and visual documents (from bureaucratic reports to prose fiction and architectural drawings) drawn from four different archives, I argue that the Palestinian camps lie at the center of the foundational-temporal impasse of the Israeli state—its inability to decisively render the moment of its inception as past. In other words, my argument is that the camp sits not only at the intersection of the most critical biopolitical sites of the settler- colonial—the colonized body and its movements, land and its possession in regimes of property and ownership—but, and perhaps even more consequentially, at the point of their temporal resolution in definite and final forms. Camp and colony are entangled from the start; co-produced in the double movement of dispossession and substitution, un-homing and homing; twinned but inversed topologies of the freedom of movement.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Also available in print.

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.