Refugee Access To Education In Bulgaria: Challenges And Opportunities

This paper addresses a debatable and challenging issue, which is the employment status of refugees and migrants from third countries in Europe, since Europe is facing an immense refugee flow and the numbers are growing. While refugees are seeking better living conditions, with a secure income and job status, this subject is important to be researched. Our research shows that the job situation of refugees and asylum seekers in Europe had an impact on European economy and society. The methodology relies on descriptive statistical investigations using primary data, Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire, distributed among various groups of individuals from Romania and other European countries. Our results prove that the employment status is rather difficult, due to some factors such as level of education done in home country, last economic status and it can vary from one European country to another.

Both geographic and normative constraints restrict access to surrogate international human rights protection for those seeking a haven from serious human rights abuses. Primary among territorial restrictions has been the fall-out from the US Supreme Court's decision in Sale v. Haitian Council Centers in which the court explicitly ruled that nothing in US statutory law, or in the 1951 Convention on Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, precluded the interdiction of Haitian refugees in international waters and their return to the country of origin without an effective interview on their protection clams. This ruling is in transparent contradiction to the general international law norm of non-refoulement according to modern scholarship and emerging case law. This paper concludes that Sale should be overturned by statute as should related pre-screening practices. A new standard of “jurisdiction” should be adopted which does not depend on territorial access to a signatory state but on whether the state is exercising power in fact. Similar concerns exist with respect to safe third country agreements which often offend the international customary right of the asylum seeker to choose where his or her claim will be filed. This paper argues that the right of choice should be recognized and onward travel and admission to the country of destination allowed. This result is especially called for where return of the alien by the country of first contact raises serious concerns under the law of non-refoulement. Imbalances noted in this paper include those generated by the new terrorism related grounds of inadmissibility in the United States and the summary denial of children's asylum claims flowing from gang violence. Other questions are raised in this paper concerning work authorization and detention of asylum seekers. Access to an employment authorization document for those filing colorable claims should be recognized by statute to render US practice consistent with that of most other states. Release from detention, on the other hand, for asylum seekers has now been broadly recognized by the US Department of Homeland Security where the asylum seeker's identity can be ascertained and the claim is non-frivolous in nature. This approach is largely consistent with international law, although there have been unnecessary delays in implementing it. On the substantive law, the international customary norm of non-refoulment has been expanded considerably through the development of opinio juris by scholars and the practice of states. This paper traces efforts in Europe to develop a law of temporary refuge for those fleeing civil war situations characterized by humanitarian law violations. Similarly, case law under the European Convention of Human Rights has now come to focus on the harm the claimant would suffer as the result of conditions in the country of origin without identifying an explicit agent of serious harm. Related to these developments has been the notion of complementary protection under which relief can be conferred where the alien would suffer serious harm upon return to the home state but not for a Convention reason. These approaches have now received approval in the European Union Asylum Qualification Directive so that international protection may now be conferred either because the alien would suffer serious harm on account of the intensity of human rights violations taking place in the country of origin, or those conditions, taken in conjunction with the claimant's personal situation, support a finding that the claimant would be impacted. This paper argues that this latter standard has now been made a part of the customary norm of non-refoulement and that it should be recognized by statute as a basis for non-return and coupled with status where the new standard can be met. Such a measure would help restore the nation's commitment to human rights and humanitarian concerns.

"Australia" (Au) antigens from various groups of individuals were examined for the presence of d and y determinants. Antigens from all of the 214 individuals examined were found to possess either the d or y determinant, in addition to the a determinant. With the ay antiserum employed, antibody absorption was found to be a more effective means than demonstration of spur formation for detection of the y determinant. Antigens with ad specificity predominated in a collection of sera from non-ill Tongan children and adults, but no significant differences were noted in the specificities of antigens from individuals from four different regions. Almost all of the antigens from various groups of individuals in California, including inmates of a state hospital, a group of heroin users, and hepatitis patients from San Francisco General Hospital, were of the ay specificity. With one exception, antigenic specificities were found to persist for 3 years in a group of Tongan school children. Specificities also persisted in chronic carriers from California and in hepatitis patients over the course of antigenemia. Of 15 human and 4 animal antisera examined, antibodies to the y determinant were demonstrable only in a single (human) antiserum, and antibodies to the d determinant were demonstrable in one guinea pig antiserum and one horse antiserum.

An overview of emerging trends on trafficking of human beings in Italy shows not only an extremely heterogeneous phenomenon but also a complex overlapping of experiences and need of protection of every single victim. In the context of mixed migration flows, persons reaching Italy through the Central Mediterranean and the Balkan routes have often experienced or are at risk of trafficking, and they also apply for international protection upon arrival. Legal categories such as “victims,” “asylum seekers,” and “refugees” are increasingly interconnected and not exhaustive in describing individual experiences and multifaceted vulnerabilities. Against this background, ensuring early identification and assistance for victims of trafficking among asylum seekers is extremely relevant. In Italy, this has led to the development of good practices aimed at implementing the coordination between the asylum and the anti-trafficking systems. In particular, specific Guidelines for Asylum authorities have been adopted to preliminarily identify potential victims of trafficking within the asylum procedure and enable their effective access to protection measures. To comply with specific provisions of the European Trafficking Directive and its transposition into the Italian legal framework, the Guidelines have created a referral mechanism among the asylum authorities and the anti-trafficking system that is unique in the European context. For this reason, the present contribution aims at describing this good practice, its implementation and effects—also at the juridical level—and its limits. Indeed, after the adoption of the instrument, a higher recognition rate of international protection for victims of trafficking has been registered in Italy, both at the administrative and judicial levels; asylum seekers and refugees have also increased their access to the specific protection program for trafficking survivors. In general, the system has strengthened its capacity to fulfill the legal obligation of identifying victims through a multi-agency approach. On the other hand, the ability to conduct screening and preliminary identification of victims of trafficking among asylum seekers is still limited to the “victim model” in terms of gender (women) and form of exploitation (sexual), and to certain stages of the asylum procedure (the first instance before the asylum authorities). With reference to this latter, a comprehensive protection response at the borders is missing despite the political debate on sea and land arrivals to Italy and the recent introduction of border procedures for the assessment of asylum applications. Given the geographical and political centrality of the south-Mediterranean situation in the current migration agenda, the goal of this paper is to analyze the Italian experience on referral mechanisms among trafficking and asylum as an experience that would help to shape future European prospects. The ongoing evolution of mixed migration flows—with particular reference to secondary movement across European countries—and the revised European Directive on trafficking in persons impose the promotion of a reflection on referral mechanisms with a transnational perspective enabling effective protection and the meeting of specific human rights.

The right and role of critiquing the contemporary patchwork of protection

Migrations and migrants have been in the focus of interest and activities of many governments, organizations, and institutions, both worldwide and in Croatia. According to international policies, children who seek or are under international protection have the right to education. To access the education system of the Republic of Croatia more easily, they are given the opportunity to attend Croatian language preparatory or remedial classes. The research aim was to determine the needs and challenges posed by the inclusion of a Syrian asylum seeker in a Croatian primary school. The qualitative approach was applied. The case study presents a ten-year-old Syrian girl, attending a primary school in Zagreb. The data were gathered with the use of semi-structured interviews with the girl's sister, teachers in the primary school, and her classmates. In order to gain a deeper insight into the girl's functioning in the school context, notes made by teachers during observation of the girl’s performance in the course of the educational process were gathered and analysed. Guidelines and recommendations were developed that could have a positive impact on quality inclusion of children refugees and asylum seekers in the Croatian education system. Keywords: children asylum seekers, educational process, qualitative research

1. Forced Migration: Refugees, Rights and Security Guy S Goodwin-Gill 2. Resolution 1373-A Call to Pre-empt Asylum Seekers? (or 'Osama, the Asylum Seeker') Penelope Mathew 3. National Security and Non-Refoulement in New Zealand: Commentary on Zaoui v Attorney-General (No 2) Rodger Haines QC 4. Offshore Barriers to Asylum Seeker Movement: The Exercise of Power without Responsibility? Savitri Taylor 5. The Legal and Ethical Implications of Extraterritorial Processing of Asylum Seekers: The 'Safe Third Country' Concept Susan Kneebone 6. Re-thinking the Paradigms of Protection: Children as Convention Refugees in Australia Mary Crock 7. Wearing Thin: Restrictions on Islamic Headscarves and Other Religious Symbols Ben Saul 8. Subjectivity and Refugee Fact-Finding Arthur Glass 9. Towards Convergence in the Interpretation of the Refugee Convention: A Proposal for the Establishment of an International Judicial Commission for Refugees Anthony M North and Joyce Chia 10. The Refugee Convention as a Rights Blueprint for Persons in Need of International Protection Jane McAdam 11. The Responsibility to Protect: Closing the Gaps in the International Protection Regime Erika Feller

The increase in the population of migrants and asylum seekers in Portugal in recent years has brought new challenges for housing. This article discusses the housing barriers facing migrants without international protection. The research employs mixed methods, integrating quantitative and qualitative data. The trajectory of housing is analysed using quantitative data on 1 781 asylum seekers hosted in Portugal between 2019 and 2021, together with qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 26 asylum seekers and 7 social workers from services providers. The analysis is supported by a discussion of recent developments in housing policy. The findings reveal the trajectories of precarity with evidence of discrimination, low-quality, overcrowded spaces and illegal renting, aggravated by high housing prices, the scarcity of social housing and the COVID-19 pandemic. The conclusions suggest that precarity and difficulties in accessing housing make migrants and asylum seekers more vulnerable, thus underscoring the need for public housing responses. The paper brings new evidence on how housing policy intersects with migration and the need for public housing responses.

This article examines the changes towards more gender-sensitive interpretations of refugee status in international and national asylum laws and policies within the context of contemporary and historical global power relations. It also analyzes the changes in the language that can be found in the international UNHCR guidelines for the protection of women asylum seekers, U.S. national guidelines for assessing gender-related asylum claims, and recent U.S. court decisions assessing the gendered claims of women. Among the analyzed court cases, the focus is on the 2005 Mohammed case due to its problematic court decision and legal interpretations. Finding the Western countries’ instrumentalization of the international refugee protection system crucial for understanding the contemporary asylum system and women asylum seekers, the argument connects the historical conditions with the way in which the protection of women refugees from “cultural” gendered violence has been articulated in asylum politics in the U.S. The author’s overall findings are that international law, governmental organizations, and liberal women’s human rights NGOs have shaped the international and national legal protection of (women) asylum seekers in such a way that it reproduces global inequalities in its representation of “Third World” women and their culture, uses women asylum seekers fleeing from violence for the purpose of exercising Western cultural superiority, and covers up the restrictive and racist Western asylum politics towards immigrants and asylum seekers.

The role of various actors, such as states, trust and non-self-governing territories, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and various groups of individuals, in respect of international law has been in a constant change. At every moment of the development of international law the status of the actors is determined by its rules themselves. In addition to having itself legal personality under international law, a subject of international law can at the same time be a composing element of another legal person. In discussing peoples as possible subjects of international law, it is imperative to have in mind the two main uses of this term in the context of international law: peoples as the entire population of a territory; and peoples as groups of persons having common ethnic, cultural, and historic ties. The development of the international protection of minorities has been accompanied by predominant State practice as well as scholarly writings against the recognition of minorities as subjects of international law.

Negotiating integration: Refugees and asylum seekers in Australia and the UK

Literature shows how some groups of populations, among which are people seeking international protection and refugees, find it difficult to access services in national health systems. Usually, asylum seekers have limited Health Literacy (HL), which makes understanding the appropriate health information difficult. The objective of this research is to consider the relationship between how people requesting international protection and refugees approach the Italian Health System to request health services and their level of Functional Health Literacy (FHL). These relationships are examined through mixed methods. Data were obtained using several tools: a self-administered questionnaire in which the subjects revealed social and demographic data and a face-to-face interview together with the S-FHL Scale fulfillment in order to identify the functional level of HL. Twenty-one subjects were interviewed in two Centers of Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (SPRAR). Results show a picture of the actual situation. Data report a problematic or insufficient FHL level. Some factors, such as gender, age and health perceptions, play a role in the FHL levels. Some racial prejudices were reported. Language barriers had the most impact on the communication gap. Nevertheless, none of the subjects were denied health services. In conclusion, although this study is a pilot, we have experienced difficulty in obtaining asylum seekers' trust to be open about their experience. This explains the number of the sample that should be more indicated for a qualitative study. Our results are in accordance with literature for inadequate level of FHL and lack of knowledge of the Italian Health System. This study highlighted several other issues to be taken into consideration for future research on the subject.

Common rules on most aspects of the asylum process are now in force in the European Union e.g. to determine which State is responsible for determining a claim; on asylum seekers’ entitlements and obligations as regards their reception in Member States; to regulate the asylum procedure itself; and to determine who qualifies for international protection. The so-called EU asylum acquis which resulted in a Common European Asylum System (CEAS) does not stand on its own, but builds on the international refugee protection regime. EU legislation states that the CEAS is to be based on a full and inclusive application of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In asylum cases the burden of proof is placed on the asylum seeker. Usually states expect asylum seekers to adduce evidence in order to substantiate their asylum claim.

How a society supports its most vulnerable individuals can serve as a barometer of social inclusion. By engaging in previous debates on how the influx and resettlement of refugees and asylum seekers challenge European educational spaces, this study investigates asylum seekers’ non-engagement and non-participation in one engaged learning project in Finland (the KOTO project – Kotoutuminen taidolla ja taiteella [Integration through Arts and Skills]). A mixed methods approach with convergent design was adopted for the study, which combines qualitative data on asylum seekers’ attributions of their participatory barriers with quantitative data on the relationship between asylum seekers’ demographics and the quantified data on their participatory barriers. The study illuminates how asylum seekers’ liminality, along with the project-based barriers, generates non-engagement and non-participation in the educative pre-integrational programmes in a reception centre context.

Over the last 3 decades, a growing volume of research documents disparities in health care access, treatment, and health status for people from racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States. Former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher noted the persistence of health disparities and called for their elimination by the year 2010. Understanding the extent of racial and ethnic disparities is the first step toward their elimination, but understanding why disparities exist and how to eliminate disparities requires further research. The factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in health status are diverse and span social, economic, educational, ecological, environmental, and behavioral issues as well as problems in health care and other systems, and interpersonal interactions between providers and patients. In addition, genetic and biologic factors interact with these social and environmental factors across the life span. There are many factors in the health care system, ranging from the lack of universal health insurance to the under-representation of African Americans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and American Indians and Alaska Natives among health care professionals, that present tremendous barriers to care for people from racial and ethnic minority populations. Research documents disparities in treatment and the use of procedures in people from racial and ethnic minority groups.1 In general, minorities receive less-intensive hospital care,2 fewer cardiovascular procedures,3 fewer antiretrovirals for HIV infections,4 less-aggressive treatment of prostate cancer,5 fewer orthopedic procedures,6 less analgesia for cancer pain,7 and lower quality prenatal care.8 In 1999, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation reported the results of a national survey that found that 16% of whites, 35% of blacks, and 30% of Latinos believe that racism in health care is a major problem. A significant proportion of blacks and Latinos reported that they had experienced bias or discrimination in the health care system due to their race/ethnicity or English language ability.9 The recent Commonwealth Fund report indicated that 18% of Hispanics, 16% of blacks, 13% of Asians, and 9% of whites had experienced disrespect in the health care system.10 Communication with their providers is a major problem for members of racial and ethnic minority groups. The Commonwealth Fund survey reported that blacks, Hispanics, and Asians have more difficulty communicating with their providers and understanding provider instructions and other health information, and are less involved in their care than they would like to be.10 Researchers have investigated communication in patient and provider pairs in which race is discordant and found that providers are less likely to encourage participatory interactions when the physician is white and the patient black.11 Other studies have documented difference in quality of care for Medicare recipients in managed care settings.12 It is time to move beyond simply describing disparities to better understanding why disparities exist and developing strategies for eliminating them. Eliminating disparities requires thoughtful approaches in the way we deliver clinical care, the way we conduct research, and the way we educate current and future physicians. The Journal of General Internal Medicine therefore issues this call for papers that focus on disparities in health for a Special Issue. The goals of the Special Issue are to increase readers’ understanding of the complexity of factors that contribute to health disparities, to reinforce the need for interventions at multiple levels to eliminate health disparities, and to highlight research methodologies that are appropriate for investigating racial, ethnic, and other disparities in health status and health care quality. The Special Issue will contain review articles and original empirical studies that focus on policies, social determinants, interpersonal factors, and other factors that contribute to disparities. We seek articles that describe approaches to eliminating disparities at multiple levels, including communities, health care systems, and interpersonal interactions. We also seek to describe innovative curricula related to educating physicians about disparities and cultural competence as well as programs that promote the recruitment, retention, and advancement of under-represented minorities in medicine. The Special Issue will include approximately 10 to 12 articles including 5 to 6 original studies, brief reports, review articles, perspectives, or original studies under Innovations in Education and Clinical Practice, Health Policy or Populations at Risk. The submission deadline is February 1, 2003.