Refugee Law and Policy: International and U.S. Responses

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Written by a group of social scientists, these essays address critical aspects of the global refugee situation. The contributors analyze the problem from the perspectives of law, ethics and social science, paying particular attention to the linkages and conflicts between international and national refugee issues and concerns. Arguing that a serious gap exists between the obligations undertaken by government delegations to the various refugee conventions and what is actually required to meet the needs of the displaced, the contributors issue a call for concerted international action to address the refugee challenge, explore alternatives to existing policies and suggest choices consistent with the goal of human dignity for all. Following an introductory chapter on the nature of the refugee problem, the volume is divided into four parts. The contributors first explore international responses to the refugee problem examining such issues as the rights of refugees under international law, the problem of accountability, and conflicting trends in Western European refugee policies. In a section devoted to the United States response, topics covered include US refugee policy in Africa, Central American refugees, the role of Congress and the courts, and trends in US immigration law and policy. The following chapters address the response of citizens and church-affiliated groups while the concluding section examines ways in which countries can act both to avert the flow of refugees and provide more effective protection for those that need it.

Reviews

This book, the product of a colloquium on international human rights law, presents and interesting and timely array of essays that discuss various but selected aspects of the current global refugee problem and the formidable challenge the crisis in refugee movements poses for both international and national policy-makers. It reflects both the advantages and disadvantages inherent in such an approach to any book on so extensive a topic....-International Migration Review
"This book, the product of a colloquium on international human rights law, presents and interesting and timely array of essays that discuss various but selected aspects of the current global refugee problem and the formidable challenge the crisis in refugee movements poses for both international and national policy-makers. It reflects both the advantages and disadvantages inherent in such an approach to any book on so extensive a topic...."-International Migration Review

Author Bio

VED P. NANDA is Thompson G. Marsh Professor of Law and Director of the International Legal Studies Program at the University of Denver College of Law. Among his most recent works, he coedited Human Rights and Third World Development (Greenwood Press, 1988, with George Shepherd, Jr.)