The guide summarizes an assessment of War Child Canada’s three-pronged legal protection model was implemented with South Sudanese refugees in Northern Uganda and uses it to identify the most important lessons for ensuring legal protection mechanisms are in place at the onset of an emergency. It is meant to help build the evidence base on what may be a replicable model, or set of practices, for survivor-centered SGBV legal protection services in emergency settings; expand understanding of positive practices and lessons learned; and help humanitarian actors gain the competencies needed to uphold their SGBV responsibilities.

In light of national, cross-border, transboundary and regional hazards of various type in Southern Africa, a desk review was undertaken by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in order to enhance the understanding of disaster risk and spaces of vulnerability (i.e. exposure to hazards) in terms of natural disaster and/or crisis situations in Southern Africa, and map the current disaster risk governance structure and preparedness capacity in the region. Six countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region – namely, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe – were targeted. Based on existing hazards, vulnerability and resilience, the concept of spaces of vulnerability (i.e. areas with higher exposure to risk), the review identifies spaces of vulnerability in the region to include the following elements: 1. Location of national or transboundary hazards and hazard-prone areas, including but not limited to the Zambezi, Limpopo and Okavango river basins; the Indian Ocean coastline; the East African Rift Valley; dry lands; and areas experiencing particularly unpredictable weather patterns. 2. Areas with increased level of vulnerability, including but not limited to: a. Rural areas with high poverty levels; depending on rain-fed agriculture and subsistence farming; with inadequate housing and/or access to basic services such as water and sanitation; at distance to or absence to health-care facilities; b. Urban areas not properly planned and/or informal settlements; with high poverty levels, unemployment, income inequality and social exclusion; with inadequate housing and/or access to basic services such as water and sanitation and/or otherwise poor infrastructure; with high population density; with a diverse community living in discord with each other and/or facing social tension; c. Border areas with a high level of cross-border population movement, or border areas where communities face transboundary hazards; d. Specific vulnerabilities faced by population groups or individuals, including but not limited to migrants and particularly undocumented migrants and “people of concern”; people living with HIV/AIDS; people with special needs; people disadvantaged by or living in the margins of a community/society. 3. Areas with little or no disaster risk management capacity – including absence of comprehensive planning for prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation activities. As such, disaster risk reduction and resilience initiatives adapted to national, cross-border, transboundary and regional hazards; development challenges and vulnerabilities; and disaster risk management systems are required, mainstreaming relevant regional dynamics such as sustainable development, climate change, urbanization, and migration into disaster risk management frameworks and operational mechanisms.

This year’s A Region on the Move report aims to provide an overview of the main population movement trends in the East and Horn of Africa region (EHoA) in 2019. Home to an estimated population of 322 million, of which 42 per cent are under the age of 15, the region hosted 6.5 million international migrants at mid-year 2019. With more than six million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and more than three million refugees and asylum-seekers recorded by the end of the year, countries in the region continue to experience significant levels of internal and crossborder mobility, including intra- and extra-regional movements. Migration in the region is still triggered by a combination of persistent insecurity and conflict, harsh climatic conditions, public heath emergencies alongside socio-economic drivers and more traditional seasonal and livelihood factors. In 2019, the region observed a growing trend in intercommunal clashes, particularly in Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan, in addition to abnormal climatic events such as a severe drought, devastating floods and a critical desert locust invasion, all of which affected the EHoA in its entirety. Meanwhile, multiple countries reinforced their preparedness efforts to counter the risk of cross-border transmissions of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. Similar to previous years, most migration trends captured through flow monitoring were motivated by economic reasons in 2019. The region continues to be characterized by large movements towards the Arab Peninsula – along the Eastern Route – with 138,213 migrant crossings to Yemen from the Horn of Africa, notwithstanding the 120,825 returns of Ethiopian nationals led by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2019 alone. Comparatively, the number of arrivals of EHoA migrants registered across European arrival points in Greece, Italy and Spain fell from 4,624 in 2018 to 3,452 in 2019.

Post Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNAs) are jointly undertaken by the UNDG, the World Bank and the European Commission at the request of national governments in crisis affected countries. In the aftermath of a disaster, a PDNA is conducted to value the physical damages and change in economic flows and to identify recovery and reconstruction needs. These findings are integrated into a single assessment report. As a member of the UNDG, the ILO has developed the PDNA Vol B guidelines for the ‘Employment, Livelihoods and Social Protection’ (ELSP) Sector to outline how to assess and estimate the effects and impact of disasters on ELSP and to provide recommendations for reactivating economic activities and employment for livelihoods recovery. Although ELSP are treated as a single topic in this chapter, the ELSP methodology is “cross-cutting” and includes data and assessment results from the infrastructure, social and productive sectors of the PDNA. The ELSP guidelines are globally applied, most recently in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia after the 2014 Balkan floods, in Malawi after the 2015 Southern Africa Floods, in Vanuatu after the 2015 Tropical Cyclone Pam and in Nepal after the 2015 Himalayan Earthquakes.

Heavy seasonal rainfall starting in December 2014 caused flooding across Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. In Malawi, the floods caused extensive damage to crops, livestock and infrastructure. The southern districts of Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe and Zomba were the most affected. In response, the President of the Republic of Malawi declared a State of Disaster in 15 out of 28 affected districts on 13 January 2015. As of 11 March more than 106 have been reported dead, 172 are still missing and 230,000 people remain displaced. Following a request from the Malawian government, the PDNA tripartite partners, (UN, EU and WB) deployed a team of national and international experts to support government officials in assessing the floods’ impact and to identify actions and resources needed for recovery.Based upon the ILO’s Employment and Livelihoods assessment, it is estimated that out of 359,000 household enterprises, 15,000 have been destroyed and 19,000 damaged, resulting in 4 million work days. An additional income loss of 8 million USD is expected as a result of permanently or temporarily disrupted business operations.

The approach of states to managing immigration and asylum relies to a significant extent on the assignment of categories to people entering from abroad and residing in the country. Among these categories are regular migrant, labour migrant, irregular migrant, asylum seeker, refugee, unaccompanied child, smuggled migrant and trafficked person. Each of these categories has a specific definition in national law, and so every person migrating into a country fits into one of these categories – or at least that is how we understand migration and migration policies. There are indeed many reasons why this categorisation is necessary – each category has specific rights attached to it, and describes the situation that each person is in. Those of us working on migration policy also apply these categories in order to guide the scope of our work. However, in responding to mixed migration flows to Europe during the past few years, this has been a challenge. Some people are experts on human trafficking, while others are experts on asylum and refugees. Other people are experts on irregular migration or migrant smuggling, while still others are experts on children in a migration context. Yet to comprehend these migratory movements, it is necessary to understand legislation, policy and practice in all of these areas, because the adults and children who travelled along the Balkan and Mediterranean routes to European Union (EU) countries during the past three years did not fit neatly into just one of these categories. In fact most of them fell under a number of categories at once. What has been referred to as the “politics of labelling” in the area of mixed migration – the politically loaded use of certain terms to elicit particular responses to groups of people – is usually discussed in relation to the choice as to whether to use the term “migrant” or “refugee” (Whitham, 2017). This highlights the sometimes artificial distinctions embedded within the language of migration and the use of “language, definitions and categorisations” to determine the rights and treatment afforded to different people (Dolan, 2017). Acknowledging that multiple categories can be applied to individual people in this context is problematic, because states and service providers, as well as researchers and policy advisors, depend on the application of these categories in order to make sense of their work. This paper examines the challenges, and some possible ways forward, in dealing with the nexus between asylum, migration management and combatting human trafficking in mixed migration contexts in general.

Violence in Syria has been driving children, women and men from their homes for almost five years. ICMPD’s new research study looks at the vulnerability of displaced Syrian people to trafficking in persons. The research found that people are often trafficked or exploited because they are not able to meet their basic needs. This is exacerbated by complications in relation to legal residence status in host countries and legal authorisation to work. While some trafficking is committed by highly organised criminal networks, the most common type of exploitation is at a lower level, involving fathers, mothers, husbands, extended family, acquaintances and neighbours. The context of general vulnerability means that there are often factors that leave families with no viable alternative for survival other than situations that could be defined as exploitation and trafficking in national and international law. We therefore need a paradigm shift in how trafficking, refugee, migration and child protection policy are viewed in terms of access to protection. While policy-makers and practitioners might see themselves as working in distinct fields, on specific topics, the human beings in need of protection do not always fall under one single, clear-cut category. We must concentrate efforts to provide access to basic needs and safety for people displaced from and within Syria.

The current refugee “crisis” in Europe has created multiple forms of vulnerability and insecurity for refugee women including various forms of sexual and gender-based violence. Increasing numbers of women, either alone or with family, are attempting to reach Europe to seek protection from conflict and violence in their countries, but these women are subject to violence during their journey and/or on arrival in a destination country. The lack of adequate accommodation or reception facilities for refugees and migrants in Europe, as well as the closure of borders which has increased the need for smugglers to help them reach Europe, acts to exacerbate the violence and insecurity.

The Mara Salvatrucha, better known by their acronym MS-13, is one of the largest and most violent transnational criminal organizations in the world. Their motto is “Kill, Rape, Control.”Since the 1980s, MS-13 members have typically engaged in a wide range of violent and criminal activity including, “drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjacking/auto thefts, and vandalism.” More recently there has been a rise in MS-13 engaging in various forms of human trafficking. This paper seeks to explore the connection between the MS-13 and human trafficking.

This report is one of several studies conducted by UNODC on organized crime threats around the world. These studies describe what is known about the mechanics of contraband trafficking – the what, who, how, and how much of illicit flows – and discuss their potential impact on governance and development. Their primary role is diagnostic, but they also explore the implications of these findings for policy.These studies are based on a number of data sources. UNODC maintains global databases on crime and drug issues, based mainly on the official statistics provided by Member States. This allows cross-national comparison and trend analysis. For example, UNODC has extensive time series data on drug production, seizures, and consumption, and by analyzing these data, a comprehensive picture can be drawn. This information is supplemented with data from other international organizations and Member States, as well as open source material. For the present study, analysts in the field were able to interview public officials on a range of topics, and much of the qualitative insight in this report comes from these interviews. The present study addresses Central America and the Caribbean, as the region is defined by the United Nations.