RIGHTS IN EXILE Janus-Faced Humanitarianism
by
Guglielmo Verdirame and Barbara Harrell-Bond with Zachary Lomo and Hannah Garry and a foreword by JUSTICE ALBIE SACHS

“Brace yourself. This is a painful book. Not only is the information in it extremely distressing, the main targets of its critique are the ‘good guys.’ The central argument is that the international and humanitarian organisations that are in charge of looking after refugees are responsible for extensive and avoidable violations of the rights of those dependent upon them.” (From the Foreword)

Of the estimated 12 million refugees in the world, more than 7 million have been confined to camps, effectively “warehoused,” in some cases, for 10 years or more. Holding refugees in camps was anathema to the founders of the refugee protection regime. Today, with most refugees encamped in the less developed parts of the world, the humanitarian apparatus has been transformed into a custodial regime for innocent people.

Based on rich ethnographic data, Rights in Exile exposes the gap between human rights norms and the mandates of international organizations on the one hand, and the reality on the ground on the other. It will be of wide interest to social scientists, and to human rights and international law scholars. Policy makers, donor governments and humanitarian organizations, especially those adopting a “rights-based” approach, will also find it an invaluable resource. But it is the refugees themselves who could benefit the most if these actors absorb its lessons and apply them.

GUGLIELMO VERDIRAME is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College. He is also the author of a forthcoming book on the accountability of the United Nations.

BARBARA HARRELL-BOND, Founding director of the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, has, after retirement, been Visiting Professor at Makerere University and at the American University in Cairo. In 1996, she received the Distinguished Service Award of the American Anthropological Association. She is the author of Imposing Aid (Oxford, 1986).

480 pages, bibliography, index / Volume 17, Forced Migration

Available in March (2005) ISBN 1-57181-526-0 hardback $75.00/£50.00 $60.00/£40.00 ISBN 1-84545-103-1 paperback $29.95/£19.95 $23.96/£15.96

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