• Reforming refuge

    The struggle to accommodate the world’s refugees raises a wider question: do states have an absolute right to control borders?

    In their new book Refuge: #Transforming_a_Broken_Refugee_System, #Alexander_Betts and #Paul_Collier argue that the current regime of international refugee protection serves most refugees poorly and should be rethought to enable them to escape their current limbo. It is hard to disagree with their claim that our focus is distorted and that better solutions are needed. What is worrying about the book is that its positive message is accompanied by an attack on the existing refugee protection framework that threatens to undermine wealthy states’ already meagre commitment to refugees. Betts and Collier intermingle a set of positive policy proposals around forced migration with often ill-considered arguments concerning immigration generally, perhaps reflecting the different agendas of the authors: Betts is a refugee studies scholar and Collier a development economist with a history of anti-immigration polemic.

    https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/5224/reforming-refuge

    #frontières #Etats-nations #Etats #contrôles_frontaliers #asile #migrations #réfugiés #réforme #droit_d'asile #livre
    cc @isskein

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      Refuge : Transforming a Broken Refugee System

      Europe is facing its greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War, yet the institutions responding to it remain virtually unchanged from those created in the post-war era. As neighbouring countries continue to bear the brunt of the Syrian catastrophe, European governments have enacted a series of ill-considered gestures, from shutting their borders to welcoming refugees without a plan for their safe passage or integration upon arrival. With a deepening crisis and a xenophobic backlash in Europe, it is time for a new vision for refuge.

      Going beyond the scenes of desperation which have become all-too-familiar in the past few years, Alexander Betts and Paul Collier show that this crisis offers an opportunity for reform if international policy-makers focus on delivering humane, effective and sustainable outcomes - both for Europe and for countries that border conflict zones. Refugees need more than simply food, tents and blankets, and research demonstrates that they can offer tangible economic benefits to their adopted countries if given the right to work and education.

      An urgent and necessary work, Refuge sets out an alternative vision that can empower refugees to help themselves, contribute to their host societies, and even rebuild their countries of origin.


      https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/300094/refuge