In a world of increased travel restrictions, we tend to think that the need for free movement is something new. This is why the International Regulations on the Admission and Expulsion of Aliens proposed in 1892 by the Institute of International Law came as a big surprise to me. Here is why:

ARTICLE 6. Free entrance of aliens to the territory of a civilized state, may not be generally and permanently forbidden except in the public interest and for very serious reasons, for example, because of a dangerous organization or gathering of aliens who come in great numbers.

ARTICLE 7. The protection of national labor is not, in itself, a sufficient reason for non admissions.

How far along did policy and regulations progress since then?

citation from Juss, S.S. (2006), International Migration and Global Justice, Ashgate Publishing Limited: Hampshire, p.3

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative is seeking a consultant to serve as the lead country assessor for the ABA’s Human Trafficking Assessment Tool (HTAT) report in Mexico. Using the HTAT methodology, the assessor will spend 8 weeks conducting research and interviews in Mexico, and will then draft the country assessment, including both de jure and de facto analysis. The assessor will receive an 11 week contract for all phases of the project plus travel expenses. The Human Trafficking Assessment Tool measures a country’s de jure and de facto compliance with the UN Trafficking Protocol by analyzing national anti-trafficking laws and government efforts to combat trafficking. Read the rest of this entry �

The Hannah Arendt Institute for the Study of Totalitarianism is preparing a special number of its journal “Totalitarianism and Democracy” focusing on the coloured revolutions happened in Eastern Europe and former Soviet Countries (see the rationale below).

The issue will come out in spring 2008 and the deadline is the 20 of October, 2007 (for the first submission, articles will then be reviewed and the final submission date will be the 25 of November).

Interested authors are invited to send an abstract (max 500 words) by the 17 of August to Prof. Donnacha Ó Beacháin donnacha at kimep.kz (back up address donnacha_1 at yahoo.com), Abel Polese Abel.Polese at mailbox.tu-dresden.de (back up address abelpolese at yahoo.co.uk).

Authors of accepted abstract will be notified by the 22 of August 2007. English is preferred but articles in German can be accepted as well.

Towards a theory of democratic revolutions? Some evidence from Eurasia 1998-2006 . Read the rest of this entry �

Reposting from STAIR: St Antony’s International Review

Abstracts due August 30, 2007
Papers due December 30, 2007

Click here to download a pdf version of the Call for Papers

Click here to download a pdf version of the Notes for Contributors

In the year of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, the global trade in human beings is back on the policy agenda. This illegal trade is no longer restricted to a singular westward flow across the Atlantic, but now occurs in such diverse regions as South Asia and the Middle East. International crime control, migration agencies and the media show great concern over the upward trend in human trafficking based on the new opportunities created by increasing global mobility. But, despite this growing alarm, there remains insufficient serious scholarship addressing human trafficking. There is no consensus as to the precise meaning of the term, as elements of victimhood and agency remain obscure, whilst economic analysis of human trafficking, and its relationship to the international labour market remains hazy at best. Similarly, despite the existence of research on the international abolitionist movement and drug policies, little comparative analysis exists between forms of trafficking. For these reasons, the St Antony’s International Review (STAIR) invites academics, young researchers, and policy experts to submit abstracts of papers that explore one or more of the following lines of enquiry for the forthcoming issue on ‘The Politics of Human Trafficking.’

Read the rest of this entry �

2007 is the special year when Britain is commemorating 200 years from the abolition of the salve trade. Despite the 200 years that have passed since William Wilberforce managed to pass the anti-slave trade law through the British parliament, slavery is still a big part of the social and economical life of people worldwide. The UK is not an exception. A recent study on Modern Slavery in the UK uncovered that:

“Modern slavery exists in the UK in various forms. All exhibit the common elements of the exploitative relationship which have always constituted slavery: severe economic exploitation; the absence of a framework of human rights; and control of one person over another by the prospect or reality of violence. Coercion distinguishes slavery from poor working conditions.”
…
“Some UK-based companies, knowingly or not, rely on people working in slavery to produce goods which they sell: complex sub-contracting and supply chains, managed by agents elsewhere, often obscure this involvement.” Read the rest of this entry �