Refugee Law Initiative

RLI Director David Cantor has published a new explainer with The Conversation Africa on internally displaced persons (IDPs) - people forced from their homes who, unlike refugees, never cross an international border.

Commissioned as part of The Conversation's explainer series, the piece unpacks a term that's used constantly but rarely explained: who counts as an IDP, why nearly 32 million people across Africa are currently displaced within their own countries, and why they're so often left more exposed to conflict, disease outbreaks and poverty than refugees - despite receiving a fraction of the funding and attention.

The article draws on the new Handbook of Internal Displacement, co-edited by David. Read the piece and share your thoughts in the comments on The Conversation's site - that kind of exchange is exactly what the platform is for.

Read the article: https://theconversation.com/millions-of-africans-are-displaced-without-crossing-a-border-and-their-needs-are-often-overlooked-289499

Explore the Handbook: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-internal-displacement-9780198928775?cc=gb&lang=en& #

An online version of the Handbook is available here: https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/62537?login=true

Millions of Africans are displaced without crossing a border – and their needs are often overlooked The issue of internal displacement remains poorly understood despite the very large number of people involved.

New Working Paper:

'Crisification and Restrictive Migration Governance Under the Biden and Trump Administrations' by Thomas Kennedy.

This paper analyzes how crisification, a process in which emergency rationales are transformed into permanent systems of restrictive migration governance, has reshaped U.S. immigration policy, particularly in respect to processing, detention, and the legal protections afforded to migrants seeking refuge. To do this, the author looks at migration outflows from Cuba, Venezuela, and Haiti, along with associated impacts on dominant political and media narratives, and their compounding impact on public opinion and policies for the Biden administration up until the first year of the second Trump administration.

The subsequent polarization seen in the U.S. public regarding migration, weaponized by political campaigns in a systematized manner for electoral outcomes, has had real implications. These have manifested in the rapid funding and expansion of detention-site infrastructure, the systematization of local and state-level cooperation with federal immigration enforcement through 287(g) and Intergovernmental Service Agreements (IGSA), and the increased use of AI technologies in surveillance and enforcement systems.

This paper documents these dynamics through the context of South Florida, a geography that offers a case study in which a dense population of migrants is being acutely affected by enforcement and detention augmented by AI-assisted tools. While crisification has served to polarize the U.S. public towards supporting securitized and racialized migration management frameworks, excesses in enforcement are now creating crises within democratic norms, civil society, institutions, and government.

This creates an opening for advocates, lawmakers, and policy stakeholders who seek to counter a securitized approach to migration management by organizing for the implementation of a policy framework based on human rights and protection needs.

Available to read here 👉 https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/10457/

New on the

'The Status That Was Always Meant to Bend: Germany’s Second Suspension of Family Reunification' by Ananta Chopra.

Available to read here: https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2026/08/06/the-status-that-was-always-meant-to-bend-germanys-second-suspension-of-family-reunification/

New Working Paper:

'Exploration of Economic Resilience Among Congolese Refugees and Former Angolan Refugees in Zambia' by Vallerie Ochieng.

The main argument in this paper is that national policy, social capital, and local integration (as a durable solution) work together to impact refugee economies. The factors are intertwined and work together to either support or diminish refugee economies. The study aims to add to the existing literature on economic resilience and to provide data for policy-making and the implementation of livelihood programs in Zambia and beyond. It also adds a wealth of knowledge on the durable solution discourse. This study examines the economic resilience of Congolese refugees and former Angolan refugees in Zambia. It does this by showing how economic resilience is shaped across groups living in similar conditions despite different legal statuses.

This study recommends a policy adaptation to grant refugees and former refugees greater economic rights and to strengthen existing social capital within displaced communities.

Available to read here 👉 https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/10439/

New on the

'The Externalisation of the Refugee system and the Risk of Refoulement for Asylum Seekers Regarding the ‘Safe Countries of Origin’ in the Asylum Procedures Regulation' by Manuel Alejandro Núñez Ochoa

Available to read here: https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2026/08/11/the-externalisation-of-the-refugee-system-and-the-risk-of-refoulement-for-asylum-seekers-regarding-the-safe-countries-of-origin-in-the-asylum-procedures-regulation/

New on the RLI

“Opaque, absurd, discretional, and irrational”: The Constitutional Court of South Africa strikes down domestic provisions barring access to asylum' by Chiara Scissa

Available to read here: https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2026/08/05/opaque-absurd-discretional-and-irrational-the-constitutional-court-of-south-africa-strikes-down-domestic-provisions-barring-access-to-asylum/

New on the RLI

'Migrant Women, Structural Gender Violence and the Politics of Knowledge'

by Pia Riggirozzi and Natalia Cintra.

Available to read here 👉 https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2026/07/30/migrant-women-structural-gender-violence-and-the-politics-of-knowledge/

New on the

'The State That Survives, the Citizen Who Doesn’t' by Madhulika Tyagi

Available to read here 👉 https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2026/07/29/the-state-that-survives-the-citizen-who-doesnt/

Testimonials Series 🔈️

We have been running a series over the past couple of weeks where we showcase testimonials and reflections from our newly graduated Alumni of our Master in Arts (MA) in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies.

Today we feature Nick Grisewood from IOM. Hear his reflections on the MA programme here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQpXNUyWg98

Find out more about applying to our MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies and the scholarships available here: https://www.london.ac.uk/study/courses/postgraduate/ma-refugee-protection-forced-migration-studies

New on the

'Beyond the Dotted Line: Navigating the Fine Print of Asylum in Lebanon and Norway' by Mohamad Kharita

Available here: https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2026/07/20/beyond-the-dotted-line-navigating-the-fine-print-of-asylum-in-lebanon-and-norway/