According to a Toronto Star article, migrant workers say they endured modern-day slavery in Simcoe County. For over a month, Francisco Urbina Contreras lived in an infested house in Barrie with 30 other Mexican men and women "who were drawn to Canada by the promise of jobs." The former small business owner from northern Mexico faced bed bugs underneath his foam mattress, an unheated attic he shared with four others and the long wait for one of two bathrooms at the Dunlop St. home. 

"This is not what we came to this country for, to live and work like animals."

"In 1969 and 2009, respectively 50 and 10 years ago, the African Union (and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity) adopted two instruments on forced migration in Africa: The OAU Convention on the Specific Problems of Refugees in Africa (African Refugee Convention) and the AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (IDP or ‘Kampala’ Convention). While the aim of the African Refugee Convention is to provide guidance to states on the protection of persons who have been displaced from other states, the Kampala Convention provides guidance on the protection of persons displaced within the borders of a particular state. Although both instruments have been recognized as ground-breaking African frameworks, the issue of forced displacement remains a daunting challenge on the continent."

The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, will be hosting a two-day Conference, on 6 and 7 September 2019 on the theme: “Beyond 50 and 10, beyond the rhetoric: The protection of forced migrants in Africa”.

 Abstracts are due by 30 April 2019.

The North American Refugee Health Conference (NARHC) will be taking place on June 14-16, 2019 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel in Canada. It is the largest refugee health conference of its kind globally, and offers access to recent research, best practices in refugee health, and a excellent opportunity for networking.

​While mass migration has been present since the beginning of mankind, the world is witnessing unprecedented migration of populations to countries throughout Europe and to the southern borders of Canada and the United States. As the Syrian war rages on for an 8th year and as Rohingya villages are burned to the ground in Burma, we are confronted with stories of horror and hardship shared by those who have lived through these experiences. Those that help refugees and asylum seekers often experience this trauma vicariously and struggle as they attempt to manage the complex range of issues and emotions raised through their work. These realities have informed the themes for this year’s conference which will focus on the Rohingya crisis, Trauma and Resiliency.