Immigration cuts shock refugee advocates http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/02/2048781.htm?section=justin The rights of all refugees http://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/the-rights-of-all-refugees/2007/10/02/1191091111204.html Syria: UNHCR presses for "humanitarian visas" as Syria closes border to Iraqis http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVOD-77LJEC?OpenDocument The UN Refugee Agency http://www.unhcr.org The Refugee Law Reader [pdf] http://www.refugeelawreader.org/ Various ethnic conflicts, civil strife, and other ongoing disturbances across the globe have led to a massive increase in the number of refugees seeking safety and peace in recent years. From Darfur to Iraq, the situation of refugees has remained a tenuous one at best, and a number of nations have opened up their borders in order to provide some measure of assistance. This week, international refugee advocates were taken aback to learn that Australia had reduced its intake of African refugees, despite the continued strife across certain parts of that continent. Representatives speaking for the Australian government had remarked that there was significant 'anecdotal' evidence that indicated that certain groups of African refugees had been having trouble adjusting to life in their new home. The reaction from advocacy groups was swift, as Phong Nguyen, leader of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, commented, "It is simply inhumane for the Australian government to close the door on these peoples based on perceptions that some African refugees are not integrating into the Australian community." The first link will take users to a news article from this Tuesday's "The Australian" newspaper which talks about the decision to reduce the number of new African refugees into the country. The second link leads to a piece from ABC News which details the reaction of several advocacy groups to this decision. Moving on, the third link leads to a well-written opinion piece from this Wednesday's "The Age" newspaper on the rights of all refugees. The fourth link leads to a news release from the ReliefWeb site which gives a bit of information on a similar situation in Syria, which opted to close its borders temporarily due to the large numbers of Iraqi refugees seeking to enter the country. The fifth link leads to the homepage of The UN Refugee Agency. Here, visitors can learn about their advocacy work and also take a look at their "Major Operations" section, which includes their initiatives in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Darfur. The final link will take interested parties to the online Refugee Law Reader, which was created by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. It is a fine way to learn more about international refugee law, and law students with a penchant for such matters will find it most useful.