A selected bibliography (with hyperlinks) on the right to work of asylum seekers by Julien BLANC

We would like to provide you with the following (non extensive) bibliography on the right to work of asylum seekers and refugees. The following themes are covered: 

- National campaigns/ situation in Cyprus, Germany, France & Ireland.

- Obstacles and discrimination experienced by asylum seekers to access the labour market, 

- ECRE Recommendations and papers on the right to work 

- Researches to "deconstruct the pull factor theory" and research findings on the right to work  as a factor influencing secondary movement

- Researches on the human and financial cost of denying the right to work, on exploitation

- Research and position papers of trade unions and local administration on the topic

- Research, case law and norms relevant (Universal, regional,in the EU, the UK or South Africa)

This bibliography will usefully be completed by consulting the SRLAN webpage on the economic, cultural and social rights of refugees.

Asylum seekers and the right to work in the United Kingdom

We reproduce the following article (04/11/2011) by Melanie Gower, from the UK parliament website detailing the conditions to beneficiate for the right to work in the UK, its current limitations, and the impact of the Reception Condition Directive on UK domestic law.

Threats concerning the right to work of asylum seekers in South Africa

We reproduce below a press release by CoRMSA (the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants  in South Africa) detailing the worrying attempt of the South African Government to 'review' the right to work of asylum seekers. 

CoRMSA defends the right to work as Cabinet questions the minimum rights of immigrants (26/11/2011)

UNHCR Discussion Paper: Reception Standards: Employment

This Discussion Paper on Reception Standards published in 2006 by the UNHCR, focuses on the right to employment os asylum seekers and refugees contains invaluable contributions on the topic.

UNHCR Discussion Paper: Reception Standards: Employment

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Regional Office for Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific

N°. 1, 2006, pp. 5-20.

Introduction

Granting the right to work to refugees is a relatively standard practice among industrialised countries, but the same rights are not always extended to asylum-seekers and efforts to do so have faced resistance by many governments. Economic factors and deterrence measures are cited by governments as reasons not to treat asylum-seekers in the same way as recognised refugees. 

The issue of reception standards for asylum-seekers which ensure that human dignity and basic rights are protected was discussed at the 2006 October’s Executive Committee meeting of States. A particular focus was the right to gainful employment for both refugees and asylum-seekers as perhaps paramount among the articles of the Convention. Arguably, without the right to work, many other provisions could be considered meaningless.

Ahead of this discussion, UNHCR's Regional Office in Canberra invited contributing perspectives on this issue and its application in the region from the Australian Government, the Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project and academic Alice Edwards, who provides internationally comparative data. UNHCR's position drawn from Standing Committee papers, is also provided.

Providing Refugee Women the Right to Work

We reproduce below some extract from an article by Samuel Witten on the livelihood programmes targeting women refugees and asylum seekers in the countries receiving them. Samuel Witten has been serving for 22 years at the U.S. Department of State, including three years as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). 

Source: The Huffington Post, 08/10/2011, Samuel Witten, Skills to Survive: Providing Refugee Women the Right to Work:

Refugees are victims of circumstances they did not create and cannot control. And women, often unaccompanied by men, caring for young children, and lacking in job skills and opportunities, generally have the most difficult time. I have seen firsthand the lack of hope and economic opportunity for women displaced from their homes by political turmoil and living in refugee camps or squalid urban areas.  Most refugees cannot work legally or get work permits that might be available to other foreigners. This often forces them into the informal economy, which can have a devastating impact on their safety and well-being. All of us who have been involved in humanitarian relief have heard countless stories of refugee women who work 15 to 16 hours a day for little or no pay, often abused as domestic workers or trapped in other oppressive labor situations. Many are routinely denied wages and suffer sexual abuse in the workplace. But they often do not report abuse for fear of being punished or deported, or treated even worse by their employers. We have also heard of numerous heartbreaking cases of women who could not find work and were forced into prostitution in order to provide for themselves and their families. What will it take to stop this exploitation and empower refugee women? A key step is systematically developing and expanding economic opportunities for refugee women that are safe and will allow them to ultimately become self-reliant.