Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Providing rights through individual compassion

Mehek, Muftee and Lundberg, Anna LU (2016) In Nordic Journal of Migration Research 6(3). p.140-147
Abstract
The article analyses the social constructions of rights as they come about through Swedish delegations preparing refugees for resettlement in Sweden, under the Cultural Orientation Programme (COP). COPs are analysed as an activity that manifests a need to convey rights. Fieldwork was conducted through video observations of COPs in Kenya and Sudan. Our empirical findings show how the Swedish officials engage in talks about rights through positioning the refugees as unaware of, and incapable of, claiming rights. Rights are also highlighted as obligations with correct ways of realising them. This study manifests the clash between rights as universal and rights tied to citizenship where, during COPs, rights are conveyed as particularly... (More)
The article analyses the social constructions of rights as they come about through Swedish delegations preparing refugees for resettlement in Sweden, under the Cultural Orientation Programme (COP). COPs are analysed as an activity that manifests a need to convey rights. Fieldwork was conducted through video observations of COPs in Kenya and Sudan. Our empirical findings show how the Swedish officials engage in talks about rights through positioning the refugees as unaware of, and incapable of, claiming rights. Rights are also highlighted as obligations with correct ways of realising them. This study manifests the clash between rights as universal and rights tied to citizenship where, during COPs, rights are conveyed as particularly Swedish, positioning the refugees on a receiving end of the conversations. However, the study also shows how the participants do make claims, sometimes resisting the hierarchies during the talks. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Resettlement, refugees, Sweden, Cultural orientation programme, Human rights
in
Nordic Journal of Migration Research
volume
6
issue
3
pages
8 pages
publisher
De Gruyter Open
ISSN
1799-649X
DOI
10.1515/njmr-2016-0019
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
52e7f6c2-2fdd-4910-834c-4e0b151e2561
date added to LUP
2023-02-10 16:26:42
date last changed
2023-02-13 08:51:17
@article{52e7f6c2-2fdd-4910-834c-4e0b151e2561,
  abstract     = {{The article analyses the social constructions of rights as they come about through Swedish delegations preparing refugees for resettlement in Sweden, under the Cultural Orientation Programme (COP). COPs are analysed as an activity that manifests a need to convey rights. Fieldwork was conducted through video observations of COPs in Kenya and Sudan. Our empirical findings show how the Swedish officials engage in talks about rights through positioning the refugees as unaware of, and incapable of, claiming rights. Rights are also highlighted as obligations with correct ways of realising them. This study manifests the clash between rights as universal and rights tied to citizenship where, during COPs, rights are conveyed as particularly Swedish, positioning the refugees on a receiving end of the conversations. However, the study also shows how the participants do make claims, sometimes resisting the hierarchies during the talks.}},
  author       = {{Mehek, Muftee and Lundberg, Anna}},
  issn         = {{1799-649X}},
  keywords     = {{Resettlement; refugees; Sweden; Cultural orientation programme; Human rights}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{140--147}},
  publisher    = {{De Gruyter Open}},
  series       = {{Nordic Journal of Migration Research}},
  title        = {{Providing rights through individual compassion}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/njmr-2016-0019}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/njmr-2016-0019}},
  volume       = {{6}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}