IN THE MAIL: Rights In Exile: Janus-faced Humanitarianism, by Guglielmo Verdirame and Barbara Harrell-Bond. It’s a pretty harsh critique of the international human rights establishment as it actually operates. Here’s a bit:

This is a painful book. The central argument is that the international and humanitarian organizations that are in charge of looking after refugees are responsible for extensive and avoidable violations of the rights of those dependent upon them.

Of the estimated 12 million refugees in the world, more than 7 million have been confined to camps, effectively “warehoused,” in some cases for 10 years or more. Holding refugees in camps was anathema to the founders of the refugee protection regime. Today, with most refugees encamped in the less developed part of the world, the humanitarian apparatus has been transformed into a custodial regime for innocent people. . . .

International organizations, NGOs, donors, and humanitarian agencies generally exercise great power over the lives of refugees. At the same time they are subjected to only minimal levels of accountability, either legal or political.

I suspect that this book will make something of a splash.