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Refugee Law Initiative Events

RLI/RSC conference call for papers: "Refuge from Inhumanity"

The forthcoming conference on ‘Refuge from Inhumanity: Enriching refugee protection standards through recourse to international humanitarian law’, jointly organised by the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford University, and the Refugee Law Initiative, University of London, will take place at All Souls College, Oxford, in mid-February 2013. The broad topics to be addressed by the conference can be found here. Towards this end, we are keen to receive additional contributions, particularly on the following topics: the meaning of ‘persecution’; expanded refugee definitions; inclusion of combatants and child soldiers; obligations of neutral States; and the non-refoulement potential of IHL. The objective is to bring together leading experts in the fields of international humanitarian law (IHL) and refugee law to reflect on the interaction between these two branches of law.

The exact dates of the 1 ½ day conference will be announced shortly. In terms of further timescale, presenters will be asked to submit a draft paper of 5 000-8 000 words by 31 December 2012 to enable paper-sharing in advance among the participants. After the event, revised papers will be submitted to Martinus Nijhoff for publication in an edited collection.

On the logistics, presenters will be offered local accommodation, as well as a contribution towards return economy travel expenses of up to £50 (UK), £150 (Europe), £500 (World). Nonetheless, if any presenters are able to secure additional funding for their attendance from other sources, that would be extremely helpful.

If you wish to present a paper, please submit an abstract of up to 300 words for consideration to david.cantor@sas.ac.uk and jean-francois.durieux@qeh.ox.ac.uk by Monday 30 July, 2012.

Alternatively, if you are interested in attending as a non-speaking participant, please email the convenors so that we can register your interest and keep you informed.

"International Refugee Law" seminar series

The 2nd year of this seminar series has attracted wide participation from universities, government departments, international agencies, legal practitioners, non-governmental organizations, and diplomatic representatives. The “International Refugee Law” seminar series aims to consolidate the network of participants developed during the 2010-2011 seminar series, and to provide an accessible and public focus for promoting and facilitating cutting-edge research, debate and collaboration on this topic between academics and practitioners.

For the 2011-2012 programme details click here [PDF].

Written summaries of the seminars and podcasts are uploaded to the Resources section of the RLI website after the event for those academics and practitioners unable to attend in person.

Thank you for participating in the RLI seminar series - we would very much appreciate you taking a minute to complete this form.

Seminar Series on "New challenges in Refugee Integration"

This seminar series, which was held in collaboration with the Refugee Council in commemoration of its 60th anniversary, brought together five leading experts in the field of refugee who delivered five informative seminars between October 2011 and March 2012 on matters ranging from: fragmentation and authority, refugee agency and freedom, employment rights and integration, identity and securitisation and the significance of refugee experience in integration. The concluding open debate, which was overseen by Julian Huppert MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees, and also included Donna Covey, Chief Executive, Refugee Council, and Dr Paresh Kathrani, Practice Coordinator, Refugee Law Initiative on the Panel, drew more than 100 guests including members of both Houses of Parliament. Discussions focused on some of the main issues that arose during the seminar series, including cuts to frontline services, questions of employment and refugee experiences of integration in the United Kingdom.

Summaries and podcasts of each of the five seminars can be accessed through the Resources section of the RLI website. A summary of the series is also available: Welcome to the UK: The future of integration [PDF].

For the 2011-2012 programme details click here [PDF].

Thank you for participating in the RLI seminar series - we would very much appreciate you taking a minute to complete this form.

Short Course: The International Protection of Refugees and Other Displaced Persons

Where:  School of Advanced Study, University of London

When:   Eight week evening course (18.00-20.30) Wednesdays, February-March 2013

The planned short course is a core project of the Refugee Law Initiative that serves to disseminate a strong grounding in the protection of refugees and other displaced persons under international law among lawyers, policy-makers, NGO workers, international agency staff, post-graduate students, and others working with refugees or interested in refugee issues. It consists of eight once-weekly evening sessions that will be delivered to participants by leading academic experts and practitioners in international refugee law.

Course attendance will be formally certified by the School of Advanced Study and CPD points can also be accredited to participating solicitors and barristers. Participants have the opportunity to join the Refugee Law Initiative network based at the School of Advanced Study, and will be encouraged to engage with other activities run by the Refugee Law Initiative.

Participants will be assigned readings during weeks 2-8 to read in preparation for the following week’s session. Participants will be expected to dedicate 3-4 hours outside the sessions each week to reading these materials. Copies of the core readings will be distributed during the first session.

The 2013 programme details will be available soon on this website. For the 2012 programme details click here.

Registration is now open. There are limited places available on the course and they will be offered on a first-come basis, but will not be guaranteed until payment in full has been received.

Applications must be returned to:
Refugee Law Initiative, School of Advanced Study, Room 208, Senate House, South Block, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU; or by email to RLI@sas.ac.uk.

WORD general application form/ PDF general application form

For any further information please see the frequently asked questions (FAQs) or contact Ms Margherita Blandini, RLI Research Co-ordinator, at RLI@sas.ac.uk or +44 (0)20 7862 8570.

Refugee Law Initiative