Blog
The datafication of refugee protection in and beyond the Middle East: a case for digital refugee lawyering
In February and March 2021, I organised a two-part workshop in which academics, activists, lawyers and NGO-workers were invited to (re)think how digital technologies interact with refugee protection, specifically in the Middle East. Refugee protection - the right to be protected from persecution and the right to make claims to these rights in another country - is increasingly data-driven protection.
Preventing the misuse of research findings in BEYOND
What are the risks associated with misuse of research findings in the fields of refugee- and migration studies? And how can these be mitigated in ERC projects? These are important questions that we are revisiting in connection with the commencement of the BEYOND project.
How eurocentric is the 1951 UN Refugee Convention—and why does it matter?
Is the 1951 UN Refugee Convention eurocentric? There are plenty of reasons to think so. Drafted at a time when membership of the UN was heavily skewed towards the global north, and much of the global south remained under European colonial rule, the convention was preoccupied with assisting Europeans displaced during the second world war.
Refugee legal aid in humanitarian operations
How do humanitarian organisations provide legal aid to refugees in countries that do not have any refugee-specific legislation and where rule of law is largely absent? I spent most of 2020 examining this question closer in my MA thesis focusing on the legal aid program of one international humanitarian organisation in Lebanon.
BEYOND kicks off!
With a slightly delayed start due to the global pandemic, we are finally kicking off our five-year project BEYOND! Much hard work awaits in the years to come, but the project will be off to a flying start with lots on our to-do list for 2021.
Call for papers: FMR mini-feature on non-signatory states and the international refugee regime
In June/July 2021, the BEYOND project will publish a mini-feature on Non-signatory States and the international refugee regime in Foreign Migration Review, the most widely read publication on forced migration. The deadline for submissions is 15 March 2021.
A recent history of refugees in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is not a party to the main global refugee protection instrument, the 1951 Refugee Convention, nor does it have any specific domestic legal framework pertaining to refugee issues. Thirty-five percent of Saudi-Arabia’s roughly 30 million inhabitants are not citizens – and many come from important refugee-producing countries.
Summer writing on refugee collective action in Beirut
My writing project for this summer, and really, for most of this year, draws on my research with Sudanese refugees and other migrants living in Beirut. It is no secret that this refugee group faces appalling levels of racial discrimination and marginalization, and that their concerns – when compared with larger refugee arrivals – are often sidelined in humanitarian and state responses.
Available post-doc on refugee rights, status and vulnerability
Would you like to do independent research on refugee rights, status, and vulnerability, as well as to contribute to policy-oriented outputs and policy-engagement? We are currently inviting applications for a 28-month, full-time post-doctoral research fellowship within the Global Asylum Governance and European Union's Role (ASILE)-project.
Non-signatory States and the international refugee regime - a FMR mini-feature
In February 2021 and in February 2023, the BEYOND and REF-ARAB projects will each publish a mini-feature in Forced Migration Review, the most widely read publication on forced migration.
Talk of an ‘unprecedented’ number of refugees is wrong – and dangerous
“The number of refugees worldwide,” Richard Branson said last week, “has reached unprecedented proportions.” The British businessman was speaking at an event hosted by the International Rescue Committee. On the same day, the BBC reported that more people are displaced than ever before: 70.8 million, or one in every 110 people in the world.