Regional launch of The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law: The Middle East

A discussion on the commonalities and contrasts in state approaches to refugee protection in the Middle East.

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The Research Group on Migration Law at the University of Oslo, the Centre for Lebanese Studies and Oxford University Press cordially invite you to a debate-event on September 15, 2021 between 15:00 and 16:15 CET with a focus on the Middle East, part of a series of regional launches of the Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (OUP 2021).

The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law is a ground-breaking reference work which critiques the status quo in international refugee law and sets the agenda for future research.

This event will focus on the Middle East region. We invite you to a lively discussion on commonalties as well as contrasts in state approaches to refugee protection in this region.

The discussion will feature input from three Handbook contributors, Prof. Maja Janmyr (University of Oslo), Prof. Dallal Stevens (University of Warwick) and Prof. Susan Akram (Boston University) and responses by Dr Tamirace Fakhoury (Aalborg University/Centre for Lebanese Studies). Prof. Cathryn Costello, a co-editor of the Handbook, will moderate discussions.

Prof. Janmyr and Prof. Stevens will contribute with insights on how ­­­ and—whether—refugee protection is achieved across the region in light of States’ differing approaches to refugeehood. Their chapter “Regional Refugee Regimes: Middle East” explores the role of the Refugee Convention, UNHCR, influential NGOs, and international human rights law to protect asylum seekers and refugees in the region.

Prof. Susan Akram will share insights from her chapter “UNRWA and Palestine Refugees”. UNRWA’s role is to provide humanitarian ‘relief’ and to provide economic opportunities—‘works’—for refugees in the areas of major displacement: the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Palestinians are excluded from UNHCR’s protection mandate in UNRWA areas, and since UNRWA has no durable solutions mandate, Palestinians have no access to durable solutions either as refugees or as stateless persons in UNRWA fields.

Please register for the event here.

The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law, edited by Cathryn Costello, Michelle Foster and Jane McAdam provides a state-of-the-art analysis of this field. A 65-chapter reference work involving 78 authors, including 48 women, this Handbook is global in scope, with 10 chapters focusing in detail on specific regions, including Africa, Latin America, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East.

Oxford Handbooks are recognised as authoritative works of scholarship. They critically examine the progress and direction of debates and provide the foundation for future research.

Published Aug. 5, 2021 9:24 AM - Last modified May 3, 2023 3:53 PM