WORKSHOP: Refugee Protection Outside of the International Legal Framework: Expanding Cross-National and Cross-Disciplinary Collaborations, Northwestern University, May 15-17, 2014

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

Eighty percent of the world's refugees seek asylum in non-democratic states or states that have not signed the 1951 International Convention for the Protection of Refugees and 1967 Protocol, do not have implementing legislation or, if they have such legislation, do not grant refugees rights as defined by the Refugee Convention. A two-day workshop at Northwestern University will engage researchers, practitioners and policy makers about the theoretical and practical issues, the lessons to be learned and the strategies for achieving protection in these states. The workshop is designed to advance theorizing about the meanings of rules or laws governing refugee status outside of the Refugee Convention framework, address empirical puzzles regarding how refugees and international refugee advocacy networks mobilize international and national law, and identify promising lines of inquiry regarding how national institutions define, mediate and respond to refugee legal concerns. These impacts are central to theory-building concerning legal mobilization and decision making by institutions, and to understanding the conditions under which the refugee status determination process itself structures refugees' lives. The research advanced at the workshop will assist in mapping the future of protection outside strict Refugee Convention parameters, and will inform efforts to provide alternative statuses and processes of protection to refugees who are unable to access national asylum status. The workshop will provide a background study that will lay the foundation for future research in this area. Special attention will be given to methodologies for measuring outcomes and for understanding the effects of decisions not to ratify the Refugee Convention on refugee protection and local integration. Having such knowledge will contribute to United States efforts to provide sustainable solutions for refugees, victims of conflict or natural disaster, and stateless people around the world.