This course will introduce and explore the main concepts, laws, institutions, and policies that form the international regime for the protection of refugees. As of December 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there were over 117 million forcibly displaced persons throughout the world (the highest number in history), including over 43 million refugees. Human displacement continues to be one of the most important and intractable human rights issues facing the international community. The main course objectives are to:
- Examine the assumptions, origins, and evolution of refugee law and the international refugee regime.
- Understand who is protected from serious harm by international, regional, and domestic law.
- Explore the rights afforded to refugees and other categories of forced migrants.
- Investigate various legal and policy impediments to the right to seek asylum.
- Assess the scope, limits, and potential of international cooperation regarding refugees.
Overall, the course will examine the relationship between refugee law, international human rights law, and domestic law and will provide students with an understanding of how this relationship affects state obligations toward refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced persons.
prereq: recommended Law 6011/6071 International Law and Law 6886 Intl Human Rights Law