Expert Meetings

To take stock of developments in refugee law and to examine a number of emerging issues, UNHCR, often in cooperation with its partners, organizes expert meetings, also in the context of implementation of the Agenda for Protection. To facilitate discussion, background papers are commissioned from experts. Depending on the topic, participants in the roundtable discussions are drawn from governments, NGOs, academia, the judiciary and the legal profession.

UNHCR Global Roundtable on Reception and Care-Arrangements for Asylum-Seeking Children

Bangkok, Thailand, 10-11 October 2018

• Summary of Discussions
• Concept Note
• Agenda
• List of Participants

​Expert Roundtable on Onward Movement of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees

Geneva, Switzerland, 1 - 2 October 2015

• Agenda
• List of Participants
• Bibliography
• Concept Note
• Discussion paper

 

2nd Global Roundtable on Reception and Alternatives to Detention

 

UNHCR hosts global discussions on reception and alternatives to detention of asylum-seekers, refugees, migrants and stateless persons. With the support of the Oak Foundation and the International Detention Coalition.

Toronto, 20-22 April 2015

• Concept Note
• Agenda
• Participants List
• UNHCR Options Paper #1: Options for governments on care arrangements and alternatives to detention for children and families.
• UNHCR Options Paper #2: Options for governments on open reception and alternatives to detention.
• Second Global Roundtable on Reception and Alternatives to Detention. Toronto, Canada, 20-22 April 2015. Summary of deliberations.

 

Expert roundtable on the interpretation of the extended refugee definition contained in the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees

 

Montevideo, Uruguay, 15-16 October 2013

• Concept note
• Agenda
• Participants list
• Summary Conclusions on the interpretation of the extended refugee definition in the 1984 Cartagena Declaration

 

Roundtable on Temporary Protection

 

San Remo, Italy, 15-16 July 2013

• List of participants
• Concept Note
• Guidelines on Temporary Protection or Stay Arrangements

 

Roundtable on International Protection of Persons Fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence

 

Cape Town, South Africa, 13 - 14 September 2012, hosted by the Refugee Rights Project of the University of Cape Town

• List of Participants
• Agenda
• Concept Note
• Summary Conclusions on International Protection of Persons Fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence

Background papers:

• Theo Farrell and Olivier Schmitt, The Causes, Character and Conduct of Armed Conflict, and the Effects on Civilian Populations, 1990-2010, April 2012, PPLA/2012/03
• Vanessa Holzer, The 1951 Refugee Convention and the Protection of People Fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence, September 2012, PPLA/2012/05
• Valerie Oosterveld, Women and Girls Fleeing Conflict and Generalized Violence: Gender and the Interpretation and Application of the 1951 Refugee Convention, September 2012, PPLA/2012/06
• No. 30: The 1969 OAU Refugee Convention and the Protection of People Fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence in the Context of Individual Refugee Status, Marina Sharpe, January 2013
• No. 32: The Cartagena Declaration on Refugees and the Protection of People Fleeing Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence in Latin America, Michael Reed-Hurtado, June 2013

 

Roundtable on Temporary Protection

 

San Remo, Italy, 19-20 July 2012

• Concept note on temporary protection roundtable
• Discussion paper on temporary protection
• List of participants
• Agenda
• Summary conclusions on temporary protection

 

Expert Meeting on Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Distress at Sea - How Best to Respond?

 

8-10 November 2011, Djibouti

• Agenda
• Concept Note
• Background Paper
• Summary Conclusions
• Selected Distress at Sea Incidents involving Refugees and Migrants in 2011
• Rescue at Sea, Stowaways and Maritime Interception: Selected Reference Materials, 2nd Edition, December 2011
• Presentations

 

Expert Meeting on International Cooperation to Share Burden and Responsibilities

 

27-28 June 2011, Amman, Jordan

• Concept Note and Draft Agenda
• Discussion Paper
• Summary Conclusions
• Responses to Secondary Movements of Refugees: A Comparative Preliminary Study of State Practice in South Africa, Spain, and the USA
• Cooperative Arrangements to Share Burdens and Responsibilities in Refugee Situations short of Mass Influx

 

Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention Geneva

 

11-12 May 2011

UNHCR co-hosts global discussions on alternatives to the detention of asylum-seekers, refugees, migrants and the stateless.

• Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention of Asylum-Seekers, Refugees, Migrants and Stateless Persons: Summary Conclusions, July 2011
• UNHCR urges states to avoid detaining asylum-seekers
• List of Participants: Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention, Geneva, 11-12 May 2011
• Agenda: Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention, Geneva, 11-12 May 2011
• No. 17: Back to Basics: The Right to Liberty and Security of Person and 'Alternatives to Detention' of Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, Stateless Persons and Other Migrants. Alice Edwards
• Concept Note: Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention, Geneva, 11-12 May 2011
• There are alternatives: A handbook for preventing unnecessary immigration detention, published by International Detention Coalition, 2011

 

ICTR-UNHCR Expert Meeting on Complementarities between International Refugee Law, International Criminal Law and International Human Rights Law

 

Arusha, Tanzania, 11-13 April 2011

• Agenda
• List of Participants
• Concept Note
• Summary Conclusions
• UNHCR PPLA Series No. 21: Forced Displacement and International Crimes. Guido Acquaviva
• UNHCR PPLA Series No. 22: Exclusion at a Crossroads: The Interplay between International Criminal Law and Refugee Law in the Area of Extended Liability. Joseph Rikhof

 

Maintaining the Civilian and Humanitarian Character of Asylum

 

Geneva, June 2004

• Conclusions and Preliminary Issues Raised
• List of Participants
• Maintaining the Civilian and Humanitarian Character of Asylum, Rosa da Costa (June 2004)
• Under What Circumstances Can a Person Who Has Taken an Active Part in the Hostilities of an International or a Non-International Armed Conflict Become an Asylum Seeker?, Stéphane Jaquemet (June 2004)

 

Effective Protection

 

Lisbon, December 2002

• Secondary Refugee Movements and the Return of Asylum Seekers to Third Countries: The Meaning of Effective Protection, Stephen H. Legomsky (February 2003)
• Summary Conclusions from the Round Table (February 2003)
• List of Participants

 

Religious Persecution

 

Baltimore, October 2002

• Claims for Protection Based on Religion or Belief: Analysis and Proposed Conclusions, Karen Musalo (December 2002)
• The Complexity of Religion in Determining Refugee Status, T. Jeremy Gunn (October 2002)
• Summary Conclusions from the Round Table (February 2003)
• List of Participants

 

Rescue-at-Sea

 

Lisbon, March 2002

• Background Note on the Protection of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees Rescued at Sea (March 2002)
• Annex 1: Background Note Concerning the competence of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in relation to rescue at sea matters
• Annex 2: UNHCR Executive Committee Conclusions concerning Asylum seekers at sea - Rescue at sea
• Annex: Reception of Asylum-Seekers, Including Standards of Treatment, in the Context of Individual Asylum Systems (4 September 2001)
• Annex: Problems Related to the Rescue of Asylum-Seekers in Distress at Sea (26 August 1981)
• Annex: Report on the Meeting of the Working Group of Government Representatives on the Question of Rescue of Asylum-Seekers at Sea held in Geneva, 5-7 July 1982 (24 August 1982)
• Annex: Problems Related to the Rescue of Asylum-Seekers in Distress at Sea (1 September 1983)
• Annex: Problems Related to the Rescue of Asylum-Seekers in Distress at Sea (28 August 1984)
• Annex: Problems Related to the Rescue of Asylum-Seekers at Sea (8 July 1985)
• Summary of Discussions (April 2002)
• List of Participants

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