About the event
The BEYOND project is holding an online exploratory workshop on the interplay between international refugee law and non-signatory states.
On May 10-11, 2023, the BEYOND project organizes an online exploratory workshop. The aim is to generate discussions, form networks and explore collaborations for future research on the interplay between international refugee law and non-signatory states. The workshop is open to participants who responded to our call for participation.
As part of the workshop, we also organize a public lecture with Professor Satvinder Juss on the role of 'norm entrepreneurs' in non-signatory states. This lecture is online and open to all, but registration is required.
Program and speakers
The program consists of five panels, in addition to opening and closing sessions and a public keynote.
Wednesday, May 10
12:00 – 12:30 Workshop Introduction by Prof. Dr. Maja Janmyr (University of Oslo)
12:45 – 14:00 Panel 1: The Role of Courts in Non-Signatory States
This panel will explore how courts in non-signatory States engage with international refugee law norms and principles, and what role they play in shaping the protection space for refugees. Many non-signatory states still have extensive obligations towards refugees arising from a plethora of international legal sources, and some of them have also developed their own domestic legal frameworks for refugee protection.
These legal obligations are interpreted and applied by domestic courts, and sometimes, court judgments also actively converse with different provisions of the Refugee Convention in this process. Courts in non-signatory States can therefore play a key role in connecting those States (or not) to the international refugee regime.
Moderator: Dr. Arjumand Bano Kazmi (University of Oslo)
Panelists: Dr. Özlem Gürakar Skribeland (University of Oslo), Aneesha Johny (National Law School of India University), Prof. Martin Jones (University of York), Dr. M Sanjeeb Hossain (BRAC University).
14:15 – 15:15 Keynote: Transnational Refugee Law in Non-Signatory States, by Prof. Dr. Satvinder Juss (King’s College London)
Who makes the “norms” and who are the “actors” making them is a question rarely addressed in mainstream works of refugee law. Neither is it asked how “norms” in refugee law evolve under the influence of transnational actors and who the new “norm entrepreneurs” are.
These questions are important because what were once well-established legal standards are increasingly being disapplied in the search for more workable solutions to the world refugee problem. Nowhere is this more evident than in the practice of Non-Signatory States to the Refugee Convention 1951. This opens new vistas for refugee lawyers pointing the way to a 'transnational refugee law' which is timely now to consider.
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Maja Janmyr (University of Oslo)
Discussant: Prof. Dr. Dallal Stevens (University of Warwick)
The keynote is open also for participants not attending the workshop. Information on how to register can be found here.
15:30 – 17:00 Panel 2, Part 1: Motivations, Engagement, and Norm Development.
This double-panel invites us to critically examine the ‘perceived’ resistance and exceptionalism of the non-signatory states to ratify the Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. The participants will explore different aspects of non-signatory states’ (non)engagement with the global refugee regime over time.
Reflecting on the normative legitimacy of the international refugee regime in non-signatory states, panelists will touch upon reasons for non-ratification, the teaching of refugee law in non-signatory states, and the historical and contemporary role of these states in norm-development, including the impact of colonial histories in their engagement with international refugee law.
Moderators: Dr. Özlem Gürakar Skribeland and Dr. Arjumand Bano Kazmi (University of Oslo)
Panelists: Dr. Adel-Naim Reyhani (Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights), Dr. Bidisha Biswas (Western Washington University), Bilal Dewansyah (Leiden University/ Universitas Padjadjaran), Dr. Gamze Ovacık (University of Gothenburg/Başkent Law School), Dr. Jay Ramasubramanyam (York University).
Thursday, May 11
08:30 – 10:00 Panel 2, Part 2: Motivations, Engagement, and Norm Development
Discussions will continue from Part 1.
Moderator: Dr. Özlem Gürakar Skribeland (University of Oslo)
Panelists: Dr. Arie Afriansyah and Dr. Antje Missbach (Universitas Indonesia/Melbourne Law School), Dr. Arjumand Kazmi and Dr. Sikander Ahmed Shah (University of Oslo/ Lahore University of Management Sciences - LUMS), Brian Barbour (Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law), Naureen Rahim (University of Oslo), Dr. Lili Song (University of Otago).
10:15 – 11.30 Panel 3, Part 1: UNHCR’s operations in non-signatory states
In this double session, participants are asked to explore various aspects of UNHCR’s operations in non-signatory states – historically as well as contemporarily. The participants are encouraged to reflect on the formalization and non-formalization of UNHCR’s presence, including the negotiation of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with non-signatory governments as well as the division of roles when it comes to e.g. refugee status determination (RSD) procedures.
The session will also reflect on how non-signatory states influence the understanding and implementation of UNHCR’s international protection mandate in specific cases.
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Maja Janmyr (University of Oslo)
Panelists: Lynette Nam, Preston Cheung, Caroline Mok and Jonathan Kwok (Justice Centre Hong Kong), Dr. Derya Ozkul and Dr. Natalie Welfens (University of Oxford, Hertie School Berlin) Jittawadee Chotinukul (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies), Dr. Gerhard Hoffstaedter (University of Queensland).
11.45 – 13:00 Panel 3, Part 2: UNHCR’s operations in non-signatory states
Discussions will continue from Part 1.
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Maja Janmyr (University of Oslo)
Panelists: Rima Rassi (American University of Beirut/Erasmus University Rotterdam), Umar Rashid (Adelaide Law School), Dr. Charlotte Lysa (University of Oslo), Dr. Abdullah Omar Yassen (Erbil Polytechnic University)
13:15 – 13:45 Closing remarks by Dr. Özlem Gürakar Skribeland and Dr. Arjumand Bano Kazmi (University of Oslo)