The Refugee Convention at 75: Perspectives Within and Beyond

As part of an international conference at the University of Oslo, The Refugee Convention at 75: Perspectives Within and Beyond opens three events to the public: two keynote talks and a plenary roundtable. Each event can be attended and registered for separately.

The Refugee Convention at 75: Still Sound, Still Relevant, Sabotaged in Practice.

• June 22, 10:00 - 11:15

In this keynote, Daniel Ghezelbash (University of New South Wales) argues that the Convention itself still works on paper but is being undermined in practice. He shows how many governments claim to follow the rules while finding ways around them - for example by processing asylum claims in other countries, speeding up procedures in ways that reduce fairness, or blocking people before they reach a border. These choices help create the problems later used to argue that the Convention is ¡°broken.¡± The talk explores what would be needed to close this gap.

Practice, Not Principles: The 1951 Refugee Convention at 75

• June 22, 15:45 - 17:15

This plenary roundtable brings together experts who work with refugee protection in different ways. They will discuss how governments limit their duties, for example through legal reservations or shifting asylum procedures outside their borders, and how refugee movements are sometimes used as tools in international disputes. They will also consider what difference the Convention makes in the everyday lives of people seeking safety in countries that have signed it and in those that have not, and whether it still shapes real decisions or is at risk of becoming mostly symbolic.

Moving Beyond the 1951 Convention: International Solidarity as a Corrective Protection Framework for Refugees and Migrants

• June 23, 14.30 - 15:30

In this keynote, Cecilia Bailliet (University of Oslo), currently the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity, looks at the role of solidarity - how countries do, or do not, stand together to protect people on the move. She highlights moments when states have acted cooperatively and creatively, as well as cases where refugees and migrants have been detained, pushed back, or where those helping them have been punished. Against the backdrop of tougher border policies and political tensions over migration, she introduces the forthcoming UN Declaration on the Right to International Solidarity and asks how it could help rebuild a fairer system for both refugees and other migrants.

Participate

The event is free and open to all. Sign up via the link below if you want to participate in person.

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