Legal Aid Beyond the Refugee Convention
The launch event on September 10, 2021 focused on the work of legal aid actors in improving protection for refugees in states that have not ratified the Refugee Convention.
Legal aid actors in non-signatory states play a critical role in interpreting the law and finding arguments beyond the Refugee Convention to provide for the protection of refugees.
In this roundtable discussion, FMR special feature authors Mazen Mansour and Yara Hussein from the Norwegian Refugee Council, Naiyana Thanawattho from Asylum Access Thailand and Lynette Nam from Justice Centre Hong Kong shared insights from legal aid work.
With examples from Lebanon, Jordan, Thailand and Hong Kong, the organizations discussed the legal instruments they rely on in absence of the Refugee Convention, how they interact with other actors of the international refugee regime such as UNHCR, and the strategies they use to promote and improve refugee protection in the countries they operate.
This launch event was organized by the BEYOND project in collaboration with the Norwegian Refugee Council, Justice Centre Hong Kong, and Asylum Access Thailand. Maja Janmyr and Nora Milch Johnsen moderated the discussions.
The International Refugee Regime and Non-signatory States
The launch event on September 17, 2021 explored how non-signatory states engage with the international refugee regime and the role of the Refugee Convention in these states.
The roundtable featured reflections from FMR special feature authors: Maja Janmyr, M Sanjeeb Hossain, Georgia Cole, Brian Barbour, Özlem Skribeland, JN Joniad. Among other issues, the participants discussed the role of the refugee convention and UNHCR in non-signatory states, as well as domestic courts' engagement with international refugee law.
This roundtable was organized by the BEYOND project in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network. The discussion was moderated by Maja Janmyr.
All articles of the Forced Migration Review special feature on non-signatory states can be accessed on FMR's websites.