This course explores the legal and policy issues of forced migration. It is practice oriented, enabling the students to meet leading actors of the refugee scene. The course consists of five major blocks: the first sets the historic, conceptual and philosophical framework. The second reviews international refugee law, to be applied at the universal level. The third thoroughly investigates the European asylum acquis and practice from its inception to the crisis of 2015-2016 finally to the adoption of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum in December 2023. In this section the special treatment of the refugees from Ukraine is investigated. The fourth block is rather empirical and introduces the actors, first and foremost the refugees, their psychological experience during flight and in the asylum country and the major actors alleviating their plight. Personal encounter with UNHCR officers, NGO case workers, psychologists treating vulnerable cases form planned part of this block. The last unit extends the view: it covers internal displacement and the debates about migration caused by environmental change. Due to time constraints the course concentrates on the global and on the EU regimes but through examples, projects and specific presentations involves the asylum situation of the other contents and regions too.
- Instructor: Boldizsar Nagy