The Magna Carta of refugee protection under pressure – the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention at 75

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees turns 75 years on 28 July this year. It is often designated as the “Magna Carta of refugee protection” and praised as the central legal source for refugee protection. However, in recent years, it has come under serious pressure. The discourse on refugee policies in Europe has shifted focus to the control of “irregular migration” with a push for shifting the responsibility for asylum procedures and provision of protection to third states. Moreover, the asylum system frequently has been framed as a security challenge. Not least against this background, violations of European and international refugee law seem to have become more acceptable. This gives rise to the question: Is the Convention still relevant or is it outdated and in need of revision?

Roland Bank has over 20 years of experience of working with UNHCR, mostly in Germany with a short stint in Jordan. He is currently heading the protection work of UNHCR in Germany. After several years of working in academia, he avails of a broad academic background in international human rights and refugee law. Positions included that of a senior researcher at the Max-Planck-Institute for Public International Law in Heidelberg and a Jean-Monnet-Fellowship at the European University Institute in Florence as well as of a Lecturer at the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford. He also taught as a guest lecturer at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Before joining UNHCR, he worked as the chief lawyer for a world-wide payment program for victims of National Socialist injustice, in particular related to forced labor.

 

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For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Time: 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1

Location: Bard College Berlin, Lecture Hall, Platanenstr. 98A, 13156 Berlin

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