Refugees at work: Ending exploitation, advancing justice

RSC Public Seminar Series, Trinity term 2025

Series convened by Professor Tom Scott-Smith and Professor Catherine Briddick

About the talk

International law sets forth a vision of work that is fair and equitable, freely undertaken in conditions of justice.  Yet refugees across the globe experience work very differently: Exploitation and abuse are routine features of many refugees’ working lives.

What causes this rupture between work as experienced by refugees, and work as envisioned by a legal regime that has been in place for over 50 years?  Why has this rupture persisted even in the face of widespread interest in supporting refugees’ economic integration?  What new, emerging, and potential activism is or could be mobilized to bring refugees’ work experiences into closer alignment with the promises and potential of the law?

Drawing on empirical research, legal analysis, and extensive practitioner experience, this seminar will discuss how three key gaps contribute to the breakdown between rights on paper and refugees’ experiences in practice.  While recognizing systemic elements that maintain and exacerbate these gaps, the seminar will identify ways that individual and community action can narrow these gaps and advance justice for refugee workers.

About the speakers

Emily Arnold-Fernández is an advocate and scholar who writes frequently on forced migration, work, and human rights.  She was the founding CEO of Asylum Access, and currently serves as a Senior Associate at the University of London’s Refugee Law Initiative and as Associate Managing Editor of Forced Migration Review at University of Oxford.

Yusra Herzi, a displaced legal professional, is currently a Program Officer on the Forced Displacement team at PILnet, a global network for public interest law. She previously served as Work Rights Programme Officer at Asylum Access Malaysia.