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RSC Public Seminar Series, Hilary Term: 'Destination: Europe'

Convenors: Cathryn Costello and Stephanie Motz

In the absence of safe and legal routes to claim asylum, refugees currently make their own way to Europe, risking their lives in the process. They face many European crises: humanitarian ones at their places of arrival and border crossings; legal ones as some states flout their international and EU obligations, and security ones as rational fears become unduly associated with refugees. There are, of course, many Europes: the EU (with its elaborate Common European Asylum System); the wider Europe of the Council of Europe and pan-European human rights protection, encompassing Turkey; and the Europe of the Mediterranean, Mare Nostrum. Faced with the arrival of refugees in large numbers, the reactions and responsibilities of these various Europes will be considered. Reactions range from small scale offers of relocation and resettlement; to military responses to human smuggling in Libya; to border closures of the Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe; and moves to accommodate large new refugee populations in Germany, Sweden and the other main destination states. The series will examine the implications for European integration, European values and the global refugee protection regime, taking a long and broad view. Legal, historical and political perspectives will be explored.

This seminar series complements Issue 51 of Forced Migration Review, published on 5 January 2016 and also titled 'Destination: Europe'.

About the speaker

Emma Haddad is the former Director of Refugee Resettlement Operations at the UK Home Office. Prior to this she held various Director posts at the UK Home Office and Border Agency, including asylum and international policy. She also spent two years at the European Commission as an expert in the external dimension of migration. She earned her PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and her Masters from the University of Edinburgh. She is the author of The Refugee in International Society: Between Sovereigns (Cambridge: 2008).

Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture

The Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture is named in honour of Dr Barbara Harrell-Bond, the founding Director of the Refugee Studies Centre. It is held each year in Michaelmas term.

Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture

The Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture is held in Trinity term. It is named after Professor Elizabeth Colson, a renowned anthropologist.

Public Seminar Series

Each term the RSC holds a series of public seminars, held on Wednesday evenings at Queen Elizabeth House. Click here for details of forthcoming seminars.

Connect with us

To keep up to date with our events and activities, sign up for email alerts from the RSC and Forced Migration Review, and connect with us on social media.

Forthcoming events

Ukraine: Insights and Implications

Tuesday, 17 October 2023, 1pm to 2pm @ Online via Zoom

Book launch: Time and Power in Azraq Refugee Camp

Wednesday, 01 November 2023, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 2, Queen Elizabeth House, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TB

Who Gets Believed? A conversation with Dina Nayeri | Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture 2023

Monday, 20 November 2023, 5pm to 6.30pm @ St Anne's College, 56 Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HS