2020 has been characterised by immense global upheaval due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shed light on the barriers faced by forced migrants in accessing their rights. This conference will engage in a critical appraisal of the law’s response to the challenges faced by those searching safe haven in the current context. It will interrogate the law’s conflicting role in creating vulnerability and hostility, while also being a source of protection. This tension will be unpacked in three thematic panels and one expert roundtable, problematizing the unique position of forced migrants in times of emergency and considering the risks and opportunities of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum of the European Commission.

The conference is convened by Dr Violeta Moreno-Lax and Dr Niovi Vavoula (QMUL, Immigration Law Programme) as part of the MAPS Jean Monnet Network.

Speakers include: Elspeth Guild (QMUL / Nijmegen); Madeline Garlick (UNHCR); Tineke Strik (European Parliament); Valsamis Mitsilegas (QMUL); Maria Gavouneli (Athens); Vincent Chetail (GIIDS, Geneva); Lilian Tsourdi (Maastricht); Francesca Ippolito (Cagliari); and Giuseppe Cataldi (“L’Orientale” Naples).

Programme

9.00-9.15 Arrival and Welcome

9.15-10.30 Panel 1: Vulnerability in refugee and migration law – examining a contested concept

10.30-10.45 Break

10.45-12.00 Panel 2: The unravelling of legal protections through hostile responses to irregular migrants and asylum seekers

12.00-13.00 Lunch break

13.00-14.15 Panel 3: The impact of the clash of legal regimes on the protection of forced migrants

14.15-14.30 Break

14.30-15.30 Roundtable: Migration, vulnerability and hostility in times of Covid-19: What can the law do? What are the prospects of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum?

15.30-15.45 Conclusions

Please, visit our website here to view the full programme.

**Please note this is an online event and all registrants will be sent joining instructions the day before. **