The Global Roundtable will take place on Thursday 23 September 2021 from 15:00 – 18:00 CEST (Geneva). This will be followed by two roundtables on Tuesday | 26 October 2021 | 18:00 - 20:00 CEST (Geneva), and on Thursday | 28 October 2021 | 8:00 - 10:00 CEST (Geneva).
The 70th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention offers a time of reflection on its effectiveness and implementation. Although the Convention has saved millions of lives, implementation challenges still remain. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of these challenges and has had a disproportionate impact on displaced persons. In addition to the direct risks from the virus itself, both physically and mentally, the pandemic has also impacted the economic health of displaced persons, as many lost their jobs or small businesses. The pandemic has also infected political and civil rights and has reduced civic and asylum space: border closures; push-backs; limits on freedom of movement; gender-based violence (GBV); discrimination and xenophobia are just a few of the many challenges.
The meetings will provide an opportunity to share insights on recent legal issues and proceedings in different jurisdictions.
The first roundtable on 23 September will include the following segments:
- Global Updates: To support sharing while streamlining updates for an online format, we will solicit input ahead of time and circulate updates in document format. A few regional highlights will be pulled out in the meeting itself to demonstrate the breadth of work going on and encourage sharing outside the roundtable;
- Presenting the Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights (GSLC);
- Protection during COVID: ‘From A to V’: access to asylum and access to vaccines and everything in between.
The second roundtable on Tuesday 26 October 2021 will explore recent jurisprudence and litigation strategies on Detention and Due Process.
And on Thursday 28 October 2021 the roundtable will focus on the right to decent Work and Labour Rights.
A full agenda and list of speakers will be distributed in due course.