Course Syllabus
 |
Fleeing Across Borders:
An Introduction to International Refugee Law
| Semester & Location: |
Fall 2022 - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Human Rights, International Relations, Legal Studies |
| Prerequisite: |
None |
| Faculty Members: |
Campbell Munro- current students use Canvas inbox |
| Program Coordinator: |
Embla Thorsdottir eth@dis.dk |
| Time & Place: |
Monday and Thursday: 10:05 - 11:25 Fi44-Kosmo 405
|
Description of Course
As you read this, men, women, and children are fleeing Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, and many other places because of war and conflict, but also poverty and climate change. Denmark has undertaken a responsibility to accept and protect refugees who flee their homes pursuant to the 1951 Refugee Convention that Denmark signed along with many other countries. Scandinavia is traditionally known for humanitarian policies and practices, and fair and equal societies, and many refugees hope to reach the Nordic borders.
This course will provide students with a critical overview of the fluid and multiple concept of the refugee, enable students to identify, interpret, and apply the international legal regulations governing the recognition and rights of refugees, as well as interrogating the various strategies adopted by states in response to the proliferating global refugee crisis. We will also address the broader international refugee protection framework and the complementary protection rendered to refugees under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international human rights regime. Students will be introduced to specific international human rights laws, including the 1949 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the European Convention of Human Rights. The international legal definition of a refugee contained in the 1951 Refugee Convention will be analysed in detail, and as the course is focused on the legal rights of refugees, an introduction to what is called the ‘legal method’ will also be given.
The Course is divided into three modules:
Module A (Classes 1-8)
The Evolving Concept of the Refugee in International Law
In this opening module students will be introduced to the refugee as a concept that is rooted in law, but influenced by politics, media, and culture more broadly. In order to understand the fluid relation between law and politics that animates the international refugee protection framework, we will consider how the concept of the refugee has evolved in response to shifting political interests and migrant flows. We will ask key critical questions, about who or what is a refugee, is there more than one category of refugee, do all refugees have the same rights, and how can we distinguish refugees from other migrants. We will trace the historical evolution of the concept of the refugee , in order to better understand how the rights and protections offered to refugees have shifted since the drafting of the Refugee Convention in 1951. Students will be invited to consider the underlying premise of refugee law from a variety of perspectives, and will be introduced to some of the key institutional and jurisprudential elements of the international refugee protection framework, including the UNHCR, the International Human Rights regime, and the foundational international legal principle of non-refoulement.
Module B (Classes 9-14)
The Legal Definition of a Refugee under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The focus of this second module is the legal definition of a refugee set out in Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Students will be guided through a fine-grained analysis of the legal interpretation of each of the key elements of the definition in turn, with a focus on the progressive evolution of the definition and contentious issues of interpretation. The Module will enable students to identify, interpret, and apply the international legal regulations governing the recognition of refugees, and provide an introduction to the legal method. At the culmination of the module students will be assessed on the practical application of the various elements of the refugee definition to a factual ‘case’.
Module C ( Classes 15-23)
The Response of States - The Politics of Non-Entrée
Having got to grips with the doctrinal definition of a refugee, the third module pivots back to the law and politics of refugee policy. In this module the actions of states in response to the global refugee crisis will be analysed from the perspective of international law, and in particular, through the prism of the principle of non-refoulement. The various practices of interdiction of migrants at sea, particularly by EU states in the Mediterranean, provide the factual basis for analyzing the tension between the right of refugees to non-refoulement and the politics of non-entrée practiced by states of the global north. Students will be invited to engage with the specific issue of the extraterritorial application of the principle of non-refoulement, as the waters of the high seas and the shifting territorial and legal periphery of the refugee receiving states are a key site at which the future of the international refugee protection framework is being shaped.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Reflect on the concept of the refugee, how it has shifted over time, and how it is addressed by the media, politicians and broader society.
- Identify, interpret, and apply the international legal definition of a refugee to specific cases.
- Reflect on the legal and political circumstances under which people are granted or refused asylum.
- Explain, analyse and discuss the 1951 Refugee Convention, the mandate of the UNHCR, the relevance of international human rights law and the role of NGO's and the European Court of Human Rights.
- Explain, analyse and discuss the principal of non-refoulement, as a foundation of refugee rights under international law.
- Reflect on the strategies of states in response to the global refugee crisis, and the tensions between policies of non-entrée and the right to non-refoulement.
Faculty
Campbell Munro
Campbell holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from Lund University, and previously practiced as a barrister in London, specializing in refugee and immigration law. He is currently completing a PhD in International Law at the University of Copenhagen.
Readings
A list of ‘required class readings’ and ‘further readings’ for each class are provided on Canvas. Students will be guided in their reading by ‘reading questions,’ and are also expected to prepare one of a range of specific ‘short written assignment’ on the required readings. (See ‘assignments’ below) The further readings are provided to enable students to explore their interest and curiosity in a particular topic and to provide relevant research material for the Course Paper and Group Project.
Below is a list of some the main textbooks and leading practitioner’s texts in the field of International Refugee Law. Students will be directed to specific sections of some of these texts in the required class readings. This reading list is also intended to supplement the further readings.
UNHCR: ‘Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status Under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees’ - Reissued, Geneva December 2011
UNHCR: ‘The International Protection of Refugees: Interpreting Article 1 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees’
‘The Law of Refugee Status’ 2nd Edition, James C. Hathaway and Michelle Foster, Cambridge University Press, 2014
‘The Refugee in International Law’ 3rd Edition, Guy S. Goodwin-Gil and Jane McAdam, Oxford University Press, 2007
‘The Rights of Refugees Under International Law,’ James C. Hathaway, Cambridge University Press, 2005
‘Refugee Protection in International Law: UNHCR’s Global Consultations on International Protection,’ Edited by Erika Feller, Volker Türk, and Frances Nicholson, Cambridge University Press, 2003
‘Refugees and Asylum,’ James C. Hathaway, in ‘Foundations of International Migration Law,’ Edited by Brian Opeskin, Richard Perruchoud, and Jillyanne Redpath-Cross, Cambridge University Press, 2012
‘The International Law of Refugee Protection,’ Guy S. Goodwin-Gil, in ‘The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies,’ Edited by Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Gil Loescher, Katy Long, and Nando Sigona, Oxford University Press, 2014.
‘Access to Asylum: International Refugee Law and the Globalisation of Migration Control,’ Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, Cambridge University Press, 2013
‘Non-Refoulement in a World of Cooperative Deterrence,’ Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen and James C. Hathaway, 53(2) Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, (2015) 235-84.
‘International Refugee Law and Refugee Policy: The Case of Deterrence Policies,’ Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, 27(4) Journal of Refugee Studies (2014) 574-95.
Field Studies
Students are required to participate in two Field Studies during the course.
Approach to Teaching
The approach to teaching adopted in this course will be based on a seminar model, in which classroom discussion and engaged participation will be the main method of teaching and learning. Students should consider the course as presenting a series of ‘shared problems’ that we as a group will seek to reflect on together. Our shared project is to gain a better understanding of the international refugee protection regime, and to be able to critically analyse the workings of that regime from a legal perspective.
Expectations of the Students
Students are expected to abide by the Academic Regulations and assist in creating an environment that is conducive to learning and that protects the rights of all members of the DIS community. This course is designed to expose students to a variety of different arguments concerning a very topical and controversial topic, and is designed to provide students with tools with which to analyse those arguments and assess them critically from a legal perspective. The course is not designed to impart a particular viewpoint to you, but rather to allow you to form your own perspective via an informed process of collective discussion and reflection. Please show respect for the views of your fellow-classmates, whether you agree with them or not. Whereas this course is designed to encourage debate, judgmental or intolerant behaviour will not be tolerated.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated on their engaged classroom participation and their assignments. Attendance for all classes and Field Studies is mandatory. Students are required to attend class on time and be prepared to actively participate in class. The starting point for such engaged participation will be the submission of ‘short written assignments’ at the start of class, which will inform class discussion. These assignments form a bridge between the reading students undertake prior to class and their engaged participation in class.
Assignments:
A: Short Written Assignments
These assignments are intended to enhance your understanding of the topics addressed in each class, enable you to better identify and analyse key concepts from the reading, and provide an opportunity to practice drafting arguments that can be used in the Course Paper. The principal aim of these assignments, however, is to foster class discussion and collaboration, and all assignments must therefore be submitted onto the shared Discussion Board.
The Short Written Assignments (SWA) will serve as a key venue for each of you to set out your understanding of the material covered during the Course. You should draft the SWA after having completed the reading assigned for each Class and having considered the other materials provided. Each of you is expected to submit a concise but fully formed response to each of the questions set out in the SWA. As a guideline each SWA should be between 300 and 500 words long.
In order to fulfil each SWA, you are also required to comment on at least one other submission. Comments should be drafted in such a way as to invite responses from other students, in order to foster class discussion. You will only be able to read and comment on other submissions once you have submitted your own assignment. Having met the minimum requirement of submitting a SWA and commenting on one other, the SWA will be graded as complete.
In order to allow time for you to comment on your peer’s submissions and for a discussion to take place, each SWA must be uploaded to the Discussion Board by 20:00 on the day before the relevant Class.
B: Course Paper – Legal Memorandum on the definition of a refugee
The Course Paper must take the form of a ‘legal memorandum’ and students must evidence an understanding of the ‘legal method.’ Students will be required to identify, interpret and apply the ‘definition of a refugee’ as contained in the 1951 Refugee Convention. Students must identify the relevant elements of the definition, interpret the meaning of those elements of the definition, and apply that interpretation of the definition to the facts of a particular case. Students will be expected to conclude by determining whether or not the applicant in the case meets the requirements of the definition and is entitled to be recognized as a refugee or not.
Every student must submit a Course Paper of between 1500 and 2000 words. Completed papers must be uploaded on Canvas.
C: Group Project: ‘From the frying pan into the fire’: Mapping the refugee journey
Through a shared focus on one of the major global refugee flows, students will be provided with an opportunity to engage in detail with a specific refugee journey, and to better understand the shifting legal and political regimes through which refugees move and which materially shape the refugee journey. Students will recreate each of the stages of a single refugee journey in turn, from the circumstances driving refugees to flee, through the uncertainty and danger of irregular migration, to the hurdles, hostility and hope that swirl around arrival, to the complex, unpredictable, and often baffling set of bureaucratic and personal responses that refugees encounter as they seek to settle into their new homes. By retracing the various steps along the way, students will better understand the reality of persecution, fear, flight, insecurity, exploitation, and discrimination experienced by people on the move as they flee their homelands, but also be better able to grasp the hope, determination, solidarity, and fundamental humanity of people forced to take desperate measures in order to find refuge.
The focus of this assignment is the political and legal framework that shapes, coerces, and enables the dilemmas faced by people on the move. What is the political and historical context that renders refugees vulnerable to displacement? What forms of human rights violations are forcing people to flee, and what level of legal and practical protection are they receiving from their home state? What legal status do irregular migrants have as they journey through foreign lands, what rights to legal protection can they call on, and what range of legal obligations for those refugees do other states and the international community bear? What is the domestic and international political context that shapes responses to people engaged in irregular migration? What rights do refugees have to claim asylum when they arrive at their destination, how can they claim, and how effective is that right? What other legal rights can refugees claim on arrival and to what extent are states upholding those rights? What sort of political climate can people on the move expect to face in the states they move through and in their destination state? Having gained entry, what rights may refugees exercise, what status can they claim, can they be reunited with their family, and how does the reality of life in their new home compare to what they had imagined when they set out?
The case study for this semester is the escalating refugee flows from the three Northern Triangle states of Central America – Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador – through Mexico and towards the U.S.A.
Students will be divided into four groups and each group will be assigned one of the four stages of the same refugee journey: (1) the circumstances surrounding the decision to flee; (2) the journey itself, from escaping their home state to arriving at the borders of their destination state; (3) the process of gaining entry to the destination state and choosing to claim international protection or not; (4) the struggle to settle and assimilate in a new home, either with or without recognized legal status.
Each group will be expected to work together to research, design, construct and present an interactive presentation of their section of the refugee journey. Students are encouraged to draw on any experience or expertise they may have in designing projects of this type.
The entire 80 minutes of the class will be set aside for the presentation of each group project and active class discussion. Each presentation should be between 30 - 40 minutes in order for each of the group members to contribute to the presentation. During the presentation the rest of the class will be expected to prepare questions about the presentation that will form the basis for an active class discussion.
Grading
To be eligible for a passing grade for this course every student must complete all of the assigned work. The grading breakdown for the class is as follows:
|
Assignment |
Percent |
|
Engaged classroom participation |
25% |
|
Short written assignments |
20% |
|
Course Paper – Legal Memorandum on the definition of a refugee |
30% |
|
Group Project: ‘From the frying pan into the fire’: Mapping the refugee journey |
25% |
Classroom Policies
Plagiarism/Cheating:
Plagiarism and cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. Any assignment which shows evidence of either will receive an immediate fail. It is essential that you attribute all the ideas that you have borrowed. All students should familiarize themselves with the DIS Academic Honor Code.
Lateness:
Minor and infrequent lateness is occasionally unavoidable, but please enter the classroom quietly and with as little disruption as possible. Repeated or disruptive lateness will affect your participation grade.
Mobile phones and laptop computers:
Any and every use of mobile phones and laptops during class is strictly prohibited. If you use an electronic device during class your participation grade will suffer. The reason for this rule is simple, research has consistently shown that students who use laptops during class to take notes contribute less to class discussion and leave class having learnt less!
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
Course Summary:
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