1

YORKUNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF LIBERAL ARTS AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION

Course: AP/PPAS 4112 3.0, International Refugee Protection Regime II:

Research Seminar

Term: Winter 2012

Course Instructor: James C. Simeon

Office: Room 855 YorkResearchTower

Telephone: 416-736-2100 ext. 30396

E-mail:

Consultation hours: Please make an appointment by email.

Time: Mondays19:00 - 22:00

Location:FoundersCollege 110

Course Description

This research seminar will review, analyze and assess the various proposals intended to address the critical issues and concerns confronting refugees and the international refugee protection regime today. These various reform proposals will be examined from multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, including: historical, ethical, legal, sociological, philosophical, political science, public policy and administration, and other analytical perspectives.

There will be an Experiential Education (EE) component to this course that will allow students to learn through the experience of being involved with an organization that works directly or indirectly with refugees or persons in need of international protection. Students will be provided with the option of a placement or junior consultancy with an organization, for instance, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), an International Intergovernmental Organization, or government agency, and so on, that works directly or indirectly with refugees. The EE component of the course will be reflected in the educative learning and practice assignments that the students will be required to do in the course. This is specified in the course Evaluation section below.

More specifically, the course will examine the following issues:

  • The limitations of the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol and regional refugee rights instruments the proposals for their renewal, reform and replacement;
  • The response to the restraints and limitations on the UNHCR and its capacity to impose a common interpretation on the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol and who ought to be determined a Convention refugee;
  • The shortcomings and constraints on the regional human rights commissions and regional human rights courts and the prospects for enhancing their authority;
  • Proposals for an International Refugee Court to establish a consistent and harmonized refugee and asylum law jurisprudence;
  • Addressing the challenges to the ever growing restrictions on the access to the fundamental right to asylum and to refugee protection and the need to ensure that States do not violate international law principles, practices, and norms;
  • Creative responses to the issues of burden sharing and the lack of sufficient resources allocated by States and the international community to addressing the magnitude of the problem of forced displacement on a global scale;
  • The inability of the international refugee protection regime to cope with mass influx situations and the solutions proposed by the UN through its “clusters” approach;
  • The drive for a common asylum system in the European Union through its “Qualifications,” “Procedures” and other Directives and the challenges to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol – the search for regional rather than international solutions to the provision of refugee protection and what this means to the global refugee rights regime;
  • The protection challenges for refugees in Asia, especially, within and amongst those States that are not party to any international refugee rights instruments and the prospects for these States to join the international refugee protection regime;
  • Professor James C. Hathaway’s reformulation project for the international refugee protection regime and the various critiques thereof;
  • The UNHCR’s “Agenda for Protection” and “Convention Plus” initiatives for enhancing its own role and responsibilities for advancing international protection to persons of concern, including: refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, and returnees.

The course will conclude by examining what the prospects are for reforming the international refugee protection regime in order to be better able, meaningfully, to address and to resolve some of the most pressing issues and problems confronting the international refugee protection regime today.

Course Goals

This course will provide students with an indepth review and broad overview of the most innovative and creative durable solutions that have been proposed to resolve the most significant issues and difficulties confronting the international refugee protection regime today. The course will also provide students with an opportunity to consider and to reflect on how the most significant problems confronting the international refugee protection regime might be addressed to enhance international protection for all those persons who are seeking refuge from persecution.

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Describe the difficulties and shortcomings of the international refugee protection regime and the viable solutions that have been offered to try to address these concerns.
  • Outline the measures that the UNHCR and other UN agencies have taken to try and deal with the growing global problem of refugees.
  • Present a detailed presentation, from either a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective, on one of the durable solutions that have been presented to deal with a critical issue or problem confronting the international refugee protection regime.
  • Contribute to individual and group learning on the subject matter of the course by providing constructive observations, commentary and reflections on their colleagues’ contribution and work in the course.
  • Through a weekly dialogue and exchange demonstrate progressively enhanced skills in listening and engaging in constructive and mutually respectful discussion, debate and cogent argumentation.
  • Formulate a clear research question and conduct relevant research on the question and present a thorough analysis, with a coherent set of concise findings, and write a research paper or report on a specific issue and/or problem confronting the international refugee protection regime today and how it might be resolved with durable solution(s).
  • Learn through the “personal experience” of being engaged/involved and/or placed with an organization that works directly or indirectly with refugees in Canada.
  • Gain relevant research and “work” experience on “real life” refugee issues within the broader community and/or in the field.
  • Understand, appreciate and to reflect on praxis, the relevance and application of conceptual and theoretical knowledge and information found in the literature, and expounded in the classroom, to what happens in practice in the broader community and within organizations who work with refugees.
  • Reinforce and to promote a “deeper” learning and understanding of the subject matter and discipline.
  • Discover how particular organizations in this field operate in practice, including, such things as, the structural, managerial, and work arrangements, to the cultural, and the interpersonal relationship in this particular work setting.
  • Make valuable connections in the field that may lead possibly to future employment opportunities.
  • Through sustained reflection and thoughtful consideration try to come to a personal understanding and appreciation of how the experiential education experience has impacted on their learning and comprehension of the various topics and themes covered in the course.

Course Texts

G. Goodwin-Gill and J. McAdam, The Refugee in International Law. Third Edition,Oxford:OxfordUniversity Press, 2007.

James C. Simeon, ed., Forced Migration and the Advancement of International Protection. 7th World Conference, November 6-9, 2006, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, MultiCopy Haarlem, 2008.

Course Reading Materials (See the assigned Weekly Readings listed below.)

Recommended

Tom Clark, The Global Refugee Regime: Charity, Management and Human Rights. 2nd Edition, Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing, 2008.

James C. Hathaway, The Rights of Refugees in International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status, Reedited, Geneva, January, 1992.

Evaluation

Research Project Proposal 15% (Due February 6th)

Seminar Presentations 15% (Various)

Seminar Participation 15% (Ongoing)

Reflective Learning Journal 10% (Due Feb. 27th & April 2nd)

Research Project Report/Paper 30% (Due April 2nd)

Research Summary (2 pages) 5% (Due April 2nd)

(Knowledge Mobilization (KM), See as an example of the two page template at the following URL: .)

Community Partner Feedback 10% (Various)

(Formative and Summative)

Experiential Education (EE)

Experiential Education (EE) is a form of engaged learning that blends theory and coursework with practical, “hands on” experience. As part of their academic studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies students will apply key course concepts, theories and knowledge in their activities with organizations outside the university setting in the broader local, national, and international community.This course will emphasize a Community Service Learning (CSL) or Community Based Learning (CBL) model, where students will have an opportunity to widen their academic experience through a short-term placement or junior consultancy with a course relevant organization in the broader community.

The Experiential Education Office will be providing the necessary support for the EE component for this course. Gleb Matushansky, Officer, EE Office in the LA&PS Faculty, will assist in providing students with a broad range of EE options for this course, including, placements with various organizations that work with refugees in the Greater Toronto Area. The EE Office will help to ensure that all students who are enrolled in this course will be able to make the most of the EE component and their “personal learning experiences” from this course. For further information on EE in general please visit the following website: .

Students are also strongly advised to consult the various resource tools offered by the EE Office to assist in their preparation for their placement, junior consultancy and/or other EE activities. For instance, see the EE Office’s “Experiential Education: Strategies for Success,” “EE Roadmap/Project Template,” and “Experiential Education: Tips for Facilitating a Conference Call.” These documents can be found on our Moodle course website.

Please note that an ‘EE component’ embedded in this course will not increase your workload. However, you have to be ready, willing and able to work consistently and effectively across the duration of the semester in a manner that is different than a non-EE offering. Specifically, as there will be community based refugee organizations integrally involved you will be accountable and responsible to them in addition to the Course Director, Dr. James C. Simeon. Across all fronts and from course start to semester’s end the EE Office will support you in this novel learning endeavor.

Academic Integrity

Cheating and plagiarism are extremely serious academic offenses that will result in severe sanctions. See:and specifically . All students are urged to visit York University’s Academic Integrity Web Site and to read the “Beware! Says Who? Avoiding Plagiarism” pamphlet, and to do the online Tutorial on Academic Integrity, if you have not already done so.See:

Ethics Review Process

York students are subject to the York University Policy for the Ethics Review Process for Research Involving Human Participants. See

.In particular, students proposing to undertake research involving human participants (e.g., interviewing the director of a non-profit organization, staff at a government board, agency or commission, having students complete a questionnaire, conducting a focus group, etc.) are required to submit an “Application for Ethical Approval of Research Involving Human Participants” at least one month before they plan to begin their research. See the following Faculty of LA&PS

.

If you are in doubt as to whether this requirement applies to you, please contact the Course Director as soon as possible.

Religious Observance Accommodation

York University is committed to respecting the religious beliefs and practices of all members of the community, and making accommodations for observances of special significance to adherents. Should any of the dates specified in this syllabus for an in-class presentation or the due date for an assignment pose such a conflict for you, please let the Course Director know within the first three weeks of class. Similarly, should an assignment to be completed as part of your EE placement pose such a conflict, please let me know as soon as possible.

For your information, please note that to arrange an alternative date or time for an examination scheduled in the formal examination periods (April/May), students must complete an Examination Accommodation Form, which can be obtained from Student Client Services, Student Services Centre or online at

.

Students with Disabilities

The York University Senate has adopted a Policy Regarding Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities which provides that the University “shall make reasonable and appropriate accommodations and adaptations in order to promote the ability of students with disabilities to fulfill the academic requirements of their programs.” There are a number of different resources available to assist students with disabilities at York University. For further information you may wish to contact the Counseling & Disabilities Services at, Learning Disability Services, , and/orPhysical, Sensory & Medical Disability Service (PSMDS) at .

Students who feel that there are extenuating circumstances which may interfere with the successful completion of any course requirements are encouraged to discuss the matter with the Course Director as soon as possible to make appropriate arrangements.

Students with physical, learning or psychiatric disabilities who require accommodation in teaching style or evaluation methods should discuss this with the Course Director early in the year so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Student Conduct

Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct and proper decorum at all times while enrolled at York University. Students and instructors are expected to maintain a professional relationship characterized by courtesy and mutual respect and to refrain from actions disruptive to such a relationship. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the instructor to maintain an appropriate academic atmosphere in the classroom, and the responsibility of the student to cooperate in that endeavor. Further, the instructor is the best person to decide, in the first instance, whether such an atmosphere is present in the class. A statement of the policy and procedures involving disruptive and/or harassing behavior by students in academic situations is available on the York University website at .

Students should also be mindful of the York University “Student Code of Conduct” that is also available on the York University website,

.

Weekly Schedule and Required Readings

Week 1– January 9 –Welcome and Course Scheduling,

Proposals to Renew, Reform and Replace the 1951 Refugee

Convention and 1967 Protocol

Guest Lecturer: GlebMatushansky, Coordinator, Experiential Education Office, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, .

Centre for Gender and Refugee Studies, Background on Gender and Asylum Issues,

Hugo Storey, “International Law Instruments and Refugee Law,” Forced Migration and the Enhancement of International Protection, pp. 154-164.

Goodwin-Gill & McAdam, The Refugee in International Law, Third Edition, Chapter 1

Week 2–January 16 – Addressing the UNHCR’s Inability to Impose (or the International Community’s Failure to Impose) a Common

Interpretation on the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol

Guest Lecturers: Meeting the Community Partners who will be part of the EE component of the course (TBA)

Catherine Branson and Paulah Dauns, “The Notion of State Protection,” Forced Migration and the Enhancement of International Protection, pp. 322-348.

Goodwin-Gill & McAdam, The Refugee in International Law, Third Edition, Chapter 2

Week 3 – January 23 – Enhancing the Authority of Regional Human Rights

Instruments and Institutions

Judge President Bernard Ngoepe, “Status Determination and the Protection of Refugees in Africa,” Forced Migration and the Enhancement of International Protection, pp. 165-7.

Ahmed Arbee, “The Salient Aspects of the OAU Convention and its Significance and Relevance as a Regional Remedy in the African Continent,” Forced Migration and the Enhancement of International Protection, pp. 168-9.

Goodwin-Gill & McAdam, The Refugee in International Law, Third Edition, Chapter 3

Week 4 – January 30– The Case For and Against an International Refugee Court

Rt. Hon. Lord Justice John Dyson, “The Interpretation of the Refugee Convention: Idiosyncrasy v. Uniformity” in The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law. The International Association of Refugee Law Judges. New Delhi: Manak Publications PVT Ltd., 2006, pp. 21-45.

Justice A. M. North and Joyce Chiara, “Towards Convergence in the Interpretation of the Refugees Convention – A Proposal for the Establishment of an International Refugee Court,” The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law. The International Association of Refugee Law Judges. New Delhi: Manak Publications PVT Ltd., 2006, pp. 72-136.

Goodwin-Gill & McAdam, The Refugee in International Law, Third Edition, Chapter 4

Week 5 – February 6 – Ensuring Access to the Fundamental Right to Seek Asylum

and to Refugee Protection*

Francois Crepeau, “International Migration: Security Concerns and Human Rights Standards,” The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law. The International Association of Refugee Law Judges. New Delhi: Manak Publications PVT Ltd., 2006, pp. 62-79.

Elspeth Guild, “Protecting the Rights of Migrants and Asylum-Seekers: A Perspective from the EU – Refugees and Migrants,” The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law. The International Association of Refugee Law Judges. New Delhi: Manak Publications PVT Ltd., 2006, pp. 44-51.

Goodwin-Gill & McAdam, The Refugee in International Law, Third Edition, Chapter 5

*Research Project Proposal Due

Week 6 – February 13 – Providing Adequate Resources to Address the Problem of ForcedMigration

NGO Participation Arrangements at the UN and in Other Agencies of the United Nations

Voluntary funds administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Financial report and audited financial statements, For the year ended 31 December 2010 and Report of the Board of Auditors, General Assembly, Official Records.

Gil Loescher, “The Limitations of the International Refugee Regime,” in Beyond Charity: International Cooperation and the Global Refugee Crisis, pp. 129-151.