Mann: Maritime Legal Black Holes: Migration and Rightlessness in International Law

Itamar Mann (Univ. of Haifa - Law) has posted Maritime Legal Black Holes: Migration and Rightlessness in International Law (European Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

The article explores the trope of the “legal black hole” to reveal questions of legal theory arising from contemporary migrant drownings. The theme was popularized during what was then called the “war on terror,” but its trajectory is longer and more complex. Its material history, as well as its intellectual history within legal scholarship, suggest three distinct ‘legacies’ of legal black holes: the counter-terrorism legacy; the migrant-detention legacy; and the legacy of the maritime legal black hole. The tripartite division provides a typology of instances where persons are rendered rightless. While the two former types are characterized by de-facto rightlessness due to a violation of international law, the latter exposes a seldom-acknowledged yet crucial characteristic of international law: age-old doctrine on the division of responsibilities between states and individuals at land and at sea is now creating the conditions in which some people are rendered de-jure rightless. Moreover, the typology sheds light on the specifically legal reasons for the seeming failure to end mass drowning of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. Tracing the ways in which people become de-jure rightless is ultimately suggested as a broader research agenda for scholars of international law.

Rossi: The Nomos of Climate Change and the Sociological Refugee in a Sinking Century

Christopher R. Rossi (Univ. of Iowa - Law) has posted The Nomos of Climate Change and the Sociological Refugee in a Sinking Century (George Washington International Law Review, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Disappearing island states present tip-of-the-iceberg problems for international refugee law in the Anthropocene. Coastal recissions and global inundation prospects adumbrate an assortment of environmental challenges that call into question the relevance of the Refugee Convention. Understanding the limitations of refugee law and its inability or unwillingness to confront extant gaps within its regime structure, and emergent challenges posed by climate change, require a reconsideration of the telluric underpinnings of sovereignty and the nature of the threat posed by exigent human migration. This Article employs the concept of nomos projected by the problematic but increasingly significant twentieth century international lawyer, Carl Schmitt. His biogeographic understanding of international law, inextricably tethered to the organic formation of ‘true law’ through land appropriation within the context of European history, explains limitations in international refugee law that the liberal order must first confront in order to fully operationalize the grand scheme to reframe displacement issues projected by the coming 2018 UN Global Compact on Migration.

Mayer & Crépeau: Research Handbook on Climate Change, Migration and the Law

Benoît Mayer (Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong - Law) & François Crépeau (McGill Univ. - Law) have published Research Handbook on Climate Change, Migration and the Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2017). Contents include:

• Benoît Mayer & François Crépeau, Introduction
• Robert McLeman, Climate-related migration and its linkages to vulnerability, adaptation, and socio-economic inequality: evidence from recent examples
• Calum T.M. Nicholson, ‘Climate-induced migration’: ways forward in the face of an intrinsically equivocal concept
• Carol Farbotko, Representation and misrepresentation of climate migrants Christel Cournil, The inadequacy of international refugee law in response to environmental migration
• Elizabeth Ferris, The relevance of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement for the climate change-migration nexus
• Siobhán McInerney-Lankford, Climate Change, Human Rights and Migration: A Legal Analysis of Challenges and Opportunities
• Ademola Oluborode Jegede, Indigenous peoples, climate migration and international human rights law in Africa, with reflections on the relevance of the Kampala Convention
• Maxine Burkett, International Climate Change Law Perspectives
• Sébastien Jodoin, Kathryn Hansen & Caylee Hong, Displacement Due to Responses to Climate Change: The Role of a Rights-Based Approach
• Benoit Mayer, Climate change, migration and the law of State responsibility
• Erika Pires Ramos & Fernanda de Salles Cavedon Capdeville, Regional responses to climate change and migration in Latin America
• Gervais Appave, Alice Sironi, Mariam Traore Chazalnoel, Dina Ionesco & Daria Mokhnacheva, Organizational perspectives: International Organization for Migration’s role and perspectives on climate change, migration and the law
• Sophia Kagan, Meredith Byrne & Michelle Leighton, Organizational Perspective from the International Labour Organization
• Alex Randall, Engaging the media on climate-linked migration
• Katrina M. Wyman, Ethical Duties to Climate Migrants
• Chloé Anne Vlassopoulos, When climate-induced migration meets loss and damage: a weakening agenda-setting process?
• François Gemenne, The refugees of the Anthropocene
• Frank Biermann & Ingrid Boas, Towards a Global Governance System to Protect Climate Migrants: Taking Stock
• Ilona Millar & Kylie Wilson, Towards a Climate Change Displacement Facility
• Susan F. Martin, Towards an extension of complementary protection?
• James C. Hathaway, Afterword

Conference: The European Convention on Human Rights and Migration

On October 6, 2017, the European Society of International Law and the European Court of Human Rights will hold a conference on "The European Convention on Human Rights and Migration." The program is here.

Tzevelekos: Human Security and Shared Responsibility to Fight Transnational Crimes

Vassilis P. Tzevelekos (Univ. of Liverpool - Law) has posted Human Security and Shared Responsibility to Fight Transnational Crimes: Resolution 2240 (2015) of the United Nations Security Council on Smuggling of Migrants and Human Trafficking Off the Coast of Libya (in Blurring Boundaries: Human Security and Forced Migration, S. Salomon, L. Heschl, G. Oberleitner, & W. Benedek eds., pp. 99-121, 2017). Here's the abstract:

The paper discusses United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution 2240 (2015). The Resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and authorises for a certain period of time UN member states to inspect and seize vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya when they reasonably suspect that these are being used for migrant smuggling or human trafficking. The paper sees in resolution 2240 an example of how the UN Security Council may empower states to take action against transnational social phenomena that raise serious concerns from the perspective of human rights – regarding especially the right to life. The idea that transpires from this resolution is that transnational phenomena, such as smuggling of migrants and human trafficking, require (coordinated, as the study argues) action by all involved states and, more generally, international actors (although the focus in the study is on states). Because of their transnational nature, such situations involve a plurality of duty bearers, each one of which is partially connected to the situation and has an obligation to be pro-actively engaged – to the extent that its individual connection with the situation at issue justifies and requires it. This leads to a situation of multiple duty bearers who exercise parallel and, possibly, also overlapping jurisdiction as a means to fulfill their duties under international law – especially regarding the so-called positive dimension of human rights, i.e. the duty to protect. This implies that concurrent state responsibility (in the sense of liability) may arise, if more than one of these duty bearers break their duties. With its resolution, the UNSC contributes to the idea of shared responsibility by multiple states to react against transnational social phenomena that raise concerns from the perspective of human rights and human security. Because human trafficking and smuggling raise issues of human security, the idea of multiple duty bearers and concurrent state responsibility advanced in the study can be associated with the UN human security policy framework. The paper argues that this framework ought to be attuned to fully meet the particular needs, nature and features of transnational phenomena, such as trafficking and smuggling, that threaten the security and well-being of people. For human security to be successful in its goals, it needs to be adjusted to the transnational nature of these phenomena. What is required when a situation necessitating protection exceeds or transcends the borders of a state, is establishing frameworks of cooperation and coordination between the various involved parties. This is an essential precondition for human security to deliver effective results and prosper in the era of inter-connection and globalisation.

Call for Contributions: Migration and the Environment

A call for contributions has been issued for a volume on "Migration and the Environment: Some Reflections on Current Legal Issues and Possible Ways Forward." Here's the call:

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The Department of Law of the University of Naples “Federico II” and the Institute for Research on Innovation and Services for Development of the National Research Council of Italy are working jointly on the analysis of the link between Migration and Development. In the context of this cooper- ation, and following the publication of the collective volume Migration and Development: Some Re- flections on Current Legal Issues, Rome, 2016 (open access at http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/15914/), they have decided to issue a call for papers for a second volume intended to address the specific issue of the relationship between human migration and the environment.

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The link between migration and the environment is not new, environmental conditions have always influenced human mobility. However, the nature, the dynamics and the scale of environment related migration have dramatically changed in recent years, and the complex nexus between migration and the environment has drawn increasing attention in the contemporary international context.

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This relationship is not easy to outline for several reasons, including the range of environmental phe- nomena that may cause migration flows (natural disaster as well as gradual process of environmental deterioration), the difficulty of isolating environmental factors from other political, social and eco- nomic drivers of migration, the complexity of differentiating between forced and voluntary migra- tions in cases of environment-induced flows. In addition, from a different perspective, migratory flows may contribute to environmental degradation in the areas of destination and transit, giving rise to phenomena such as unmanaged urbanization or temporary camps or shelter that produce further pressure on the environment.

The complexity of the link between migration and the environment challenges the current legal par- adigm in which migration is largely framed and calls into question the adequacy of the existing pro- tection frameworks. In several international fora, it is increasingly recognized that there are certain groups of people who move for environmental reasons and are in need of assistance and who currently fall outside of the scope of international protection.

The goal of the volume on Migration and the Environment: Some Reflections on Current Legal Issues and Possible Ways Forward is to discuss the extent to which people whose movements are induced by environmental factors are protected under the existing international legal framework, to investigate the main legal issues and the normative gaps and to analyze the solutions being discussed in the international arena.

Contributions can cover, inter alia, the following areas:

• Extent of the protection under international refugee law and the feasibility (and desira- bility) of an expansion of the notion of refugee;
• Human rights law and forms of complementary protection at the regional and national levels (EU, USA, Canada …);
• International instruments for the protection of Internally Displaced Persons;
• The international agenda for the protection of cross-border displaced persons in the con- text of natural disaster and climate change;
• Climate change and human mobility in the context of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and UNSustainable Development Goals;
• The case of low-lying island States;
• International instruments for the protection of stateless people.

The call for papers aims to offer an opportunity for experts, scholars and policy makers, for a critical review of the outcomes, implications and achievements on the relevant questions of international law on international migration and the environment.

Abstracts of no more than 500 words, written in English or French and including the author’s name and e-mail address, should be submitted to the following e-mail address: [email protected].

A one-page curriculum vitae should be attached to the abstract.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 30 March 2017.

Successful applicants will be notified via e-mail by 10 April 2017 and are expected to produce the final paper (8000-10000 words approx.) by 15 September 2017.

Papers will be peer-reviewed before final acceptance for publication.

Call for Submissions: Africa and Migration Flows: from Repression to Circular Migration

On the occasion of the re-launch of its "Focus Africa," the online journal Federalismi.it has issued a call for submissions entitled "Africa and Migration Flows: from Repression to Circular Migration - Legal and Socio-Political Implications of a Paradigm Shift." The call is here.

Bruno, Palombino, & Amoroso: Migration and Development: Some Reflections on Current Legal Questions

Giovanni Carlo Bruno (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), Fulvio Maria Palombino (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II - Law), & Daniele Amoroso (Università degli Studi di Cagliari - Law) have published Migration and Development: Some Reflections on Current Legal Questions (CNR edizioni 2016). Contents include:

• Giovanni Carlo Bruno, Fulvio Maria Palombino, & Daniele Amoroso, Preface
• Francesca Galgano, Should Europe Be Looking into Turkey’s Byzantine Past to Discover Its Own Future?
• Francesco Luigi Gatta, The EU Development Policy and Its Impact on Migration
• Stefano Montaldo, Regular Migrants’ Integration between European Law and National Legal Orders: a Key Condition for Individual and Social Development
• Laura Messina, Migration and Development: The Case of People Displaced by Development and States’ Obligation to Respect Their Human Rights
• Fulvia Staiano, The Undesirable Worker Fiction: Demand-Based Labour Migration Schemes and Migrant Workers’ Socio-Economic Rights
• Beatrice Gornati, Limits to the Implementation of International Law Instruments on Labour Migration: a Focus on ILO’s Praxis
• Salvatore Fabio Nicolosi, The “Asylum Payers”: Questioning the Asylum Seekers’ Obligation to Contribute to the Costs of Their Reception under International and European Union Law
• Elena Gualco, Unaccompanied Minors Seeking for Protection in the European Union: Will a Fair and Adequate Asylum System Ever See the Light?
• Alessandro Rosanò, Something Old, Something New, Something Balanced, Something Blue: the EU Blue Card Directive, Brain drain, and the Economic Development of the EU and the Sending Countries
• Martina Guidi, More Development of Third States and Less Migration towards the EU Member States: Is This a New Dual Aim of the EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreements?

Fine & Ypi: Migration in Political Theory: The Ethics of Movement and Membership

Sarah Fine (King's College London - Philosophy) & Lea Ypi (London School of Economics - Government) have published Migration in Political Theory: The Ethics of Movement and Membership (Oxford Univ. Press 2016). Contents include:

• Sarah Fine & Lea Ypi, The Ethics of Movement and Membership: An Introduction
• David Miller, Is there a Human Right to Immigrate?
• Kieran Oberman, Immigration as a Human Right
• Anna Stilz, Is there an Unqualified Right to Leave?
• Christopher Heath Wellman, Freedom of Movement and the Rights to Enter and Exit
• Arash Abizadeh, The Special-Obligations Challenge to More Open Borders
• Sarah Fine, Immigration and Discrimination
• Lea Ypi, Taking Workers as a Class: The Moral Dilemmas of Guestworker Programmes
• Ayelet Shachar, Selecting By Merit: The Brave New World of Stratified Mobility
• Joseph H. Carens, In Defense of Birthright Citizenship
• Sarah Song, The Significance of Territorial Presence and the Rights of Immigrants
• Chandran Kukathas, Are Refugees Special?
• David Owen, In Loco Civitatis: On the Normative Basis of the Institution of Refugeehood and Responsibilities for Refugees

Hilpold: Quotenregelungen Zur Bewältigung Des Flüchtlingsproblems – Ein Rechtlich Gangbarer Weg?

Peter Hilpold (Universität Innsbruck - Law) has posted Quotenregelungen Zur Bewältigung Des Flüchtlingsproblems – Ein Rechtlich Gangbarer Weg? (Quotas As an Instrument to Manage the Refugee Problem - A Lawful Approach?) (migraLex, Vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 58-66, 2016). Here's the abstract:

Die aktuelle Flüchtlingskrise stellt eine einzigartige Herausforderung insbesondere für Europa dar. Die Genfer Flüchtlingskonvention geht von einem einzelfallbezogenen Fluchttatbestand aus und kann für solche Situationen hinreichenden Schutz gewähren. Für Massenfluchtbewegungen bietet dieses Instrument hingegen keine geeignete Antwort. Es müssen neue Wege für eine gerechte Lastenverteilung ("burden-sharing") gefunden werden. Gegenwärtig versuchen einzelne Staaten, darunter Österreich, unilateral den Flüchtlingsströmen Grenzen zu setzen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird gezeigt, dass weder das Völkerrecht noch das EU-Recht dafür eine Grundlage bietet. Die geplante Quotenregelung, für welche mit der Novelle zum AsylG 2005 in § 36 eine Grundlage geschaffen worden ist, ist damit rechtswidrig. Dies bedeutet aber nicht, dass ein grenzenloser Zustrom von Flüchtlingen akzeptiert werden muss. Es sind vielmehr die Bemühungen zu intensivieren, Instrumente zu schaffen, die auf multilateraler Ebene eine geeignete Antwort auf das immer bedeutender werdende Massenfluchtphänomen bieten können.

The refugee crisis represents an extraordinary challenge especially for Europe. The Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951 refers in substance to individuals seeking protection and does not deal with situations of mass flight. In the face of this new situation a fair burden-sharing has to be found within the European Union and globally. At present, several states, and among them Austria, are trying to stem the refugee tide by unilateral measures. In this context, the Austrian Asylum Law (AsylG 2005) has been amended providing now a basis for emergency measures consisting in the introduction of quotas. Such measures would, however, be unlawful. This does not mean that no barriers could be set against an unprecedented influx of refugees. Measures of such a kind have, however, to be accorded on an international level.

Note: Downloadable document is in German.

Staiano: The Human Rights of Migrant Women in International and European Law

Fulvia Staiano (Univ. College Cork - Law) has published The Human Rights of Migrant Women in International and European Law (Giappichelli Editore/Eleven International Publishing 2016). Here’s the abstract:

European and domestic migration law indirectly discriminates against third-country national migrant women. Can human and fundamental rights law remedy this gender bias? This book seeks to unveil the existence of a gender bias in European norms – at both EU and domestic level – regulating migrant women’s family life and employment. Most importantly, the book aims to analyse the potential of European human and fundamental rights law to expose and correct this bias. Touching upon the two macro-areas of family life and employment, it argues that migrant women’s most common life circumstances must come to the fore in order to fulfil both of these aims. The book reviews and critically assesses relevant examples of human and fundamental rights jurisprudence at supranational and domestic level. It identifies effective judicial interpretations to ensure migrant women’s enjoyment of their rights and entitlements in conditions of equality and non-discrimination.

Abebe: The Emerging Law of Forced Displacement in Africa

Allehone M. Abebe (UNHCR) has published The Emerging Law of Forced Displacement in Africa: Development and implementation of the Kampala Convention on Internal Displacement (Routledge 2016). Here's the abstract:

As of the end of 2015, there were 40.8 civilians who had been internally displaced by conflicts and effects of natural disasters in various parts of the world. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently the largest group of persons receiving assistance from some of the main international humanitarian organisations. With the largest concentration of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the African continent has been the worst affected region. While previously IDPs have largely been neglected under international law, the first-ever continental binding treaty on internal displacement, the African Union Convention on the Protection of and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (the Kampala Convention), entered into force on 6 December 2012. As of January 2016, 25 states have ratified the instrument while 40 states have become signatories.

This book significantly contributes to the study, policy making and practice on managing internal displacement by presenting the first major systematic examination of the evolution, elements and implementation of the Kampala Convention. It explores the responsibility of the state for the protection of IDPs particularly those who are most vulnerable during armed conflicts, internal strife, natural disasters, human rights violations and other circumstances. The status of ratification of the Convention is reviewed as well as the steps currently being undertaken by governments to implement the Convention. It also analyses the contribution by human rights mechanisms, inter-governmental bodies and UN peace-keeping missions in the implementation of the Convention. The book casts the Kampala Convention in broader institutional and normative developments in Africa and beyond. It demonstrates how concepts such as ‘responsibility to protect’ and ‘sovereignty as responsibility’ have begun to make inroads; influencing some of the more progressive instruments adopted by the African Union. It also sheds light on the relationship between the Convention and some regional instruments. In assessing the effectiveness of the Kampala Convention Allehone Abebe argues that the link between the Convention and initiatives on development, human rights and governance in Africa should be fully fostered.

Ramji-Nogales: Under the Canopy: Migration Governance in Southeast Asia

Jaya Ramji-Nogales (Temple Univ. - Law) has posted Under the Canopy: Migration Governance in Southeast Asia (UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Contrary to prevailing discourse, migration governance in Southeast Asia is rich and varied, offering a range of regional, bilateral and subnational regimes. Many commentators characterize Southeast Asia as lacking adequate migration governance, and media reports highlight human rights abuses against migrants in the region. These depictions offer only partial truths, overlooking the complexity of law and practice in the region. Though few Southeast Asian nations are signatories to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, many have ratified other multilateral international treaties relating to migration. Looking deeper under the canopy, this article explores the full panoply of migration regimes, noting not only gaps in governance frameworks but also creative approaches, some of which may provide models for other regions. While many migrants in the region suffer serious harms, others benefit from innovative and generous migration policies. These regional, bilateral, and subnational approaches are often more deeply grounded in local value systems than international treaties. As a result, local populations may accord greater legitimacy to these under-the-canopy approaches, which may in the long run be more effective in improving the situation of migrants in Southeast Asia. The view from above the canopy is blocked by a sea of green leaves; one must take the time to peer under the canopy in order to gain an accurate understanding of migration governance in Southeast Asia.

Chetail: Conceptualizing International Migration Law

Vincent Chetail (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies) has posted Conceptualizing International Migration Law (Proceedings of the American Society of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This paper provides a concise mapping of international migration law. It revisits the movement of persons across borders through the sources of international law with the view of conceptualizing international migration law and highlighting both the unity and diversity of this growing field.

Ramji-Nogales: Migration Emergencies

Jaya Ramji-Nogales (Temple Univ. - Law) has posted Migration Emergencies (Hastings Law Journal, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Migration emergencies are a commonplace feature in contemporary headlines. Pundits offer a variety of causes provoking these emergencies. Some highlight the deadly risks of these journeys for the migrants. Many more express alarm at the potential threats these mass influxes pose to their destination countries. But few question whether these migrant flows are, as commonly portrayed, unexpected and unpredictable. This paper asks whether these migration emergencies are surprising events or the logical and foreseeable outcomes of the structural failures of the global migration system. In particular, it interrogates the architecture of international migration law, arguing that the current framework is unsustainable in today’s globalized world.

This is a story about the legal construction of crisis. Several literatures offer compelling insights into the construction of migration crises, but fail to explore the crucial role of international migration law. Scholars of forced migration view the legal framework as an inadequate response to crises but not as a root cause. Others have highlighted the role that crises play in the development of international law, demonstrating how crises impact law, but failing to examine how law helps to construct those crises.

This article begins to unpack the role of international migration law in constructing migration “crises”. International migration law, because it is codified in written instruments and nearly impossible to alter, entrenches sociocultural frames that might otherwise be substantially more flexible. International law has constructed a deeply path-dependent approach to international migration that not only obscures systemic inequality but also consumes alternate conceptions of morality. In response to this critique, the article suggests a new approach to global migration law that aims to govern migrant flows more effectively. In short, it aims to establish international migration law as a separate subfield of international law rather than the afterthought that it currently represents.

Les Etats et les migrations en droit international

Le premier débat du Réseau mondial des sociétés pour le droit international initié par la SFDI aura lieu aujourd'hui le 28 septembre et portera sur Les Etats et les migrations en droit international. Il réunira trois spécialistes de la question : Vincent Chetail (Suisse), T. Alexander Aleinikoff (Etats-Unis d’Amérique), et Linda Kirk (Australie), qui exposeront leur position et éclaireront les débats ayant cours dans leur Etat ou région. Le débat, d’une durée de 30 mn, sera retransmis immédiatement sur le site, à partir du 28 septembre 15H (Paris) / 9H New York / 23H30 Melbourne.

Mann: Humanity at Sea: Maritime Migration and the Foundations of International Law

Itamar Mann (Univ. of Haifa - Law) has published Humanity at Sea: Maritime Migration and the Foundations of International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2016). Here's the abstract:

This interdisciplinary study engages law, history, and political theory in a first attempt to crystallize the lessons the global 'refugee crisis' can teach us about the nature of international law. It connects the dots between the actions of Jewish migrants to Palestine after WWII, Vietnamese 'boatpeople', Haitian refugees seeking to reach Florida, Middle Eastern migrants and refugees bound to Australia, and Syrian refugees currently crossing the Mediterranean, and then legal responses by states and international organizations to these movements. Through its account of maritime migration, the book proposes a theory of human rights modelled around an encounter between individuals in which one of the parties is at great risk. It weaves together primary sources, insights from the work of twentieth-century thinkers such as Hannah Arendt and Emmanuel Levinas, and other legal materials to form a rich account of an issue of increasing global concern.

Goldenziel: Displaced: A Proposal for International Law to Protect Refugees, Migrants, and States

Jill I. Goldenziel (Marine Corps Univ. - Command and Staff College) has posted Displaced: A Proposal for International Law to Protect Refugees, Migrants, and States (Berkeley Journal of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

How can international law better protect both international security and the human rights of people fleeing violence? International refugee law protects only the refugees: those fleeing across borders due to a well-founded persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The world’s other 42.3 million people displaced by violence have few protections under international law. This article proposes and sketches new international law to address this crucial human rights problem. I argue that a new Displaced Persons Convention to protect people fleeing violent conflict is needed to supplement the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Refugee Convention must be preserved because of the critical protections it provides for the rights of minorities and political dissidents. Adding a new Displaced Persons Convention would better protect the human rights of individuals fleeing violent conflict and state failure, further state interests, and improve international security.

Goldenziel: The Curse of the Nation-State: Refugees, Migration, and Security in International Law

Jill I. Goldenziel (Marine Corps Univ. - Command and Staff College) has posted The Curse of the Nation-State: Refugees, Migration, and Security in International Law (Arizona State Law Journal, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

How does international law protect migrants? For the most part, it does not. Of the millions of people who flee persecution, conflict, and poverty each year, international law protects only refugees: those who flee persecution on the basis of religion, race, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees provides critical protections for minorities that must never be diluted. However, it is insufficient to protect the swarms of migrants landing on the shores of Europe and elsewhere, or to guide states on how to protect them while guarding their own security. This article argues that states have always revised international law regarding displaced people to protect their own security interests and changing circumstances of displacement. The time is thus ripe for the creation of an additional instrument of international law to protect the 35 million displaced people who do not meet the definition of “refugee.” To support this argument, this article presents a comprehensive history of refugees in international law, combining primary sources and original interview data to trace how states have used refugee law to protect minority rights, even as state security interests have changed refugee protection over time. In doing so, the article makes two theoretical claims that contribute to growing scholarly interest in the history of human rights law. First, the article argues that refugee law is paradigmatic human rights law, although it is often excluded from the human rights canon. Second, the article claims that refugee law predates the modern human rights regime, challenges its foundations, and extends its claims to universality.

Call for Submissions: Migration and Development: some reflections on current legal questions

A call for submissions has been issued for a collective volume prepared by the Department of Law of the University of Naples "Federico II" and the Institute for Research on Innovation and Services for Development of the National Research Council of Italy. The theme is "Migration and Development: some reflections on current legal questions." The call is here.