REFUGEE LAW PRESENTATION

OCTOBER 21, 2016

OSGOODE HALL LAW SCHOOL
Hassan Ahmad

The information presented is for general discussion purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any
specific situation. Please contact any of the presenters if you have need for any specific legal advice.
ABOUT LOOPSTRA NIXON LLP

Loopstra Nixon is a full-service Canadian business and public law firm dedicated
to serving clients involved in business and finance, litigation and dispute
resolution, municipal, land use planning and development, and commercial real
estate. Major financial institutions, insurance companies, municipal governments,
and real estate developers along with corporate organizations and individuals are
among the wide range of clients we are proud to serve.

www.loopstranixon.com
 OUTLINE
1. The Global Migration Crisis
2. Non-Refoulement
3. Intersection of Intl Criminal Law and Intl Refugee Law
4. International Refugee Assistance Project

The information presented is for general discussion purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any
specific situation. Please contact any of the presenters if you have need for any specific legal advice.
THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS
THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS

Refugee Definition

A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being

persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political
opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is
unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself
of the protection of that country; or who, not having a
nationality and being outside the country of his former
habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or,
owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it

1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Art. 1 (as amended by 1967 Additional Protocol)
THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS

The Banality of Evil

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people
who never make up their minds to be good or evil.
Hannah Arendt
THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS

UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2015

THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS

Country Refugees IDPs

Afghanistan 2,632,534 947,872

Somalia 1,105,460 1,133,000

Syria 4,180,920 7,632,500

Central African Republic 469,314 368,859

Iraq 377,747 3,962,142

UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2015

THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS

UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2015

THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS

UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2015

THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS

UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2015

THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS

UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2015

THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS
NON-REFOULEMENT

"No Contracting State shall expel or return ('refouler') a refugee in

any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life
or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group or political
opinion."

1951 Refugee Convention, Art. 33(1)

NON-REFOULEMENT

Customary International Law?

1. Widespread acceptance

2. Incorporated in international treaties following a tradition going

back to the period of the League of Nations.

3. Incorporated in the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and

the 1967 Protocol to which 125 States are now parties (as well as
regional instruments)
International Criminal Law & International Refugee Law

The provisions of this Convention shall not apply to any person with respect to whom
there are serious reasons for considering that:

(a) He has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against
humanity, as defined in the international instruments drawn up to make
provision in respect of such crimes;

1951 Refugee Convention, Art. 1(F)(a)

International Criminal Law & International Refugee Law

Article 7
Crimes against humanity

1. For the purpose of this Statute, crime against humanity means any of the
following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack
directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:
.

ICC Rome Statute

International Criminal Law & International Refugee Law

Article 8
War crimes

1. The Court shall have jurisdiction in respect of war crimes in particular

when committed as part of a plan or policy or as part of a large-scale
commission of such crimes.
.
ICC Rome Statute
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) organizes law

students and lawyers to develop and enforce a set of legal and human
rights for refugees and displaced persons. Mobilizing direct legal aid and
systemic policy advocacy, IRAP serves the worlds most persecuted
individuals and empowers the next generation of human rights leaders.

www.refugeerights.org
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
33 Chapters
Albany Law School
American University, Washington College of Law
Boston University School of Law
Charlotte School of Law
Columbia Law School
Cornell Law School
City University of New York School of Law
Emory University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law
George Washington University Law School
Georgetown University Law Center
Harvard Law School
McGill University Faculty of Law
New York University School of Law
Northeastern University School of Law
Rutgers School of Law
Seattle University School of Law
Stanford Law School
Touro Law Center
University of Alabama School of Law
University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law
University of California, Irvine School of Law
University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
University of Chicago Law School
University of Connecticut School of Law
University of Michigan Law School
University of Pennsylvania Law School
University of Southern California, Gould School of Law
Yale Law School
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

IRAP Clients
Female Survivors of Sexual or Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)
U.S.-Affiliated Iraqi and Afghan Wartime Allies
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) Refugees
Children with Medical Emergencies
Persecuted Religious Minorities
Emerging Refugee Populations
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

Notes from the Field Lebanon

January 2016

http://www.refugeerights.org/blog1/

Against the Grain 94.1 KPFA

https://kpfa.org/episode/against-the-
grain-march-16-2016/
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

PROPOSAL

Expanding IRAP into Canadian law schools ...

IRAP Osgoode Chapter

International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

THANK YOU