International Migration Law Course

Date: 11-13 June 2008
Venue: UN Headquarters in New York

Objectives:

Many conventions exist at the international and regional levels applying to those involved in the migration process. However, these instruments are spread across various branches of law (human rights, humanitarian law, migrant workers law, refugee law), and there is no central source where overall information is easily accessible. Also, little attempt is made to understand the interlinkages between these instruments.

This dispersion of norms and principles contributes to the widespread belief that there are gaps in the protection of migrants and/or regulation of migration at the international level.

Drawing on international legal expertise from IOM, ILO, UNHCR, ICRC, and the private sector, this course provides diplomats with in-depth knowledge and practical application skills of relevant international legal instruments.

Topics covered include: migration terminology, the authority and responsibility of States (nationality, admission, stay, detention, and expulsion), the rights and obligations of migrants, smuggling and trafficking, labour migration, migration and security, forced migration, and developments in international cooperation.

Related Documents (pdf):

Information note on the course organization and objectives
Course programme

Course Manual (compilation of relevant international legal instruments)

International Migration: Defining the Actors and Issues
Ms. Jillyanne Redpath, Senior Legal Officer, Department of International Migration Law and Legal Affairs, IOM

Terminology
Ms. Jillyanne Redpath, IOM

Overview of the International Legal Framework Governing Migration
Mr. Vassiliy Yuzhanin, Training and Project Officer, Department of International Migration Law and Legal Affairs, IOM

Authority and Responsibility of States: the Balance between State Sovereignty and the Human Rights of Migrants
Ms. Jillyanne Redpath, IOM

Human Rights of Migrants
Ms. Kristina Touzenis, Project Manager, IOM Rome

Irregular Migration
Ms. Jillyanne Redpath / Mr. Vassiliy Yuzhanin, IOM

Trafficking in persons
Ms. Katarina Tomolova, Research Officer, Department of International Migration Law and Legal Affairs, IOM

Smuggling of persons
Ms. Kristina Touzenis, IOM

Law of the Sea and Migration
Ms. Katarina Tomolova/ Mr. Vassiliy Yuzhanin, IOM

Readmission Agreements: Their Nature and Effectiveness
Mr. Vassiliy Yuzhanin, IOM

The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
Mr. Patrick Egloff, Adviser to the Representative of the Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, OCHA

Protection of Civilians in Situations of Armed Conflict
Mr. Robert M. Young, Deputy Head of Delegation & Legal Adviser, ICRC Delegation to the UN

International & Regional Cooperation on Migration
Dr. Colleen Thouez, Head Unitar New York

Background reading:

Report of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)
Cairo, 5-13 September 1994

International Agenda for Migration Management (document in English, French and Spanish)
The Berne Initiative, Dec. 2004

Migration in an interconnected world: New directions for action
Report of the Global Commission on International Migration, October 2005

Global governance for migration and the environment: what can we learn from each other?
Jessica F. Green, UNU and Colleen Thouez, UNITAR, Global Migration Perspectives No. 46, September 2005

Shaping International Migration Policy: The Role of Regional Consultative Processes
Colleen Thouez and Frederique Channac, West European Politics, Vol. 29, No. 2, 370 – 387, March 2006

Related Links:

IML Course June 2007