Call for Papers: ‘Boat Refugees’ and Migrants at Sea: A Comprehensive Approach Integrating Maritime Security with Human Rights

The Refugee Law Initiative, University of London, and the School of Law, Queen Mary, University of London have issued a call for papers for a conference on "‘Boat Refugees’ and Migrants at Sea: A Comprehensive Approach Integrating Maritime Security with Human Rights," to take place June 23-24, 2014. Here's the call:

‘Boat Refugees’ and Migrants at Sea: A Comprehensive Approach

Integrating Maritime Security with Human Rights

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Refugee Law Initiative, University of London, and the Law Department of Queen Mary, University of London, with the financial support of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and the Human Rights Consortium (HRC), organises a Conference titled '"Boat Refugees" and migrants at sea: a comprehensive approach - integrating maritime security with human rights'.

The conference will be held at Senate House in London on 23 and 24 June 2014.

This conference aims to comprehensively address the contemporary phenomenon of ‘boat migration’ with a holistic approach. We will consider its multiple facets, combining knowledge from several disciplines and regions of the world, with a view to making a decisive contribution to our understanding of current trends, against the background of the fragmentary responses adopted and innumerable tragedies occurred thus far.

The final goal is to unpack the tension between security concerns and human rights in this context. Therefore, our joint reflections will build on recent developments in law and case law regarding the applicability of human rights at sea and take account of past and present policy experiences to help placing on-going discussions within a comprehensive framework. The objective is to trigger an inter-regional and multidisciplinary dialogue with contributions from Law of the Sea, maritime security, migration and refugee studies, and human rights, to address the position of ‘migrants at sea’ from an integrated perspective, bridging current gaps in knowledge and policy responses, ranging from how to conceptually categorise ‘boat migrants’, to how to respond to differing needs and entitlements, and how to reconcile them with State obligations and security constraints.

The conference is projected following a logical flow, which starts with the joint identification of the subjectmatter, moving on to the analysis of core issue-areas and policy initiatives adopted in the EU and beyond, and closing with the identification of outstanding problems, pointing the way ahead in which research should move to contribute to the development of sustainable policy, mindful of both State interests and the rights of refugees and migrants. Attention will be drawn to the instruments, actors and institutions involved to yield insights on how migration by sea has been and should be governed. To this end, each session will regroup panellists from a variety of backgrounds, who will be asked to deal with a common question.

Confirmed speakers include Prof. Guy Goodwin-Gill (University of Oxford) and Prof. François Crépeau (UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants), as keynote speakers, together with distinguished world-class scholars, policy-makers and representatives from inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations.

In addition to the invited experts, we would like to provide the opportunity to early-career researchers concerned with the issue of ‘boat migration’ to participate and contribute to the discussion. Speakers will be selected on the basis of abstracts submitted in response to this call for papers. The organisers will contribute to their travel and accommodation expenses with a flat rate for EU and overseas participants.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Junior scholars (including PhD students) are particularly encouraged to submit an abstract on the following or closely related topics for inclusion in the conference panels:

1) Who is the ‘boat migrant’? (multi-disciplinary approaches are particularly welcome).

2) The ‘boat migrant’ and illegality at sea: security and law-enforcement issues.

3) Needs and entitlements of refugees and migrants at sea: Human rights and protection obligations.

4) Policy responses to ‘boat migration’: Inter-agency and multi-purpose mechanisms.

5) Identifying gaps and challenges: Indicating the way forward.

Abstracts, not exceeding 300 words, should be addressed to both convenors by 20 March: Dr Violeta Moreno-Lax (v.moreno-lax@qmul.ac.uk) and Dr Efthymios Papastavridis ( papastavridis@Academyofathens).

In addition, the following information must be provided with the submission:

• The author’s name and affiliation, indicating contact details, including an email address.

• The author’s CV, including a list of relevant publications.

PUBLICATION

A selection of the best papers will be published after the conference with a world-class publisher.

TIMELINE

• The deadline for submissions is 20 March 2014

• Successful applicants will be informed by 31 March 2014

• The deadline for the submission of conference papers is 1 June 2014

• The deadline for the submission of revised papers for publication is 1 October 2014