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Event Announcement Events > Event Announcement

How the UNHCR is Protecting Asylum Seekers As Refuge Becomes More Difficult and Dangerous to Find Event Summary

On the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, state parties to the convention reaffirmed their commitment to fulfilling their obligations under the convention and called for further development of refugee protection.

Out of this grew the initiative known as "Convention Plus," in which UNHCR will pursue special agreements to supplement the Convention-in such areas as resettlement, development assistance to refugee-hosting states, cooperation on secondary movements, and so forth.

Despite these efforts, there are also widespread and disturbing examples of ever-tighter restrictions on asylum. From interdiction on the high seas and mandatory detention to readmission agreements and off-shore processing, asylum-seekers are finding their options for seeking refuge ever narrower and more dangerous. Global resettlement places have fallen sharply in the past two years, and funding for overseas protection is precarious.

Erica Feller, the Director of International Protection at the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, will discuss the broad, often contradictory trends in refugee protection today, and the UNHCR's efforts to reinforce and extend the principles of the Convention.

WHO:

  • Erika Feller, Director of International Protection at UNHCR

WHAT: MPI Briefing on How the UNHCR is Implementing the "Convention Plus" Supplement to the Refugee Convention

WHEN: Tuesday, September 23, 8:30-10:00 AM

WHERE: 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 300

RSVP: Acceptances only to Ana Claros at (202) 266-1940 or aclaros@migrationpolicy.org.