Lena Kainz
Lena Kainz was an Associate Policy Analyst with MPI Europe, where she focused on legal pathways to protection, global mobility governance, and unaccompanied minors. Prior to joining MPI Europe, Ms. Kainz completed internships in Amman with the UN Development Programme’s Sub Regional Response Facility to the Syrian Crisis, in Rabat with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, and with the German Bundestag. She also worked as a mentor for unaccompanied minors in Malmö and as a Research Assistant at Humboldt University Berlin.
Ms. Kainz holds a master’s degree in refugee and forced migration studies, with distinction, from the University of Oxford, where she specialized in protection gaps and global refugee and migration governance. She received a bachelor’s degree in Scandinavian studies and political science, magna cum laude, from Humboldt University Berlin. She also spent a year studying at the University of Malmö as well as the University of Gothenburg.
Explore Content by Lena Kainz
Showing 1-8 of 8 total results
The Winding Road to Marrakech: Lessons from the European Negotiations of the Global Compact for Migration
EU negotiations of the 2018 Global Compact for Migration exposed deep divisions. Compromise diluted ambition and left legal pathways largely nonbinding.
Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Opportunities for growth
Resettlement reaches fewer than 1 percent of refugees annually. To scale protection, labor, education, and sponsorship pathways are being used but face persistent barriers.
The Divergent Trajectories of the Global Migration and Refugee Compacts: Implementation amid Crisis
The two 2018 global Compacts on Migration and Refugees have diverged in implementation, shaped by political resistance, crises, and differing governance structures.
The Next Generation of Refugee Resettlement in Europe: Ambitions for the future and how to realise them
Europe now resettles nearly half of all refugees globally and must leverage its growing capacity to build ambitious, evidence-driven programmes, despite COVID-19 disruptions.
When Emergency Measures Become the Norm: Post-coronavirus prospects for the Schengen zone
Most EU Member States closed their borders to travel from neighboring countries in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. While internal borders in the Schengen zone largely reopened in time for summer holidays, there is a lingering sense they could snap shut anew. Though the reflexive introduction of border controls speaks to an inherent lack of trust between states, the 2015-16 migration crisis offers lessons on how to begin to rebuild trust, as this commentary explores.
As COVID-19 Slows Human Mobility, Can the Global Compact for Migration Meet the Test for a Changed Era?
The coronavirus pandemic dramatically reshaped how human mobility is managed just as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration was beginning to move from paper to implementation. As governments face pressing public-health, economic, and other concerns in responding to COVID-19, this MPI Europe commentary explores whether the first comprehensive global agreement on migration can adjust to a changed reality.
Refugee Sponsorship Programmes: A global state of play and opportunities for investment
As refugee resettlement falls globally, private investment in sponsorship programmes can catalyse new pathways and sustain existing ones.
Preparing for the Unknown: Designing effective predeparture orientation for resettling refugees
Well-designed predeparture orientation builds refugees' confidence and practical skills, laying a foundation for integration. But it cannot replace postarrival services.
