Forced Migration and Human Rights (3 March – 13 April, 2021)
This course is also offered as part of the Professional Development Diploma on Human Rights and Forced Displacement.
Course Description
This course introduces participants to the diverse, yet interlinked, issues related to the trans-boundary movement of people and how this affects human rights. It starts off by exploring the notion of ‘forced migration’, and distinguishing it from various other notions that are used to refer to the phenomenon of trans-boundary movement of people. In particular, it looks at how different people have different access to other states. Is there a right to be allowed into an other state? If so, under what conditions? The course then moves on to look at the specific regimes protecting, in varying degrees, different groups of vulnerable people. First, it gives an overview of the international law of refugee protection. Second, it looks at how human rights apply, or not, in the case of undocumented migrants. Third, it covers the protection of victims of human trafficking and the policies in place against the smuggling of people. Fourth, it considers whether migrants in general are entitled to enjoy specific social rights. Finally, it takes a closer look at the human rights dimension of border control, in particular in cases where people die in their attempts to reach the countries of their destination.
The course is designed both as a stand-alone specialized course on Forced Migration and its human rights linkages, but also as a key course of the Diploma in Human Rights and Forced Displacement.
Course Outline
Week One: Defining Forced Migration: Entry, Stay, Expulsion, & Deportation
Week Two: International Refugees
Week Three: Undocumented Migrants
Week Four: Human Trafficking & Smuggling
Week Five: Social Rights of Migrants
Week Six: The Human Costs of Border Control
Who Should Apply
The course is intended for staff members of civil society organizations and (inter)governmental organizations involved in forced migration and human rights issues, including human trafficking and smuggling, protection of refugees and stateless persons, immigration, protection of internally displaced persons etc. The course is also intended for staff members of (international) development agencies, academics and others interested in the aforesaid areas. (Post)Graduate students with specific research interests in these areas are also encouraged to apply. Candidates should have a good written command of English and have high competence and comfort with computer and Internet use.
About the Instructor
Dr. Juan M. Amaya-Castro, resident Professor of International Law at Universidad de los Andes (Bogota, Colombia) studied international legal studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and defended his Ph.D. dissertation (on Human Rights and the Critiques of the Public-Private Distinction) at the Free University of Amsterdam, where he was also a Post-Doctoral Researcher in the field of migration and law. Prior to his current position, he was an Associate Professor at the University for Peace in the International Law Department, where, among other courses, he also taught migration law. He has taught at Utrecht University and at Erasmus University Rotterdam and was a visiting researcher and Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Law School. He has published on various aspects of international law and human rights and is currently also on the Board of Consultants of SUR—Revista Internacional de Derechos Humanos/International Journal on Human Rights and in the Editorial Board of Inter-American & European Human Rights Journal.
How to register:
To apply, please fill up the enrollment form at https://hrc.upeace.org/index.php/enroll/ OR send an email to admissions@hrc.upeace.org along with your CV and a short Statement of Purpose (not more than 250 words) indicating the motivation for taking the course. Applicants will be contacted within three working days of the application. The course is limited to 25 participants.