When People Flee: Join us for a Critical Conversation on Rule of Law Approaches to Forced Migration

By Elizabeth Andersen

The global migration and displacement crisis demands new, comprehensive, and long-term solutions. Across the globe, a record 65 million people are on the move, fleeing atrocities, conflict, and deprivation — conditions so bad they are compelled to roll the dice on harrowing journeys to find safety and a better future. We can no longer pretend that a problem of this scale can be addressed solely as a short-term humanitarian crisis — with tents and food to meet temporary needs until people can return home. Nor, in our globalized world, can any country isolate itself from the political, economic, and social ramifications of these migration pressures. When the international community convenes in September 2018 to recognize the text of two new global compacts — one on migration and the other on refugees — it needs to do more than reinforce borders, codify burden sharing, or mobilize new resources for humanitarian assistance. It needs to embrace a rule of law approach to the migration crisis, an approach that addresses the rule of law problems that both drive displacement and confound sustainable solutions for those forced from their homes.

To inform these deliberations, on April 17, 2018, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) will convene its Annual Conference on Contemporary Rule of Law Issues with an agenda focused on forced migration, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders from the legal and rule of law development communities, academia, humanitarian organizations, donor agencies, and the private sector for cross-sectoral discussions aimed at exchanging lessons learned and articulating a shared agenda for addressing the rule of law dimensions of migration and displacement. The conference will be informed by a background paper prepared in ABA ROLI’s Rule of Law Issues paper series, rapporteurs will summarize the forced migration case studies addressed at the conference, and following the conference an expert working group will meet to identify key takeaways and policy recommendations, to be published together with the case studies as a final conference report.

Join us for this essential conversation to find lasting solutions to one of today’s most pressing global challenges. For more information and conference registration, click here.