MIG 740BTopics: International Migration and Refugee Law

This course offers an interdisciplinary examination of international migration and refugee law, focusing on the legal, political, and ethical frameworks that govern the movement and protection of displaced populations, as well as the gaps and limitations within these regimes. It introduces students to the foundations of international refugee law, including the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, while critically engaging with complementary frameworks such as international human rights law, humanitarian law, and key instruments governing migration more broadly: most notably the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, alongside the Palermo Protocols on human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The course situates these legal frameworks within contemporary global dynamics: protracted displacement, border securitization, climate-induced mobility, and shifting state practices, emphasizing how law is interpreted, implemented, and contested across contexts. Through case studies and policy analysis, students will engage debates on asylum, non-refoulement, labor migration, protection gaps, and the criminalization of mobility, developing the analytical tools to assess both the possibilities and structural shortcomings of international legal protection.