24 June 2012 - 28 June 2012

For decades, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been plagued by a multitude of political and socio-economic challenges. Population displacement has featured prominently among these challenges, and is firmly embedded in the geo-political realities of inter-State conflict and internal civil strife, as well as predominantly undemocratic systems of governance, yet it does not feature as prominently as it should in the study of the region. MENA hosts the world’s largest and longest-standing refugee problem: that of Palestinian refugees, in addition to millions of displaced Iraqis, and thousands of other displaced groups. This course will analyze the trends, causes, and consequences of asylum and migration for individuals and societies in MENA before the Arab Spring, while highlighting the political and historic context, as well as analyzing the impact of the massive uprisings in the region on displacement movements and policies towards addressing them. How have refugees and migrants fared as a result of the Arab Spring? Will the human rights discourse which has pervaded the uprisings in MENA have a positive effect on advocacy for refugee and migrant rights? Or have the uprisings taken on a more nationalistic direction, that can potentially exclude refugees and migrants? What will the impact on the political changes be on policies towards displacement movements in the region? These are among the questions the course will set out to address.

Course instructor Shaden Khallaf is currently teaching at the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) and the Law Department of the American University in Cairo (AUC) after having worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for many years, where she most recently acted as policy officer and advisor on Middle Eastern humanitarian and political affairs. She has professional experience and academic background in international human rights law, globalization, democratization, and gender issues in the Middle East and North Africa. Shaden also has experience analyzing political transformations and their impact on population displacement and human rights, especially of Iraqi refugees. Throughout the Middle East and from UNHCR Headquarters, she has worked on refugee status determination, improving conditions of detention, addressing the particular needs of refugee women and children, finding durable solutions, mainstreaming refugee rights within broader human rights discourses, strengthening coordination between UN Agencies, promoting respect for international human rights standards, post-conflict reconstruction, strengthening institutional advocacy for and public awareness about UNHCR, and strategic policy planning. Shaden will be researching and assessing the impact of the Arab Spring on asylum, protection, and human rights in the MENA region in 2012.

Level: professional , post-graduate

Location: Cairo, Egypt

Participants: graduate level students, researchers and practitioners in the field of migration and refugees. The maximum number of participants in each course is between 25-30.

Tuition, fee, lodging: The tuition fee for each course is 500 USD. Participants are expected to pay a 30% of the total fees ($150) as a deposit by June 3rd. Please note that the deposit is non-refundable. More information on payment method will be provided to accepted participants. Tuition fees will cover course material and 2 coffee breaks per course day. Accommodation and any other expenses are not included. Please see the website for nearby recommended accommodation in Cairo.

Contact Information:
Naseem Hashim
Short Course Coordinator
Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS)
American University in Cairo (AUC)
Cairo
Egypt
Tel: +202 (0)1097899177
E-mail: cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu
Web: http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/