Professor Sarah Singer

Contact details

Name:
Professor Sarah Singer
Qualifications:
LLB, LLM, PhD
Position:
Professor of Refugee Law
Institute:
Refugee Law Initiative
Location:
Refugee Law Initiative, School of Advanced Study, University of London Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, UK
Phone:
+44 (0)207 862 8571
Email address:
sarah.singer@sas.ac.uk

Research Summary and Profile

Research interests:
Human rights, International Law, Law, Social Sciences
Research keywords:
Refugee Law, Migration, Terrorism, Asylum, Immigration
Regions:
Australasia, Europe, North America, United Kingdom
Summary of research interests and expertise:

Sarah Singer is a Professor of Refugee Law at the Refugee Law Initiative, School of Advanced Study, University of London. She is an internationally recognised expert on criminality and asylum, and her contributions to the broader forced migration field include publications on European asylum law, humanitarian accountability, immigration detention and the protection of LGBT asylum seekers. She has led major collaborative interdisciplinary research projects, acted as expert commentator for various media outlets including BBC World News and Radio 4 and is a recognised expert on postgraduate online education. She is inaugural Programme Director of the distance-learning MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies and co-convenes the ‘Refugees in the 21st Century’ MOOC (Coursera).

Publication Details

Related publications/articles:

Date Details
01-Jun-2024 ‘Criminalising Asylum: From exceptionalism to Rwanda’, RLI blog on refugee protection and forced migration (June 2024)

Papers

01-Dec-2023 ‘Why the Safety of Rwanda Bill should be concerning for us all’, LSE British Politics and Policy (December 2023).

Papers

01-Nov-2023 ‘How did we get here? A short history of UK immigration and asylum law’ Bloomsbury Festival (November 2023)

Papers

14-Mar-2023 ‘Undesirable but Unreturnable? Policy implications of the UK’s Illegal Migration Bill’, RLI blog on refugee protection and forced migration (March 2023)

Papers

01-Mar-2023 ‘Addressing security and criminality concerns: the Temporary Protection Directive’s ‘exclusion clauses’ unpacked’ in S. Carrera and M. Ineli Ciger, EU responses to the large-scale refugee displacement from Ukraine: an analysis on the temporary protection directive and its implications for the future EU asylum policy (European University Institute, 2023), 236-250

Chapters

13-Apr-2022 ‘Addressing security and criminality concerns: the Temporary Protection Directive’s ‘exclusion clauses’ unpacked’, ASILE Project Forum

Chapters

14-Dec-2021 ‘Guidance on Accountability to Affected Populations during COVID-19 and other emergency contexts’

14-Dec-2021 ‘Humanitarian Accountability in Displacement Contexts’ (2021) 40(4) Refugee Survey Quarterly (2021) 40(4), co-edited with Diana Martin and Bethan Mathias.

Edited Book

21-Oct-2021 ‘Humanitarian Accountability in Displacement Contexts: Five years on from the Grand Bargain’ (2021) 40(4) Refugee Survey Quarterly 349-362, co-authoed with Diana Martin and Bethan Mathias.

Journal articles

14-Oct-2021 ‘Remote Evaluation of Feedback & Decision-Making during Save the Children’s Covid-19 Response in Bangladesh’, with Bethan Mathias (October 2021).

08-Mar-2021 ‘How much of a Lesbian are you? Experiences of LGBT asylum seekers in immigration detention in the UK’ in R. Mole (ed), Queer Migration and Asylum in Europe (UCL Press, 2021), 238-276.

Chapters

14-Oct-2019 ‘Refugee Law and the War on Terror’ in S. Juss (ed) Research Handbook on International Refugee Law (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019)

Chapters

19-Sep-2019 ‘Are they still refugees? Exclusion from refugee status on national security grounds. Joined Cases C-391/16, C-77/17 and C-78/17 M 14 May 2019’, Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA) European Update, September 2019, 15-18.

Review

11-May-2019 Review: ‘States, the Law and Access to Refugee Protection: Fortresses and Fairness’, Maria O'Sullivan and Dallal Stevens (eds)’ (2019) Migration Studies (11 May 2019).

Review

01-Mar-2019 ‘‘Desert Island’ Detention: Detainees’ Understandings of ‘Law’ in the UK’s Immigration Detention System’ (2019) 38(1) Refugee Survey Quarterly 1-29

Articles

01-Oct-2018 ‘National Security, Criminality and Exclusion from Refugee Protection under the EU Qualification Directive: Expanding the Grounds of Exclusion by the Back Door’ (2018) 32(3) Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law 284-300

Articles

01-Nov-2017 ‘Armed Conflict, Terrorism, and Asylum: Global Solutions for Global Problems?’ RLI Blog on Refugee Law and Forced Migration, co-authored with Prof James C. Simeon (November 2017).

Papers

01-Nov-2017 ‘Armed Conflict, Terrorism, and Asylum: Global Solutions for Global Problems?’ RLI Blog on Refugee Law and Forced Migration, co-authored with Prof James C. Simeon (November 2017)

Papers

01-Mar-2017 Book Review: ‘Exclusion Clauses of the Refugee Convention in relation to national immigration legislation, European policy and human rights instruments, Zarif Yakut-Bahtiyar’ (2017) 29(1) International Journal of Refugee Law 198-200

Review

01-Mar-2017 ‘Migration Law and Policy: 'Undesirable and Unreturnable' Aliens Symposium (2017) 36(1) Refugee Survey Quarterly, co-edited with Joris van Wijk, David James Cantor and Maarten Bolhuis.

Journal articles

01-Mar-2017 Criminal Justice and “Undesirable” Aliens Special Issue (2017) 15(1) Journal of International Criminal Justice, co-edited with Joris van Wijk, David James Cantor and Maarten Bolhuis.

Journal articles

01-Mar-2017 ‘Undesirable and Unreturnable Migrants in the United Kingdom’ (2017) 36(1) Refugee Survey Quarterly 9–34.

Journal articles

01-Feb-2017 Book review: The Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law, Cathryn Costello’ Border Criminologies

Review

01-Oct-2016 ‘No Safe Refuge: Experiences of LGBT asylum seekers in detention’, (field researcher), Stonewall and the UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group

Research aids

01-Sep-2016 Policy Brief: ‘Undesirable and Unreturnable? Policy challenges around excluded asylum seekers and other migrants suspected of serious criminality who cannot be removed’, Refugee Law Initiative (University of London) and Centre for Criminal Justice (VU University Amsterdam), co-authored with Joris van Wijk, David Cantor and Maarten Bolhuis (May 2016)

Research aids

01-May-2015 ‘Introducing the Second Phase of the Common European Asylum System’ co-authored with Dr Céline Bauloz, Meltem Ineli Ciger and Dr Vladislava Stoyanova, in Seeking Asylum in the European Union: Selected Protection Issues Raised by the Second Phase of the Common European Asylum System, International Refugee Law Book Series, Brill; Martinus Nijhoff, co-edited with Dr. Céline Bauloz, Meltem Ineli Ciger and Vladislava Stoyanova 1-19 (June 2015)

Chapters

01-May-2015 Seeking Asylum in the European Union: Selected Protection Issues Raised by the Second Phase of the Common European Asylum System, International Refugee Law Book Series, Brill; Martinus Nijhoff, co-edited with Dr Céline Bauloz, Meltem Ineli Ciger and Dr Vladislava Stoyanova (June 2015)

Edited Book

01-May-2015 Terrorism and Exclusion from Refugee Status in the UK: Asylum Seekers Suspected of Serious Criminality, Queen Mary Studies in International Law vol. 18, Brill; Martinus Nijhoff (May 2015).

Monographs

01-Sep-2014 ‘Terrorism and Article 1F(c) of the Refugee Convention: Exclusion from refugee status in the United Kingdom’ (2014) 12(5) Journal of International Criminal Justice 1075-1091

Articles

01-Sep-2014 Reservations to International Treaties (2014) 16(3) International Community Law Review 259-261, co-edited with Malgosia Fitzmaurice

Journal articles

01-Sep-2013 Book review: ‘The Global Reach of European Refugee Law, Hélène Lambert, Jane McAdam and Maryellen Fullerton (eds)’ (2014) International and Comparative Law Quarterly 1001-1003

Review

01-Aug-2012 ‘Exclusion from Refugee Status: asylum seekers and terrorism in the UK’ (2012) 1 Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights Working Papers Series 2-16.

Articles

01-Jan-2012 ‘Exclusion from Refugee Status and Terrorist-related Offences: the case of AH (Algeria)’ (2012) 26(4) Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law 337-348.

Journal articles

01-Mar-2011 Book review: Security, Insecurity and Migration in Europe’ (2011) 25(3) Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law 308-312.

Review

Publications available on SAS-space:

Date Details
Feb-2017 ‘Undesirable and Unreturnable’ in the United Kingdom

PeerReviewed

The issue of migrants convicted or suspected of serious criminality is one that has been high on the media and political agenda in the UK in the last two decades. This paper focuses on three categories of (suspected) criminal migrants - foreign national offenders, individuals considered to pose a security risk and those excluded from refugee status under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention - outlining the scale and demographic of these groups in the UK, governmental measures taken to facilitate their removal and the consequences for those that nevertheless remain. This examination reveals that, despite the UK’s emphasis on removal, legal obstacles and administrative problems continue to frustrate many attempts to remove such persons. As a result, large numbers of individuals are released into the community or remain in detention for often prolonged periods of time. In the case of excluded asylum-seekers, these individuals are subject to an extremely precarious form of leave. The result is these ‘undesirable’ migrants remain in a form of ‘limbo’, with no firm legal status and the prospect of removal ever present. If the emphasis remains on removal rather than looking to alternative in-country solutions that are more than temporary in nature, a viable solution to this issue is likely to remain elusive.

Oct-2021 Remote Evaluation of Feedback and Decision-Making during Save the Children’s Covid-19 Response in Bangladesh

NonPeerReviewed

This research study evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on Save the Children’s use of feedback from adults and children in Bangladesh. It examines the impact of Covid-19 and the ways in which approaches to feedback inform Save the Children’s decision-making at a time of particular global challenge. The report’s findings are intended to serve as a useful, rapidly-realised tool for organisational learning and to support Save the Children as it continues to serve displaced populations in Bangladesh and globally.

Additional Publications

Research Projects & Supervisions

Research projects:

Details
Asylum, Criminality and Terrorism

This research project examines the intersection of asylum, criminality and the national security concerns of States. This manifests most starkly in exclusion from refugee protection on grounds of suspected serious criminality, and the expansive interpretations of such provisions with reference to concepts such as ‘terrorism’ and national security. Also explored are the ways in which State responses to asylum have increasingly taken a criminal enforcement approach, as we see increasing militarisation of borders, criminal sanctions imposed on those seeking asylum and the use of measures akin to those employed in the criminal context, such as detention and security tagging, to limit the freedoms of those seeking international protection.

 

Exclusion from Refugee Status: the UK's interpretation and application of Article 1F of the 1951 Refugee Convention

This research examines whether and in what ways ‘terrorism’ has featured in the UK’s interpretation of Article 1F, the ‘exclusion clause’ of the 1951 Refugee Convention, and how the provision is applied to suspected terrorists in the practice of decision makers. This research draws on a number of sources, including Freedom of Information requests, questionnaires and interviews conducted with immigration judges, the Home Office’s exclusion unit and legal practitioners. All reported UK cases concerning Article 1F were analysed, as were the Home Office’s asylum guidance documents, primary and secondary UK legislation and international legal sources pertaining to exclusion from refugee status. This research therefore provides an unprecedented and thorough analysis of whether and how terrorism is being employed in the interpretation and application of each of the individual limbs of Article 1F.

Experiences of LGBT asylum seekers in detention

Consultancy for Stonewall and UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group

Humanitarian Accountability in Displacement Situations

This project explores legal and other frameworks of accountability for humanitarian actors, and seeks to develop an improved understanding of accountability and its place and implications in humanitarian work. Focusing on humanitarian responses in displacement situations, the project also aims to generate improved insights into the ways in which accountability concepts and mechanisms function in practice through empirical field research with prominent international humanitarian organisations and local partners.

RECAP (Research capacity building and knowledge generation to support preparedness and response to humanitarian crises and epidemics)

The £7.5m RECAP (Research capacity building and knowledge generation to support preparedness and response to humanitarian crises and epidemics) project, brings together leading international organisations to shape and improve humanitarian policies. It is funded through Research Councils UK Collective Fund, which is part of the Global Challenges Research Fund? (GCRF), and led by Professor Bayard Roberts of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. As a major international project it aims to help aid organisations improve their preparedness and responses to humanitarian crises and epidemics. Within the RECAP project, the Refugee Law Initiative (RLI) leads on accountability in the protection sector and contributes to work on accountability in the health sector.

Seeking Asylum in Europe

Asylum is a major part of public political debate in European countries. It is also home to one of the most far-reaching regional integration projects, the European Union, which has produced a Common European Asylum System that comprises both frameworks and institutions on asylum for Member States and which also seeks to act on third States outside the EU. Yet, even in Europe, a wider family of European States exist that have differing approaches to refugee protection.

Undesirable but Unreturnable Migrants

The project ‘Undesirable but Unreturnable?’ brings together a network of academics, policy-makers and policy bodies to stimulate new cross-boundary debate on the challenges posed to national and international public policy by excluded asylum-seekers and other migrants who are suspected of serious criminality but cannot be removed from the territory of a host State.

Current PhD topics supervised:

Dates Details
From: 01-Sep-2019
Until:
Dulani Dias Abeygunewardede (2019-) ‘An ethico-legal analysis of the future child’s right to health and normality through the lens of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (joint supervision)

Joint supervision

Past PhD topics supervised:

Dates Details
From: 01-Sep-2019
Until: 01-Sep-2023
Annabel Higgins (2019-23, passed no corrections) ‘Can we women unite to stem the tide?”: situating and reconceptualising women in the construct of ‘genocide’ (joint supervision)

From: 01-Sep-2017
Until: 01-Feb-2023
Dean Thompson, (2017-23, passed minor corrections) ‘A risk approach to government perceptions of irregular migrants in the legal and policy frameworks of Australia and the United Kingdom’

From: 01-Mar-2024
Until:
External jury member, PhD defence, Júlia Zomignani Barboza, ‘Undesirable unreturnables, the challenges of dealing with criminal migrants in need of protection.

From: 01-Mar-2016
Until:
Examiner: Felicity Attard, ‘The Development of the Duty to Render Assistance at Sea under International Law’ (M.Jur.) International Maritime Law Institute

From: 01-Jul-2022
Until:
Viva Examiner: Peter Mayers, 'Do Walls Make Good Neighbours? Security, Anxieties, and the Fortification of Political Boundaries'? School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) 2022

From: 01-Apr-2024
Until:
Viva Opponent: Public PhD Defence, Hevi Dawody Nylén ‘Terrorism and Exclusion from Refugee Protection’, Stockholm University

Available for doctoral supervision: Yes

Professional Affiliations

Professional affiliations:

Name Activity
International Association of Refugee and Migration Law Judges (IARMLJ) – Europe Chapter
External Examiner, LLB Law, University of East Anglia
University of London Research Ethics Committee
External Examiner, MA in Human Rights; MA in Gender, Violence & Conflict, Department of Global Studies, University of Sussex
European Commission, European Research Council (ERC) Peer Reviewer
Joint Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Refugee Law (Oxford University Press)
UKRI ESRC Peer Review College Member
Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network (GAIN)
Dutch Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Reviewer
Relevant Events

Related events:

Date Details
06-Jul-2024 Expert commentator, ‘How will Keir Starmer relate to the world: Asylum policy’ The Foreign Desk podcast, Monocle

04-Jun-2024 Inaugural lecture and RLI Conference keynote address, ‘Criminalising Asylum: From exceptionality to Rwanda’, Senate House, 4th June 2024

03-Jun-2024 Conference committee, Refugee Law Initiative 8th Annual Conference, ‘Pacts, Promises and Refugee Protection’, Senate House, 3-5 June 2024

23-Mar-2024 Expert commentator, ‘Transférer les demandeurs d’asile au Rwanda: l’obstination du gouvernement de Rishi Sunak’, Le Monde

13-Mar-2024 Panel speaker: ‘Exploring Forced Migration and Exile through Ancient Greek Stories: Ancient 'Aithiopian' Voices & Modern Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora Communities’, Institute of Classical Studies, School of Advanced Study, 13th March 2024

22-Feb-2024 Panel speaker: ‘Exclusion from protection for refugees and trafficking survivors’, 14th Annual RLI Seminar Series (in collaboration with Garden Court Chambers) ‘Asylum in the UK: The New Legal Landscape’

17-Jan-2024 Invited expert, Oral evidence before Joint Committee on Human Rights on Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, Palace of Westminster

Cited extensively in the resulting report which is available here https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/43292/documents/215535/default/ 

13-Dec-2023 Expert commentator, Night Talk with Oliver Dickson – UK lawmakers have voted in favour of the safety of Rwanda, SAfm Radio - South Africa National Radio

10-Dec-2023 Expert commentator, Annemarie Kas, ‘Sunak is stuck over the Rwanda plan’ (in Dutch), NRC Handelsblad

19-Nov-2023 Public engagement: Introductory talk ‘How did we get here? The history of UK immigration and asylum law’ for the performance ‘Inua Ellams and Fuel present: An Evening with an Immigrant’

01-Nov-2023 Panel speaker: ‘Integrating Refugee Law in Academic Curricula’, Academic Forum on the Promotion of Refugee Law, Sanremo International Institute of Humanitarian Law

21-Jun-2023 Conference committee and opening address: Refugee Law Initiative 7th Annual Conference, ‘Inequality and Fairness in Refugee Protection’, Senate House, 21-23 June 2023

21-Jun-2023 Panel speaker: ‘(Suspected) Criminality and the Asylum Seeker: Codification of Exclusion from Protection on Criminality and National Security Grounds in the Global South’

Panel speaker: ‘(Suspected) Criminality and the Asylum Seeker: Codification of Exclusion from Protection on Criminality and National Security Grounds in the Global South’, Refugee Law Initiative 7th Annual Conference, ‘Inequality and Fairness in Refugee Protection’, Senate House, 21 June 2023

26-May-2023 Expert commentator, ‘Burden of Proof: Experiences of LGBT+ people seeking asylum in the UK’ BBC Radio 4, 26 May 2023

23-Jan-2023 Invited panel speaker, ‘Challenges Faced by LGBTIQ+ Migrants and Asylum Seekers’, UCL Policy & Practice Seminars, UCL Department of Political Science

01-Jul-2022 Conference committee and closing address: Refugee Law Initiative 6th Annual Conference, ‘Improving the Global Refugee Regime: from Theory to Practice?’, 29 June-1 July 2022

16-Jun-2022 Panel speaker: ‘Tempering Innovation? Ensuring equity in distance-learning provision to a diverse study body: Case study of the MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies’

Panel speaker: ‘Tempering Innovation? Ensuring equity in distance-learning provision to a diverse study body: Case study of the MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies’, Research in Distance Education (RIDE) Conference 2022, Centre for Online and Distance Education, University of London, 16th June 2022.

25-May-2022 Panel speaker: ‘Research capacity strengthening and knowledge generation to support preparedness and response to humanitarian crises and epidemics’. Webinar Series: ‘Translating Academic Research into Effective Responses to Forced Displacement’

Panel speaker: ‘Research capacity strengthening and knowledge generation to support preparedness and response to humanitarian crises and epidemics’. Webinar Series: ‘Translating Academic Research into Effective Responses to Forced Displacement’, hosted by Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network (GAIN) / UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) / University of Exeter, 25th May 2022 (100+ attendees, simultaneously translated into 5 languages as well as international sign language).

01-Dec-2021 Panel convenor and speaker: ‘Accountability to refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring the Humanitarian Response in Uganda and Bangladesh’

Panel convenor and speaker: ‘Accountability to refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring the Humanitarian Response in Uganda and Bangladesh’, 1st December 2021, RECAP webinar series.

25-Nov-2021 ‘Using Education Technology for Online Learning’

‘Using Education Technology for Online Learning’, School of Advanced Study Best Practice Forum, 25th November 2021

11-Jun-2021 Conference committee and closing address: Refugee Law Initiative 5th Annual Conference, ‘Ageing Gracefully? The 1951 Convention at 70’, 9-11 June 2021

13-Aug-2020 Public engagement: expert commentator, 'UK: Anti-Asylum policies in the spotlight'

Indus Lahore News

10-Mar-2020 Invited speaker: ‘Fostering an online student community’

Supporting Student Success through High Quality ODL: planning, practice and researching, University of London Centre for Distance Education (CDE) and Nigerian National Universities Commission (NUC), Senate House

15-Jan-2020 Co-convenor, 2020 Seminar Series: ‘Humanitarian Accountability in Displacement Contexts’

Featuring Marc DuBois, (Senior Fellow at SOAS), Prof Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, (University of Oslo) and Alice Obrecht, (Senior Research Fellow at ALNAP), University of London, January-April 2020

14-Nov-2019 Training, ‘Forced migration and Refugees’

International Centre for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS), London, 14th November 2019. Training session for government ministries and international and regional organisations (INTERSOS, IOM, UNHCR, World Food Programme, EASO, HOST International).

05-Jun-2019 Conference committee and closing address: Refugee Law Initiative 4th Annual Conference, ‘Rethinking the ‘Regional’ in Refugee Law and Policy’, 3-5 June 2019

04-Jun-2019 Panel convenor and speaker: ‘Humanitarian responses to refugee crises’, Refugee Law Initiative 4th Annual Conference, ‘Rethinking the ‘Regional’ in Refugee Law and Policy’

31-May-2019 Invited plenary speaker, ‘Symposium on Serious International Crimes, Human Rights and Forced Migration’, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, 31st May 2019 (remotely).

15-Mar-2019 Co-convenor, 2019 Seminar Series: ‘Humanitarian Accountability in Displacement Contexts’

Featuring Nick Van Pragg (Executive Director and Founder, Ground Truth Solutions), Professor Dorothea Hilhorst (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Dr Naohiko Omata (University of Oxford), University of London, March-June 2019

16-Jan-2019 Presenter and discussion chair: ‘Accountability, protection and health’, RECAP Annual Meeting: Research capacity building and knowledge generation to support preparedness and response to humanitarian crises and epidemics, American University of Beirut

20-Nov-2018 Public engagement: invited expert commentator, BBC World News, Impact: ‘Trump Migrant Order Halted’

BBC World News, 20th November 2018 (live in studio)

20-Nov-2018 Public engagement: invited expert commentator, BBC World News, Impact: ‘Trump Migrant Order Halted’, BBC World News, 20th November 2018 (live in studio)

Public engagement: invited expert commentator, BBC World News, Impact: ‘Trump Migrant Order Halted’, BBC World News, 20th November 2018 (live in studio)

11-Dec-2017 Speaker, ‘The MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies’, The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, Global Forum, London

08-Dec-2017 Convenor and panel speaker, Terrorism and Asylum Workshop, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

29-Nov-2017 Invited seminar speaker: 'Refugee Protection and the War on Terror', Newcastle Forum for Human Rights and Social Justice (NHRSJ), Newcastle University

22-Nov-2017 Chair and discussant, ‘Nationalism, Sedentary Bias and Bordering’, Refugee Studies Reading Group, University of London

17-Nov-2017 Public engagement: co-convenor and expert speaker, ‘Lost rights, found justice? Refugee and Migrant Rights photo competition, exhibition and workshop’

Being Human Festival, Senate House

17-Nov-2017 Invited panel speaker: ‘Solving the refugee crisis’, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London

16-Nov-2017 Chair, Christina Oelgemoller, ‘The Evolution of Migration Management in the Global North’, Refugee Law Initiative International Refugee Law Seminar Series, Senate House, London

13-Nov-2017 Invited seminar speaker: ‘Refugees and Forced Migration: The ‘deserving’ refugee’, Associate of King's College Seminar Series, King’s College London

02-Oct-2017 Public engagement: invited expert panel speaker, ‘Roundtable: Refugee Crisis - Are rich nations shirking responsibility?’

TRT World News, 2nd October 2017

05-Jul-2017 Conference committee and closing address: Refugee Law Initiative 2nd Annual Conference ‘Mass Influx? Law, Policy and Large-Scale Movements of Refugees and Migrants’, Refugee Law Initiative 2nd Annual Conference, Senate House, London, 5th-7th June 2017

06-Mar-2017 Invited keynote speaker; 'Re-centralising the migrant debate around human rights: the Global compact on refugees and migrants', Queen Mary, University of London, 6th March 2017.

28-Nov-2016 Invited keynote speaker: ‘The Humanitarian Crisis: Refugees, Rights and Resilience’, International Programmes, University of London

11-Nov-2016 Chair, ‘Protecting the Rights of People on the Move’, Human Rights Research Students’ Conference, London (hosted by University of London, University of Essex and University of Glasgow)

15-Jul-2016 Panel speaker: International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM), ‘Rethinking Forced Migration and Displacement: Theory, Policy, and Praxis’, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland, 15th July 2016

29-Jun-2016 Conference Committee: Refugee Law Initiative, Annual Conference ‘The Future of Refugee Law?’, University of London, 29th June-1st July 2016.

29-Jun-2016 Panel speaker: ‘Immigration Detention in the UK: Navigating the Labyrinth’, Refugee Law Initiative, Annual Conference: ‘The Future of Refugee Law?’, University of London, 29th June 2016

09-Jun-2016 Panel speaker, Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, Annual International Symposium on Interdisciplinary Human Rights, University of London, 9th June 2016

08-Jun-2016 Paper: ‘Desert Island Detention: how detention affects asylum seekers’ ability to present and support their asylum claims’, Re-Interpreting the Refugee Definition: Global Displacement in 2016, University of Sheffield, 8th June 2016

12-May-2016 Paper: Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), ‘Exploring a Path from Armed Conflict, Persecution, and Forced Migration to Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, and Development’, Winnipeg, Canada 12th May 2016

16-Mar-2016 Keynote speaker: ‘Alternative Assessment in Practice’, University of London International Programmes, ‘Examination: Enhancing students’ learning through alternative assessment methods’, Senate House, University of London, Wednesday 16th March 2016

29-Feb-2016 Seminar: ‘Terrorism and Exclusion from Refugee Status in the UK: Asylum Seekers Suspected of Serious Criminality’, RLI Seminar Series, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, 29th February 2016

19-Feb-2016 Co-convenor: Panel event and book launch ‘Seeking Asylum in the European Union’, Senate House, London, 19th February 2016.

19-Feb-2016 Panel speaker: ‘Seeking Asylum in the European Union’, Book launch, Senate House, London, 19th February 2016.

26-Jan-2016 Paper: UK country paper: ‘Undesirable and Unreturnable?' Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

25-Jan-2016 Conference Committee: ‘Undesirable and Unreturnable? Policy Challenges around Excluded Asylum Seekers and Other Migrants Suspected of Serious Criminality but Who Cannot be Removed’, University of London, 25th-26th January 2016

27-Nov-2015 Keynote speaker: ‘A Tide of Humanity: Discussing the Migrant Crisis’, LCSS, SOAS, London, 27th November 2015

04-Sep-2015 Paper: Queen Mary Reflection Group on Terrorism and Human Rights, Joint Seminar: Law and Politics, London, 4th September 2015

27-Mar-2015 Paper: ‘Undesirable and Unreturnable? Policy Challenges around Excluded Asylum Seekers and Other Migrants Suspected of Serious Criminality Who Cannot be Removed’, Preliminary Workshop, VU University Amsterdam,

23-Oct-2014 Paper: ‘Undesirable and unreturnable: the UK’s response to excluded asylum seekers and other migrants suspected of serious criminality’, Senate House, London, 23rd October 2014.

23-Oct-2014 Convenor: Refugee Law Initiative, ‘Undesirable and unreturnable: the UK’s response to excluded asylum seekers and other migrants suspected of serious criminality’, Senate House, London, 23rd October 2014.

23-Oct-2014 Panel speaker: ‘Undesirable and unreturnable: the UK’s response to excluded asylum seekers and other migrants suspected of serious criminality’, Senate House, London, 23rd October 2014

29-Sep-2014 Paper: Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI), ‘Human Rights under Pressure: Exploring norms, institutions and policies’, University of Copenhagan, Denmark, 29th September 2014 (forthcoming)

09-May-2014 Paper: Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), ‘Coherence and Incoherence in Migration Management and Integration: Policies, Practices and Perspectives’, University of Montreal, Montreal, 8th May 2014

25-Apr-2014 Co-convenor: Refugee Law Initiative, Second Postgraduate Conference on International Refugee Law

19-Feb-2014 Panel speaker: Human Rights Consortium, ‘Key Questions in Human Rights: Debates for the next generation of advocates’, Senate House, London, 19th February 2014.

06-Jun-2013 Paper: Nordic Asylum Law Seminar, University of Bergen, Norway, 6-7th June 2013.

05-Dec-2012 Paper: RLI Postgraduate Workshop on Refugee Law, Refugee Law Initiative, Senate House, University of London, 5th December 2012.

12-Sep-2012 Paper: SLS Annual Postgraduate Conference: ‘Pressing Problems in the Law and Legal Education’, Society of Legal Scholars, University of Bristol, 11-14th September 2012

11-Jun-2012 Paper: MRU Student Conference: ‘Migration, Human Rights and Security in Europe’, Migration Research Unit, University College London, 11th June 2012

22-May-2012 Paper: QMUL Postgraduate Law Conference: ‘Taking Risks and Challenging Legal Thought’, Queen Mary, University of London, 22nd May 2012

26-Apr-2012 Keynote speaker: CCHJR Postgraduate Conference: ‘Transformation and Reform: Structures and Mechanisms for Rights-Based Protections’, Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, University College Cork, Ireland, 26th April 2012 (awarded best paper)

04-Apr-2012 Paper: SLSA Postgraduate Conference, Socio-legal Studies Association, De Montford University, Leicester, 3-5th April 2012

Other editing/publishing activities:

Date Details
Managing Editor - International Community Law Review, Brill; Martinus Nijhoff

Book Series Editor – Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Brill; Martinus Nijhoff

Joint Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Refugee Law (Oxford University Press)

Knowledge transfer activities:

Details
Practitioner teaching: Save the Children

Practitioner teaching: Developed training materials and delivered training on research methods to 30+ Save the Children staff in Bangladesh, Laos, the Philippines and the UK. The remote training included development of pre-recorded materials and live training sessions. Training resources are now also available on Save the Children intranet for use by staff globally.

Expert commentator: Rivkah Brown, ‘Under ‘Extreme’ New Immigration Rules, Britain Can Deport Asylum Seekers to Any Country That Will Take Them’,

Expert commentator: Rivkah Brown, ‘Under ‘Extreme’ New Immigration Rules, Britain Can Deport Asylum Seekers to Any Country That Will Take Them’, Novara Media, 20th January 2021.

Expert adviser: ‘Can people can legitimately make a claim for asylum in the UK after passing through other “safe” countries?’

Expert adviser: ‘Can people can legitimately make a claim for asylum in the UK after passing through other “safe” countries?’, Full fact, the UK’s independent fact checking organisation (September 2020)

Public engagement: expert commentator, cited in ‘De uønskede’ (‘The Undesirables’)

Public engagement: expert commentator, cited in ‘De uønskede’ (‘The Undesirables’), Nikolaj Arve and Gunver Lystbaek, Weekendavisen (Danish broadsheet newspaper), 3rd February 2019.

Practitioner teaching: ‘Forced migration and Refugees’, International Centre for Parliamentary Studies

Practitioner teaching: ‘Forced migration and Refugees’, International Centre for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS), London, 14th November 2019. Training session for government ministries and international and regional organisations (INTERSOS, IOM, UNHCR, World Food Programme, EASO, HOST International).

Invited expert commentator, BBC World News, Impact: ‘Trump Migrant Order Halted’ (live in studio)

Public engagement: invited expert commentator, BBC World News, Impact: ‘Trump Migrant Order Halted’, BBC World News, 20th November 2018 (live in studio)

Public engagement: co-convenor and expert speaker, ‘Lost rights, found justice? Refugee and Migrant Rights photo competition, exhibition and workshop’, Being Human Festival, Senate House, 17th November 2017

Public engagement: invited expert panel speaker, ‘Roundtable: Refugee Crisis - Are rich nations shirking responsibility?’, TRT World News, 2nd October 2017

Policy-engagement launch event, panel speaker: ‘Undesirable and Unreturnable: the treatment of excluded asylum seekers and other migrants’, Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees - IGC, Geneva, 27th September 2016

Public engagement, academic commentator, Australia and regional processing, Talk Media News, United Nations Bureau, New York, 4th February 2016

Public engagement speaker: ‘Who Gets to be Human?’ Being Human, Bloomsbury Festival, Senate House, London, 24th October 2015

Practitioner engagement: presented doctoral research to senior immigration judges of the First-tier and Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), Field House, London, 24th March 2014

Consultancy & Media
Available for consultancy:
Yes
Media experience:
Yes
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