Egypt: International Refugee Law

The course will provide post-graduate students, international agency staff, NGO workers, lawyers and others working with refugees or interested in refugee issues with an introduction to the international legal framework which governs the protection of refugees. Through lectures, case studies and small group discussions, course participants will learn about the basic features of international refugee law through the lens of the 1951 Refugee Convention, looking at the elements of the definition(s) of "refugee," who is excluded from the definition, the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the process by which refugee status is determined, the rights of refugees under international law, the ethical and professional obligations of those representing refugees, and other issues of refugee policy. A background in law is useful but not required.

About the Instructor:Parastou Hassouri has previously taught international refugee law at the American University of Cairo and has extensive experience in the field of international refugee law and refugee and immigrant rights and migration policy. Most recently, She has been serving as a consultant with the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Unit at the UNHCR office in Ankara, Turkey. Her previous consultancies with the UNHCR have been at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan and the UNHCR office in Moscow. Parastou has also done extensive research in the field of refugee and migration law. As a researcher/consultant for the Geneva-based NGO Global Detention Project, she conducted research on the issue of the migration-related detention in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. She also conducted research on the resettlement of Iraqi refugees out of the Middle East to third countries for the New York City-based NGO, Human Rights First. Her previous experience includes working as a Legal Advisor and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Focal Point at Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) in Cairo. Her experience in the United States includes serving as an Attorney Advisor at the Immigration Courts of New York City and Los Angeles and working as an immigration attorney in private practice in New York City. In addition, she designed and directed the Immigrant Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, where she focused on responding to ethnic profiling and other forms of anti-immigrant backlash in the United States in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11.

Eligibility for all courses:

Requirements:These courses are offered for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researchers as well as practitioners working with migrants and refugees. A minimum knowledge of displacement and migration terminologies and context is a requirement for participation in any of the three courses.

All courses are conducted in English and no translation facilities are provided. Participants should have a sufficient command of the English language. Each course will run from 9 am till 5pm for five days.

Interested applicants can apply for one course or for all the three courses.

Number of Participants: minimum of 12 in each course

NB: Non- Egyptian applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early in order to have enough time to obtain their visa.

2. Dates and Location:CMRScourses will take place between Sunday 24^th of January and 11^th of February at the AUC Tahrir Campus in Downtown Cairo. The exact location and room numbers will be forwarded to accepted participants before the start of the courses.

Deadlines for submitting application for all courses are:

· 15th of December, 2015

· Deadline for paying course deposit (30% of the course’s fee- 150$) is 31st of December, 2015

Application Information:

To apply for the courses:

1. Fill out the application form. The form is available on CMRS website: http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/outreach/Pages/ShortCourses.aspx
2. Send the application form to cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu with your most recent C.V; Att. Ms. Naseem Hashim

Applicants may apply to and be accepted in more than one course. Please do not hesitate to contact cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu if you have any difficulty with the application process.
Applicants accepted for the course will be notified by email within a week after the deadline for submitting the application.

Fees and Scholarship:

The fee for each course is $ 500. Participants are expected to pay a 30% of the total fees ($150) as a deposit.Please pay attention to the deposit deadline and kindly 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 two coffee breaks per course day. All participants are kindly requested to secure their visa and organise and cover expenses for their travel to and from Egypt, as well as their accommodation and local transportation in Egypt.

Independent researchers and students can apply for the limited number of scholarships. Scholarships are not intended for participants who can be funded by their own institutions.