In April, we were fortunate to gather three major experts on refugee protection from different fields with whom  we discussed  the current situation in Ukraine.  We are thus happy to share the conference recording of the roundtable; Refugees from Ukraine: The Legal and Policy Challenges of Protection.

Speakers:

Dr Madeline Garlick
Dr Madeline Garlick, Chief, Protection Policy and Legal Advice, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, leads UNHCR’s development and production of global guidance on the interpretation of refugee law and provision of legal advice to States, other partners and UNHCR staff on the rights of refugees and other displaced people. She was previously responsible for UNHCR’s liaison to the EU institutions on asylum, and has served with the UN in Iraq, Kenya, Cyprus and Bosnia and Herzegovina. She teaches on an occasional basis at Sciences Po, Paris, at the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University, and at the College of Europe in Bruges. She is qualified as a barrister and solicitor in Victoria, Australia.

Catherine Woollard
Catherine Woollard is Director of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, a position she has held since 2016. Previously, Woollard was the Executive Director of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office, a Brussels-based network working on conflict prevention and security, from 2008 to 2015. Prior to that, worked for a range of international NGOs, in programme and policy roles, as a consultant for governments and international organisations, and as a lecturer in political science. Woollard is currently a member of the Board of Democratic Progress Institute. She holds a BA in PPE from Oxford University, and an LLB and Diploma in Public International Law from University of London.

Alicia Giraudel
Alicia Giraudel is the Legal Adviser and Refugee Coordinator at Amnesty International Switzerland, where she is currently responsible for refugee advocacy, strategic litigation, and research on human rights violations. She authored the 2021 Amnesty International research briefing on human rights violations in Swiss federal asylum centres. Previously, she has worked as a Human Rights Officer for the OHCHR in Geneva and in Ecuador. In her capacity as a Legal Officer at the Directorate of International Law of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she participated in the negotiations of the Global Compacts on Refugees and for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. She has also worked at the Federal Administrative Court on asylum law cases. She holds a BA in International Relations and a BA in Law from the University of Geneva, as well as a Master in International Law from the Graduate Institute of Geneva, and is currently completing a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Migration Law at the University of Fribourg.

The Roundtable was moderated by Vincent Chetail

Vincent Chetail is Professor of International Law and Director of the Global Migration Centre. He is the President of the Board of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Senior Research Associate at the University of London and a member of the Odysseus Network for Legal Studies on Immigration and Asylum in Europe. Professor Chetail regularly serves as a consultant and advisor to governments, NGOs and international organizations (including African Union, European Union, UNHCR, UNITAR, IOM, WHO). He held visiting research positions at Harvard Law School and King’s College London. As a visiting professor, he has taught at numerous universities, such as Queen Mary University, University Paris II, Queen University of Belfast, European University Institute, University of Paris XI, University of Tunis, African University of Technology and Management and International Institute of Human Rights.