Refugee Law Initiative

Today in Geneva, our Director David Cantor joined discussions at the launch of the CHH–Lancet Commission report, Health in a World of Crises and Impunity.

The report highlights urgent challenges facing humanitarian health systems in contexts of conflict and forced displacement, including the finding that in many crises, 70–90% of excess deaths result from disrupted health services rather than violence itself.

We are grateful to have contributed to these important conversations alongside partners and colleagues working across humanitarian health, displacement, and protection.

Read the report: healthconflictcommission.org/the-report

The is delighted to welcome Dr Angus Francis as our newest Research Fellow.

Dr Francis is a senior refugee law and human rights practitioner, researcher, and educator with over twenty-five years of experience. He holds a PhD in refugee law from the Australian National University.

His contribution as an educator includes the establishment of refugee law courses and legal clinics at Griffith Law School, QUT Faculty of Law, and Charles Darwin Law School.

He previously served as Executive Director and Principal Solicitor of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service, and Programme Director of the Human Rights and Governance Programme at the QUT Faculty of Law. He has also represented the Law Council of Australia at the UNHCR Annual NGO Consultations and the Human Rights Commission Nauru-Manus Roundtable.

Dr Francis has published two edited collections (Norms of Protection, UNU Press; Protection of Refugees and Displaced Persons in the Asia Pacific Region, Routledge), alongside numerous book chapters and journal articles. His research concentrates on the intersection of international refugee law and national institutions.

Currently based in Cambridge, UK, Dr Francis will undertake research at the RLI examining the historical development of asylum in the United Kingdom.

Read more here: https://rli.sas.ac.uk/news-events/news/dr-angus-francis-has-joined-rli-visiting-fellow

The Oxford University Press Handbook of Internal Displacement was officially launched last week, in partnership with ODI Global and the Humanitarian Policy Group.

The handbook, a major collaboration between 70 expert authors worldwide, addresses what internal displacement is, what drives it, the challenges it poses, and how researchers and practitioners are responding. At the launch, four authors reflected on why renewed attention to internal displacement is urgently needed in today’s shifting context.

The conversation explored how displacement shapes physical and mental health, how legal and policy frameworks work in practice, the challenges and opportunities for humanitarian actors amid funding cuts, and the role of displacement-affected communities in shaping responses.

We especially thank David James Cantor, Winifred Ekezie, Bayard Roberts, Yana Liubymova and Leen Fouad for their contributions on the panel.

This handbook is a thoughtful, timely resource for academics and practitioners working on protection, health, governance, localisation and long-term displacement.

You can purchase a copy of the handbook here 👉 https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-internal-displacement-9780198928775?cc=gb&lang=en&

You can watch the full launch event here 👉 https://odi.org/en/events/responding-to-internal-displacement-in-a-shifting-humanitarian-landscape-challenges-and-opportunities/

LAST DAY TO BOOK EARLY BIRD RATES!

Use your country expertise to help inform asylum decisions - Train as an expert witness for asylum cases

Register before 15 June for the next Expert Witness Training Day on 22 June 2026 held in-person at the University of London.

This one-day training covers all aspects of writing expert witness country reports in relation to asylum claims. It is a practical course that will be of great value to those who wish to use their research expertise to help inform these important decisions, while being remunerated for this work.

Learn more and register here: https://rli.sas.ac.uk/study-us/short-courses/expert-witness-training

📢 Call for Abstracts📢

Early Career Writing and Publishing in Displacement Studies Workshop on 16 September 2026 at the School of Advanced Study - University of London.

This one-day early career writing workshop will bring together early career researchers (ECRs) (including PhD students) working on displacement issues from the fields of social and political sciences and law with peers from the Refugee Law Initiative, Lebanese American University, University of Edinburgh, and editors from the Refugee Survey Quarterly.

Abstracts are welcomed that explore varying responses to displacement. Please submit an abstract (approximately 300 words) with a cover email outlining your motivations for applying to participate in the workshop to [email protected] by 26th May 2026.

Successful participants will be notified in the first week of June 2026. Participants are expected to submit their draft workshop papers (6,000 to 8,000 words) by 1st September 2026.

All the information can be found here:

https://rli.sas.ac.uk/study-us/short-courses/writing-publishing-displacement-studies-protection-safety-care

New on the podcast 👉 Is AI a future panacea or problem for refugee law?

On 18 March 2026, we hosted a seminar on artificial intelligence and whether it has the potential to improve efficiency and accuracy in workflows in relation to refugee law.

Some of the questions asked:
- What role can or should AI have in the processing and assessment of asylum claims?
- Could it be a panacea for making the assessment of claims more efficient, for clearing backlogs, or getting decisions ‘right first time’?
- What inherent problems might AI present for legal obligations in the processing of claims or in age verification?
- Does ‘responsible implementation’ have the capacity to genuinely prevent these?

Listen here: https://rli.sas.ac.uk/news-events/videos-podcasts/ai-future-panacea-problem-refugee-law

Use your country expertise to help inform asylum decisions - Train as an expert witness for asylum cases 👇 👇 👇

Register before 15 June for the next Expert Witness Training Day on 22 June 2026 held in-person at the University of London.

Early bird rates if you book before 30 April!

This one-day training covers all aspects of writing expert witness country reports in relation to asylum claims. It is a practical course that will be of great value to those who wish to use their research expertise to help inform these important decisions, while being remunerated for this work.

Learn more and register here: https://rli.sas.ac.uk/study-us/short-courses/expert-witness-training

A couple of days left until our last seminar of our annual series:

Is AI a future panacea or problem for refugee law? 18 March, 6pm-7pm, Room 349, Third Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

https://rli.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/ai-future-panacea-problem-refugee-law

Join us NEXT WEEK for this IN-PERSON seminar:

Is AI a future panacea or problem for refugee law?, 18 March 2026, 6pm-7pm, Room 349, Senate House, University of London

https://rli.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/ai-future-panacea-problem-refugee-law

This session asks what role can or should AI have in the processing and assessment of asylum claims? Could it be a panacea for making the assessment of claims more efficient, for clearing backlogs, or getting decisions ‘right first time’? What inherent problems might AI present for legal obligations in the processing of claims or in age verification? Does ‘responsible implementation’ have the capacity to genuinely prevent these?

The seminar will be followed by a drinks reception. This event is open to all and free to attend but booking is required.

This seminar is part of our 16th International Refugee Law Seminar Series: The Future of Refugee Law.

Join us NEXT WEEK for this IN-PERSON seminar:

Is AI a future panacea or problem for refugee law?, 18 March 2026, 6pm-7pm, Room 349, Senate House, University of London

https://rli.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/ai-future-panacea-problem-refugee-law

This session asks what role can or should AI have in the processing and assessment of asylum claims? Could it be a panacea for making the assessment of claims more efficient, for clearing backlogs, or getting decisions ‘right first time’? What inherent problems might AI present for legal obligations in the processing of claims or in age verification? Does ‘responsible implementation’ have the capacity to genuinely prevent these?

The seminar will be followed by a drinks reception. This event is open to all and free to attend but booking is required.

This seminar is part of our 16th International Refugee Law Seminar Series: The Future of Refugee Law.