Roundtable on “Refugee issues of asylum and immigration” - News

On 7 June 2011, the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies (IALIIS)
hosted Prof. Barbara Harrell from Oxford University, and Oroub El-Abed from the School of Oriental and African Studies – University of London, to participate
in a roundtable in which  Refugee issues of asylum and immigration were addressed.

Prof. Harrell explained the reasons for asylum around the world, specifically from Europe
to America in the nineteenth century, and how these asylum cases were dealt
with. Then, she  spoke about the
establishment of the UN High Commissioner for Russian Refugees and addressed the
three proposed solutions to the issue of refugees in Europe which are:
repatriation, resettlement outside of Europe, or their integration in Europe

Oroub El-Abed addressed the Palestinian
refugees  issue, overviewing the  historical 
events since the Nakba in May 1948 until the early fifties. She spoke
about the various UN bodies, which were established to find a solution to the
Palestinian refugees issue. She added: these bodies have failed to find a
solution to the Palestinian refugees issue, due either to the lack of support
for these bodies or because of Zionist pressure. At a later stage,, the
idea of ​​protection
of the Palestinians has been cancelled , leading to the formation of UNRWA. Listen

This roundtable is part
of a series of activities related to a summer session course, offered by IALIIS
entitled "The psychological, social and existential aspects of the life
of refugees," in which many experts and specialists in the field of
refugees have participated.