This event is co-hosted by DEGLOBAL and PRIO and supported by the BEYOND project.
What is the state of refugee rights in Pakistan? What role do civil society groups play to support refugees and advocate for their rights? What are the key challenges? Welcome to this discussion forum with Pakistani human rights activists and academics.
Pakistan is not a party to the International Refugee Convention 1951 and the 1967 Protocol. It does not have any national legislation dealing with refugees. Yet, in the absence of any legal framework, the country has been hosting millions of refugees of Afghan origin for over 40 years. In this context, the UNHCR has been partnering with the Pakistani state to manage, support, and protect refugees. Sitting outside of this institutional partnership, are the important, yet, seldom heard voices of human rights activists, grass-root NGOs, lawyers, and academics.
This discussion forum will bring together human rights activists and academics from Pakistan and the academics at the University of Oslo, PRIO, and University of Tromsø to exchange views on the state of refugee rights in Pakistan and the role of civil society groups in advocating and supporting refugees. The focus will be on Afghan refugees.
Since 2023, Pakistan has expelled thousands of Afghan refugees. Those, who are still in Pakistan, are being subjected to harassment, intimidation, extortion, and arbitrary arrests. Civil society groups have been expressing concerns over the violation of refugee rights and have urged the government to stop this ongoing forced expulsion. In this Discussion Forum, we will hear about their concerns and challenges in supporting Afghan refugees and advocating on their behalf.
Speakers
- Harris Khalique, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
- Dr. Arshi Saleem-Hashmi, Professor Peace and Conflict Studies, National Defence University of Pakistan
- Dr. Farhat Taj, Associate Professor, University of Tromsø
The discussion will be moderated by Professor Marta Bivand Erdal at PRIO. Dr. Arjumand Bano Kazmi at UiO will offer introductory remarks.
Refreshments will be served from 16:30. The seminar starts at 16:40.
From the left: Harris Khalique, Dr. Arshi Saleem-Hashmi, Dr. Farhat Taj, Dr. Arjumand Bano Kazmi, and Marta Bivand Erdal. Photo: PRIO / Vera Lind
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The De-Global and BEYOND are ongoing research projects at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at the University of Oslo.
De-Global is funded by The Research Council of Norway (Network Funding for Research Groups Following the Evaluation of Legal Research in Norway). Project number: 341945.
BEYOND is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 851121 (ERC Starting Grant 2019).
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