Migration and Displacement: Roots of Vulnerability, Roads to Solution was an International Symposium sponsored by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), and organised in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA). It took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on March 21 and 22 2019.
Professor Laura Hammond of SOAS University of London and MIDEQ Co-Investigator, along with colleagues from the ICRC and OSSREA, hosted experts from around the world to develop solutions to tackle the major political, humanitarian and security challenges caused by forced displacement. MIDEQ Director Professor Heaven Crawley and Co-Investigator Dr Dereje Feyissa were panellists.
Event Summary
The multi-disciplinary symposium on protection, resilience and vulnerability emerged from the perceived need to develop more robust, effective, and comprehensive approaches to protection and assistance in order to better support vulnerable people on the move. It drew on recent developments in the research, diplomacy, and practice fields to develop ways of better responding to the needs of the displaced.
The symposium built on recent developments brought by the adoption of the Global Compacts on Refugees and on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration as well as global and regional initiatives. Participants worked towards developing concrete proposals for improved response to addressing vulnerability and enhancing protection for migrants and the displaced from the international community at large, including humanitarian and development actors, looking for innovative ways to address the needs and vulnerabilities, and increase the resilience of affected people in those situations