The right to seek and obtain asylum under the African human rights system

In this seminar, Dr Beyani will be exploring the results of his research into the right to seek and obtain asylum under African human rights instruments, also contained in his recent book Protection of the Right to Seek and Obtain Asylum Under the African Human Rights System (Brill | Nijhoff 2013).

The use of international human rights machinery to protect refugees has acquired an important dimension in recent years. This is true of both the United Nations treaty body system and the African, European and Inter-American regional systems of human rights. The result is a dynamic international invigoration of traditional refugee law that, in contradistinction, tends to be applied at the level of national courts and tribunals.

Yet the precise role of human rights in the protection of refugees is sometimes viewed with suspicion and uncertainty. This commentary provides a valuable insight into the use of human rights in the protection of refugees through the prism of the African human rights system.

Refreshments will be provided after the event.

About the speaker

Dr Chaloka Beyani is Senior Lecturer in International Law at LSE, a member of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights and Chair of its Advisory Board, and a member of the Centre for Climate Change at LSE. He is also the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons.