THE FORCED MIGRATION AND REFUGEE STUDIES PROGRAM
Summer Short Courses 2008
· Addressing the protection of Refugee Women and Girls
· Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Refugees
· International Refugee and Human Rights Law
Monday June 9 – Saturday June 14
Addressing the Protection of Refugee Women and Girls
Course description:
In all parts of the world, refugee women and girls are subjected to rape
and other forms of sexual and gender based violence and torture. They
are often targeted for human rights abuses from different aggressors,
including regular army and militia members, irregular forces and members
of their own community. This abuse includes forms of sexual abuse, rape,
forcible impregnation, sexual slavery, and forced prostitution. Women
may be kidnapped and made to serve as combatants, servants, ‘wives’, or
members of so-called ‘suicide’ squads. Rape, torture and other violent
types of sexual abuse are increasingly used as tactics of war and
terrorism. In addition to the emotional and physical trauma caused by
rape, many women give birth to the children of their rapists. Once
refugee women reach a country of first asylum, they do not necessarily
find the safety they deserve and to which they are entitled. Women
frequently find that they have escaped violence in conflict or
persecution to be confronted by different types of violence, physical
hardship and psychological stress. Rape and sexual violence continue
throughout the time in refugee camps. In some cases the perpetrators of
sexual violence are those from whom they expect protection – military
guards, camp administrators and refugee men. Sexual violence in refugee
camps is so common that the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) has produced guidelines on prevention of sexual
violence and response to survivors. Despite the hardships, women play a
central economic and social role in camps. They are the life-sustaining
force of any refugee community. They have the power to nurture future
generations, re-establish the family and culture in exile, and recreate
it on return to their homeland.
In this course we will explore the impact of this violence on women and
girls, families and communities. We will explore ways in which we can
improve the protection of refuge women and girls at all stages of the
refugee journey, and better respond to the abuse they have endured.
Instructor: Dr Eileen Pittaway, PhD (Refugee Policy and Management), MBA
(Social Policy and Administration), Graduate Diploma in Social
Administration, Graduate Diploma in Education Studies, Diploma in Social
Welfare.
Dr. Pittaway is the Director of the Centre for Refugee Research,
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and Senior Lecturer in
the School of Social Work. She is coordinating and teaching in the
Master Program of International Social Development, and the Master
Program of Refugees and Forced Migration. In the past decade she has
conducted research, provided training to refugees, UN and NGO staff in
refugee camps and urban settings, acted as technical advisor to a number
of projects, and evaluated humanitarian and development projects in
Kenya, Thailand, Ethiopia, Bougainville, Egypt and Sri Lanka. She is
also involved in tsunami relief projects in Sri Lanka. She is
specialized in the protection of refugee women and girls and has
published extensively on this issue. She regularly attends the Executive
Committee Meetings of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
and has had input into the new “Conclusion” on the Protection of Refugee
Women’s and Girls at Risk. She is currently a Council Member of Asian
Women's Human Rights Council and the Chairperson of the Australian
National Committee on Refugee Women. She is also a life board member of
the Asia Pacific Women’s Watch, Australian Human Rights Centre, and the
University of New South Wales. She is a member of the International Law
sub-committee and member of the Program Advisory Committee of an
international non-governmental organization: AUSTCARE (Australians for
Refugees). In 2001 Dr. Pittway was awarded a Human Rights Medal by the
Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission for her work
with Refugee Women and Children. In 2005 she was awarded a New South
Wales Premiers Award for her contribution to public education regarding
refugees.
The course will take place in the 6th floor lounge, Hill House, Main
Campus at the American University in Cairo from Monday June 9 to
Saturday June 14, 2008 (excluding Friday) everyday from 9 am to 5 pm.
See Below for application procedures.
Monday June 16 – Saturday June 21
Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Refugees
Course description:
In this course, participants will increase their understanding of the
psychosocial and mental health issues of refugees and learn how to
implement effective interventions. Topics will include: Review of
international research about the psychosocial and mental health
consequences of war and violence; Implications for working with various
cultures and contexts; Skills for assessment of need; Culturally
sensitive interviewing skills; Methods for working with translators;
Introduction to individual, family, group and community interventions;
Overview of methods for monitoring and evaluating the impact of
intervention; and Specific mechanisms workers and organizations can use
to minimize staff burnout and maximize organizational effectiveness.
Instructor: Nancy Baron, Director of Global Psychiatric and
Psycho-Social Initiatives (GPSI)
Dr. Nancy Baron received her Doctorate in Education at the University of
Massachusetts, U.S.A. with a concentration in Family Therapy and
Counseling Psychology. While working in the U.S.A., she was a program
director of home and community based programs for adolescents and
families involved with the courts and private therapist specializing in
marital and family counseling. She taught courses in counseling and
psychotherapy at various universities and helped to establish a graduate
program in community mental health and an institute for family therapy.
In 1989, she changed her context and specialization and since that time
has lived and worked in numerous countries during and after wars and
disasters including in Africa: Burundi, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Sierra
Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda; in Asia: Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan and Sri Lanka; in Eastern Europe:
Kosovo and Albania and in the South Pacific: Solomon Islands. Dr. Baron
is presently the Director of Global Psychiatric and Psycho-Social
Initiatives (GPSI). She provides consultation, assessment, training,
program design and development, research and evaluation for UN
organizations and international and local NGOs in community and family
focused psycho-social, mental health and peace building initiatives for
conflict and post-conflict countries. She is also the International
Training Director for the International Trauma Studies Program, Mailman
School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA and
Consultant and Senior Trainer for the Psychosocial Training Institute of
the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization of Uganda.
The course will take place in the 6th floor lounge, Hill House, Main
Campus at the American University in Cairo from Monday June 16 to
Saturday June 21, 2008 (excluding Friday) everyday from 9 am to 5 pm.
See Below for application procedures.
Advanced International Refugee and Human Rights Law
Monday June 23 – Saturday June 28
Course description:
The course will cover various advanced topics in international refugee
law. Topics to be covered include the "nexus" requirement of the
definition; the meaning of "persecution"; developments in the
interpretation of the exclusion provisions of the Convention; the
non-refoulement and expulsion provisions of the Convention; refugee
rights guaranteed by the Convention; and, the interaction between the
Convention and other regional and complementary forms of protection. The
course will also cover procedural issues raised by refugee status
determination (RSD), particularly in RSD conducted by UNHCR. The focus
of the course will be on issues arising during the representation of
refugee claimants and developing the skills required to represent these
individuals. Participants in the course should already have a basic to
intermediate understanding of international refugee law (or be prepared
to engage in a specified course of pre-study of the topic).
Instructor: Martin Jones, Research Associate, Centre for Refugee Studies
at York University (Canada).
Martin Jones practiced refugee law in Canada for seven years during
which he represented hundreds of claimants at all stages of the refugee
status determination (RSD) process. He is chair of the upcoming 11th
biennial conference of the International Association for the Study of
Forced Migration and a founding member of the Canadian Association for
Refugee and Forced Migration Studies. Martin has authored a textbook on
Canadian refugee law, a practitioners’ guide to Canadian immigration and
refugee law, and numerous articles and working papers on international
refugee and migration law. He is managing editor of "Refuge", a
scholarly periodical on refugee studies. Martin has served as a lecturer
or visiting researcher at the American University in Cairo, the
University of East London, Georgetown University, the University of
Michigan, Queen's University (Canada), and, upcoming, the University of
Melbourne. He was a participant in the Fourth Colloquium on Challenges
in International Refugee Law and a signatory of the resulting Michigan
Guidelines on Protection Elsewhere. He was involved in the founding of
the new Southern Refugee Legal Advocates' Network and has acted as a
consultant to refugee legal assistance organizations in Canada, Egypt,
Turkey and Hong Kong. He is presently a doctoral candidate at Osgoode
Hall Law School (Canada) writing his dissertation on the status of
military service evaders in international refugee law.
The course will take place in the 6th floor lounge, Hill House, Main
Campus at the American University in Cairo from Monday June 23 Saturday
June 28, 2008 (excluding Friday) everyday from 9 am to 5 pm.
See Below for application procedures.
Tuition
The tuition fee for each course is US $300 for international
participants and LE 200 for Egyptians and Residents of Egypt.
Application procedures
Please send a letter of application stating:
a) Interest in the Summer School
b) The course(s) you are applying for.
c) Why the course(s) is/are important to your work or academic interest.
And include your updated curriculum vitae.
Addressed to:
Ms. Maysa Ayoub Email: [log in to unmask]
Projects Manager Tel: (202) 27976921
Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Fax (202) 27956681
American University in Cairo FMRS/AUC,
113 Kasr El Aini Street, PO Box 25000, Cairo 11511, Egypt
Deadline for applications is
March 30th 2008
For further information regarding accommodation in Cairo and further
updates on FMRS up-coming events access: www.aucegypt.edu/fmrs (under
Outreach).
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