| Date: | Thursday, 15 December 2016 |
| Venue: | Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, No. 6 Kildare Street, Dublin 2 |
| Time: | 09:00 – 16:00 |
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that globally 65.3 million people were forcibly displaced in 2015, including 21.3 million refugees. UNHCR has estimated almost 1 million refugees were in need of resettlement in 2015 and that this figure grew substantially in 2016.
This full day conference brought together a range of speakers who addressed current responses to the ongoing refugee crisis, providing an opportunity to highlight good practices, as well as to exchange information on challenges. Topics included EU and international policy, as well as State and local-level experiences of resettlement and private sponsorship, including in Sweden, Germany and Portugal. The Irish response was presented and discussed. An update was provided on the practical implementation of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, set up in 2015 to coordinate the resettlement, relocation and integration of 4,000 refugees and asylum applicants.
Conference Agenda:
| 09:00 | Arrival and registration | |
| 09:30 | Welcome: Professor Alan Barrett, Economic and Social Research Institute | |
| Opening address: David Stanton, T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (Read speech) | ||
| 09:50 | Session 1: Content and Policy Framework
Chair: Brian Merriman, Asylum Policy Division, Department of Justice and Equality |
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| Bullets, brutality and barbed wire: Reality for people forced to flee
Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland (Download presentation) |
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| Better protecting refugees in the EU and globally: UNHCR’s proposals to rebuild trust through better management, partnership and solidarity
Susan McMonagle, UNHCR Ireland (Download presentation) |
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| Responding to the EU refugee ‘crisis’: Reform of the Common European Asylum System and enhanced external engagement
Stephen Ryan, Asylum Unit, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission (Download presentation) |
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| 10:50 | Questions and answers | |
| 11:10 | Coffee break | |
| 11:30 | Session 2: State and Local Level Responses in EU Member States
Chair: John Roycroft, Irish Refugee Protection Programme |
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Resettlement in Sweden, central and local perspectives Martin Söderström and Mattias Sjölund, Åre Municipality and Marie Bengtsson, Swedish Migration Board, Sweden (Download presentation) |
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| The mobilisation of civil society, municipalities and the state towards the reception and integration of resettled refugees and relocated asylum seekers: The Portuguese response
Maria de Fátima Grilo, Asylum and Refugees Department, SEF, Portugal (Download presentation) |
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| 12:35 | Questions and answers | |
| 12:55 | Lunch | |
| 14:10 | Session 3: Ireland’s Response to the Refugee Crisis
Chair: Enda O’Neill, UNHCR Ireland |
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| The operational response to the refugee crisis: The role of the European Asylum Support Office and the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner
David Costello, Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and EASO Management Board (Download presentation) |
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| The Irish Refugee Protection Programme and the challenges created by the Government’s approach to the Migration Crisis
Shane O’Connor, Irish Refugee Protection Programme |
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| Safe and legal pathways to protection in Ireland
Nick Henderson, Irish Refugee Council (Download presentation) |
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| Personal experience of resettlement and integration in Ireland
Abbas Ghadimi, Business person and former Programme Refugee (Download presentation) |
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| 15:30 | Questions and answers | |
| 15:50 | Close |
