RLI’s 1st Annual Conference on ‘the Future of Refugee Law’: Discussing the Impact of Profiling in Displacement Contexts

In June 2016, JIPS hosted a panel discussion at the University of London’s Refugee Law Initiative (RLI)’s first annual conference on ‘the Future of Refugee Law’. The discussion focused on the challenges and opportunities for generating evidence through profiling in displacement situations.

Credit: Refugee Law Initiative, October 2016

Entitled “Generating Evidence on Displacement: from Needs to Solutions” the panel brought together JIPS partners from various operations to share first hand experience with conference participants. Panelists included:

• Vian Rasheed (Head, Erbil Refugee Council) who spoke about the Kurdish Regional Government’s area-based approach to protection and response enabled by comprehensive urban profiling exercises conducted in 2015-2016;
• Boris Aristin (Assessment Coordinator, OCHA/iMMAP, Syria Regional Office) who shared experiences from coordinating large scale needs assessments in complex environments and the value of consensus building through coordination;
• Nina Schrepfer (Protection Cluster Coordinator, Somalia) who highlighted the value of the profiling process and results to inform durable solutions programming and interventions in challenging urban contexts like Mogadishu; and
• Vibeke Nielsen (Division for Development Cooperation, Statistics Norway) who presented on official statistics and the potential for improving data on displaced populations through these channels despite challenges that may arise explained through experiences in Kosovo.

All presentations explored the critical impact of data on operational decision-making and policy development in order to strengthen response from national and international stakeholders. Panelists shared experiences of how the right kind of data and analysis process can be transformative in contexts where actors are faced with fundamental questions concerning the nexus between displacement, migration and urbanisation, the relationship between humanitarian crises and the development agenda, or the recurring challenges of limited humanitarian access and overstretched capacities and resources. The right data and analysis can help to build policies, reshape operational priorities, build consensus and enhance coordination.

The conference was well attended by both practitioners and academics. The JIPS session attracted many participants and created a space for valuable discussion and exchange.

Papers presented at the conference will be published through the RLI Working Paper Series in December 2016.