Call for papers 'Safeguarding children’s rights in immigration law'
On Friday 23 November 2018 the Institute of Immigration Law and the Department of Child Law (both Leiden University) will organize an international conference on ‘Safeguarding children’s rights in immigration law’ at Leiden Law School.
Millions of children are on the move worldwide. Children are fleeing conflicts and wars and move with or without their parents to attain a better future. Throughout the migration process, children find themselves in a vulnerable position. The entry into force of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has accelerated the proliferation of children’s rights worldwide. Also within immigration law, the idea that children deserve specific protection has become commonplace. However, in times of the securitization of migration control, the danger exists that the best interests of the child are not a primary consideration for governments and policy makers at international and domestic levels. To address the challenge of safeguarding children’s rights in immigration law, we convene this conference.
Confirmed speakers in the plenary sessions are Dr. Bina D’Costa (Australian National University, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific), Prof. Peter Rodrigues (Leiden University), Ms. Andrea Vonkeman (Head UNHCR Netherlands) and Mr. George Moschos (Deputy Ombudsman Children’s Rights in Greece).
In the afternoon, various aspects of immigration law and the protection of children’s rights therein will be discussed in parallel workshops. In order to bring together scholars from different disciplines and backgrounds, this call for papers is issued.
We invite paper abstracts of not more than 300 words to be submitted on one of the following topics of interest:
- Child specific persecution grounds
- The protection of unaccompanied and separated minors
- Hearing children in asylum procedures
- The use of safe country exceptions and children
- The prevention and reduction of statelessness
- The best interests of the child in family migration cases
- Litigating children’s rights in immigration law
- Best interests of the child determination procedures
- Child-friendly receptions conditions
- Immigration detention of families and children
- Combatting child smuggling and trafficking
- Any other issues relating to the interaction between children’s rights and immigration law
Please submit your paper abstract and short biography (max. 250 words) to immigrationlaw@law.leidenuniv.nl by 31 July 2018. A decision on the selection of the abstracts will be communicated by 14 September 2018. The selection of abstracts will be made by the Organising Committee. It is the intention of the Organising Committee to collect the presented papers in an edited volume. For this purpose, a peer review procedure for the full paper submissions will be established. The deadline for the paper submission is 9 November 2018.
The Organising Committee consists of:
Prof. Dr. P.R. Rodrigues, Professor of immigration law and chair of the Institute of Immigration Law
Prof. Dr. T. Liefaard, Professor of Children’s Rights
Prof. Dr. J.J. Sloth-Nielsen, Professor of Children's rights in the developing world
Dr. M.A.K. Klaassen, Assistant Professor
Dr. S.E. Rap, Assistant Professor