Regional workshop and task force meeting under ASILE project in Dhaka

A regional workshop and a task force Meeting on 'Global Asylum Governance and Bangladesh's Refugee Policies: Lessons from Rohingya Refugee Management' under ASILE Project was held on November 30 - December 1, 2022 at Hotel Lake Castle, Gulshan-2, Dhaka. The event was hosted by the Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka. Funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the project is an interdisciplinary network examining the characteristic of asylum governance systems around the world when coming to the implementation of the UN Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). The two-days programme was a great success involving the presence of distinguished participants from different relevant fields including academia, UN agencies and NGOs.

The first day's programme comprised the inaugural session which was followed by three panel discussions. The inauguration session started with the introductory remarks by Professor Dr. Borhan Uddin Khan, Department of Law, University of Dhaka, who was one of the two researchers of the project's Bangladesh component. This was followed by welcome speech by the Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka, Professor Dr. Shima Zaman which was followed by the introductory speech of Dr. Sergio Carrera, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Unit of Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and ASILE Project Coordinator who gave a brief introduction of the project.

Professor Dr. Maja Janmyr from University of Oslo, Professor Dr. Borhan Uddin Khan and Dr. Sanjeeb Hossain, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oslo presented in the first panel session focusing on 'Rohingya Refugee Management: Interplay of Domestic and International Policies'. The presentations were followed by discussions from two discussants, Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Director of Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) and Professor Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor of International Relations and Director, Centre for Genocide Studies at the University of Dhaka.

Following the lunch break, the second and third panel sessions started together where the speakers and discussants focused on 'Rohingya Refugee Crisis and Global Asylum Governance: Challenges for a Durable Solution'. Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Director of BILIA, Professor Dr. Nokib Muhammad Nasrullah, Professor Dr. Md. Rahmat Ullah, Professor Dr. Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman, Professor Dr. Rumana Islam, and Ms. Taslima Yasmin, Associate Professor from the University of Dhaka, Dr. Mohammad Ridwanul Hoque from Charles Darwin University, Dr. Sanjeeb Hossain, Senior Research Fellow and Nora Milch, Research consultant from the University of Oslo took part in the discussion.

The second day's programme began with welcome speech by the Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka and introductory speech by Dr. Sergio Carrera, ASILE Project Coordinator. This was followed by presentations from Professor Dr. Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman, researcher of the project's Bangladesh component, Dr. Sanjeeb Hossain and Nora Milch who briefly presented their research findings on Asylum Governance in Bangladesh. The presentation was followed by a vibrant discussion from participants comprising academics from different public and private universities, UN agencies, and NGOs. The discussants focused on three key questions concerning Asylum Governance in Bangladesh, namely: Should Bangladesh have domestic laws providing for granting asylum or refugee status? What are the short-term and long-term consequences (positive and negative) of the current domestic policies in managing the Rohingya Refugee Crisis? And what should be the role of international community for a durable solution to the Rohingya Refugee Crisis? Finally, the programme concluded with the hope of having a feasible and durable solution for dealing with Rohingya refugee crisis.