75th Anniversary of the Geneva Convention on Refugees: Lessons and Challenges

Seventy-five years ago, nations agreed on a shared principle – and it remains in force to this day: in July, the Geneva Convention on Refugees celebrates its anniversary.

In the wake of the horrors of the Second World War and the Holocaust, representatives from 26 states agreed in 1951 on binding rules for the protection of refugees. A milestone in international refugee protection: the Geneva Convention on Refugees obliges states to protect people who are at risk in their home country: they must be granted rights and must not be returned to places where they face danger. Today, most countries in the world have recognised these principles. Since its adoption, the Convention has thus enabled the protection of millions of people worldwide.

Currently, the international protection system is under immense pressure. What lessons can be drawn from 75 years of history? And what challenges lie ahead?

These questions will be discussed on a panel with speakers from the fields of practice and academia. The evening will be accompanied by music.

Welcome

Dr Roland Borchers, Director of the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation

Keynotes

Katharina Ahrendts, Head of the new Department for ‘Global Order, the United Nations and Humanitarian Aid’ at the Federal Foreign Office

Musical interlude

Classical music by MitMachMusik

Panel discussion

Prof. Andreas Zimmermann, legal scholar, University of Potsdam

Associate Professor Annette Weinke, historian, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena

Dr Amna Mehmood, molecular biologist, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

Moderator

Dr Roland Bank, Head of the Legal Department at UNHCR in Germany

Afterwards, we warmly invite you to a small reception. There you will find the photo exhibition ‘75 Years of International Protection: The 1951 Refugee Convention’ – a moving documentation of displacement and flight over the past decades.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Doors open: 6.00 pm

Language: German

FREE ADMISSION

REGISTRATION REQUIRED