On September 11 - 13, 2024, the Organization of American States and its Department of Social Inclusion and the Keough School of Global Affairs offered the Fifth Edition of the Inter-American Course on Migration and Protection. This event was convened in partnership with the Notre Dame Kellogg Institute for International Studies (including the E-VAW Lab), the Notre Dame Pulte Institute for Global Development, United Nations Migration, and United Nations Refugee Agency. This course aims to contribute to the response of States to the current challenges in the protection of internally displaced persons, migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, stateless persons, survivors of human trafficking and returnees in need of protection in the Americas, providing a space to share best practices and review international and regional standards. Speakers analyzed the role of international organizations in providing effective responses to address the needs of refugees and internally displaced persons in the Americas; human rights and legal frameworks for migrants; and migration, asylum, and displacement dynamics in the Americas, such as unidentified and missing migrants at borders and regional processes to address migration and protection, and gender-based violence and family reunification. Key case studies included policy responses and impacts of Venezuelan immigration in Colombia and migration from Central America to the United States.
“This is an extremely important initiative that brings together state representatives across the Americas, international organizations, and experts at the frontline of research and service provision to vulnerable migrant populations. It is a unique opportunity for all the parties involved to reflect on current trends, policy responses, and state of the art research on best courses of action. This year the three-day event brought together over 300 state officials, academics, and members of civil society across the Americas” said Abby Córdova, associate professor of Global Affairs at the Keough School, Kellogg faculty fellow and principal investigator at the Kellogg Eliminating Violence Against Women Lab.
Faculty from the Keough School and its institutes transformed academic research into practical insights, equipping policymakers with tools to drive meaningful improvements in global migration responses. Particularly, Abby Córdova moderated panels focused on the intersection of gender and migration and presented findings from her co-authored work part of a special issue on migrant deaths titled, Undeterred: Understanding Repeat Migration in Northern Central America.
This collaboration with OAS facilitated the launch of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS) Dialogue Mechanism with Academia, which will serve as a platform that will bring together public and private universities, think tanks, along with other knowledge institutions to support efforts in addressing displacement in Central America and Mexico. The main objective of this initiative is to provide recommendations and proposals for the design of public policies, as well as to promote the implementation of academic initiatives within the framework of the MIRPS.