Horizon 2020: Canadian researchers lend expertise in migration issues

The PROTECT research project examines ways to uphold and further advance international protection systems for migrants in the context of conflicting political visions. Researchers will study the impacts of the United Nations’ Global Refugee Compact and Global Migration Compact on the international refugee protection system. Led by the University of Bergen in Norway, the project compares the refugee situation in the European Union, Canada and South Africa. It is conducted by an international consortium of 11 universities.

Idil Atak, an associate professor of criminology at Ryerson University, leads the Canada-related portions of the project. She is contributing to legal and doctrinal analyses to discover ways of constructing the legal relationships between the UN Global Compacts, the systems of human rights protection on the global and regional levels, and the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Part of a larger research project with FRQSC and the European Research Council, QuantMig aims to produce comprehensive, multi-perspective quantitative migration scenarios to support better European migration policies. Their research methods are based on the cutting-edge developments in conceptualizing, explaining, estimating and forecasting migration. Accurate tracking of migration patterns from origin, destination and transit countries will feed into this comprehensive knowledge base, in line with current European policy priorities. In addition to its Canadian partner, QuantMig brings together migration specialists from seven European universities and research institutes.

Alain Bélanger, a specialist of microsimulation and demographic projections, leads the Canadian portion. His contributions will help develop a microsimulation projection model of the future European population. The collaboration will also provide opportunities for comparative studies with Canada and the United States.

Legal and policy instruments at global and European level increasingly emphasize the need to address the specific needs of vulnerable migrants. But what does it mean to be vulnerable? The VULNER project aims to investigate this question through field studies in selected refugee settlements. The project focuses on migrants seeking protection in Europe (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Norway), North America (Canada), the Middle East (Lebanon) and Africa (Uganda and South Africa).

Delphine Nakache, an associate professor in the Faculty of Law (Common Law) at the University of Ottawa, is leading the research on Canada. She will have support from co-investigators François Crépeau, from McGill University, and Dagmar Soennecken, from York University, as well as research coordinator Midori Kaga, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa. The research is also conducted in partnership with co-investigator Maya Shuayb (Lebanese American University) and collaborators James Milner (Carleton University) and Nathan Benson (Refugee Hub, University of Ottawa).

Crépeau will lead the research on stateless persons and on the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between the United States and Canada. Soennecken will lead the research on resettlement in Canada. The research team will conduct key informant and migrant participants interviews in Canada, in collaboration with community partners from several Canadian provinces.