From March until June 2023, the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, International Institute for Humanitarian Law in San Remo, and UNHCR Representation in Serbia implemented the second edition of the Specialists’ course on International Refugee Law. After the successful implementation of the first edition, the second edition attracted candidates from different parts of the world. The course included 43 participants from 19 countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France, UK, Ireland, Greece, Russia, India, Pakistan, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Lebanon, Afghanistan) who were provided with full scholarships by the UNHCR Representation in Serbia and successfully attended and completed the course.
The second generation of participants included undergraduate, master, and Ph.D. students from various European and international universities studying in the field of legal, political, and social science with different professional backgrounds (teaching assistants, young researchers, military officials, government officials, judicial and legal interns, UNDP interns, lawyers, protection assistants working with refugees, as well as members of non-governmental organizations).
The course was composed of 24 online sessions facilitated by researchers, professors, and leading experts in the field of international refugee law. The lectures were held by distinguished professors: Prof. Geoff Gilbert from the University of Essex, Prof. Andrew Schoenholtz, Professor from Practice of Georgetown Law, Prof. Elizabeth Ferris the Director of the Institute for the Study of International Migration in the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, Prof. Francois Crepeau from the McGill University in Canada, Prof. Liliana Lyra Jubilut from University Católica de Santos, and Dr. Nicholas Micinski Associate Professor of the University of Maine. Also, facilitators included high UNHCR officials with great practical experience Mr. Jacopo Giorgi, Ms. Carol Sakr, and Ms. Elise Currie Roberts, and Mr. Gabor Gyulai, the Organizational Development Director and Training Expert of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. The team of the International Institute for Humanitarian Law in San Remo was led by Mr. Claudio Delfabro the Director of the Department of International Refugee Law and Migration Law, Martina Ranieli, Lead Coordinator of the Department and Kristijan Mihajlovski, the Academic Unit Coordinator of the Department of International Refugee Law and Migration Law. The team of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law was composed of professors and leading experts in asylum and migration law: Prof. Ivana Krstic, Prof. Marko Davinic, and Prof. Bojana Cuckovic.
During the sessions, all facilitators used different teaching methods such as case studies, and workshops, which inspired fruitful discussions while using innovative teaching tools. The former participants expressed a very high level of satisfaction with the quality of the course given the average grade of 9,38 out of 10. What participants appreciated the most is the indepth knowledge of facilitators, their dedication, and their interaction with participants. They also valued a variety of topics covered during the course, different teaching methods, professionalism, and organization as well as the interdisciplinary approach applied throughout the course. In the end, how successful the course was is best shown by the fact that 100% of participants expressed they would recommend this course to their colleagues. The organizing team is looking forward to the next year and another possibility to produce the next generation of future leading experts in international refugee law!