Dialogue on Protection Strategies for People in Situation of Forced Migration

6. Conference Schedule

14 December, 2008 

Time Activity
8.45 – 9.00 A.M. Registration
9.00 – 10.00 A.M. Inaugural Session:
Chair: Paula Banerjee (Calcutta Research Group, India, and University of Calcutta, India)  
Address: 
Ranabir Samaddar (Calcutta Research Group, India)     
Inaugural Address:  Rajeev Dhavan (Eminent Jurist and Legal Theorist, India)
    Address by Guest in Chief: Pascale Moreau (Bureau of  Asia & Pacific, UNHCR, Geneva)      
Remarks by the Chair
10.00 – 10.30 A.M.  Tea/Coffee Break
10.30 – 12.30 P.M. Session I

Chair: Kanak Mani Dixit (Himal SouthAsian Regional Magazine, Nepal)

·        
Discussion Paper on “Mapping the Mixed and Massive Nature of Population Flows in South Asia: With special reference to increasing statelessness and its impact on women and other disadvantaged groups in the region
·        
Speaker: Parthasarathi Ghosh (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India)     
·        
Discussant: Paula Banerjee (Calcutta Research Group, India, and University of Calcutta, India) 
·        
Discussion Paper on “Protection Needs, Current Legal Avenues, and New Legal Strategies – A South Asian Perspective”
·         Speakers: Uttam Kumar Das (International Organization for Migration, Bangladesh),K.M. Parivelan (TNTRC/DMRC, India)                                         
·        
Discussants:  Vinai Kumar Singh (Indian Society of International Law, India), Kiran Kaur (UNHCR, India)

12.30 – 1.30 P.M. Lunch Break
1.30 – 3.30 P.M. Session II

(Discussion in form of three working groups on the following themes):
(Group I                                                                               
·        
Developmental Projects, Internal Displacement, and the Need for New Policies and Practices for Protection of Victims
Discussants:
  Samir Kumar Das (Calcutta Research Group, India, and University of Calcutta, India), Shahid Fiaz (The Asia Foundation, Pakistan)
Moderator
: Sultana Kamal (Ain-O- Salish Kendra,Bangladesh)                              (Group II)
·        
The Role of the National Human Rights Institutions in Protecting the Victims of Forced Migration
Discussants:
   Mario Gomez (International Commission of Jurists, Law Commission of Sri Lanka,Sri Lanka),Shiva K. Dhungana (Friends For Peace, Nepal)Moderator:    Amit Sen (UNHCR, Nepal)
(Group III)
·        
Victims of Violence on the Borders and the Humanitarian Tasks
Discussants:
   Paula Banerjee (Calcutta Research Group,India and University of Calcutta), Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal (The Kashmir Times, India)                                Moderator:Montserrat Feixas Vihe (Chief of Mission, UNHCR, Delhi (Ain-O- Salish Kendra,Bangladesh)

3.30- 4.00 P.M. Tea/Coffee Break
4.00 – 5.30 P.M. Session III

Chair: Nayana Bose (UNHCR, India)
·         Roundtable Discussion on “Media and Displacement”
Speakers: Kanak Mani Dixit (Himal South Asian Regional Magazine, Nepal), Pamela Philipose (Women’s Feature Service, India), Sanjoy Hazarika (Eminent Journalist, Film Maker and Policy Analyst, India)


15 December, 2008
 

Time Activity
9.00 – 11 A.M. Session IV

Chair: Susan Forbes Martin (Georgetown University, USA)
·        
Discussion Paper on “Resource Crisis, Environmental Disasters, and Climate Change in South Asia: Policy Implications for Humanitarian and Human Rights Obligations for the Protection of the Victims of Forced Migration”
Speaker:
Subir Bhaumik (BBC World, India)
Discussant:
Paikiasothy Sarvanamuttu (Centre for Policy Alternatives [Guarantee] Limited, Sri Lanka)
·        
Discussion Paper on “Protracted Displacements in South Asia and the Need for Concerted Action”
Speaker:
Jeevan Thiagarajah (Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies [GTE] Ltd, Sri Lanka)
Discussant: Jyoti Sanghera (UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nepal)

·        
Discussion Paper on “Do the Displaced have a Right to Return? A Close Look at South Asian Experiences”
Speaker:
  Bhavani Fonseka (Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lanka)Discussant: Oishik Sircar (Independent Researcher, India)

11.00 - 11.30 A.M. Tea/Coffee Break
11.30 – 12.30 P.M. Session V

Chair:  Paikiasothy Sarvanamuttu (Centre for Policy Alternatives [Guarantee] Limited, Sri Lanka)
·        
Presentation of Working Group Reports

12.30 – 1.30 P.M. Lunch Break
1.30 – 2.30 P.M. Session VI

Chair: Samir Kumar Das (Calcutta Research Group, India)
·        
Presentation of Summary of the Discussions and Draft Recommendations.

2.30 – 3.00 P.M. Remarks by the Chair
6.00 – 8.00 P.M. Valedictory Session

(Guest-in-Chief: Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi, Governor of West Bengal; Guest of Honour: Mr. Asko Numinen, Ambassador of Finland to India, Special Guest, Montserrat Feixas Vihe, Chief of Mission, UNHCR, Delhi; special lecture by Mireille Fanon-mendes France, eminent human rights activist, Paris – Lecture theme: “Racism, Immigration, and Xenophobia in World Today

      

P.S. Ghosh presenting his paper
(second from the right)

Pascale Moreau makes her presentation
(first from the right)

 

Paula Banerjee making an intervention (fourth from the left)

 

Participants at the conference