Responsibility Sharing in International Refugee Law: Towards Common but Differentiated Legal Obligations
When: Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Where: Room. B.01, The University of Westminster, 4–12 Little Titchfield St, London W1W 7BY
About the book
Responsibility Sharing in International Refugee Law: Towards Common but Differentiated Legal Obligations (Brill 2025) investigates ways for achieving a fairer and more equitable sharing of refugee protection responsibilities between States, which has been a perennial challenge of the global refugee regime. The Refugee Convention did not codify a legal obligation of responsibility sharing and, as a result, any assistance to refugee host States remains voluntary. This responsibility sharing gap has, in turn, negatively impacted on the quality of refugee protection and on interstate relations by exacerbating existing inequalities undermining the fairness of the international refugee law regime.
This book offers a pragmatic yet principled solution to the responsibility sharing gap. It puts down a detailed proposal for the long-resisted UN Protocol on Responsibility Sharing, which would codify a light package of responsibility sharing obligations by requiring States to contribute to refugee protection and solutions under a framework of common but differentiated responsibilities, based on capabilities. Building on the Global Compact on Refugees and drawing inspiration from international climate change law, the book makes a compelling case for further multilateral law making.
About the author
Dr Elizabeth Mavropoulou is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Westminster.
Before joining academia full time, Elizabeth held visiting lecturer positions at University of London (School of Advanced Legal Studies) and University of Westminster. She also worked for nine years for the UK based NGO Human Rights at Sea undertaking research, policy and advocacy. Elizabeth writes and publishes in the field of international refugee law and human rights law.
Discussants:
- Professor Violeta Moreno-Lax, Wübben Foundation Chair of International Law, Hertie School & Director of (B)OrderS and Professor of Law, Queen Mary University of London.
- Professor David Cantor, Director of the Refugee Law Initiative, School of Advanced Studies, University of London.
Chair:
- Dr. Marco Longobardo, Reader in International Law, University of Westminster
The event will be followed by a drinks reception with all participants.
The event is organised by ILAW at Westminster and is supported by (B)OrderS: Centre for the Legal Study of Borders, Migration and Displacement.
About ILAW
The International Law at Westminster research centre (ILaW) was founded in 2014 by Professor Marco Roscini to bring together academics and PhD students who research international law at Westminster Law School. Today the centre has over 15 academics and PhD Students with over 30 research outputs.
About (B)OrderS: Centre for the Legal Study of Borders, Migration and Displacement
Founded in 2022, the (B)Orders Centre focuses on the study of bordering, ordering and othering processes through law. It constitutes an excellence hub for intellectual collaboration and the evaluation of the role of law in the making and unmaking of borders and their impact on global (im)mobility. It connects scholars within and beyond Queen Mary Law School to harness existing inter- and multi-disciplinary research into law, borders and (im)mobility and shape future policy and research agendas in response to global challenges.