Matthew J. Ryan Law and Public Policy Forum

Co-Sponsored By: Catholic Relief Services, Holland + Knight, Mayer Brown LLP, Migration Policy Institute, and Proskauer Rose LLP

Topic

The Iraqi Refugee Crisis: Law, Policy and Practice

Overview

More than two million people have fled Iraq and hundreds of thousands more are internally displaced within Iraq. Who are the refugees? Why are they fleeing? What is their status under the law? What conditions and obstacles are the refugees facing in host countries? What ethical and moral considerations are posed by the refugee flow? What are the ramifications of the flow? What challenges does the refugee flow present to neighboring countries and to relations in the Middle East? What has the United States government done to offer refugees protection? What role should the United States and other countries play in the refugee crisis?

Schedule

For the event schedule - Click here.

Speakers

This year’s Ryan Forum on Law and Public Policy brings together leading legal scholars, legislators, government officials and other public figures in a bipartisan atmosphere of frank discussion and analysis of these and other legal and political ramifications of this humanitarian crisis. Speakers include:

Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein
Ambassador of Jordan to the United States

Deborah Amos
Correspondent, National Public Radio

Eric Blinderman, Esq.
Proskauer Rose

Ambassador James B. Foley
U.S. Department of State, Senior Coordinator for Iraqi Refugee Issues

Bill Frelick
Refugee Policy Director, Human RightsWatch

Michel Gabaudan
Regional Representative, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Washington D.C.

Professor David Martin
Warner-Booker Distinguished Professor of International Law, University of Virginia School of Law

Ambassador Imad Moustapha
Ambassador of Syria to the United States

Kathleen Newland
Director and Board Member, Migration Policy Institute

Christopher Nugent, Esq.
Holland + Knight

Professor Michele R. Pistone
Villanova University School of Law

Jane Pitz
Board Member, Iraqi Student Project

Trudy Rubin
Columnist, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Mark Schnellbaecher
Regional Director for the Middle East, Catholic Relief Services

Kristele Younes
Advocate, Refugees International

About the Forum

The Matthew J. Ryan Law and Public Policy Forum honors the memory of one of Villanova Law School’s most distinguished alumni, the Honorable Matthew J. Ryan ’59, the former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The Ryan Forum was made possible by the generosity of his many friends and the leadership of Arthur J. Kania ’56, Albert Lindner ’68, James E. McErlane ’67 and Richard Phillips ’66.

Attending the Program

Pre-registration is required. No registrations will be accepted the day of the event.

You may pre-register at the top of this page. For more information, call 610-519-5448.

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