Under the framework of the 16th Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) (Stockholm, 8-11 September 2021) In the framework of the 16th Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) (Stockholm, 8-11 September 2021), the ESIL Interest Group on Migration and Refugee Law, the ESIL Interest Group on International Criminal Justice, and the Human Rights Research League organized a workshop on the evolution of the international legal norm prohibiting refoulement. It is a fundamental principle of international refugee law that refugees and asylum- seekers shall not be expelled or returned to persecution. Yet this principle has also become incorporated in international human rights law and international humanitarian law, prohibiting states from transferring or removing individuals within their jurisdiction when there are substantial grounds for believing that this would expose the individual to irreparable harm upon return. The aim of the joint workshop was to discuss and analyse the evolution of the prohibition of refoulement within and beyond the traditional context of forced migration. The co-organizers welcomed contributions with a focus on the legal fora, law-making techniques, and actors in which developments (both universally and regionally) can be discerned or could take root to share their ideas for discussion at the joint event.
