Advanced Professional Certificate in Refugee, Migration and International Protection Law
Center for International Law and Applied Diplomacy — Novera International University
1. Program Overview:
An advanced and comprehensive professional program extending over 6 months (180 hours of total study load), aimed at preparing and qualifying researchers, legal advisers, and humanitarian workers who are proficient in international protection frameworks for refugees and migrants and in asylum and displacement procedures. The program combines in-depth legal and human-rights knowledge with training in legal interviews, legal clinics, and real-world case studies.
2. Key Objectives:
- Mastering the sources and frameworks of international refugee law: understanding the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, determining refugee status and grounds of persecution, and understanding the principle of non-refoulement.
- Managing migration, displacement, and protection cases: studying mechanisms for dealing with mixed migration, border management, internal displacement, temporary protection, and combating human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
- Protecting the most vulnerable groups and strategic litigation: applying protection standards for women and children, addressing statelessness cases, and training in appeals and strategic litigation.
- Professional competence in interviews and legal memorandum preparation: acquiring practical skills in credibility assessment and conducting legal interviews, and preparing memoranda for asylum applications and international protection files.
3. Target Audience:
- Personnel working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and humanitarian and human-rights organizations.
- Lawyers, legal advisers, and representatives of legal support centers for refugees and asylum seekers.
- Employees of migration, passport, and asylum administrations in government sectors and at border crossings.
- Researchers and individuals interested in human rights, international humanitarian law, and forced migration issues.
4. Training Program Modules (16 Interactive and Applied Modules):
1. Sources of International Refugee Law.
2. The 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
3. Definition of a Refugee and Grounds of Persecution.
4. The Principle of Non-Refoulement.
5. Refugee Status Determination Procedures.
6. Mixed Migration and Border Management.
7. Internal Displacement and Temporary Protection.
8. Statelessness and the Right to Nationality.
9. Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.
10. Protection of Children, Women, and the Most Vulnerable Groups.
11. Legal Interviews and Credibility Assessment.
12. Protection in Situations of Mass Influx.
13. The African and Arab Protection Systems.
14. The Relationship with Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.
15. Appeals and Strategic Litigation.
16. Legal Clinic and Case Studies (Graduation Project).
5. Quick Organizational Data:
- Duration and study load: 6 months | 48 lectures (96 interactive direct hours) | total study load of 180 hours, including 36 hours of self-study + 30 hours of assignments + 18 hours of legal clinic and project assessment.
- Delivery system: interactive online (two lectures per week) and applied workshops.
- Language of study: Arabic with English terminology and references.
- Assessment system: participation and assignments, case studies, legal clinic, final examination, and graduation project.
- Final project: preparation of a comprehensive legal memorandum for an asylum application or international protection file, including the facts, legal characterization, risk analysis, and final recommendation.
