Panel 1: (Failed) Policy-Making with Global Consequences

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MODERATOR:

Alistair Dutton, Director, SCIAF – Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund

PANEL MEMBERS:

Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman, European Stability Initiative (ESI)

Ulrike Lunacek, Politician, Vice President of the European Parliament

Volker Türk, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR

The global phenomenon of (forced) migration, particularly of people seeking refuge and protection, is met by the Western world, including Austria, mainly with a policy of deterrence and the externalization of borders aiming at keeping refugees out. This panel will discuss the manifold humanitarian and global consequences of this policy, and will argue that this policy ignores the fundamental principles of humanitarian assistance, namely that human suffering be addressed wherever it is found and that respect for life, health, and human dignity must be safeguarded.