When people evacuate, what rights go with them?
There is a buzz in the Kaldor Centre as our new Evacuations Research Hub gets underway.
Published on the 31 July 2024
Image credit: IOM Muse Mohammed
We are delighted to welcome two new Centre members, Dr Regina Jefferies and Dr Thomas Mulder. TheyÌýhave joined Professor Jane McAdam to drive an exciting, ambitious project – the first ever sustained, integrated legal analysis of how, when and why evacuations are carried out.
Why is this work so vital?
When a crisis hits – whether a bushfire, flood, armed conflict or even a pandemic – evacuations are a common rescue response. Getting people to safety is a priority, whether they are in Camden, Cox’s Bazar, Kiev or Kabul.
But while saving lives is the focus, a poorly planned evacuation can lead to greater risks and vulnerabilities, including prolonged displacement. If we only focus on the moment of crisis, then what happens next can be very uncertain and legally tenuous, with great social, economic and personal costs.
Even though evacuations account for the vast majority of disaster-related displacement each year, they have largely escaped critical scrutiny by researchers, and practical responses tend to be siloed in policy and practice. There is a real risk that the needs and rights of millions of evacuees will remain invisible and unaddressed.
That’s why we have created the Evacuations Research Hub. This five-year Australian Research Council Laureate program builds on, extends and complements the Centre’s existing work on climate mobility, refugee protection and forced migration. By reorienting the orthodox starting point for evacuations – the ‘rescue’ paradigm – our research program flips the frame: while evacuations can be life-saving, they can also displace people and undermine long-term protection needs.
We are excited to launch this innovative project, aiming to help transform how the international community understands, responds to and manages evacuations.
Catch up on the announcement of Professor Jane McAdam's Laureate Fellowship.
Explore and bookmark the Evacuations Research Hub research page.Ìý
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Meet the team
Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Scientia Professor Jane McAdam AO, is leading the Evacuations Research Hub. We asked her what her ambitions are for the Hub, and what else is keeping her mind busy.
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What are you most looking forward to in your role with the Evacuations Research Hub team?
I am very excited to lead the Evacuations Research Hub. Thanks to the support of the Australian Research Council, it provides us with an unrivalled opportunity to do deep, focused research and thinking over an extended period of time – a real luxury. It’s an enormous privilege to work with such a stellar team and to have the resources to pursue a research programme of this magnitude.Ìý
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever turned up in your research work?
I have been doing a lot of reading about historical evacuations, including from London in the Second World War. At the time, policymakers thought that the evacuation of children (from slums) in London to upper-class families in the countryside could be a great social leveller, exposing the latter to the hardships of many and engendering compassion and the need for greater equality. Instead, it led to many children being completely outraged at how well off some people were, and to some upper-class women describing the children as causing ‘more trouble than the Germans’ and posing a greater danger ‘than explosive bombs’.
What impact do you hope the Evacuations Research Hub project will have?
In addition to creating a body of scholarly work on evacuations – as part of the broader literature on forced migration and international law – my hope is that we will be able to develop concrete, policy recommendations for governments and international actors engaged in evacuations. This could range from interventions on evacuations from conflict and the need for emergency protection; to localised analyses of Australia’s evacuation response in disasters; through to the coordination of cross-border evacuations in the Pacific region. At the moment, we are deep into conceptualising what evacuations actually are – a form of displacement, a life-saving rescue, both?Ìý
What book, podcast, other media recommendations do you have for us?
I am currently reading Anna Funder’s Wifedom which is, as expected, a brilliantly conceived and creatively written book. I also enjoy listening to a podcast called ‘The Academic Imperfectionist’; the latest episode on ‘The surprising productivity of rest’ is definitely one to embrace!
What do you like to do when you are not at work?
Spending time with family and friends, walking and listening to podcasts, and reading anything unrelated to work. Perusing the weekend newspapers over breakfast usually augurs well … especially if it actually happens on the weekend rather than later in the week.
Dr Thomas Mulder is a Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow in the Kaldor Centre’s Evacuations Research Hub. We want to know more about who he is and why he’s part of this project.
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What inspired you to join the Evacuations Research Hub team?Ìý
I have a strong interest in the role of international law during emergencies, such as disasters, pandemics or conflicts. Evacuations are a key aspect of the response to these emergencies, yet they remain underexplored in international law. With my background in international disaster law, I am eager to contribute to the Evacuations Research Hub team and help shed light on this critical topic. I look forward to working alongside experts in the field to develop a better understanding of the legal frameworks that can improve evacuation protocols and ultimately save lives.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever turned up in your research work?
The most surprising thing I’ve turned up in my research is the bizarre items people have sent to disaster victims abroad. For instance, I have read about winter jackets being shipped to tropical countries, people sending expired medicines, and my personal favourite – bibles with solar LED lights, so you can read scripture when the electricity is out at night. While these items seem almost comical, they actually are a huge problem as they clog up the system and prevent urgently needed assistance from reaching affected communities. It's a striking example of how well-meaning efforts can sometimes make things worse on the ground.
What impact do you hope the Evacuations Research Hub project will have?
I hope that the Evacuations Research Hub project will bring the topic of evacuations to the forefront. We often view evacuations as a last-resort emergency measure to protect people in the face of imminent danger, but I hope our work can offer a more well-rounded perspective that also spotlights the tremendous societal impact evacuations can have. This is especially important as States and international organisations, like the UN, are working on better preparing for and responding to emergencies. Now, more than ever, it's time to put evacuations on the map and seize the opportunity to translate this focus into effective policies and laws.
What book, podcast, other media recommendations do you have for us?
For those with an interest in international law, I highly recommend The Last Colony by Philippe Sands. It's an accessible and engaging read about imperialists who do not seem to be able to let go of the past. On the fiction side, I'm a big fan of everything written by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Lastly, for podcast fans like myself, I suggest The Price of Paradise. It sounds like a cliché premise for a thriller but is actually a true story about a woman who buys a private island in Nicaragua, only to find it to be the biggest mistake of her life… It's a gripping listen that you don’t want to miss.
What do you like to do when you are not at work?
When I'm not at work, I enjoy swimming a few times a week to stay active and clear my mind. I also love reading fiction; there's nothing better than reading some more after a day of reading for research. When the weather is good, I also like to walk along the Cooks River on weekends and catch up on my never-ending list of podcasts.
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Dr Regina Jefferies is a Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow in the Kaldor Centre’s Evacuations Research Hub. We want to know more about who she is and why she’s part of this project.
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What inspired you to join the Evacuations Research Hub team?Ìý
I was inspired to join the team for numerous reasons, but primarily for the opportunity to contribute to such an innovative project seeking to redefine and critique how ‘evacuations’ are conceptualised international law, while also using the concept as a sort of lens through which to understand the relationship between people and the exercise of State power. Having the space to think deeply and creatively with such a fantastic team is simultaneously energising and challenging in a way that has me sharpening pencils that I’ll never use.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever turned up in your research work?
I spend an embarrassing amount of time submitting FOI requests, digging in archival materials, and in corners of the Internet that sometimes require the use of a time machine. One of the more surprising things I uncovered in an FOI was some of the first publicly released data on COVID-19 outward travel exemption grants, which told a very interesting story about the categories (and nationalities) of people being prioritised for travel outside of Australia while the international border was closed.Ìý
What impact do you hope the Evacuations Research Hub will have?
I do hope that the project will bring more critical attention to evacuations as a relational process, often involving an exercise of State power which does not occur in a neutral context. Bringing a critical lens to the study of evacuations, I hope, will result in human rights-informed policies driven by affected communities and which account for the realities of systemic inequality and discrimination.
What book, podcast or other media recommendations do you have for us?
This is a tough one, as most of my reading at the moment is a firehose of evacuations research (and the Olympics are imminent). However, I am currently reading (and loving) Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou. If you’re not into fiction, I’d highly recommend getting up to date on the Kendrick Lamar vs Drake beef.
What do you like to do when you are not at work?
You’ll find me on a trail with my dog, watching soccer, or buried in a book.
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For more information, visit theÌýKaldor Centre for International Refugee Law.