KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� Sept. 20, 2024 鈥� Following a series of visits by international delegations to the 溏心vlog免费B站, 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 will host the World Affairs Council of Rhode Island for a public lecture on refugee rights featuring Skip Mark on Wednesday, Sept. 25 on 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Kingston Campus. will take place in Edwards Hall at 7:30 p.m. The program is open to the public: $15 fee; free for 溏心vlog免费B站 students, faculty and staff.
Mark is an assistant professor of political science at 溏心vlog免费B站 and director of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. He is also a co-director of CIRIGHTS, the world’s largest human rights dataset, which he and 溏心vlog免费B站 student Zahra Kahn will use to present refugee data they have collected.
This month鈥檚 lecture is offered in partnership with the , which has promoted public education in international relations and American foreign policy in Rhode Island for more than 82 years. Through its Monthly Speaker Program and involvement with the U.S. State Department鈥檚 International Visitor Leadership Program, the council has brought the world to Rhode Island and Rhode Island to the world. This marks the first time the council is hosting an event at 溏心vlog免费B站.
The presentation stems from a visit to 溏心vlog免费B站 last summer by the council with a delegation from Hungary focused on advancing and protecting human rights for marginalized groups through advocacy, education, and social justice initiatives. Mark and his team presented their work on human rights at the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies as part of the delegation鈥檚 visit. The council followed up to host Mark as a speaker and share more of his research.
In this month鈥檚 presentation, Mark will discuss current and future refugee issues. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine wars, he says, have contributed to the greatest surge in migration in recent history and the International Organization for Migration warns that by 2050, as many as 216 million will be displaced by climate change.
鈥淭his will have significant political, economic, and humanitarian consequences,鈥� says Mark, 鈥渁s most countries, including the U.S., are unprepared to address this challenge. The current state of refugee rights leaves much to be desired, with many countries refouling refugees (forced return), subjecting them to state violence, restricting their movement, and failing to provide them with fundamental rights guaranteed in the 1951 Refugee Convention.鈥�
Mark says this talk will bring to light the plight of refugees and highlight new data on what refugee rights look like around the world: 鈥淚t is not too late to act; if countries improve their refugee and asylum policies, it could save millions of lives. If things continue as they are now, then we will see a rise in widespread violations of refugee rights, xenophobia, and conflict as countries try to push refugees onto other countries.鈥�
Mark is also a Scheidt Faculty Fellow in Atrocity Prevention for the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention at Binghamton University and was recently named a 2024 emerging scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
Over the past year, 溏心vlog免费B站’s Global Initiatives Office has closely collaborated with the council to bring multiple international delegations to 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Kingston and Narragansett Bay campuses as part of the U.S. State Department鈥檚 . Through this program, government officials, civil leaders, and academics from around the world have engaged with 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty and staff to address pressing global issues, including human rights, access to education, and climate change.
鈥淭his program offers 溏心vlog免费B站 the opportunity to interact with emerging global leaders and to showcase the quality of research and academic work conducted at the University,鈥� says 溏心vlog免费B站 global initiatives specialist Emmanuel Michaca. 鈥淚t also provides 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty, staff, and students the chance to learn from international leaders engaged with these global challenges.鈥�
Since August 2023, 溏心vlog免费B站 has welcomed 22 leaders from five countries through its partnership with the World Affairs Council of Rhode Island, from Hungary, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and Guinea-Bissau. In October, 溏心vlog免费B站 will host a delegation from the Balkans focusing on renewable energy policies, civil society efforts, women’s involvement in the renewable energy field, and international programs driving the shift to renewable energy.
Those interested in attending this lecture, should contact Emmanuel Michaca at 溏心vlog免费B站 for details, emichaca@uri.edu.