Refugee law and the governance of religious diversity 

Hans Leaman

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Articles 3 and 4 of the 1951 Refugee Convention introduced aspects of refugee protection that had not been a part of inter-war refugee conventions or the Constitution of the International Refugee Organization: contracting states committed not to discriminate among persons seeking refuge on the basis of religion, race, or country of origin (Art. 3), and to accord admitted refugees the same level of freedom to practice their religion and give their children a religious education that their nationals enjoy (Art. 4).  For this project, Hans Leaman inquired into: (1) the historical background and rationales for these understudied articles, which affords an opportunity to feature the role of religious NGOs and post-war Christian Democratic social thought in the formation of refugee law; and (2) the implications for human rights jurisprudence on religious freedom and host countries‘ accommodation of increasing religious diversity.

Representative Conference Paper:

“Managing Civic and Religious Allegiances in the Rites of Citizenship: Reflections on a Handshake,” Toleration and Religious Freedom in the Early Modern and Contemporary World, Centre For Research in The Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, Cambridge University (26-27 March 2019)

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