"Protecting People in Conflict & Crisis", Oxford, UK

The Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford (RSC), in collaboration with the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute (HPG), is organising an international conference on the theme of “Protecting People in Conflict & Crisis: Responding to the Challenges of a Changing World”. This conference aims to convene a broad range of academic researchers, humanitarian practitioners, policy makers and civil society representatives to review the state of policy and practice in the broad field of humanitarian protection as we look forward into a potentially turbulent 21st Century.

The conference will address the following indicative themes:

* Populations at risk: Surviving and responding to protection threats
* Concepts of Protection
* The Politics of Protection
* Protection, security and the roles of military and armed actors
* National and regional responsibilities to protect
* Protection in Practice

The conference will take place between 22nd and 24th of September 2009 and will feature a range of keynote lectures, plenary discussions and expert panel debates, paper sessions and practice updates.

Those wishing to participate in the conference are invited to submit abstracts outlining their suggestions for Paper presentations, Paper sessions, Expert debates and Practice updates, and are requested to read the full Call for Papers in the PDF linked below.

Abstracts should address the broad conference themes mentioned above.
Abstracts are welcome from all of those concerned with the question of civilian protection, whether scholars or students, humanitarian practitioners or policy makers, advocates, activists or crisis- affected civilians.

Abstracts should be no more than 300 words long, and should be submitted by Monday 1st June 2009 to rsc-conference(at)qeh.ox.ac.uk.
Please indicate which kind of session your abstract refers to, include keywords and indicate the name of the conference theme to which your abstract most closely applies. Please give your email the subject heading “Abstract: Your Name”.

For general information pertaining to the conference, please contact Simon Addison: simon.addison(at)qeh.ox.ac.uk