How Ethics and Religion Shape Policy Responses to Refugees
Please RSVP at least 24 hours in advance of the event start time to receive the Zoom Webinar link.
In his newly released book, Humanity in Crisis: Ethical and Religious Response to Refugees, Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., examines the scope of our responsibilities and considers practical solutions to the global refugee crisis. Drawing on the values that have shaped major humanitarian initiatives over the past century and a half, as well as the values of diverse religious traditions, including Catholicism, he uncovers key moral issues for both policymakers and for practitioners working in humanitarian agencies and faith communities.
In this book launch event, Hollenbach will engage with key policymakers and ethicists who will evaluate his proposed ethical imperatives and how these principles can be reflected in policy. Participants T. Alexander Aleinikoff, former United Nations deputy high commissioner for refugees (moderator); Elizabeth Ferris, research professor at Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of International Migration; Michael Kessler, managing director of Georgetown's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs; and Clemens Sedmak, professor of social ethics at the University of Notre Dame, will reflect on Hollenbach’s book and consider what specific policies look like when they are consistent with ethical values. Panelists will also offer their perspectives on US refugee and immigration policy actively being developed, including policy platforms of 2020 presidential candidates, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the refugee crisis.
This event is presented by the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University. It is co-sponsored by Georgetown University’s Human Rights Institute, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, and Institute for the Study of International Migration.