Human Rights Day 2025: Migration Beyond Narratives of Fear and Crisis

To mark International Human Rights Day and the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, this event brings together academics and practitioners, including those from IOM, Just Right Scotland, Forth Valley Welcome, and the AIHLI to reflect on what human rights mean for people on the move today, amid global prevailing narratives of fear and crisis.

Through a series of reflective panel discussions, we revisit the promise of human rights, examine how migrants/refugees/asylum seekers are increasingly excluded from it, consider the difficulties of working within and against this environment, and explore pathways forward.

The keynote address – Confronting the Violence of Borders: Reclaiming Human Rights and Dignity in Migration Governance? – will be delivered by Senior Human Rights Advisor for IOM-UN Migration, Sara Ferro Ribeiro.