We are delighted to welcome two new Centre members, Dr Regina Jefferies and Dr Thomas Mulder. They have joined Professor Jane McAdam to drive an exciting, ambitious project – the first ever sustained, integrated legal analysis of how, when and why evacuations are carried out.

Why is this work so vital?

When a crisis hits – whether a bushfire, flood, armed conflict or even a pandemic – evacuations are a common rescue response. Getting people to safety is a priority, whether they are in Camden, Cox’s Bazar, Kiev or Kabul.

But while saving lives is the focus, a poorly planned evacuation can lead to greater risks and vulnerabilities, including prolonged displacement. If we only focus on the moment of crisis, then what happens next can be very uncertain and legally tenuous, with great social, economic and personal costs.

Even though evacuations account for the vast majority of disaster-related displacement each year, they have largely escaped critical scrutiny by researchers, and practical responses tend to be siloed in policy and practice. There is a real risk that the needs and rights of millions of evacuees will remain invisible and unaddressed.

That’s why we have created the Evacuations Research Hub. This five-year Australian Research Council Laureate program builds on, extends and complements the Centre’s existing work on climate mobility, refugee protection and forced migration. By reorienting the orthodox starting point for evacuations – the ‘rescue’ paradigm – our research program flips the frame: while evacuations can be life-saving, they can also displace people and undermine long-term protection needs.

We are excited to launch this innovative project, aiming to help transform how the international community understands, responds to and manages evacuations.

Catch up on the announcement, opens in a new window of Professor Jane McAdam's Laureate Fellowship.

Explore and bookmark the Evacuations Research Hub, opens in a new window research page. 

 

Meet the team

Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Scientia Professor Jane McAdam AO, is leading the Evacuations Research Hub. We asked her what her ambitions are for the Hub, and what else is keeping her mind busy.


Dr Thomas Mulder is a Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow in the Kaldor Centre’s Evacuations Research Hub. We want to know more about who he is and why he’s part of this project.


Dr Regina Jefferies is a Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow in the Kaldor Centre’s Evacuations Research Hub. We want to know more about who she is and why she’s part of this project.

For more information, visit the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law.