AGA 2021 OPENING PLENARY – THE ROLE OF PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES IN MIGRATION & DETENTION

Monday, December 6, 2021, 15:00-17:00 CET – (Open to the General Public)

Annual General Assembly Official Opening – Frédéric Chenais, Senior Advisor, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Government of Switzerland & Chair, ICoCA Board of Directors

Annual Review – Jamie Williamson, Executive Director, ICoCA

Panel Discussion – The Role of Private Security Companies in Migration & Detention

From 2010 to 2020, the global population of migrants increased from 220 to 281 million people and more than 10 million people are  incarcerated or detained, often under the guard of private security companies. The phenomena of migration and detention will not disappear in the future and figures are only expexcted to grow exponentially. In these spaces, whether refugee camps, immigration processing and detention centers or prisons, proper living conditions and the respect of human rights may not be adequately enforced due to lack of regulation and oversight. So what are the challenges in ensuring responsible security provision in these contexts?

Moderator:

Beatrice Godefroy, Europe Director, Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), ICoCA Board Member

Panelists:

Daria Davitti, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Lund University

Ruth Hopkins, Journalist & Founder, Private Security Network

Sorcha MacLeod, Marie Curie Fellow & Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen/Chair of the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries

Farhan Quddus, Managing Director, Securex Limited