Fletcher-ICRC Joint Lab Holds Workshop on Sahel

The Fletcher School and the International Committee of the Red Cross held a one-day workshop on March 12, 2015 as part of their planned three-year ‘Joint Laboratory’. The first year of this Joint Lab focuses on the Sahel and North Africa, and aims to support operational responses by the ICRC by identifying long-term strategies and practical approaches to addressing the vulnerabilities of migrants affected by armed conflict and other violence in the Sahel. The workshop completed the first phase (September 2014-February 2015) of the Joint Lab, in which a team of Fletcher students and faculty conducted a desk review of ten Sahel countries. Workshop participants discussed the findings of the review, including migration routes, sources of vulnerability of migrants, humanitarian responses and key stakeholders. The workshop discussed the findings and agreed on next steps, including field research during the summer. The Joint Lab is being led by Feinstein Acting Director, Karen Jacobsen, and Claude Bruderlein, the Special Advisor to the ICRC President. Nine ICRC delegates attended the workshop along with more than 30 scholars, experts and practitioners working in the Sahel.