Join Us for a Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar: “Illegal Migration in the Central and Western Mediterranean from the Perspective of International and Domestic Law”

On February 10, 2022, at 2pm EST, Foreign Law Specialist George Sadek will present our next Foreign and Comparative Law webinar, “Illegal Migration in the Central and Western Mediterranean from the Perspective of International and Domestic Law.”

Please register here.

Illegal migration in the central and western Mediterranean is not just an important legal topic but also “the humanitarian issue of our generation,” as described by many migration organizations. Thousands of migrants, including women and children, have died drowning in the waters of the Mediterranean trying to reach European shores, particularly in Spain and Italy.

The webinar will discuss the main instrument of international law regulating the issue of illegal migration, which is the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. First, it will highlight the scope of application of the UN protocol. Additionally, it will talk about how the protocol regulates the criminal liability of smuggled migrants and cooperation among member states to curb the problem.

Furthermore, the webinar will cover the problem of illegal migration from four Arab North African countries on the central and western shores of the Mediterranean Sea: Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. While Libya is considered the main hub in the African continent for illegal migration to Europe, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia are classified as transit countries and countries of origin. The webinar will address legal measures adopted by each of those four countries to combat this ongoing problem. Finally, the webinar will discuss the detention conditions in the centers for illegal migration in Libya.

Presenter George Sadek conducts research on the laws of Arabic-speaking countries and Islamic law. Prior to joining the Law Library of Congress, he worked as a Middle East specialist in academic institutions and government agencies, such as the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). In 1999, he earned an LL.B. from Cairo University Law School in comparative international law. During his years at Cairo University, he studied three types of legal systems: Islamic Shari’a (law), common law, and civil law. In 2004, George earned a J.D. (equivalency) from George Mason University and an LL.M. (Masters in Comparative Law) from American University Washington College of Law.

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