Hevi Dawody
About me
Hevi Dawody, PhD candidate in International law at Stockholm University. She has previously worked as a decision-maker and expert in exclusion cases at the Swedish Migration Agency. Hevi is currently working on her PhD project which focuses on Article 1F of the 1951 Refugee Convention, known as the ‘exclusion clause’, in relation to acts of terrorism.
Publications:
- Nylén, Dawody, Hevi, “Uteslutning från asyl”, in Klamberg, Mark, Lagföring i Sverige av internationella brott, 2020, Jure.
- Nylén, Dawody, Hevi, “International Crimes and Exclusion from Asylum in a Swedish Context”, in Scandinavian Studies in Law, Vol. 66, 2020.
- Nylén, Dawody, Hevi, ”Högsta domstolen lämnar vägledning om verkställighetshinder vid utvisning på grund av brott”, in Juridiskt Tidskrift, No. 4, 2019–20.
- Nylén, Dawody, Hevi, *Public Prosecutor v FA, Judgment, NJA 2019 p 47 III; ILDC 3152 (SE 2019), 19 February 2019*, January 2021.
- Nylén, Dawody, Hevi, ’Who is a refugee?’, Journal of Liberal Arts and Humanities (JLAH), Issue: Vol. 2, No. 11, 2021.
- Nylén, Dawody, Hevi, ‘The Prohibition of Refoulement in Refugee Law and the Matter of Extraterritorial Applicability’, in Juridisk Publikation, No. 1, 2022.
Teaching
- Public International law (undergraduate course)
- Human Rights in a Global Perspective (advanced course)
- International Criminal Law (advanced course)
- Migration Law (advanced course)
- Legal English
Research
Doctoral project summary:
The project focuses on the interpretation of Article 1F of the 1951 Refugee Convention, known as the ‘exclusion clause’, in relation to terrorism. The exclusion clause means that those who meet the prima facie definition of refugee must be denied protection under the Refugee Convention if they have been involved in crimes, such as crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, war crimes, serious non-political crimes or acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Thus, the consequences of the exclusion clause are that one who becomes excluded cannot benefit from the protection provided by the Refugee Convention.
Even though ‘terrorism’ is not explicitly referred in the exclusion clause, the objectives to recognize act of terrorism as an integral part of the exclusion clause is asserted clearly by the international community. It is therefore possible to exclude asylum seekers from international refugee protection due to terrorism in absence of a universal definition of the term ‘terrorism’. The focus on international terrorism and national security has created an environment in which States establishes more resources for protecting the civilian population and its national borders. With no universal definition of terrorism, one hypothetical concern is that the exclusion clause becomes open to broader interpretation abused by States to find additional reasons to justify exclusion from refugee protection.
Therefore, the central question this project examines is how to understand the exclusion clause in relation to terrorism in accordance with international law. The most relevant international legal fields studied within the scope of this project are International Refugee Law, International Human Rights Law, International Criminal Law, Extradition Law and International rules of Treaty Interpretation.