Breaking down borders.

• Author: Sethna, Zahra
• Position: University of Quebec at Montreal conference

Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights declares that everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State, and the right to "leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country". This means that all people should be able to move around as they please.

Reality tells a different tale, however. Restrictions and limitations are placed on how, where and why people can move within and between countries. In addition to legal and governmental restrictions, there are financial and cultural limitations that prevent people from travelling freely. They often leave their homes unwillingly or are forced to do so by unbearable conditions, such as war, poverty, unemployment, forced migration or persecution.

Despite the ideals of Article 13, not all people are able to leave their own country or legally enter another. Some should be and are considered refugees, while others are considered immigrants or "illegals". The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees clearly spells out who is to be considered a refugee, and accords specific rights and protection to them. Economic migrants--those "leaving their country willingly to seek a better life" elsewhere--and internally displaced people are not specifically protected under the Convention.

Asylum-seekers use texts such as the Universal Declaration of Human rights as defence in their claims, but are often "duly rejected", according to Robert Barsky, founder of the Article Thirteen Centre at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM).

The right to move around isn't obvious, as it might be for birds, fish or animals; it is regulated by the State", said Mr. Barsky, whose interest in the plight of refugees began when, as a doctoral student in Montreal, he worked as a transcriber for refugee hearings, and who is currently a visiting professor of literature at Yale University. "I have for a long time been interested in the relationship between international organs of assistance like the United Nations and UNHOR, and all of these wonderful treaties that they produce, and concrete actions which occur in the local population", he said.

The Centre's first event was a recent conference on migration and border studies held at UQAM. Participants from South Africa, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Rwanda, Burundi and other countries came together to discuss concepts such as "The Right to Return in the Aftermath of the...