Discretion, Accommodation, and Uncertainty...

Prof.ssa Delphine Nakache
Università di Ottawa Visiting Professor nell'ambito del progetto Dipartimento di eccellenza “Innovazione e vulnerabilità: problemi giuridici e tutele”

Introduce
Prof. Fabrizio Marongiu Buonaiuti Università di Macerata

Abstract

Seminar 2 – Wednesday, March 4, 2026 (2-5 pm)
Discretion, Accommodation, and Uncertainty: Navigating Vulnerability in Refugee Determination – Lessons from the Canadian Experience

Drawing on findings from the VULNER project, an international research initiative funded by a

European Union Horizon 2020 grant (2020-2024) involving several countries including Canada,

this seminar uses the Canadian case to explore challenges that are common to many asylum

systems: How should migrant vulnerability be defined, assessed, and what role should it play

in protection decisions? The Canadian component of the project involved extensive desk

research and over 100 interviews with government officials, legal practitioners, and migrants

across multiple provinces. The seminar highlights key inconsistencies in how vulnerability is

operationalized in the Canadian protection system and examines two recurring challenges: the

difficulty of accessing and relying on psychological assessments, and the wide margin of

discretion left to decision-makers. These findings offer valuable points of comparison for

European asylum systems grappling with similar questions.