Panel details

Panel organiser(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online
Number of paper presentations	4
Location	Istanbul

Abstract

Family separation remains one of the most painful consequences of humanitarian crises, whether caused by armed conflict, disaster, displacement, or migration. This panel explores Restoring Family Links (RFL) as a humanitarian action rooted in the right to family life and the right to know, grounded in international human rights and humanitarian law.

Despite global frameworks that recognize family reunification as a fundamental right, humanitarian actors often face a growing gap between policy commitments and operational realities. Strict border controls, security policies, and bureaucratic constraints can prevent families from reuniting — even when humanitarian tracing services have successfully located missing loved ones.

This panel invites practitioners, legal experts, and researchers to discuss how RFL services operate at the intersection of protection, legal rights, and state control. Contributions will explore case studies of RFL in conflict zones, cross-border reunification challenges, legal frameworks, and advocacy efforts. Special attention will be given to the right to know — the entitlement of families to information about the fate and whereabouts of missing relatives — and how this right is upheld or denied in practice.

By highlighting the human stories behind RFL and examining the tensions between humanitarian imperatives and political interests, this panel seeks to generate dialogue on how to advance rights-based family reunification in humanitarian response.

Paper presentations