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Natasha Yacoub

PhD candidate, Researcher
Masters of Law (Public International Law), University of Melbourne, 2012 Bachelor of Law, University of Adelaide, 1998 Bachelor Arts (Honours), University of Adelaide, 1997

Ms Yacoub is an international refugee law practitioner and scholar. She worked for two decades for UNHCR. She was posted in conflict and peacetime settings since 2001 in Egypt, Sudan, Ireland, United Nations Headquarters New York, Myanmar, Australia and the Pacific Island States (including Nauru and Papua New Guinea). She also served as a decision-maker on the Refugee Review Tribunal and Migration Review Tribunal in Australia from 2012 to 2014. She teaches international refugee law at the University of London, where she also chairs a Working Group on Feminist Theory and Refugee Law. She is currently undertaking doctoral studies at the Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law.

Research topic

Her thesis is titled: ‘Gendering the International Law Criteria for Return of Refugees: the case of Sudan.’

Synopsis

Voluntary repatriation has been upheld as the ‘ideal’ solution for refugees by the United Nations General Assembly since 1948. Its inclusion in international refugee law instruments originated from efforts to prevent forced return practices with dire humanitarian consequences following the Second World War.  However, voluntary far from ideal for refugee women. The thesis applies a gender-sensitive approach to voluntary repatriation in international refugee law. It demonstrates that this law fails to include women’s experiences, risking forced return to the harm their fled. It proposes a transformation of the law to better protect refugee women.

Supervisors

Jane McAdam, Christine Forster

Areas of interest

International refugee law, feminist theory, human rights
Email

n.yacoub@unsw.edu.au
  • Natasha Yacoub, “Feminist Approaches to Migration Law” in Vincent Chetail (ed), Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Migration Law (forthcoming)
  • Natasha Yacoub, “: lessons from the Global South” Asian Journal of International LawÌę(2023)
  • Yacoub, Natasha “: A Thinly Veiled Durable Solution for Refugee Women” (Völkerrechtsblog, 2023)
  • Natasha Yacoub, Janna Wessels, Rosa Da Costa, “ to legal displacement research” (Refugee Law Initiative blog series, 2023)
  • Natasha Yacoub, “” (Asylum Insight, 2022)
  • David Cantor, Nikolas Feith Tan, Mariana Gkliati, Elizabeth Mavropoulou, Kathryn Allinson, Sreetapa Chakrabarty, Maja Grundler, Lynn Hillary, Emilie McDonnell, Riona Moodley, Stephen Phillips, Annick Pijnenburg, Adel-Naim Reyhani, Sophia Soares, Natasha Yacoub, “” International Journal of Refugee LawÌę(2022)
  • Natasha Yacuob, “Women’s Rights and the Criteria for of Refugee Status for ‘Ceased Circumstances’” (Refugee Law Initiative blog series, 2022)
  • Yacoub, Errington, Nu, Robinson “” Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law (2021) 22(1), 96-114
  • Gleeson, Yacoub, “” (UNSW, Sydney, 2021)
  • Yacoub, Schwartz, Bezanson, “”, in: Waldman, Glass (eds) Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises (Oxford University Press, 2019)
  • Yacoub, ‘Protecting civilians at the Security Council: Responsibility or politics?(Opens in new window)’ (Regnet, ANU, 2012)
  • Governor of New South Wales, Australia Day Award for scholarship benefitting women (2024)
  • Emerging Scholar Award (equal first, 2023)
  • UNSW Dean’s Student Prize for contribution to research community (2022)