
Susan M. Akram
Clinical Professor of Law
BA with honors, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
JD, Georgetown University
Diplome in International Human Rights,
Institut International des Droits de l’Homme, Strasbourg (France)
Masters of Studies, International Human Rights Law, University of Oxford
Biography
Professor Susan Akram directs BU Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, in which she supervises students engaged in international advocacy in domestic, international, regional, and UN fora. Her research and publications focus on immigration, asylum, refugee, forced migration, and human and civil rights issues, with an interest in the Middle East, the Arab, and Muslim world.
Akram’s distinguished research was recognized with a Fulbright Senior Scholar Teaching and Research Award for the 1999–2000 academic year. She has lectured on Palestinian refugees to general audiences around the world as well as to committees of the United Nations (including the High Commission for Refugees and the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), the European Union, and representatives of European and Canadian government ministries and parliaments. Since September 11, 2001, she has presented widely on the USA Patriot Act and immigration-related laws and policies as well as on her work challenging standard interpretations of women’s asylum claims from the Arab/Muslim world.
With her clinic students as well as in collaboration with other legal organizations, Akram has worked on resettlement and refugee claims of Guantanamo detainees, and has been co-counsel on a number of high profile cases, including the 20+-year litigation of a case of first impression on the interpretation of one of the exclusion bars to asylum, In Re A-H-. She has taught at the American University in Cairo, Egypt and at Al-Quds and Birzeit Universities in Palestine. She regularly teaches in the summer institute on forced migration at the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University, and in various venues in the Middle East on refugee law.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Immigration Law & Policy and International & Comparative Law
- Profiles
- Susan M. Akram
Publications
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Susan M. Akram, Palestinian Refugees, in Routledge Companion to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Asaf Siniver,2022)
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Susan M. Akram & Elizabeth Ruddick, A Comparative Perspective on Safe Third and First Country of Asylum Policies in the United Kingdom and North America: Legal Norms, Principles and Lessons Learned 40 Boston University International Law Journal (2022)
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Susan M. Akram & Deena Hurwitz, Teaching Human Rights: Practice and Theory (2022)
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Susan M. Akram, Palestinian Nationality and “Jewish” Nationality: From the Lausanne Treaty to Today, in Rethinking Statehood in Palestine: Self-Determination and Decolonization Beyond Partition (Leila H. Farsakh,2021)
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Susan M. Akram, UNRWA and Palestine Refugees, in The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (Cathryn Costello, Michelle Foster, and Jane McAdam,2021)
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Susan M. Akram, Extrapolating Lessons from a Master Mentor: What Bob Burdick Taught Me 101 Boston University Law Review (2021)
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Susan M. Akram & Kevin Johnson, Race, Civil Rights, and Immigration Law after September 11, 2001: The Targeting of Arabs and Muslims, in Islamophobia and the Law (Cyra Akila Choudhury and Khaled A. Beydoun,2020)
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Susan M. Akram, The Past as Present, Unlearned Lessons and the (Non-) Utility of International Law 44 North Carolina Journal of International Law (2019)
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Susan M. Akram, Assessing the Impact of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration in the Middle East 30 International Journal of Refugee Law (2018)
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Susan M. Akram, The Search for Protection for Stateless Refugees in the Middle East: Palestinians and Kurds in Lebanon and Jordan 30 International Journal of Refugee Law (2018)
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Susan M. Akram, Sarah Bidinger, Aaron Lang, Danielle Hites, Yoana Kuzmova & Elena Noureddine, Protecting Syrian Refugees: Laws, Policies, and Global Responsibility Sharing 7 Middle East Law and Governance (2015)
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Susan M. Akram, Karen AbuZayd, Denis Sullivan & Sara Roy, The Syrian Humanitarian Crisis: What Is to Be Done?, Middle East Policy Council's 80th Capitol Hill Conference (2015)
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Susan M. Akram, Closing Protection Gaps: Handbook on Protection of Palestinian Refugees in States Signatories to the 1951 Convention (2015)
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Susan M. Akram & Terry Rempel, Out of Place, Out of Time: Refugees, Rights and the (Re)Making of Palestine/Israel (2015)
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Susan M. Akram, Operation Protective Edge and Why Getting the Law Right Matters, Fall Abandoned Yet Central: Gaza and the Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2014)
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Susan M. Akram & Tom Syring, Still Waiting for Tomorrow: The Law and Politics of Unresolved Refugee Crises (2014)
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Susan M. Akram, Millennium Development Goals and the Protection of Displaced and Refugee Women and Girls 2 Laws (2013)
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Susan M. Akram & S. Michael Lynk, The Arab-Israeli Conflict and International Law No. 13-11 Boston University School of Law, Public Law Research Paper (2013)
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Susan M. Akram, The Legal Trajectory of the Palestinian Refugee Issue: From Exclusion to Ambiguity, in Palestine and the Palestinians in the Twenty First Century (Rochelle Davis & Mimi Kirk,2013)
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Susan M. Akram, The Rights of Palestinian Refugees and Territorial Solutions in Historic Palestine, in The Failure of the Two-State Solution: Prospects of One State in the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Hani A. Faris,2013)
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Susan M. Akram, Michael Dumper, Michael Lynk & Iain Scobbie, International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: a Rights-Based Approach to Middle East Peace (2011)
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Susan M. Akram, Refugees and the Right of Return, in Encyclopedia of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Cheryl Rubenberg,2010)
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Susan M. Akram, Do Constitutions Make a Difference in the Protection of Fundamental Human Rights? Comparing the United States and Israel, in The Dynamics of Constitutionalism in the Age of Globalisation (Morly Frishman & Sam Muller,2010)
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Susan M. Akram, Myths and Realities of the Palestinian Refugee Problem: Reframing the Right of Return 8 MIT Electronic Journal of Middle East Studies (2008)
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Susan M. Akram, The Arab Charter on Human Rights 2004 24 Boston University International Law Journal (2007)
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Susan M. Akram, The Case for Palestine: An International Law Perspective 26 Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (2006) (book review)
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Susan M. Akram & S. Michael Lynk, The Wall and the Law: A Tale of Two Judgements 24 Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (2006)
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Susan M. Akram, Are They Human Children or Just Border Rats? 15 Boston University Public Interest Law Journal (2006)
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Susan M. Akram & Maritza Karmely, Immigration and Constitutional Consequences of Post-9/11 Policies Involving Arabs and Muslims in the United States: Is Alienage a Distinction without a Difference? 38 U.C. Davis Law Review (2005)
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Susan M. Akram, A Reading of the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Legality of Israel's Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories The Palestine Center: A Briefing Paper (2004)
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Susan M. Akram, A Reading of the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Legality of Israel's Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories The Palestine Center: A Briefing Paper (2004)
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Susan M. Akram & Kevin Johnson, Race and Civil Rights Pre-September 11, 2001: The Targeting of Arabs and Muslims, in Civil Rights in Peril The Targeting of Arabs and Muslims (2004)
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Susan M. Akram & Terry Rempel, Temporary Protection as an Instrument for Implementing the Right of Return for Palestinian Refugees 22 Boston University International Law Journal (2004)
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Susan M. Akram & Kevin Johnson, U.S. Measures Against Terrorism: The Civil Rights Impacts, in Anti-Terrorist Measures and Human Rights (Wolfgang Benedek & Alice Yotopoulos-Marangopoulos,2004)
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Susan M. Akram, Orientalism Revisited in Asylum and Refugee Claims, in Moral Imperialism: A Critical Anthology (Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol,2002)
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Susan M. Akram, Palestinian Refugees and Their Legal Status: Rights, Politics, and Implications for a Just Solution 31 Journal of Palestine Studies (2002)
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Susan M. Akram, The Aftermath of September 11, 2001: The Targeting of Arabs and Muslims in America 24 Arab Studies Quarterly (2002)
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Susan M. Akram, Reinterpreting Palestinian Refugee Rights under International Law, in Palestinian Refugees: the Right of Return (2001)
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Susan M. Akram, Palestinian Refugee Rights: Parts 1, 2 and 3 Information Briefs (2000)
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Susan M. Akram, Temporary Protection and its Applicability to the Palestinian Refugee Case BADIL (2000)
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Susan M. Akram, The Right of Return: Palestinian Refugees and Prospects for a Durable Peace Conference Briefing Paper (2000)
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Susan M. Akram, Fora Available for Palestinian Refugee Restitution, Compensation and Related Claims BADIL (2000)
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Susan M. Akram, Historic Court Decision Protects First Amendment Rights of Dissident Aliens BADIL (2000)
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Susan M. Akram, Reinterpreting Palestinian Refugee Rights Under International Law, and a Framework for Durable Solutions BADIL (2000)
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Susan M. Akram, Orientalism Revisited in Asylum and Refugee Claims 12 International Journal of Refugee Law (2000)
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Susan M. Akram, Brief Amicus Curiae on the Status of Palestinian Refugees under International Law (2000)
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Susan M. Akram & Terry Rempel, Recommendations for Durable Solutions for Palestinian Refugees: A Challenge to the Oslo Framework 11 The Palestine Yearbook of International Law (2000)
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Susan M. Akram, Scheherezade Meets Kafka: Two Dozen Sordid Tales of Ideological Exclusion 14 Georgetown Immigration Law Journal (1999)
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Susan M. Akram, The World Refugee Regime in Crisis: A Failure to Fulfill The Burden-Sharing And Humanitarian Requirements of the 1951 Refugee Convention 93 (1999)
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Susan M. Akram, Traps for the Unwary or Major Issues on Judicial Review of Deportation Decisions Under the Immigration & Nationality Act Section 106 1995-96 Immigration and Nationality Law Handbook (1996)
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Susan M. Akram, Traps for the Unwary, or Major Issues on Judicial Review of Deportation Decisions under INA Section 106, in The Immigration & Nationality Law Handbook (1995)
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Susan M. Akram & Physicians for Human Rights, Medical Testimony on Victims of Torture: A Physician's Guide to Political Asylum Cases (1991)
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Susan M. Akram, Historic Court Decision Protects First Amendment Rights of Dissident Aliens 18 Immigration Newsletter (1989)
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In the Media
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The Voice of the Cape July 14, 2023
Israel’s Jenin Operation Amounts to War Crimes, Say Experts
Susan Akram is quoted.
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Arab Center Washington DC July 13, 2023
The Israeli Attack on Jenin: Legal and Political Implications
Susan Akram speaks on a webinar.
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Middle East Eye
Israel’s Jenin Operation Amounts to War Crimes, Say Experts
Susan Akram is quoted.
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PolitiFact December 22, 2022
Ask PolitiFact: What Can We Expect if Title 42 Is Lifted?
Susan Akram is quoted.
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The Pilot December 16, 2022
The Boston Area Order of Malta gathered at St. John’s Seminary on Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, for the celebration of Mass and a reception during which several members were recognized for significant service.
Susam Akram is the guest speaker at St. John's Seminary on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
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PolitiFact September 19, 2022
Title 42 Not ‘The Last Tool’ Border Patrol Has to Prevent Illegal Immigration
Susan Akram is quoted.
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Rolling Stone September 15, 2022
DeSantis Flying Migrants to Martha’s Vineyard May Have Violated Federal Law, Experts Say
Susan Akram is quoted.
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USA Today March 3, 2022
Black and Brown Refugees Are Once Again Being Turned Away in Europe Amid Ukraine Migrant Crisis
Susan Akram is quoted.
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The New European February 10, 2022
To Have And Have Not: a Special Investigation into Global Migration
Susan Akram is quoted.
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MENAFN January 25, 2022
Inaugural Middle East Conference Announced by HBKU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Susan Akram is featured.
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Politifact August 16, 2021
PolitiFact – Charlie Kirk Baselessly Claims Biden Intentionally Let Afghanistan Fall to Alter U.S. Population
Susan Akram is quoted.
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The Conversation September 2, 2020
US Punishes International Criminal Court for Investigating Potential War Crimes in Afghanistan
A piece by Susan Akram.
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Open Global Rights August 19, 2020
The Pandemic Shows that Now Is the Time to End Immigration Detention
A piece by Susan Akram.
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OpinioJuris August 13, 2020
Why the Executive Order on the ICC is Unconstitutional and Self-Defeating
A piece by Susan Akram.
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November 27, 2019
Discussion Sparks Talk of Inclusion, Openness for Somerville Immigrant Community
Susan Akram mentioned in <em>The Somerville Times<em/>.
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