Humanitarian crises caused by mass displacement and solutions to the global refugee crisis will be the focus of the annual University of Essex Human Rights Centre Lecture next week.

António Guterres, a candidate for the post of next United Nations Secretary General, will give his lecture, ‘Present Trends of Forced Displacement: From Prevention to Protection and Solutions’, on 15 June at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Mr Guterres served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a decade, stepping down in December 2015. Previously he was Prime Minister of Portugal (1995-2000).

In his role as High Commissioner, Mr Guterres has been responsible for dealing with the fallout of civil war in Syria which has produced the worst refugee crisis since World War II. With no end to the crisis in sight, Mr Guterres will address some of the many questions that remain unanswered, such as whether the EU’s decision to return refugees to Turkey is appropriate, and whether wealthy Arab states in the region should do more to alleviate the pressure on countries including Jordan and Lebanon.

Professor Geoff Gilbert, an international law expert from Essex’s School of Law and Human Rights Centre, will respond.

The University of Essex Human Rights Lecture takes place on 15 June, at 5.00pm (for a 5.30pm start) at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Northcliffe House, 28 Tudor Street, London, EC4Y 0AY. A drinks reception will follow the lecture.