Personal profile
Personal information
Younous Arbaoui is Assistant Professor of Migration Law at the Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law (ACMRL), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he leads the Global Migration Law Hub. His research and teaching focus on the interaction between global migration governance instruments—particularly the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) and the UN Migrant Workers Convention (ICRMW)—with special attention to developments in the EU and North Africa. He is actively involved in the travaux préparatoires of General Comments of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW), and was instrumental in establishing a formal partnership between ACMRL and the CMW through a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening academic engagement with labour migration governance. He currently leads the Global Rights-Making Network, an international initiative that supports the preparation of shadow reports on migrant workers' rights to accompany state submissions to UN treaty bodies.
Arbaoui’s academic path began in the early 2000s, when he combined his work as a primary school teacher with legal studies at the University of Marrakech. After earning a bachelor's degree in public law, he moved to Amsterdam in 2004 to study Dutch, international, and European law. He defended his socio-legal PhD in 2019 on the dilemma of doing justice, through law, to individual freedoms without compromising family life, and vice versa—a study conducted within the Migration Law as a Family Matter project.
In addition to his academic work, Arbaoui is rédacteur en chef of Revue Hijra, an interdisciplinary journal on migration law and policy. He is also chair of the Clinique Juridique Hijra in Morocco, which he founded to provide legal aid to asylum seekers and train a new generation of migration lawyers in the region. He serves as secretary of the Migration Law Clinic Amsterdam, coordinating clinical legal education for law students engaged in real-world migration cases.
Research
- Global Migration Law, in particular the interplay between the GCM and the ICRMW
- Family reunification for refugees and migrants
- Labour migration
- Gender and refugee law
- Asylum and migration law in North Africa
Teaching
- Migration Law Clinic (Master)
- Refugee and Family Migration Law (Master)
- Dutch Migration Law (Master)
- Internships Coordination (Master)
- Judicial Protection in Immigration Law
- Human Rights and the Border (Minor)
- Refugee Law (VU Law Academy and SSR Post-Academic Education)
- Global Migration Law in Action (Online Post-Academic Course in English, French and Arabic)
- Thesis supervision (Bachelor, Master, and PhD)
Ancillary activities
- Clinique Juridique Hijra | Tanger | Voorzitter (vrijwilliger) | 2020-01-01 - present
Ancillary activities are updated daily
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Global Migration Law in Tunisia: The Potential of the Global Compact for Migration to Support the Ratification of the United Nations Convention on Migrant Workers Rights
Arbaoui, Y. & Semaoui, A., Dec 2024, In: Laws. 13, 6, p. 1-21 21 p., 73.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open Access -
Summary Report of The International Roundtable on Global Migration Law in the European Union
Arbaoui, Y., 2024, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. 12 p.Research output: Book / Report › Report › Professional
Open Access -
L’impact du Pacte de Marrakech pour les migrations au Maroc: Le rôle du gouvernement et de la société civile
Arbaoui, Y., Dec 2023, In: Revue Hijra : La Revue Marocaine du Droit d’Asile et Migration. 2023, 2, p. 4-25 22 p.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile30 Downloads (Pure) -
Drowned in Silence: North African complicity in Mediterranean migrant deaths?
Arbaoui, Y., Jul 2025, In: Revue Hijra : La Revue Marocaine du Droit d’Asile et Migration. 3, 3, p. 32-52 21 p., 2.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile12 Downloads (Pure) -
The GCM Implementation: A Focus on the Implementation of Objective 8 in Morocco and Tunisia
Arbaoui, Y., Apr 2025, The American University in Cairo. School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Center for Migration and Refugee Studies, 12 p. (Center for Migration and Refugee Studies, Policy papers series, American University Cairo).Research output: Working paper / Preprint › Working paper › Professional
Courses
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Actualiteiten Migratierecht (VULA)
Swider, K., Slingenberg, L., Wessels, J. & Arbaoui, Y. 28/11/24 → 28/11/24
Course
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Projects
- 2 Active
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Global Migration and Refugee Law in Egypt and Morocco
Arbaoui, Y. (Participant)
2 Jun 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Seminar › Academic
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UN Expert Consultation on Combating Xenophobia and Protecting Human Rights
Arbaoui, Y. (Participant)
30 Oct 2024 → 31 Oct 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Other event › Societal
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Making Rights Reality Conference
Arbaoui, Y. (Participant)
17 Jun 2024 → 19 Jun 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Expert meeting › Academic
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Hijra GCM Workshop 2
Arbaoui, Y. (Participant)
29 Feb 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Workshop › Societal
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International Roundtable. Global Migration Law in the European Union
Arbaoui, Y. (Participant)
24 Nov 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Expert meeting › Societal
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Press/Media
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Ad Valvas: VU-docent Younous Arbaoui richt samenwerking met VN-comité op
25/01/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other
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Pacte de Marrakech, quatre ans après sa mise en place ?
2/06/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Vluchtelingenkinderen groeien mogelijk op zonder ouders door nieuw beleid van de IND
23/08/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment