Extract

Ivor Carlyon Jackson passed away in Geneva on 5 December 2014 at the age of 86, leaving behind his beloved wife, Fiorella Badiani Jackson, along with family, friends, and colleagues. Ivor Jackson was a distinguished soul and one of the founders of the international refugee protection regime as we know it today. His lasting legacy is his contribution to the lives of millions of refugees around the world.

Ivor Jackson was born in London on 22 September 1928. He grew up in England but also spent some time in Riga [Latvia] during the inter-war period because of his mother’s family. Many of his relatives died brutally in Stalin’s Soviet Union and during the Nazi occupation of the Baltic States. Ivor experienced anti-semitism in Europe first-hand and lived through the anguish of the Second World War in England. Ivor and I had the habit of talking about memories - he was an avid diarist- trying to make sense of history and current events. I remember him mentioning a childhood story that had marked him: out of sheer luck or intuition [I think it was the latter] he made a detour on his way home from school and survived an air raid as a result.

You do not currently have access to this article.