The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, starting in February 2020, led to extraordinary measures to slow down the spread of the virus, in particular through restricting the movement of persons. These restrictions included the closure of many parts of public administrations, access to ports for rescue vessels in Italy and serious disruption to […]
Guest blog: The Impact of Covid-19 on Migrants and Refugees
Understanding the unique challenges faced by migrant populations is necessary to prepare future policy responses to health crises that prioritize migrants’ safety and wellbeing.
Guest blog: Vulnerable or not, no durable solutions on the horizon for refugees in Lebanon
This blog post sheds light on the protection vacuum created by the uncoordinated asylum policy decisions made worldwide. It argues that the undeclared political intention of the traditional resettlement countries and Lebanon’s positioning on the issue of refugees has one inevitable repercussion, i.e., dispossessing refugees from (international) protection.
Guest blog: What do Syrian refugees in Turkey need? Durable solutions. When do they need it? Now.
By Meltem İneli Ciğer (Asile project). Photo: Yousif Al Shewaili/Oxfam Today, Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world, including more than 3,678,527 Syrians. Considering that Syrians began arriving to the Turkish borders to seek refuge in April 2011, the Syrian displacement has long become a protracted situation. I have analysed the legal framework […]
The protest of the ‘vulnerable people’ in Marseille: a call for a decolonised asylum and border regi
Gathered into a union of asylum seekers, some women and men, mainly from West and Central Africa, held their first demonstration on 10 June 2021 in Marseille, a port city located in the midst of the Mediterranean migratory routes. “Let’s take to the streets and show them that we all have duties before we have rights!”
International protection on Lesvos five years after the EU-Turkey Deal
Both the EU-Turkey Statement and the recent Joint Ministerial Decision are very problematic as they jeopardise the state and nature of international protection itself. Readmissions or returns of asylum seekers back to Turkey constitutes a direct violation of European and international law.
A Heated Summer Awaits the Mediterranean
While Norway is shaken by the tragedy of Artin, the remains of a one-year-old who washed up on the shores of Karmøy, more than 120 corpses have been washed ashore in Tunisia over a few weeks: the most recent step of a grim procession from Libya toward Europe through the sea. In a trip over April and May 2021, I collected witnesses and opinions from Tunisians and Libyans themselves.
‘Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains’: Protecting refugees in an (in)humanitarian system
For several decades, well before the outbreak of COVID-19, the global humanitarian system appears to be far from the expected standards of efficiency and inclusiveness.
The Peripheral Role of the Global Refugee Regime in Southern Africa: Protection Challenges in Urban ...
Southern Africa is home to a significant number of refugees and forced migrants, with UNHCR reporting 1.1 million refugees and asylum-seekers in the region in 2020. To assist states in hosting these populations, the global refugee regime has been associated with offering protection to refugees in the region since the 1960s. This assistance has taken […]
Accessing a Fair Asylum Procedure: Failures at the external borders of the European Union
Just as Frontex and national border guards are intensifying their coordination of external border controls, it is time to investigate how, whether and under what conditions, national fundamental and human rights bodies can cooperate and coordinate to provide the necessary counterbalance to the coordination of border controls. Ending the seemingly endless litany of deaths and human rights abuses occurring in or around external border operations of EU and Member State agencies (or through failure to act) is the only principled way forward that is in line with States’ commitments to respect, promote, and fulfill the human rights of migrants and refugees.