The Syrian civil war has been waging for ten years and the consequences for Syria, Syrians, the neighboring states, and the region have been devastating. The crisis has left over 6.6 million Syrians in need of protection and resettlement. Still, a handful of neighboring states continue to host the majority of Syrian refugees.
Minors and shipwrecks in the Mediterranean: a never-ending story
Youssef and Alan are only two of too many children who have lost their lives on the move in recent years. The International Migration Organization (IOM) reported that 337 children have died while migrating in Africa between 2014–2018, 200 of them died as a result of drowning in the Mediterranean sea. However, this number does not reflect the grim reality: according to IOM, over 70 per cent of people whose deaths were reported in the Central Mediterranean between 2014 and 2018 were never found.
The Global Compacts and the Long Journey of the Refugee Regime
From the definition of refugees to the practical implementation of the right to asylum, refugee regimes are an issue leading to sharp political divisions or outright stand-off in a number of countries. Is this no-exit-road impression the truth of the matter, and what are the prospects of the Global Compact in this not-so-rosy scenario?