They told me they couldnt help me: Protection Risks Facing Non-Ukrainian Asylum Seekers and Refugees Fleeing Ukraine to the EU

Thousands of non-Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers who fled Ukraine following Russia's invasion continue to face significant barriers to protection and integration across the European Union, according to new research from HIAS and its Ukrainian partner Right to Protection (R2P). The research finds that, while the EU and its member states have delivered commendable protection for Ukrainians forced to flee, third country nationals and stateless people have fallen through the cracks of the EU's asylum policy

Unpacking the crisis regulation : a valuable addition to the European legal framework governing mass influx situations?

The European Union (EU) has been seeking new legal tools to manage the arrival of a mass influx of displaced persons. The Regulation 2024/1359 of 14 May 2024 addressing situations of crisis and force majeure in the field of migration and asylum (Crisis Regulation) introduces a new approach. The Crisis Regulation enables the Member States to derogate from certain EU instruments in the field of asylum and migration to address situations of crisis which are characterised as exceptional mass influx situations. This paper investigates whether the recently adopted Crisis Regulation will offer a valuable addition to the EU’s legal instruments for mass influx governance with a comparative analysis of the frameworks established by the Temporary Protection Directive and the Crisis Regulation. While the Temporary Protection Directive has received extensive academic scrutiny, particularly in the context of Ukrainian displacement, the Crisis Regulation remains relatively unexplored. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature by offering a critical legal analysis of the Crisis Regulation, specifically focusing on its derogation regime designed for exceptional mass influx situations. By comparing the Crisis Regulation to the Temporary Protection Directive, the paper examines the Regulation’s potential to alleviate the burden on Member States and safeguard the fundamental rights of persons seeking refuge in mass influx situations

Artificial intelligence and resettlement of refugees: implications for the fundamental rights

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in refugee resettlement can enable a high volume of resettlement cases to be decided quickly, lower the costs associated with resettlement, and foster the integration of refugees. However, the expanded use of AI in the context of resettlement may inevitably create serious issues in terms of human rights and interfere with the principle of non-discrimination, the right to an effective remedy, and the right to privacy and data protection. Despite growing academic interest in the impact of various uses of AI in asylum decision-making processes and migration management, there is a gap in the legal literature on the use of AI in the context of resettlement, and whether such use violates refugees’ fundamental rights. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the existing and potential use of AI throughout the resettlement of refugees and its implications, including the benefits and risks of such use on the human rights of individuals who are waiting to be resettled or those who are resettled

Alternatives to immigration detention in Türkiye : what’s the European Union got to do with it?

Türkiye, hosting the world’s largest refugee population, has become an important partner for the European Union in managing large-scale arrivals of refugees and migrants. Over the years, the EUTurkey Statement of March 2016 and the EU funding have notably increased Türkiye’s detention capacities, raising questions about the EU’s simultaneous support for alternatives to immigration detention. Türkiye’s recent legal amendments introduce seven alternatives to immigration detention, aiming to uphold the rights of migrants and reduce detention reliance. This shift necessitates academic scrutiny. This paper provides an overview of alternatives to detention in Türkiye and discusses the EU’s support of alternatives to detention in Türkiye and the possible motivation behind this support

Group-based protection of Afghan women and girls under the 1951 refugee convention

Published online: 31 July 2023The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 deprived women and girls of their fundamental rights. The Taliban denied or severely restricted women and girls’ rights to education, work, healthcare, freedom of movement, opinion and expression, and to protection from gender-based violence. This article argues that the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women and girls amounts to persecution, and all Afghan women and girls should be recognised as refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention. The article further examines the feasibility of prima facie recognition for Afghan women and girls.This article was published Open Access with the support from the EUI Library through the CRUI - CUP Transformative Agreement (2023-2025)

The EU grants temporary protection for people fleeing war in Ukraine : time to rethink unequal solidarity in EU asylum policy

More than two million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on 24 February 2022. To respond to the sudden large-scale displacement from Ukraine, the 2001 EU Temporary Protection Directive has been activated for the first time. This paper examines the key issues and questions raised by the EU’s temporary protection regime to people fleeing Ukraine, and the medium and long-term issues which can be expected from its implementation. It draws on lessons learned or ‘not to be learned’ from policies adopted by countries such as Turkey that responded to large-scale displacement from Syria, and others in South America, such as Colombia and Brazil, that responded to large-scale displacement from Venezuela. The paper argues that the solidarity principle enshrined in the EU Treaties needs to be substantially rethought and revisited. People fleeing conflicts and seeking asylum should not be subjected to illegitimate double standards based on their European or non-European origin or any other discriminatory grounds such as race, ethnic origin, and religion. EU asylum policy should be tailored and implemented in a way that upholds the notion of equal solidarity following a human-centric approach, putting every individual’s dignity and agency at the heart of its attention. Priority needs to be given to tackling institutionalised forms of discrimination and racism towards non-European asylum seekers and refugees, as these run contrary to the rule of law and fundamental rights principles enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU)