30 July 2024
Common but Differentiated Responsibility in Climate and Genocide Cases
The search for a more equitable and legally binding responsibility distribution mechanism in global refugee protection starts with the question what responsibility states bear for the protection of refugees and other forced migrants outside of their territory. Here I discuss two potential avenues within international law: the operationalised international law principles of cooperation and solidarity, based on their application in climate cases; and the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) doctrine from international humanitarian law. The distribution mechanism they both apply might be useful to establish and define extraterritorial protection obligations of states towards refugees. Continue reading >>
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15 March 2024
The Ghost of Moria
How the Mytilene criminal court deals with the case against the Moria 4 in the court of second instance. Continue reading >>
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29 February 2024
Humanitarian Externalisation
Why are the reasons given in support of the declared aim of the current asylum policies in the UK, EU and USA of breaking the business model of smugglers expressed in humanitarian terms? It is, no doubt, tempting to simply dismiss this humanitarian rhetoric as hypocrisy, as the compliment that vice pays to virtue. Yet however justified that dismissal may be in particular cases, to turn away too quickly from this phenomenon would be to miss something of political significance in its form and to fail to register the historical entanglement of humanitarianism and border externalisation. Continue reading >>
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25 October 2023
Trapped in Gaza
Thousands of Palestinians are amassed at the Rafah border crossing into Egypt – the only land border point from Gaza that is not controlled by Israel. Periodically opened by Egypt to allow at least some aid convoys to enter Gaza, it has been firmly closed to Palestinians seeking to leave Gaza since October 10. Both international refugee and human rights law that bind Egypt make clear that its closure of the Rafah border crossing to all Palestinians – including to those at grave and imminent risk – is an illegal act of refoulement. In this case, it has proved to be an illegal act with truly deadly consequences and must be condemned as such. Continue reading >>18 November 2022
The Terrible Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Central Africa
In a never-ending humanitarian crisis, Central Africa is host to the largest community of internally displaced persons (IDPs). In early November, thousands of new IDPs, including a high number of children, found shelter in overcrowded and unsanitary camps in Goma and Lubero, in the North Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fleeing violence in the area, caused by the intensifying fighting between the Congolese armed forces and non-state armed group M23. It is for this reason of permanent insecurity in the area that I argue that the adoption of a specific binding legal instrument could ease the management of the IDPs in the region. The adoption of such an instrument would find one of its foundations in the concept of “solidarity”. Continue reading >>
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17 May 2021
Menschenrechtliche Grenzen für Pushbacks – und der weitergehende Schutz nach EU-Sekundärrecht
Das europäische Asylrecht plagen mehrere Strukturprobleme. Es setzt auf hochkomplizierte Verfahren, die in langen Verordnungen niedergelegt sind, die an den europäischen Außengrenzen rechtspraktisch vielfach nicht funktionieren. Außerdem gibt es bis zum heutigen Tag keine einzige Vorlage eines griechischen Gerichts, die sich mit der Situation auf den griechischen Inseln oder gar mit der Grenzüberwachung in der Ägäis beschäftigte. Continue reading >>30 September 2020
What Happened at the Greece-Turkey Border in early 2020?
Reports have documented allegations about those in need of international protection being physically prevented from entering into Greece, being subjected to severe forms of mistreatment and deprivation of their liberty, property as well as being collectively expelled from the country without having the opportunity to apply for asylum. Thus, it could be argued there are violations of the right to seek and enjoy asylum, right to life, prohibition of torture, right to liberty and security and right to an effective remedy. Yet this blog will only focus on the most relevant rights/issues. Continue reading >>
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30 September 2020
A ‘Complete’ System of Legal Remedies?
In practice, Member States and the EU increasingly rely on informal instruments for cooperation with third countries, especially in the area of migration control, with important implications for the rule of law. The choice for informality becomes particularly problematic when it affects the legal situation of irregular migrants, including refugees because it makes it very difficult for them to challenge these instruments in front of EU courts. This blog post explores the effects of EU’s recourse to informality on the judicial protection of the rights of irregular migrants by using the EU-Turkey Statement as an example. The Statement, also known as the EU-Turkey ‘deal’, raises serious doubts as to whether the EU legal order indeed provides for the promised ‘complete’ system of legal remedies. Continue reading >>
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28 September 2020
The External Dimension of EU Migration and Asylum Policy
This online symposium is being held just before the ACES-Asser conference on ‘Migration deals and their damaging effects’, which will take place online on 8-9 October. The conference and the contributions in this symposium aim to examine the legal and policy implications of the increased informalisation of the EU’s external action in the field of migration and asylum. The use of informal instruments in EU external relations is nothing new. At the same time, the increasing recourse to such instruments in the past few years has been a growing cause of concern over their potential detrimental effects on the rights of migrants and refugees, the EU’s institutional balance, the rule of law, as well as the global regime for protection of refugees. Continue reading >>
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09 June 2020
Hypocritical and Illegitimate
In March, the German Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure (‘Ministry’) amended a number of ship safety laws. While appearing standard at first glance, they are the latest attempt to obstruct the operations of civil sea-rescue NGOs, which is why this week the affected NGOs went public with their outrage at this development. Continue reading >>
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