A ‘European Migrant Crisis’? Some Thoughts on Mediterranean Borders

Abstract

This paper addresses the ongoing ‘European Migrant Crisis’ by, first, discussing the return of internal borders within the European Union as zones for controlling and sorting migrants, and then both internal and external borders as areas in which policing and national policy choices deeply challenge international law, which was designed to protect all human beings regardless of their country of departure. The primary argument developed here is that some EU countries neglect to abide by the European and international regulations on migration, asylum seekers, and human rights, with unprecedented consequences. Border policies are presented here as paradoxical governmental tools, which are not applied equally and uniformly. The main consequence is the growing gap between rights guaranteed under the law and their selective application within a border management where the state of exception is increasingly visible.

İnsan Güvenli̇ği̇ Merceği̇nde Siğinmaci Kri̇zi̇ Ve Avrupa

“…Buna bağlı olarak sığınmacıların üye devletlere yerleştirilmesi dışında, AB Komisyonu, Kopenhag kriterlerini yerine getirmiş olan birlik üyeliğine aday ülkeler üzerinden bir liste oluşturmuştur 37 . Bazı ülkeler mesele hakkındaki uluslararası hukuk metinlerinde konu ile ilgili düzenlemeler olmasına karşın, ülkelerine gelen sığınmacılar konusunda gerekli prosedürleri yerine getirmemiş ve bu şekilde kendi vatandaşlarının emniyeti kisvesi altında sınırlar kapatılmış; sığınmacılara hakları ihlal edilir şekilde muamele edilmiştir 38 . "Sınır güvenliği" anlayışı insan hareketliliğinin doğal olarak kriminalize edilmesi neticesinde AB kamuoyunun büyük çoğunluğunda refah sistemlerini kötüye kullanmak için gelen "sahte sığınmacılar" algısını beraberinde getirmiştir 39 .…”

Human Security and Sustainable Development in East Africa

“…As such, it is no longer feasible to simply ignore security problems/ challenges in distant places because sooner or later distance gives way for proximity. For example, the European refugee/ migrant crisis of the last decade was occasioned by an influx of refugees escaping armed conflict in parts of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) -a region and culture that Europe has long considered distant and nemesis (Lee & Nerghes, 2018;Lendaro, 2016;Quinn, 2016).…”

Caring for Others, Managing Migrants: Local and Institutional Hospitality in Lampedusa (Italy)

“…Lampedusa, the southernmost Italian territory, is one of the symbols of hospitality offered to migrants 1 traveling from the African continent to Europe via the Mediterranean. Although this island of 6000 inhabitants has become famous because of the recent migration crisis (Lendaro 2016), the arrival of migrant people in this territory started a long time ago. More specifically, the history of hospitality offered to migrants in this Italian borderland can be divided into three phases (Cuttitta 2012).…”