Civil Society Support to Refugees and Other Migrants in Europe: the need to end the backlash on civil society space

By Prof. Carla Ferstman The theme of Refugee Week 2024 (17-23 June 2024) is “Our Home” – This can be a place of refuge, a feeling or a state of mind; ‘Home can be more than one place and finding it can be a journey, as it is for so many of us who have to leave our countries and […]

The Cost of Preventing African Migrants from Entering Spain

Photo by YU-bin, flickr By Itzia Miravete Veraza According to a recent joint media investigation, Spain and other countries are fuelling human rights violations against migrants in countries like Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.  While States must work together to address the fact of mass migration, there is much debate about how to do so in the […]

The Criminalisation of Solidarity with Migrants – Protests Against Deportations In the UK

By Vanessa Topp  “We are very much aware of the government’s plans and we will try whenever possible to disrupt these forcible removals.”   quote from a protester at Peckham Hotel in South London interviewed for the Guardian  “We will continue to remove those with no right to be here. No amount of chanting, drum banging or tyre-slashing by […]

Criminalisation of Solidarity in Calais, France

Photo by Alisdare Hickson, flickr By Leonie Ngom In the shadow of the English Channel, the port city of Calais has come to symbolise both hope and despair for migrants seeking refuge in the United Kingdom. Over the years, Calais has seen a constant flow of individuals fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty, with aspirations of […]

When Externalization Meets Authoritarianism: Defending the Rights of Migrants and Refugees in Turkey

Photo taken by Güley Bor at the 8 March 2020 Istanbul feminist night March By Güley Bor The European People’s Party (EPP) once again emerged with the highest number of seats in the June 2024 European Parliament elections. As an architect of the 2016 EU-Turkey Migration Deal, the first of this kind of externalization agreements concluded by the EU, EPP’s election promises on […]

Breaking the silence: A Critical Examination of the UK Special Forces’ ‘No Comment’ Policy

Breaking the Silence: Accountability Challenges in UK Special Forces Operations Introduction In an outstanding research initiative, the University of Essex Human Rights Centre (HRC) Clinic collaborated with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Modern Conflict to examine the UK’s Special Forces operations. Led by a team of postgraduate law student researchers—Hamza Bozkurt, Vanessa Topp, Jack Millar, and Greta Ciucci—supervised by Dr Erin […]