10.5281/zenodo.7064780
https://zenodo.org/records/7064780
oai:zenodo.org:7064780
Elspeth Guild
Elspeth Guild
0000-0003-1593-9726
Queen Mary University of London
Kathryn Allinson
Kathryn Allinson
0000-0002-3690-0700
University of Bristol
Nicolette Busuttil
Nicolette Busuttil
0000-0002-7578-7448
University of Westminster
Implementing the UN Global Compacts for Refugees and Migrants in Times of Pandemic: A View from the EU Member States.
Zenodo
2022
PROTECT Consortium
COVID-19
refugees
migrants
UN Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants (Compacts)
Common European Asylum System (CEAS)
Human Rights
Access to migration procedures
Immigration detention
access to healthcare
EU policy
2022-09-09
eng
Working paper
10.5281/zenodo.7064779
https://zenodo.org/communities/eu
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to human rights protection in the European Union, in light of its Member States' commitments in the UN Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants (Compacts). It holds that those in precarious and vulnerable positions vis-à-vis the State were among the first to experience a loss of access to rights in the face of the pandemic. Through analysis of the commitments made in the Global Compacts and their relationship to existing legal frameworks, as expressed in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and European Human Rights treaties, we assess implementation and policy in response to COVID-19. We contend that both the CEAS and the Compacts balance the human rights protections of refugees and migrants against the observance of state sovereign control over borders. A focus on three areas of contention in EU law and policy: access to migration procedures, use of immigration detention, and access to healthcare, demonstrates that there was a fragmented response to the pandemic based upon differing accounts of this balance. The paper concludes that, in line with the Global Compacts' call for respect for the human rights of refugees and migrants, States are obliged by their Global Compact commitments to extend basic healthcare and social service provisions to all migrants and refugees as well as to release those detained under immigration powers. This would go a long way to preserve their basic rights in the face of COVID-19 and ensure EU policy is in line with the commitments made within the Global Compacts.
European Commission
10.13039/501100000780
870761
THE RIGHT TO INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION: A PENDULUM BETWEEN GLOBALIZATION AND NATIVIZATION?