European Nations' Asylum Paradox in Perspective: Exploring Italy-Albania’s Refugees Pact Asylum Processing under the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1967 Protocol
Abstract
This study explores Italy-Albania’s refugees pact asylum processing to create awareness about humanitarian issues, the 1951 Convention’s contravention, and to expose Italy's (Europeans') asylum paradox. Asylum successful applicants get access to Italy, whereas unsuccessful applicants are repatriated. This study is significant because of the open arms Europeans received Ukrainian refugees, whereas Syrian and Afghan refugees were neglected. The paper adopts Building an infrastructure of Dissent, and Civil Solidarity as a Transformative Practice, exploring Italy-Albania’s pact. The study adopts a literature review, otherwise known as a ‘meta study’. The study identifies that Europeans, through civil solidarity, signed the Convention, protected European descent refugees. However, the 1967 Protocol results in refugees floodgate’. Most refugees are non-Europeans. Regarding priorities shift from humanitarian issues to infrastructural development. This explains the European asylum paradox. Far-right ideologies deemed nations safe in the absence of war. Conflicts and cultural practices tantamount to persecution are ignored in asylum seeking. Modern migration consists of a mixed bag is frowned upon in processing asylum. Only push and pull factors are considered. Some nations are deemed ‘safe’. Applications from such nations are ignored. Unsuccessful applicants are repatriated, which violates human rights and contravenes the 1951 Convention. This study argues that, unlike in the 1950s, when humanitarian and civil solidarity concerned Contracting States, nowadays, nations prioritize infrastructure over human rights. Far-right ideologies ‘fan’ Italy-Albania’s pact violates human rights and contravenes the Convention. The paper recommends the Convention’s re-examination to be abreast with time, since Contracting States nowadays value infrastructure over civil solidarity.
Downloads
References
Adebayo, A. A. (2015). The legal regime for the protection of asylum seekers and refugees: An overview of the Geneva Convention 1951. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of International Law and Jurisprudence, 6, 83-91.
Agustín, Ó. G., Buconjic, P., Jørgensen, M. B., & Salifu, M. (2024). Understanding solidarity practices with refugees. In Research Handbook on Asylum and Refugee Policy (pp. 305-319). Edward Elgar Publishing.
AlJazeera(2024)https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/16/italy-sends-first-asylum-to-albania-under-controversial-deal(Retrived 11/11/2024).
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211.
Bauder, H., & Juffs, L. (2020). ‘Solidarity’in the migration and refugee literature: analysis of a concept. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(1), 46-65.
BBC(2024)https://bbc.com/news/articles/ceqxzzy5x7jo(Retrived 11/11/2024).
Bukari, K. N. (2013). Exploring indigenous approaches to conflict resolution: The Case of the Bawku Conflict in Ghana. Journal of sociological research, 4(2), 86-104.
Camenisch, A., & Müller, S. (2017). From (e) migration to mobile lifestyles: Ethnographic and conceptual reflections about mobilities and migration. New Diversities, 19(3), 43-57.
Carling, J., & Talleraas, C. (2016). Root causes and drivers of migration. Oslo: Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), 2016, 1-44.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.
Durieux, J. F. (2014). Temporary protection: Hovering at the edges of refugee law. Netherlands yearbook of international law, 45, 221-253.
Euronews(2024).https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.euronews.com/2024/10/19/first-batch-of-migrants-sent-to-albania-must-bereturneditaliancourtrules&ved=2ahUKEwiog_n9qNiJAxVwQvEDHcZ3JjkQFnoECCEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3rddmst8RlojJZ_dHyPUtO(Retrived 11/11/2024).
Farmer, A. (2008). Non-Refoulment and jus cogens: Limiting anti-terror measures that threaten refugee protection. Geo. Immigr. LJ, 23, 1.
Fermi, L. (2021). Illustrious immigrants: The intellectual migration from Europe, 1930-41. Plunkett Lake Press.=
TheFinancialTimesLimited(2024).https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.ft.com/content/e476ad84db994532aa5370c02f6a04db&ved=2ahUKEwjNj4nEptAxUSTkEAHeiXAlcQvOMEKAB6BAgdEAE&usg=AOvVaw1agZsnAh8oubmTX7HiTv5(Retrived 11/11/2024).
Fischer, L., & Bak Jørgensen, M. (2021). “We are here to stay” vs.“Europe’s best hotel”: Hamburg and Athens as Geographies of Solidarity. Antipode, 53(4), 1062-1082.
Ganusah, R. Y. (2000). Pouring Libation to Spirit Powers among the Ewe-Dome of Ghana: An Indigenous Religious and Biblical Perspective. In The Bible in Africa (pp. 278-291). Brill.
TheGuardian(2024).https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/11/italiangovernmentcondemnsjudgesrulingtoreturnmigrantsfromalbania&ved=2ahUKEwjNj4nEptiJAxUSTkEAHeiXAlcQvOMEKAB6BAgZEAE&usg=AOvVaw1QkN35V3IrwOEAV(Retrived 11/11/2024).
Hailbronner, K. (1993). The concept of ‘Safe Country’and expeditious Asylum Procedures: a western European perspective. International Journal of Refugee Law, 5(1), 31-65.
Hameleers, M. (2019). Putting our own people first: The content and effects of online right-wing populist discourse surrounding the European refugee crisis. Mass Communication and Society, 22(6), 804-826.
TheInternationalRescueCommittee(IRC)(2024).https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.rescue.org/article/what-italy-albania-asylum-(Retrived 11/11/2024).
Jackson, T., Deibert, D., Wyatt, G., Durand-Moreau, Q., Adisesh, A., Khunti, K., ... & Straube, S. (2020). Classification of aerosol-generating procedures: a rapid systematic review. BMJ open respiratory research, 7(1), e000730.
Jørgensen, M. B., & Agustín, Ó. G. (2015). The politics of dissent. In Politics of Dissent (pp. 11-25). Peter Lang Publishing Group.
Juss, S. S. (2013). The post-colonial refugee, Dublin II, and the end of non-refoulement. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 20(2), 307-335.
Korac, M. (2003). Integration and how we facilitate it: A comparative study of the settlement experiences of refugees in Italy and the Netherlands. Sociology, 37(1), 51-68.
Korsi, L. (2022). Do we go or do we stay? Drivers of migration from the Global South to the Global North. African Journal of Development Studies, 12(1), 71-87.
Lee, K. (2017). Understanding Economic Self-Sufficiency among Nepali Bhutanese Refugees in Pittsburgh (Doctoral dissertation, Carnegie Mellon University).
Lerner, N. (2003). Group rights and discrimination in international law (Vol. 77). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Maxwell, J. A. (2021). Why qualitative methods are necessary for generalization. Qualitative Psychology, 8(1), 111.
Mujuzi, J. D. (2020). Non-refoulement Principle and Its Application to Refugees and Asylum Seekers Who Have Committed Offences in Africa. International Human Rights Law Review, 9(2), 213-251.
Nyanzi, S. (2013). Dismantling reified African culture through localised homosexualities in Uganda. Culture, health & sexuality, 15(8), 952-967.
Otieno, P. (2021). The Counter-terrorism Challenge in Implementation of the Non-refoulment Principle in Refugee Law in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Oyebamiji, S. I., Oyebade, O. O., Cohen, J. H., & Abraham, D. O. (2022). Echoes of colour discrimination in refugee protection regime: The experience of Africans fleeing the Russia-Ukrainian war. Migration Letters, 19(5), 695-707.
Ritchie, J., & Spencer, L. (2002). Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research. In Analyzing qualitative data (pp. 173-194). routledge.
Sears, A. (2014). The next new left: A history of the future. Fernwood Publishing.
Silverstein, J. (2020). Refugee children, boats and drownings: A history of an Australian ‘humanitarian’discourse. History Australia, 17(4), 728-742.
Simpson, J. (2021). ESOL, integration and immigration. NYS Tesol Journal, 5-17.
Templier, M., & Paré, G. (2015). A framework for guiding and evaluating literature reviews. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 37(1), 6.
UnitedNationsConvention(1951)https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.unhcr.org/aboutunhcr/overview/1951refugeeconvention%23:~:text%3DThe%25201951%2520Convention%2520provides%2520the,%27guardian%27%2520of%2520these%2520documents.&ved=2ahUKEwicpN6w9eGJAxWc7AIHHWQgDkkQFnoECCIQAw&usg=AOvVaw3akDRWP3Hn3vGamvj9sFBe(Retrieved,11/11/2024).
Vorvornator, L. K. (2024). Examining Migration Leverage and Coercion between Sending and Host Countries and their Success and Failure: The Global Perspective. African Renaissance (1744-2532), 21(2).
Vorvornator, L. K., & Enaifoghe, A. (2024). South african migration policy on the zimbabwean special permit renewal experience: Diplomacy of weapons for power. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development, 12(8), e3514-e3514.
Vorvornator, L. K., & Mdiniso, J. M. (2022). Drivers of corruption and its impact on Africa development: Critical reflections from a post-independence perspective. African Journal of Development Studies, 2022(si2), 295.
Weissbrodt, D. S., & De La Vega, C. (2007). International human rights law: an introduction. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lawrence Vorvornator
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of a revised paper, the editorial team edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.
This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.
