Securitizing the refugee crisis: implications for human rights protection
The refugee crisis affecting European countries and also neighbouring ones in the past few years, in articulation with the threats and terrorist attacks led by ISIL, have contributed to a securitization moove which is directly affecting both fundamental rights and freedoms of European citizens and the protection and safeguard of refugee rights established in international law, particularly the Geneva Convention. Starting from the analysis of the deeper roots of this refugee crisis and by adopting a securitization theory framework, this paper aims at analysing the broader impacts of approaching the current refugee wave as a threat to European countries’ internal security namely the erosion of human rights concerns and guarantees in relation to refugees, a category which has for long been protected by international human rights law.
Daniela Nascimento . danielan@fe.uc.pt
Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra
Daniela Nascimento is a researcher at the Peace Studies Group of the Center for Social Studies and assistant professor of IR at the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra. She has a PhD in International Politics and Conflict Resolution from the University of Coimbra, an European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation from the Inter-European Center for Human Rights and Democratisation and a bachelor degree in IR from the University of Coimbra. Research interests on peace studies, human rights, humanitarian action.