In the heady days of the Arab Spring in 2011, even as protesters in Tahrir Square took up a chant proclaiming “We are all Egyptian”, many refugees and migrants in Egypt were facing increased xenophobia, overt racism and violence. The…
The migration dimension of the Libya crisis has engaged with a growing debate over the crisis-migration nexus. A ‘migration crisis’ – that is, a disaster creating large-scale population movements that are complex in terms of the persons affected and the…
The dilemmas of assisting people moving in ‘mixed flows’ have long been debated, including whether and how to define categories of people on the move, how to access and ensure assistance and protection for the most vulnerable, and how to…
Boat arrivals from North Africa over the past decade have carried thousands of North Africans and others to European shores, including asylum seekers fleeing persecution or serious harm, and people moving irregularly for other reasons. Annual arrivals from 2000-2008 had…
While the reception capacity of the Italian asylum system has always been very limited, the situation has deteriorated since the uprisings in North Africa. The protection offered continues to be inspired by the original rationale of very short-term assistance. Settlement…
At the time of writing, de facto authority continues to lie with the armed brigades who physically control numerous sites, facilities and installations. For example, of the more than 20 migrant detention centres which existed in Libya before the revolution,…
The legacy of almost half a century of authoritarianism and isolation has left the new Libya vulnerable to inheriting the previous regime’s human rights failings. The international rights of migrants in general, and of refugees in particular, were largely ignored…
The multiple parallel humanitarian crises of 2011-12 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have challenged the traditional humanitarian system because of constraints of access, adaptation and funding. At the same time, ‘non-traditional’ actors have had a great impact…
International labour migrants in a conflict zone are often more vulnerable than the local population. They may not speak the language or share the culture, lack knowledge of the geography of the country, and are often at the bottom of…
Last year’s civil war in Libya caught the world by surprise. Nobody was prepared, least of all neighbouring Tunisia, deep into its own revolution. By 27 February, more than 10,000 people were crossing the border between Tunisia and Libya each…