Online seminar: “‘Instrumentalisation’ of migration and its impact on asylum protection in the EU”

We invite you to an online seminar in English organized by the Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University (ANU) entitled “Instrumentalisation of migration and its impact on asylum protection in the European Union: a normative dispute perspective”. Professor Dorota Heidrich is in Canberra as a visiting professor. The seminar is scheduled to begin at 6:00 AM Polish time on 18 June.

The seminar will focus on analyzing the phenomenon of “instrumentalisation” of migration, i.e., the use of migration flows by states to achieve political and strategic objectives. The starting point will be the summer of 2021, when the European Union began to more intensively recognize cases of deliberate directing of migrants to EU borders, including by Turkey, Morocco, Belarus, and Russia.

During the seminar, the manner in which the European Union and its Member States responded to these actions through changes in asylum law, both at the EU and national levels, will be discussed. Particular attention will be devoted to how these reforms have affected fundamental refugee protection norms, including the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of persons to states where they face persecution or serious danger.

For those interested in participating, online connection via Microsoft Teams is available upon prior registration by 17 June at the following email address: europe@anu.edu.au