"Contesting the borders of Human Rights in Portugal and Italy".

Supervisor/s: Gaia Giuliani and Francesca Esposito

Doctoral Programme: Human Rights in Contemporary Societies

The collapse of the myths inherent to globalization has resulted in impactful/worsening forms of insecurity (i.e., economic crises, environmental disasters, and wars) that are increasingly driving the migration of people across bodies of water and through dangerous terrain. Consequently, migration political relevance has risen through United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migrations (IOM), and European Union (EU) Institutions. Borders have become increasingly salient sites of struggle over social belonging and cultural/material resources. The difficulties faced by EU countries in defining common mechanisms for the management of migration flows are indicative of this salience. As a result, first-port-of-entry countries are under great pressure.

This project investigates the tensions between the EU border regime and HR safeguards, and the grassroots responses to supplement existing gaps. By focusing on Portugal and Italy, I examine the period between the "refugee crisis" (2015) and the COVID-19 aftermath (2022).The study is organized in five fieldwork phases: 1) Policy analyses of EU/national regulatory frameworks; 2) Interviews with representatives from EU/ national/local institutions; 3) Interviews with national border services and health, legal, housing, labor services; 4) fieldwork with migrants/refugees; 5) fieldwork with NGOs and grassroots groups. This timely study is expected to provide a unique contribution in terms of research, policy, and action for the fulfillment of migrants/refugees and asylum seekers' Human Rights.