Migration at Sea and the Role of Non-State Actors in the Central Mediterranean

Note: This event is online only.
You can join us on Zoom here.

Non-state actors have become the gatekeepers of the State in the context of migration – especially for deportation and detention. Exploring the intersection between non-state actors (NSAs) accountability under international human rights law and forced migration is hence crucial in defining a progressive way of interpreting the law – with justice for the victims as the final aim.

The research presented in this seminar aims to fill an academic
lacuna by analyzing NSAs’ involvement in migration processes, providing guidance for future policy-making at the national, regional, and international levels.

In this seminar,

Matilde Rocca

will present reflections from her PhD research project which aims to
determine how non-state actors (NSAs) have been involved in migratory processes in the Mediterranean and to what extent they have changed the level of human rights protection accorded to migrants.

In addition, Rocca’s research project assesses the way in which the involvement of NSAs in migratory operations has shaped international human rights law (IHRL) and the international law of the sea. Her presentation will address the following key questions:

a) How have NSAs shaped and changed the status of migrants and their protection in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea?

b) To what extent does their impact expand or restrict human rights protection?

c) How has NSAs’ involvement impacted responsibility allocation for the violation of human rights in international waters?

Matilde Rocca
(LLM, London School of Economics – LSE; LLB, University of Sussex) is a PhD candidate at the University of Padova, Italy, and currently a visiting fellow at the University of Bergen. Matilde is also a PhD Research Affiliate at the Refugee Law Initiative (SAS, University of London) and was awarded the Lauterpacht/Higgins Prize at the LSE for best performance in public international law.

Please register your attendance here to enable us to effectively accommodate this arrangement.

This event is organised by
IMER Bergen.

Photo: Dimitris Panagiotaras