Ústav mezinárodních vztahů

The civil society cooperation on migration-related issues between Turkey and the V4 has been limited and this project aims to bridge this gap. Our primary focus is on adaptation of state and non-state actors to actual (or potential) increase in number of asylum applications. The project explores strategies adopted by the policy-makers, donors and civil society in V4 and Turkey. Of specific concern are policies and discussions on integration of asylum seekers, especially as they turn from refugees to immigrants. This includes creation of new institutions or expanding the portfolio of the existing ones; increased commitment of human resources, new funding flows, new forms of collaboration between state and civil society as well as shaping the public debate.

Partners

• Institute of International Relations Prague
• MireKoc, Istanbul
• Central European University, Budapest
• Human Rights League, Bratislava

Research Memo by Lucia Najšlová (Associate Fellow, IIR) and Ayşen Üstübici (Assistant Professor, Koc University)

This memo proposes a few observations on the way ‘the European crisis’ was experienced by rights-based NGOs working on asylum-related issues in Eastern Europe. The internal functioning and the needs of what we call “refugee rights NGOs” have, until now, been subject to little academic interest.. Researchers often look to refugee-rights NGOs as an access point for fieldwork, a source of knowledge about displaced peoples, but they are less interested in these NGOs as such. However, more attention to the daily experiences of those working with refugees, and the questions they consider important, can provide inputs to several academic and policy oriented conversations.

The project was supported by the International Visegrad Fund.