Protecting Those Who Protect: An Application of the Human Rights Defenders Framework to the Criminalisation of the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance to People on the Move
(2025) JAMM07 20251Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- Combatting migrant smuggling has become a prominent objective of the European Union’s (‘EU’) migration policy in response to an increase of arrivals from 2015 onwards. The increasing number of arrivals also resulted in an increase in the activity of individuals, non-governmental organisations and other groups providing humanitarian assistance. This thesis explores the relationship between the provision of humanitarian assistance to people on the move at the borders of Europe and the criminalisation of migrant smuggling. In doing so, it applies the legal and policy framework concerning Human Rights Defenders, as it exists at both an international and European level, to a recent proposal for a revision of the migrant smuggling legal... (More)
- Combatting migrant smuggling has become a prominent objective of the European Union’s (‘EU’) migration policy in response to an increase of arrivals from 2015 onwards. The increasing number of arrivals also resulted in an increase in the activity of individuals, non-governmental organisations and other groups providing humanitarian assistance. This thesis explores the relationship between the provision of humanitarian assistance to people on the move at the borders of Europe and the criminalisation of migrant smuggling. In doing so, it applies the legal and policy framework concerning Human Rights Defenders, as it exists at both an international and European level, to a recent proposal for a revision of the migrant smuggling legal framework within the EU.
The current legislative framework concerning the offence of migrant smuggling in the EU, known as the ‘Facilitators’ Package,’ has resulted in the criminalisation of many such actors providing humanitarian assistance. With a proposed update to this legal framework currently in the legislative process in the EU (the ‘Proposed New Facilitation Directive’), this thesis considers the changes that this will bring and how it might impact those providing humanitarian assistance. In doing so, this thesis seeks to apply the Human Rights Defenders framework, as it has been identified that this particular human rights protection framework has not been widely applied concerning the provision of humanitarian assistance in this context. The actors engaging in humanitarian assistance are therefore considered ‘Human Rights Defenders’ for the purpose of this thesis. The central research question concerns whether the consideration of individuals and groups that provide humanitarian assistance to people on the move as Human Rights Defenders could add a layer of human rights protection under the Human Rights Defenders framework.
The thesis argues that there is an additional layer of human rights protection to be seen through the implementation of the Human Rights Defenders framework in this context, as it firstly affords recognition to the value of Human Rights Defenders in protecting and promoting human rights and the obligations that States have to ensure that they have a safe and enabling environment to do so, and secondly allows for consideration of the broader consequences that the criminalisation of Human Rights Defenders has for civic space. Additionally, the implementation of the framework to the Proposed New Facilitation Directive demonstrates the risk of an exacerbation of the issues that have led to the criminalisation of Human Rights Defenders under EU migrant smuggling legislation. The decision to update this legislation presents a vital opportunity to address the criminalisation of Human Rights Defenders providing humanitarian assistance to people on the move but, as it stands, the Proposed New Facilitation Directive represents a missed opportunity to do so. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9198730
- author
- Maher, Laurie LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- JAMM07 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9198730
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-17 16:30:08
- date last changed
- 2025-06-17 16:30:08
@misc{9198730,
abstract = {{Combatting migrant smuggling has become a prominent objective of the European Union’s (‘EU’) migration policy in response to an increase of arrivals from 2015 onwards. The increasing number of arrivals also resulted in an increase in the activity of individuals, non-governmental organisations and other groups providing humanitarian assistance. This thesis explores the relationship between the provision of humanitarian assistance to people on the move at the borders of Europe and the criminalisation of migrant smuggling. In doing so, it applies the legal and policy framework concerning Human Rights Defenders, as it exists at both an international and European level, to a recent proposal for a revision of the migrant smuggling legal framework within the EU.
The current legislative framework concerning the offence of migrant smuggling in the EU, known as the ‘Facilitators’ Package,’ has resulted in the criminalisation of many such actors providing humanitarian assistance. With a proposed update to this legal framework currently in the legislative process in the EU (the ‘Proposed New Facilitation Directive’), this thesis considers the changes that this will bring and how it might impact those providing humanitarian assistance. In doing so, this thesis seeks to apply the Human Rights Defenders framework, as it has been identified that this particular human rights protection framework has not been widely applied concerning the provision of humanitarian assistance in this context. The actors engaging in humanitarian assistance are therefore considered ‘Human Rights Defenders’ for the purpose of this thesis. The central research question concerns whether the consideration of individuals and groups that provide humanitarian assistance to people on the move as Human Rights Defenders could add a layer of human rights protection under the Human Rights Defenders framework.
The thesis argues that there is an additional layer of human rights protection to be seen through the implementation of the Human Rights Defenders framework in this context, as it firstly affords recognition to the value of Human Rights Defenders in protecting and promoting human rights and the obligations that States have to ensure that they have a safe and enabling environment to do so, and secondly allows for consideration of the broader consequences that the criminalisation of Human Rights Defenders has for civic space. Additionally, the implementation of the framework to the Proposed New Facilitation Directive demonstrates the risk of an exacerbation of the issues that have led to the criminalisation of Human Rights Defenders under EU migrant smuggling legislation. The decision to update this legislation presents a vital opportunity to address the criminalisation of Human Rights Defenders providing humanitarian assistance to people on the move but, as it stands, the Proposed New Facilitation Directive represents a missed opportunity to do so.}},
author = {{Maher, Laurie}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Protecting Those Who Protect: An Application of the Human Rights Defenders Framework to the Criminalisation of the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance to People on the Move}},
year = {{2025}},
}