VULNER: Vulnerabilities under the Global Protection Regime, how does the law assess, address, shape, and produce the vulnerabilities of protection seekers?
Protection
Funding
Horizon
Geographic focus
Belgium, Germany, Italy, Norway, Canada, Lebanon, Uganda, South Africa
Dates
1 February 2020 –
30 June 2023
About
Policy-making recommendations on how national and global protection regimes address the vulnerabilities of protection seekers.
Project Outcomes
- Vulnerability assessments should be systematically included in asylum application processes, for example, when registering asylum applications.
- Vulnerability assessments should account for the socially-embedded nature of experiences of vulnerability, instead of focussing exclusively on immediate and practical needs and on some pre-defined groups.
- Vulnerability arises from personal, structural, and legal factors, not just individual traits such as health or gender.
- Migrants actively navigate obstacles and develop coping strategies, challenging the view of them as passive victims.
- Overly rigid legal definitions risk turning vulnerability into a selective category, limiting protection and support.
- Legal standards should take precedence over emotional or moral considerations to ensure fair and effective asylum governance.
Highlighted Publications and Tools
- Discussion paper – 10 key messages from the project on better policies and laws to address migrants’ vulnerabilities
- Policy brief – Recommendations for practitioners on conducting vulnerability assessments
- Podcasts – Stories from refugees
- Interactive story map – Insights into the field research
- Youtube channel – Videos about the project
Coordinators
Dr. Luc Leboeuf, Associate of Law and Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
Partners
- Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
- Ca’Foscari University of Venice
- Catholic University of Louvain
- Center for Lebanese Studies
- Institute for Social Research, Oslo
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
- Population Europe
- University of Ottawa
- McGill University
- York University
- University of Waterloo
Contacts
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