Etikett: Migration

Barcelona against the state: Defending the rights of people to seek refuge

Case description

In 2015, Europe confronted a major immigration-related crisis. War in Syria and political and economic instability in the vicinity of the European Union (EU) prompted the arrival of the highest number of immigrants and refugees since the Second World War (Trauner, 2016). EU member states discussed what should be done. In the end, the EU took a security-based approach that reinforced border control, opened refugee camps (i.e., on the Greek islands), and externalised border control operations to Turkey. This was combined with an EU relocation system where asylum-seekers and refugees would be distributed across member states according to national quotas. Many European cities took a strong stance and criticised such approaches, as they went against international humanitarian law. These cities asked for a model that respected human rights. Barcelona, one of the most active cities for this cause, joined forces with Athens, Milan and Zurich, among others, to denounce these EU actions. Despite not initially being a primary refugee-reception location, the City Council became deeply involved in defending those fleeing conflict. In September 2015, Barcelona’s mayor Ada Colau drafted a letter with mayors from other major cities entitled ‘We, the cities of Europe’. It asked for a more humane European response to people fleeing war-torn territories and economic deprivation. The letter also declared the will of cities to become places of refuge while urging a coordinated response where they were included. The City Council’s position produced important political and administrative tensions with the Spanish central government. The latter defended its restrictive approach to welcoming refugees in the context of a rigid and centralised asylum system that, on the one hand, prevented asylum-seekers from obtaining the refugee status and on the other, prevented cities from having any administrative role in reception.

Through this case, we shall look into how Barcelona City Council overcame opposition to its call for a multi-level approach to refugee reception while successfully leading international voices in defence of migrants’ and refugees’ human rights. In this context, we shall discuss how cities can lead change amid political-administrative conflicts with other levels of government in response to glocal challenges.

Learning objectives

Through this case, participants will learn about the following:

  • How cities’ entrepreneurship in solving glocal problems (i.e., the interconnectedness of global problems that affect cities) emerges when conflicting and competing framings exist with other administrative levels.
  • How cities can build a narrative to present themselves as human rights defenders vis-à-vis restrictive and security-based migration framings. How political and social local leaders are key actors in the process of offering solutions to glocal problems.
  • How building human rights capacities over time can create resilient cities whose administrations can rapidly respond to emerging challenges.
Typ av publikation
Learning Cases
Projektområde
Inclusive leadership and governance
Globala mål
10 - Minskad ojämlikhet
Tema
Human Rights
Etiketter
Migration,

Incorporating immigrant voices? Formal access to participatory mechanisms in the city of Barcelona

Democratic innovations to enhance the participation of city-zens in urban settings have advanced in the world in the last decades. Avenues such as citizens’ assemblies, deliberative polls, participatory budgeting, e-petitions and online consultations have become part of the repertoire of participation available to urban residents. However, a pending question is whether local authorities envision specific strategies to incorporate urban residents with immigrant background in such processes. Our paper tries to explore this question by providing an overview at the intersection between the literature on citizen participation and the political participation of immigrants in local settings. It focuses on the external and more formal dimension of citizen participation by looking at how Barcelona includes immigrant voices in the policy-making process. Barcelona is a paradigmatic case in Southern Europe. It has become an example of practices to include its residents in decision-making processes, as it has witnessed an exceptionally rapid demographic transformation due to international migration. Our paper concludes by highlighting the positive implications of having a local framework that favours the inclusion of immigrants in participatory mechanisms. It also makes an appeal for further studies looking into the internal dynamics of participation within these mechanisms.

Typ av publikation
Working Papers
Projektområde
Inclusive leadership and governance
Globala mål
10 - Minskad ojämlikhet
Etiketter
Migration,

Mainstreaming Migrant Rights for Gender Equality: Lessons from Lisbon and Barcelona

Mainstreaming, a governance strategy based on coordination between government levels and the involvement of various policy sectors and actors (including institutional, private and civil society), is often adopted by local governments in different policy realms, including in managing migration and integration at the local level. Overall, mainstreaming migrant integration has the potential to enhance migrants´ rights and can be a significant force in achieving gender equality. Given the challenges and dynamics posed by the feminisation of migration, city leaders can contribute to promote migrants´ rights and gender equality by including migrants – and migrant women – in policy making, taking into account local contexts and challenges, even when these are part of national and international dynamics.

This policy brief is a result of the ICLD Local Democracy Academy 2020

Typ av publikation
Policy Briefs
Projektområde
Inclusive leadership and governance
Globala mål
10 - Minskad ojämlikhet5 - Jämställdhet
Tema
Gender EqualityHuman Rights
Internationell partner
PortugalSpain
Etiketter
Gender, Migration,

Climate change is not the cause, migration is not the problem: Local representation and precarious young farmers leaving Senegal

This project examines the role of local governments  in generating or reducing the current trend in which vulnerable people are migrating out of areas where climate variability is viewed as a driver of outmigration. The project seeks to identify means to make policy and practical responses to climate change supportive of local democracy – to make these responses emancipatory – and therefore a transformative force for equity, justice, and security.

The causes relate to the social, economic and livelihood conditions farmers are facing at home, combined with the aspirations young farmers have to fulfil their lives. The long-standing narrative that Sahelians are merely poor or that young men are fleeing the Sahel due to climate stress seems to be inadequate. These simplistic explanations occlude the multitude of causes of precarity that local farmers recount. Yes, climate affects farmers’ lives, but it is not even among the causes that they cite for their precarity. They cite low prices for their products, debt, discriminatory public policy, distorted markets, and social conditions hostile to farmers staying at home.

In response, local government authorities have many ideas about what should be done to prevent and reduce the damages resulting from illegal outmigration. However, local governments are rarely consulted during the conception of anti-migration projects, nor do they receive associated funds. While they are motivated to prevent illegal emigration along dangerous routes, they often lack the mandate and resources to do so. 

Typ av publikation
Research Reports
Projektområde
Social care and wellbeing
Globala mål
10 - Minskad ojämlikhet11 - Hållbara städer och samhällen
Etiketter
climate change, local democracy, Migration, representation,

Local Government and Migration: A Review of Literature and Media Narratives with focus on West African Sahel

Multiple questions are constantly asked about migration. What are the driving forces behind migration? What happens at the intersection of climate threats, social injustices and migration? Is migration a product of social structures or voluntary individual action? And in general, what is the role of local governments in relation to emigration? Many of these issues concern municipalities that ICLD cooperates with. The issues of participation, equity, transparency and accountability that form the core of our programs are influenced by migration processes both nationally and internationally.

ICLD has therefore asked researchers to deal with some fundamental issues surrounding migration that can increase our understanding of this phenomenon. This working paper presents a comprehensive review of the scholarly literature and media narratives about the role of local government in migration, with a focus on West African Sahel.

It provides important background for local governments interested in understanding the complex phenomenon of migration and the role of local governments. It highlights the multiple causes behind a person’s decision to migrate and the importance of putting the agency of migrants at the centre of any political debate. Moreover, this paper presents three key roles for local governments in the current debate: first, in framing social and economic development, second, regarding the importance of remittances for local communities and finally, the role of return migrants in local politics.

Typ av publikation
Working Papers
Projektområde
Inclusive leadership and governance
Globala mål
10 - Minskad ojämlikhet13 - Bekämpa klimatförändringarna16 - Fredliga och inkluderande samhällen8 - Anständiga arbetsvillkor och ekonomisk tillväxt
Etiketter
media, Migration,