The EU-Turkey deal and the impact on refugee children

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Abstract

Since the controversial EU–Turkey deal dramatically lowered crossings over the Aegean Sea, Syrian refugees in particular have been seeking alternative routes and returning to the treacherous Libyan route. Since the start of the so-called “refugee crisis” this route had become the deadliest sea crossing in the world – with almost 3.000 people dying in 2015 when compared to approximately 800 on the shorter passage between Turkey and Greece. This chapter focuses on the EU–Turkey deal and specifically on its impact on refugee children. I argue that the EU finds itself in a long lasting moral conundrum when dealing with, on the one hand, what is the most pressing issue for European citizens in the first half of 2016 (migration) and, on the other hand, its ethical and legal obligations – and those of its member states – under the UN convention on the rights of the child. This conundrum is getting even more challenging to resolve with the attempted July 2016 coup in Turkey and Erdogan’s authoritarian responses to his opponents.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSyrian Refugee Children in the Middle East and Europe : Integrating the Young and Exiled
EditorsMichelle Pace, Somdeep Sen
Number of pages12
Place of PublicationOxon
PublisherRoutledge
Publication date2018
Pages8-19
Chapter2
ISBN (Print)9780815347347
ISBN (Electronic)9781351169318
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
EventGlobal Political Sociology Research Group: Paper presentation by Michelle Pace on The EU-Turkey deal: the impact on refugee children -
Duration: 16 Feb 201716 Feb 2017

Other

OtherGlobal Political Sociology Research Group
Period16/02/201716/02/2017
SeriesRoutledge Studies in Middle Eastern Society

Bibliographical note

Michelle Pace is Professor with special responsibilities in European Union
and Middle East relations at the Department of Social Sciences and Business at
Roskilde University, Denmark. Her research interests include the life worlds of
minor refugees, emotions in International Relations and identity politics.

Keywords

  • Exile
  • Refugee crisis
  • Unaccompanied refugee children
  • EU-Turkey deal
  • International law
  • International human rights
  • Convention on the Right of the Child
  • Agamben
  • Children on the move
  • State of exception

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