On 7 and 8 November 2024, the SEA-EU Observatory for Migration and Human Rights (SEA EU/OMHR) International Forum was held in Algeciras, Spain.
The Forum focused on issues related to the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is a set of laws regulating migration and establishing a common asylum system. The Pact raises a lot of concerns and controversy both in academia and among politicians due to the increased possibilities of return of migrants, protection of external borders, stricter asylum rules and a solidarity mechanism with countries in crisis.
Speakers included representatives from most of the universities that make up the SEA-EU alliance. The inaugural lecture ‘External Borders, Migrations and the Values of Europe: some Reflections’ was given by Alejandro del Valle Gálvez, PhD, Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence ‘Migration and Human Rights in Europe’s ExternalBorders’. Other presentations included the human rights implications of the new migration pact and its implications for migration by sea. The University of Gdańsk was represented by Elżbieta Czapka, PhD (Institute of Sociology, CZRUG) and Jakub Potulski, PhD, DSc, Professor UG (Institute of Political Science) with a presentation on ‘The limits of tolerance: attitudes of the Polish society towards migrants’. The attitudes of Polish society towards migrants before and after Poland’s accession to the European Union were presented, as well as the factors determining certain attitudes of Poles towards foreigners.
Jakub Potulski and Elżbieta Czapka were invited to Split to conduct a workshop for students on migration and European values in March.
Elżbieta Czapka