HUMAN RIGHTS AND BORDER POLICIES: A COMPARISON OF SERBIA AND AUSTRIA (HURIBO)

he project “Human Rights and Border Policies: A Comparison of Serbia and Austria” (HURIBO) explores the complex relationship between border control and human rights protection, focusing on the practices of an EU Member State, Austria, and EU candidate country, Serbia, situated along a major migration route. In the context of increasing migration pressures and evolving border enforcement strategies, the project critically analyzes how international human rights standards, particularly those relating to non-refoulement, collective expulsion, and access to asylum, are implemented at national borders. Through a comparative legal analysis, HURIBO investigates the compliance of Serbia and Austria with international and EU human rights obligations, particularly in light of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). Key activities during the first project year included participation in the international scientific conference “Law and Social Conflicts” at the Faculty of Law in Niš, a study visit to Austrian Institute for Human Rights by the Serbian research team. The project has strengthened academic cooperation between the Faculty of Law, University of Niš, and the Austrian Institute for Human Rights, University of Salzburg, laying down the groundwork for joint publication and policy recommendations.