IS ITALY-ALBANIA’S REFUGEES PACT A WIN DEAL OR A DEAD END? EXPLORING ITALY-ALBANIA’S REFUGEES PACT UNDER THE 1951’S GENEVA CONVENTION

Purpose: The study explores Italy-Albania’s refugees pact to assess whether it is a win deal or a dead end under the 1951 Convention. The Italy-Albania pact aims to process asylum seekers intercepted in Italy’s territory in Albania. Successful applicants are permitted entry into Italy, while unsuccessful applicants are repatriated. The study is relevant because of Italian’s courts battle against refugees rights violation by the pact. Theoretical reference: The study adopts Civil Solidarity as a Transformative Practice, and Building an Infrastructure of Dissent, concepts explore Italy-Albania’s pact. Methods: Migration literature review where search strings generated 1,196 hits. After screening, 1,087, and 91 articles excluded and included respectively for review and selected for the write-up. Results: The study’s findings revealed that the pact was a dead end rather than a win deal. The pact was criticised by migration experts, rights activists, and non-governmental organisations. The Italy-Albania pact’s States’ classification as ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ was criticised to be rather the international courts’ duty. Italy-Albania pact contains repatriation clause for unsuccessful refugees, which contravenes non-refoulement; the unsuccessful applicants are to be given a chance to find another State if refugees status will not be granted on humanitarian grounds. The pact indicates that refugees intercepted in Italian waters are screened on-board, which abuses their rights; the Convention enshrined non-penalisation clause to protect refugees rights despite illegal entry. Implications of research: The paper argues that the Italian government might be aware that the pact is a dead end rather than a win deal, however it was implemented to fulfil campaign promises to the electorates. Originality/value: The paper therefore concludes that the pact was ‘fruitless venture’, which outcomes indicated a dead end but Italy’s far right ‘desperation’ to gain political recognition, tax payers money was wasted on the pact to indicate that campaign promises fulfilled.