Friday, August 28, 2015

Zorzi Giustiniani: The Obligations of the State of Origin of Refugees: An Appraisal of a Traditionally Neglected Issue

Flavia Zorzi Giustiniani (International Telematic Univ. Uninettuno - Law) has published The Obligations of the State of Origin of Refugees: An Appraisal of a Traditionally Neglected Issue (Connecticut Journal of International Law, Vol 30, no 2, 2015). Here's the abstract:
Over the last two decades, the growing restrictive attitudes of Western States towards asylum-seekers have caused much ink to flow concerning the individual and collective responsibilities of the host countries in sharing the “burden.” In contrast, the role and the responsibilities of the State of origin of refugees have remained quite unexplored in legal doctrine. The present article strives to fill this gap, analysing both the content of the pertinent international norms as well as their practical relevance in situations of mass flows. In the first part, this article will analyse whether the source State can be held responsible, or liable, towards receiving countries for the refugee influx. The article will then investigate the precise scope of the country of origin’s obligations vis-à-vis its fleeing citizens, particularly with respect to return and reparations. As will be shown, the enjoyment of the refugees’ rights in this regard has been significantly limited as a result of the characterization by States of repatriation as the best durable solution.