Europe has been struggling to ethically manage the arrival and protection of asylum seekers for quite some years now. With heightened political pressure and the rise of hyper-nationalist sentiments, the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum will be adopted in the coming months after years of political deadlock. The negotiations for this deal began three years earlier as the arrival of asylum seekers fleeing war and ethnic conflict exposed severe gaps in the existing asylum frameworks. While politicians now are proud to have worked on a deal that is uniting Europe in strength to ease the “burden” of migration, some experts believe it will set the continent decades back in its intentions. Will the obsession to protect its borders lead Europe to protect asylum seekers or will it lead to international duties conveniently ignored for political gain? An analysis of this new Pact will be telling.

The Geneva Debate, International Geneva’s platform for fiery debates since 2021 hosted the Third Edition of the Geneva Debate on 24 April along the motion, “This House Opposes EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum”. With an incredible panel of adjudicators comprising of Salvatore Lombardo, Visiting Professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute from Sciences Po, Thannaletchimy Housset, Monitoring Manager at the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Kathryn Kruglak of Walder Wyss,  and Myrtle Cleona-Priddy, Master Student in International and Development Studies (MINT) at the Institute, the 3-1 split verdict awarded Side Proposition— made up of LL.M in International Law students Akshita Tiwary and Dilraj Singh, and MINT student Unyime Eyo — with the trophy!

This was the most engaging debate we’ve witnessed so far, with interesting questions shot from opposing teams and quick retorts, and an audience that was hungry to see how both sides would present their lines of argumentation. While both teams made strong cases, there was one statement they both could agree on, that the status quo is appalling — both teams were on the same page that the current system of governing irregular channels of migration in Europe is unacceptable. During the discussion with the adjudicators, they were pleased to witness the quality of the arguments and were hoping to come back for more debates. Karolina Frischkopf, CEO of Swiss Church Aid presented the keynote address, painting a bleak picture of the reality of asylum and migration in Switzerland.