Externalisation du droit d'asile et devoir de non-refoulement dans la pratique conventionnelle Euro-Mediterraneenne

Abstract

This article focuses on the external refugee protection procedure that European States implement in the Mediterranean, in order to relocate responsibility for asylum processing to refugees' regions of origin. This approach is based on the concepts of "safe third country" or "safe country of origin" and relies upon the practice of readmission agreements. Therefore, the article investigates the practice of negotiating bilateral readmission agreements in the Mediterranean area and argues that such a practice is likely to hamper the full compliance with the principle of non refoulment. Ultimately, the article emphasises that the externalization procedure may curtail the asylum-seeker right to the refugee status determination, conceived as a rudimentary nub of a possible human right to asylum.