Inter-American & European Human Rights Journal
Call for papers
Deadline for submission: 31 August 2016

The Journal
The Inter-American & European Human Rights Journal (IAEHRJ) aims to offer an international platform for research in the field of human rights of relevance for (Latin) America, Europe and Africa. Situated on the crossroads between the continents, the Journal is well-placed to be a venue of critical analysis from scholars and practitioners in the field of human rights.

Established in 2007, the IAEHRJ has been internationally growing as a reputable reference within the academic world and outside, distinguishing itself for its quality and interdisciplinary character that has attracted the interest of authors from all over the globe.

The theme
For its 2017/1 Issue the IAEHRJ proposes the theme of 'Migration and Human Rights'.

More than two hundred million people currently live outside their country of origin. Migration flows comprise workers, asylum seekers, students, undocumented migrants and others. In a globalised world defined by deep disparities, skill shortages, demographic imbalances, climate change as well as economic and political crises, natural and man-made disasters, migration has been affecting every society and every region of the world. Migration is therefore a human phenomenon inherent in the international community, and as such, it requires a human rights approach which situates the migrant at the centre of migration management. The universality of human rights is in fact challenged in the context of migration: asylum seekers may be deprived of access to refugee status and consequent secondary rights, migrants may not enjoy the same rights as nationals, and undocumented migrants may be deprived of access to even basic human rights. International human rights law systems are thus called on to assure that any person has access to fundamental rights. A human rights based approach to migration is required to analyse inequalities which lie at the heart of migration problems and redress discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede respect of migrants. This promotes empowering migrants to participate in policy formulation and hold accountable those who have a duty to act.

The topics
Against this thematic background, the IAEHRJ Editorial Board invites papers that contribute to the ongoing debate on the correlation between migration and human rights. Topics that papers may wish to address include:

Topic 1 - Health and Migration
The health of migrants and health matters associated with migration are crucial public challenges faced by governments and societies. It is expected that contributions on this topic unravel issues including the interpretation and enforcement of the right to health of migrants and their access to healthcare, including also the underlying determinants of health.

Topic 2 - Migration and Development
Migration and development are interdependent processes. Migration in the development context relates both to people who have chosen to move of their own accord, and forced migrants. It is expected that contributions on this topic explore issues including socio-economic and cultural rights of migrants, inclusion/integration of migrants in host societies and their contribution to economic, social and cultural development of societies in the country of origin.

Topic 3 - Migration and Vulnerability
In M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece (2011) the European Court of Human Rights stressed that asylum seekers are a special vulnerable group. Indeed migrants in general can find themselves in a situation of vulnerability due to different factors: rejection of asylum application; expirations of residence permit, lack of an effective remedy, detention, forced returns. It is expected that contributions on this topic disclose to what extent and how vulnerability is recognized in the context of migration and to look at the consequences of this vulnerability and possible remedies.

The process
Abstracts of no more than 300 words, including a short biographical sketch of the author with e-mail address and affiliation, must be submitted in English or Spanish in PDF format to ugenthrc@yahoo.com by 31 August 2016. 

Authors must state clearly in their abstract the research question(s) that they would like to address and indicate to which of the three proposed topics their abstracts relate. Please also mention 'Call for Issue 1/2017' in the e-mail subject. Outcomes of the selection will be notified to the authors by 15 September 2016.

The outcome
Authors of selected abstracts will be required to send a full article that should not exceed 10.000 words in length, including footnotes, by 30 November 2016. All manuscripts must conform with the author guidelines of the Journal. 

Submissions must not be previously-published or submitted for publication elsewhere in order to be considered for inclusion in this volume. 

Any questions?
Questions about this call can be directed to Clara Burbano Herrera, Editor in Chief, Inter-American & European Human Rights Journal at Clara.BurbanoHerrera@UGent.be or Salvo Nicolosi at Salvo.Nicolosi@UGent.be.