União de Refugiados em Portugal (UREP) participated in an international workshop titled “One Year on from the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact: Critical Reflections,” held on 10 April 2025 at the University of East London (UEL) in London. The event was organised under the HIDDEN COST Action (Working Group 3 – Accessing Citizenship) and brought together academics, civil society organisations, practitioners, and activists from across Europe.
UREP was represented by Adam Labaran, Vice President of UREP, who took part as a panellist in Panel 1: EU’s Asylum Management, Politics and Solidarity. The panel explored the evolving role of the European Union in asylum governance, solidarity mechanisms, and the implications of the EU Asylum and Migration Pact for people seeking protection.
During his intervention, Adam Labaran shared his lived experience of displacement and detention, offering a powerful reminder of the human consequences of asylum policies. He highlighted the risks of prioritising border control and security over human dignity and called on policymakers to place humanity, protection, and rights at the centre of asylum systems, particularly for refugees and stateless persons who face heightened vulnerability and exclusion.
The panel also included contributions from representatives of the European Network on Statelessness, humanitarian legal aid organisations, and academic experts, who raised concerns about the invisibility of stateless persons within the Pact, the persistence of the first country of entry rule, and the likelihood of increased detention and reduced access to individualised protection.
Across the workshop’s four panels, discussions addressed key themes such as:
The management and politics of EU asylum and solidarity
The growing use of technology, data, and AI in migration control
Externalisation of EU border policies beyond Europe
Fundamental rights, accountability, and access to justice
The event concluded with reflections on the importance of bridging academic research, policy debates, and lived-experience advocacy, and on ensuring that those most affected by migration and asylum policies are meaningfully included in shaping them.
UREP’s participation in this workshop reflects its ongoing commitment to amplifying refugee- and stateless-led voices, engaging in European-level policy discussions, and advocating for asylum and migration systems that respect human rights, dignity, and inclusion.
Putting Humanity Before Borders
Adam Labaran, Vice President of União de Refugiados em Portugal (UREP), speaking at the international workshop “One Year on from the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact: Critical Reflections” at the University of East London.
