A concrete example of refugees’ human rights promotion and protection: the case of Refugees Welcome in the city of Padua

According to the last UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, by the end of 2021, the number of people displaced by war, violence, persecution, and human rights abuses was 89.3 million, up 8% on a year earlier and well over double the figure of ten years ago. Since then, the Russian invasion of Ukraine – causing the fastest and one of the largest forced displacement crises since World War II – and other emergencies, from Africa to Afghanistan and beyond, have pushed the figure over the dramatic milestone of 100 million. This figure is worrying; it shows that conflicts continue to rage in all regions of the world and that everyday thousands of people are forced to leave their homes and move to another country in search of safety and better quality of life. But what happens once these people arrive at their new destination and are recognised as refugees? The simple fact that they have obtained this status does not mean that their life is solved. The insertion in a new country, with a culture, a language, social codes, and a political-economic context, in general, diametrically opposed to that of the country of origin, awakens new obstacles for refugees. In general, once the states grant refugee status, they disregard the fate of these refugees, and that is when the work of international organisations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) becomes crucial. It is within this framework that the present thesis is developed. It seeks to analyse the work carried out by the NGO Refugees Welcome in the reception and assistance of refugees in Italy and in the promotion and protection of their rights. Specifically, the analysis is focused on the activities developed by Refugees Welcome in the city of Padua, since its beginnings in 2016 until the present. The model of refugees’ reception (refugees homestay accommodation by local families) and the activities (mentoring, matching between a local person and a refugee) it carries out represents a concrete example of refugees’ human rights promotion and protection. The thesis is based on the experience I have firstly acquired by doing my internship, and then by collaborating as an activist in it.