OAR@UM Collection:
/library/oar/handle/123456789/116293
2026-05-23T21:57:56ZMediterranean Journal of Migration : volume 1 : issue 1
/library/oar/handle/123456789/116480
Title: Mediterranean Journal of Migration : volume 1 : issue 1
Authors: Grech, Helen; Assimakopoulos, Stavros; Pisani, Maria; Ragonesi, Isabelle; Borg, Maria Giulia
Abstract: The Mediterranean Journal of Migration is a multidisciplinary refereed open access online journal with
a special focus on migration in the Mediterranean region. The Journal is produced by the Platform for
Migration, based within the University of Malta.
The University of Malta Platform for Migration was set up to offer a dialogical space in which researchers
from different academic disciplines can work towards understanding all the evolving aspects of
international migration, with a focus on the Mediterranean region, with a view towards contributing to an
equitable, more sustainable and more inclusive society.
Accordingly, the Mediterranean Journal of Migration aims to facilitate the dissemination of academic
research related to migration. The journal is interested in accepting submissions which are research-based, including reviews of the relevant literature grounded in empirical research, and theoretical
contributions (i.e., conceptual models, frameworks, etc.).2023-01-01T00:00:00ZForeword [Mediterranean Journal of Migration]
/library/oar/handle/123456789/116368
Title: Foreword [Mediterranean Journal of Migration]
Authors: Azzopardi, Andrew
Abstract: The Mediterranean Journal of Migration is another loop in the initiatives of the relatively new and
innovative Platform for Migration, set up only a few years ago, within the University of Malta. This
Platform is a melange of scholars who come from diverse entities, namely Faculties, Institutes, Centres
and Schools and who share a common interest in having a better understanding of the complexities
surrounding migration.
This Journal is an attempt at another space to converge the different angles and optics of these
nuances and slowly but surely craft an understanding of the multifarious narrative and demography of
what is happening. This would in turn help us predict and construe possibilities which could lead us to
more effective policy making and scholarship. I am hopeful knowing well enough that the Platform and
the Journal are becoming a staple contributor in this debate.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZEditorial [Mediterranean Journal of Migration]
/library/oar/handle/123456789/116369
Title: Editorial [Mediterranean Journal of Migration]
Authors: King, Russell
Abstract: The launch of a new journal is always a significant and exciting event and is especially welcome in
the burgeoning field of migration studies. The Mediterranean Journal of Migration will play a major role
in showcasing scholarship on migration in a region of global significance for contemporary (and past)
population movements.
Let me reflect for a moment on the publishing landscape for journals on migration. Five journals stand
out as well-known outlets with a global remit for papers on migration. Three of these are long-established: the International Migration Review, the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and
International Migration (all of them going since the 1960s or 1970s). Two, Migration Studies and
Comparative Migration Studies, are more recent (both since 2013). Then there are two important
journals which do not have the word ‘migration’ in their titles but which have the majority of their papers
on migration topics – these are Ethnic and Racial Studies and Population, Space and Place.2023-01-01T00:00:00ZThe impact of COVID-related emergency measures on the human rights and human security of migrants in Italy and Malta in the context of the Central Mediterranean Route
/library/oar/handle/123456789/116370
Title: The impact of COVID-related emergency measures on the human rights and human security of migrants in Italy and Malta in the context of the Central Mediterranean Route
Authors: Grech, Omar; Wohlfeld, Monika
Abstract: This paper analyses the consequences of COVID-related emergency legislation enacted in Italy and
Malta for irregular and undocumented migrants as well as refugees. The study focuses on two issues:
(i) identifying key emergency laws in Italy and Malta; and (ii) assessing their impact on these migrants’
human rights and human security. Many states, including those in the Mediterranean, have
securitized their pandemic response. The context of pre-existing legal, political and social-economic
structures Italy and Malta is essential to understand the implications of these measures for these
migrants. The paper suggests that Italy and Malta implemented emergency measures which were
not specifically aimed at irregular migrants, yet had a significant impact on their human security and
human rights. It also argues that in parallel, Italy and Malta targeted specific measures to limit
migratory movements. These included: the closure of ports, restrictions on the work of humanitarian
NGOs along the Central Mediterranean Route, pushbacks and ‘pull backs’, and detention at sea,
leading to human rights violations and unsafe conditions. Finally, the paper also argues that the latter
emergency measures were used as a tool to press for greater solidarity from the EU partners and
influence EU’s policy-making on migration controls. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for
inclusive and rights-based approaches to crisis management.2023-01-01T00:00:00Z