A Well-Founded Hope: The Human Right to a Life Project in the Context of Forced Displacement - With a Case Study of Forcibly Displaced Ukrainians in Oslo.

Abstract

The life project is a transcendental human right as it embodies an everlasting expression of human dignity, materialized in exercising the inherent human freedom to design and pursue such existential project. In other words, the human right to a life project gives meaning to human dignity and a sense of purpose for human life. Forced displacement often results in the significant reduction of the possibilities of adopting a life project, instead replacing it with a state of uprootedness. This thesis analyzes the scope of the right to a life project vis-à-vis several challenges faced by forcibly displaced people, particularly Ukrainians in Oslo. Drawing from doctrinal and jurisprudential precedents, the study includes interviews with eight victims of forced displacement and stakeholders involved in their support in Norway. Altogether, I offer a concept of a life project within the context of forced displacement, identify and examine the types and determinants of the life projects of the interviewees, and conclude with de lege ferenda policy recommendations for a ‘best’ practice. I aim to contribute towards the universal recognition and safeguard of the life project as human right for every person and as the well-founded hope for those forcibly displaced.