New International Migration Management Technologies and Their Impact on Sustainability

Abstract The externalization of migration management to third countries is becoming a recurrent phenomenon in international migration management. Soft law instruments emerged as an important strategy to externalize migration management to third countries through international migration agreements. In particular, in the last years the European Union and some member states have adopted bilateral and multilateral migration agreements in order to diminish the arrival of migrants in Europe. These agreements in the form of soft law instruments are problematic because do not follow the ordinary process of law making and thus it is difficult to assess their legal effectivity. The memorandum of understanding signed in February 2017 between Libya and Italy represents an illustrative case of the process of externalizing migration management through soft law. From a critical discussion of the memorandum, many problems in relation to its legal and material validity follow. In particular, the protection of migrants’ human rights in Libya is not guaranteed as the many international organization and NGOs reports indicate.

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New International Migration Management Technologies and Their Impact on Sustainability

10.1007/978-3-319-95882-8_120 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 604-612

Author(s):

Grazyna Baranowska ◽

Lukasz Szoszkiewicz

Keyword(s):

International Migration ◽

Migration Management

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Kidnapped, Trafficked, Detained? The Implications of Non-state Actor Involvement in Immigration Detention

Journal on Migration and Human Security ◽

10.1177/233150241700500303 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 593-613 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael Flynn

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Migration ◽

Control Measures ◽

Global Compact ◽

Immigration Detention ◽

Immigration Control ◽

Migration Management ◽

State Actor ◽

State Actors ◽

Human Rights Standards

Global migration challenges are reinforcing long-standing trends that involve shifting immigration control measures beyond national borders and incorporating new actors into detention systems. Proposals to shape migration management policies — including discussions on developing a Global Compact for Migration — recognize the need to involve a range of actors to implement humane and effective strategies. However, when observed through the lens of immigration detention, some policy trends raise challenging questions, particularly those that lead to increasing roles for non-state actors in migration control. This article critically assesses a range of new actors who have become involved in the deprivation of liberty of migrants and asylum seekers, describes the various forces that appear to be driving their engagement, and makes a series of recommendations concerning the role of non-state actors and detention in global efforts to manage international migration. These recommendations include: • ending the use the detention in international migration management schemes; • limiting the involvement of private companies in immigration control measures; • insisting that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) actively endorse the centrality of human rights in the Global Compact for Migration and amend its constitution so that it makes a clear commitment to international human rights standards; and • encouraging nongovernmental organizations to carefully assess the services they provide when operating in detention situations to ensure that their work contributes to harm reduction.

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