The End of the Right to Seek Asylum? COVID-19 and the Future of Refugee Protection

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the institution of asylum, exacerbating longer term trends limiting the ability of asylum seekers to cross-borders to seek protection. As a result, the early months of 2020 saw an effective extinguishment of the right to seek asylum. This working paper examines how this played out in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States. National and regional responses varied, with Australia and the United States effectively ending asylum seeking. In Europe, some states upheld the right to seek asylum by exempting asylum seekers from general border closures, while other countries used the crisis to suspend the right to seek asylum. Finally, this working paper explores strategies for restoring and protecting the right to seek asylum beyond the pandemic.

The Politics of Refugee Protection in a (Post)COVID-19 World

“…In addition, Trump introduced new policies at the southern border under the guise of COVID-19. According to Ghezelbash and Tan (2020), more than 105,000 individuals had been returned to Mexico under the rapid-expulsion procedures by 31 July 2020 (see also Ramji-Nogales and Lang 2020). Elsewhere, Amnesty International (2020a) reports that refugees seeking protection have been trapped in East Africa due to border closures in Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda Somalia and Uganda.…”

“…Whilst these initiatives may not be prominently placed in mainstream media and political debates, they are there, quietly-and sometimes noisilychallenging the dominant narratives that can feel all-powerful and resistant to change. They offer hope that it is possible to mobilise people power and create a new narrative on refugee protection-as well as broader issues of migration and diversity-that move beyond fear and hate and generate the broader commitments to solidarity and responsibility sharing needed to counter the long-standing demise of the institution of asylum (Ghezelbash and Tan 2020). The challenge then is to build on common experiences associated with the pandemic to fight for another, better, world.…”

Refugee Policy Amidst Global Shocks: Encampment, Resettlement Barriers and the Search for ‘Durable Solutions’

“…While the promulgation of the COVID‐19 regulations can certainly be seen as state's exercising their responsibility under Article 2.1 of the United Nations Charter which gives states unfettered powers to ensure that their citizens are protected, controversial state responses to the pandemic stopped asylum seekers in their tracks as part of border control regimes. As Ghezelbash and Tan (2020) explain, moves to seal borders and suspend asylum procedures symbolized an end to certain fundamental rights, with ‘pandemic control measures’ implemented by states needing to be critically understood as an exacerbation of underlying tendencies towards the extinguishment of the right to seek asylum in the Global North as well as of programmes for resettlement for those with accepted refugee status. Hegemonic and racist trends towards evading human rights legal responsibilities and embracing a ‘deterrence’ paradigm – to confine people to certain regions within the global south – had already been building prior to COVID.…”

Immigration, Refugees and Responses

“…The Italian government declared that its ports were ‘unsafe’ for the disembarkation of refugees who had been rescued at sea during the duration of the Covid‐19 public health crisis (Carrera and Luk, 2020). Malta even resorted to using private boats to detain refugees at sea or to return them directly to Libya (Ghezelbash and Tan, 2020: Kingsley, 2020). The closure of ports led to incidences of refugees being stranded on boats at sea for long periods, provoking death in various cases (Tazzioli and Stierl, 2021) or being returned to countries on the other side of the Mediterranean.…”