When: Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AMWhere: Online
Watch the (B)OrderS Expert Discussion on YouTube.
The event is co-organised by (B)OrderS: The Centre for the Legal Study of Borders and Migration: at Queen Mary University of London, The Jean Monnet Comparative Network on Refugee Externalisation Policies: CONREP coordinated by the University of Melbourne, and the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) at the European University Institute (EUI).
With the growing movement of asylum seekers and refugees to wealthy Global North countries, states have progressively hardened their migration control strategies. States now employ a number of measures beyond their territorial borders to obstruct or deter the arrival of unwanted migrants and shirk their protection obligations. States have externalised migration control by shifting the locus of border enforcement to third countries, while also contracting out border control duties to private actors. Prominent examples include the delegation of responsibility for visa and documents checks to airlines and other carriers at the point of departure; the secondment of immigration liaison officers (ILOs) to third countries to assist with clearance procedures; and the contracting of security companies to operate detention centres and assist with deportations and removals. Migration control now involves complex relationships between public and private actors. The delegation of authority from government to private companies and corporations raises serious implications for the role and function of the state, state accountability, and the enforcement of international law and the protection of human rights. A deeper examination of the role of non-state actors in migration control is therefore both timely and necessary.
This event seeks to advance our understanding of how, when, and why States privatise migration control, how we might conceptualise the role of private actors, the nature of their relationship with the State, and the degree of autonomy that they have in the enforcement of borders, revealing the often violent and coercive dynamics that underpin these practices. By bringing together scholars working across law, politics, and ethics, this workshop offers a unique multidisciplinary perspective on the privatisation of migration control.
The speakers are:
Chair and moderator: Dr Tamara Tubakovic (CONREP Network & University of Warwick).
View the abstracts and speaker information. [PDF 629KB].
Founded in 2022, the (B)Orders Centre focuses on the study of bordering, ordering and othering processes through law. It constitutes an excellence hub for intellectual collaboration and evaluation of the role of law in the making and unmaking of borders and their impact on global (im)mobility. It connects scholars within and beyond Queen Mary Law School to harness existing inter- and multi-disciplinary research into law, borders and (im)mobility and shape future research and policy agendas in response to global challenges.
The mission of the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) at the European University Institute (EUI) is to conduct advanced research on the transnational governance of international migration, asylum and mobility. It provides new ideas, rigorous evidence and critical thinking to inform major European and global policy debates. MPC’s three core aims are the advancement of academic research and knowledge, policy engagement and dialogue, and training.
The Jean Monnet Erasmus+ Network grant The Comparative Network on Refugee Externalisation Policies (CONREP) is an international, interdisciplinary network of experts from seven universities in Australia and Europe. CONREP researches the impact and effects of the externalisation of refugee policies in two regions: Australia’s activities in Southeast Asia and the Pacific; and the European Union and its member states’ activities in North Africa.