Kathryn Allinson | Queen Mary, University of London (original) (raw)

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Papers by Kathryn Allinson

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Sep 9, 2022

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to huma... more This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to human rights protection in the European Union, in light of its Member States' commitments in the UN Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants (Compacts). It holds that those in precarious and vulnerable positions vis-à-vis the State were among the first to experience a loss of access to rights in the face of the pandemic. Through analysis of the commitments made in the Global Compacts and their relationship to existing legal frameworks, as expressed in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and European Human Rights treaties, we assess implementation and policy in response to COVID-19. We contend that both the CEAS and the Compacts balance the human rights protections of refugees and migrants against the observance of state sovereign control over borders. A focus on three areas of contention in EU law and policy: access to migration procedures, use of immigration detention, and access to healthcare, demonstrates that there was a fragmented response to the pandemic based upon differing accounts of this balance. The paper concludes that, in line with the Global Compacts' call for respect for the human rights of refugees and migrants, States are obliged by their Global Compact commitments to extend basic healthcare and social service provisions to all migrants and refugees as well as to release those detained under immigration powers. This would go a long way to preserve their basic rights in the face of COVID-19 and ensure EU policy is in line with the commitments made within the Global Compacts.

Frontiers in human dynamics, Feb 8, 2024

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Sep 9, 2022

This paper examines the "protective potential" of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants vi... more This paper examines the "protective potential" of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants visà-vis existing commitments to fundamental rights within the European Union (EU). The relationship between the two normative frameworks is scrutinised to establish the extent to which the two might be mutually supportive or contradictory, since this determines the Compacts' capacity to inform the interpretation of EU fundamental rights within the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). This paper explores this protective potential through three of the Compacts' key guiding principles: respect for human rights and the rule of law, the principle of non-regression, and the principle of non-discrimination. The Compacts' commitments to the first two are presented as sites of coherence where the Compacts concretely express pre-existing protections within EU law and provide a blueprint for implementation in the migration sphere. Yet, the Compacts' principle of non-discrimination reveals an area of friction with EU primary law. It is argued that the implementation of this principle can address the inherently discriminatory system underpinning EU law. Within the EU, rather than undermining international and national human rights obligations, the Compacts present an opportunity to refine the implementation of existing EU fundamental rights obligations applicable to migrants and refugees.

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Jul 18, 2023

International Community Law Review

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Sep 9, 2022

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to huma... more This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to human rights protection in the European Union, in light of its Member States' commitments in the UN Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants (Compacts). It holds that those in precarious and vulnerable positions vis-à-vis the State were among the first to experience a loss of access to rights in the face of the pandemic. Through analysis of the commitments made in the Global Compacts and their relationship to existing legal frameworks, as expressed in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and European Human Rights treaties, we assess implementation and policy in response to COVID-19. We contend that both the CEAS and the Compacts balance the human rights protections of refugees and migrants against the observance of state sovereign control over borders. A focus on three areas of contention in EU law and policy: access to migration procedures, use of immigration detention, and access to healthcare, demonstrates that there was a fragmented response to the pandemic based upon differing accounts of this balance. The paper concludes that, in line with the Global Compacts' call for respect for the human rights of refugees and migrants, States are obliged by their Global Compact commitments to extend basic healthcare and social service provisions to all migrants and refugees as well as to release those detained under immigration powers. This would go a long way to preserve their basic rights in the face of COVID-19 and ensure EU policy is in line with the commitments made within the Global Compacts.

International Journal of Refugee Law

IN TROD UCTION 'Externalisation'-the process of shifting functions normally undertaken by a State... more IN TROD UCTION 'Externalisation'-the process of shifting functions normally undertaken by a State within its own territory so they take place, in part or in whole, outside its territoryhas an important impact on the asylum field. Particularly (but not exclusively) in the Global North, the body of laws, policies and practices that externalise aspects of the migration and asylum functions of States appears to be expanding. This trend has not gone unnoticed or unchallenged by international organisations (IOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), news media and academia concerned about the serious negative consequences of this trend for refugees and asylum seekers. Certainly, the process of externalisation, at least as it impinges on access to territorial asylum, raises a host of complex legal, moral and policy concerns. The Refugee Law Initiative (RLI) Declaration on Externalisation and Asylum, adopted at its 6th Annual Conference on 29 June 2022, sets out key international law considerations on externalisation that reflect the view of a range of independent experts and scholars at the RLI. This paper provides a primarily legal analysis for the positions outlined therein. 2 It thus acknowledges but does not engage in depth with the political narrative on externalisation that runs in parallel. The paper draws on collaborative work 1 The first four authors led the research and drafting process, with contributions from the remaining authors. This was a Refugee Law Initiative project. 2 Although it is not the focus of this analysis, it is important to note that domestic law in particular countries may impose additional legal constraints on externalisation.

European Yearbook on Human Rights 2021

Laws

This paper examines the “protective potential” of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants vi... more This paper examines the “protective potential” of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants vis à vis existing commitments to fundamental rights within the European Union (EU). The relationship between the two normative frameworks is scrutinised to establish the extent to which the two might be mutually supportive or contradictory, since this determines the Compacts’ capacity to inform the interpretation of EU fundamental rights within the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). This paper explores this protective potential through three of the Compacts’ key guiding principles: respect for human rights and the rule of law, the principle of non-regression, and the principle of non-discrimination. The Compacts’ commitments to the first two are presented as sites of coherence where the Compacts concretely express pre-existing protections within EU law and provide a blueprint for implementation in the migration sphere. However, the Compacts’ principle of non-discrimination reveals an a...

Law and Critique, 2020

In 2016, the international community, in reaction to the growing number of ‘tragedies’ occurring ... more In 2016, the international community, in reaction to the growing number of ‘tragedies’ occurring as people attempted to move across borders, met to discuss large movements of refugees and migrants. The outcome of this meeting was an agreement to negotiate two Global Compacts, one on refugees and one on migrants, with the aim of facilitating ‘orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people’. This article explores how responsibility in the Global Compact on Migrant is expressive of a changed way of ‘doing’ migration. The language of ‘responsibility’ raises questions about how the international community views international migration and, by extension, prepares the ground for policy and practice on international migration. Taking a genealogical, jurisprudential approach, we follow the logic which brings migration, development and human rights language together to construct a new subjectivity: that of the ‘responsible’ migrant. The migrant human will be a rights-...

International Community Law Review, 2021

Human Rights of Migrants in the 21st Century, 2017

Leiden Journal of International Law

International Migration, Jul 15, 2019

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Sep 9, 2022

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to huma... more This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to human rights protection in the European Union, in light of its Member States' commitments in the UN Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants (Compacts). It holds that those in precarious and vulnerable positions vis-à-vis the State were among the first to experience a loss of access to rights in the face of the pandemic. Through analysis of the commitments made in the Global Compacts and their relationship to existing legal frameworks, as expressed in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and European Human Rights treaties, we assess implementation and policy in response to COVID-19. We contend that both the CEAS and the Compacts balance the human rights protections of refugees and migrants against the observance of state sovereign control over borders. A focus on three areas of contention in EU law and policy: access to migration procedures, use of immigration detention, and access to healthcare, demonstrates that there was a fragmented response to the pandemic based upon differing accounts of this balance. The paper concludes that, in line with the Global Compacts' call for respect for the human rights of refugees and migrants, States are obliged by their Global Compact commitments to extend basic healthcare and social service provisions to all migrants and refugees as well as to release those detained under immigration powers. This would go a long way to preserve their basic rights in the face of COVID-19 and ensure EU policy is in line with the commitments made within the Global Compacts.

Frontiers in human dynamics, Feb 8, 2024

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Sep 9, 2022

This paper examines the "protective potential" of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants vi... more This paper examines the "protective potential" of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants visà-vis existing commitments to fundamental rights within the European Union (EU). The relationship between the two normative frameworks is scrutinised to establish the extent to which the two might be mutually supportive or contradictory, since this determines the Compacts' capacity to inform the interpretation of EU fundamental rights within the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). This paper explores this protective potential through three of the Compacts' key guiding principles: respect for human rights and the rule of law, the principle of non-regression, and the principle of non-discrimination. The Compacts' commitments to the first two are presented as sites of coherence where the Compacts concretely express pre-existing protections within EU law and provide a blueprint for implementation in the migration sphere. Yet, the Compacts' principle of non-discrimination reveals an area of friction with EU primary law. It is argued that the implementation of this principle can address the inherently discriminatory system underpinning EU law. Within the EU, rather than undermining international and national human rights obligations, the Compacts present an opportunity to refine the implementation of existing EU fundamental rights obligations applicable to migrants and refugees.

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Jul 18, 2023

International Community Law Review

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Sep 9, 2022

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to huma... more This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees' and migrants' access to human rights protection in the European Union, in light of its Member States' commitments in the UN Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants (Compacts). It holds that those in precarious and vulnerable positions vis-à-vis the State were among the first to experience a loss of access to rights in the face of the pandemic. Through analysis of the commitments made in the Global Compacts and their relationship to existing legal frameworks, as expressed in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and European Human Rights treaties, we assess implementation and policy in response to COVID-19. We contend that both the CEAS and the Compacts balance the human rights protections of refugees and migrants against the observance of state sovereign control over borders. A focus on three areas of contention in EU law and policy: access to migration procedures, use of immigration detention, and access to healthcare, demonstrates that there was a fragmented response to the pandemic based upon differing accounts of this balance. The paper concludes that, in line with the Global Compacts' call for respect for the human rights of refugees and migrants, States are obliged by their Global Compact commitments to extend basic healthcare and social service provisions to all migrants and refugees as well as to release those detained under immigration powers. This would go a long way to preserve their basic rights in the face of COVID-19 and ensure EU policy is in line with the commitments made within the Global Compacts.

International Journal of Refugee Law

IN TROD UCTION 'Externalisation'-the process of shifting functions normally undertaken by a State... more IN TROD UCTION 'Externalisation'-the process of shifting functions normally undertaken by a State within its own territory so they take place, in part or in whole, outside its territoryhas an important impact on the asylum field. Particularly (but not exclusively) in the Global North, the body of laws, policies and practices that externalise aspects of the migration and asylum functions of States appears to be expanding. This trend has not gone unnoticed or unchallenged by international organisations (IOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), news media and academia concerned about the serious negative consequences of this trend for refugees and asylum seekers. Certainly, the process of externalisation, at least as it impinges on access to territorial asylum, raises a host of complex legal, moral and policy concerns. The Refugee Law Initiative (RLI) Declaration on Externalisation and Asylum, adopted at its 6th Annual Conference on 29 June 2022, sets out key international law considerations on externalisation that reflect the view of a range of independent experts and scholars at the RLI. This paper provides a primarily legal analysis for the positions outlined therein. 2 It thus acknowledges but does not engage in depth with the political narrative on externalisation that runs in parallel. The paper draws on collaborative work 1 The first four authors led the research and drafting process, with contributions from the remaining authors. This was a Refugee Law Initiative project. 2 Although it is not the focus of this analysis, it is important to note that domestic law in particular countries may impose additional legal constraints on externalisation.

European Yearbook on Human Rights 2021

Laws

This paper examines the “protective potential” of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants vi... more This paper examines the “protective potential” of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants vis à vis existing commitments to fundamental rights within the European Union (EU). The relationship between the two normative frameworks is scrutinised to establish the extent to which the two might be mutually supportive or contradictory, since this determines the Compacts’ capacity to inform the interpretation of EU fundamental rights within the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). This paper explores this protective potential through three of the Compacts’ key guiding principles: respect for human rights and the rule of law, the principle of non-regression, and the principle of non-discrimination. The Compacts’ commitments to the first two are presented as sites of coherence where the Compacts concretely express pre-existing protections within EU law and provide a blueprint for implementation in the migration sphere. However, the Compacts’ principle of non-discrimination reveals an a...

Law and Critique, 2020

In 2016, the international community, in reaction to the growing number of ‘tragedies’ occurring ... more In 2016, the international community, in reaction to the growing number of ‘tragedies’ occurring as people attempted to move across borders, met to discuss large movements of refugees and migrants. The outcome of this meeting was an agreement to negotiate two Global Compacts, one on refugees and one on migrants, with the aim of facilitating ‘orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people’. This article explores how responsibility in the Global Compact on Migrant is expressive of a changed way of ‘doing’ migration. The language of ‘responsibility’ raises questions about how the international community views international migration and, by extension, prepares the ground for policy and practice on international migration. Taking a genealogical, jurisprudential approach, we follow the logic which brings migration, development and human rights language together to construct a new subjectivity: that of the ‘responsible’ migrant. The migrant human will be a rights-...

International Community Law Review, 2021

Human Rights of Migrants in the 21st Century, 2017

Leiden Journal of International Law

International Migration, Jul 15, 2019