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Atak, Idil; Crépeau, François --- "The securitization of asylum and human rights in Canada and the European Union" [2013] ELECD 810; in Juss, Singh Satvinder; Harvey, Colin (eds), "Contemporary Issues in Refugee Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) 227

Book Title: Contemporary Issues in Refugee Law

Editor(s): Juss, Singh Satvinder; Harvey, Colin

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781782547655

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: The securitization of asylum and human rights in Canada and the European Union

Author(s): Atak, Idil; Crépeau, François

Number of pages: 31

Abstract/Description:

Over the past decades, as the number of forcibly displaced persons has reached unprecedented levels around the world, migration and asylum have become critical and debated issues in many countries. Concerns related to security, territorial sovereignty and border control fundamentally changed the playing field of immigration regulation. Beginning in the early 1980s, a number of immigration policy measures, notably visa regimes and carrier sanctions, were either initiated or retooled in order to prevent the irregular arrival of migrants or asylum seekers. National legislations on asylum and immigration have been frequently amended to become stricter. Numerous states have criminalized illegal entry, as well as all help to irregular migration. Excessive penalties have been imposed for migrant smuggling. States have re-emphasized the role of the border as the traditional symbol of national sovereignty. Physical barriers have been erected, border controls strengthened with increasing reliance on technology and military equipment. Migration controls were also pushed beyond national territory and international cooperation has been increased. This chapter deals with the securitization of asylum. Securitization is defined as a process of social construction that pushes an area of regular politics, such as asylum, into an area of security. The issue is therefore described as an existential threat to fundamental values of society and the state, a construction which helps in convincing a relevant section of society that exceptional measures are needed in response to this existential threat. In the name of urgency and survival, these measures often reach above and beyond the law and the ordinary political process.