Abstract
AbstractThis Article develops what we call a “topographical approach” to accountability in migration control. Drawing on different strands of scholarship, including legal geography, “legal black holes,” and work on strategic litigation, we approach accountability by perceiving the site of a violation from a bird's-eye view and mapping different accountability structures across diverse legal regimes and via a broadened geographic lens. Rather than advocating for accountability in regard to particular regimes or jurisdictions, we argue that multi-pronged approaches are likely to remain the best starting point for ensuring accountability for human rights violations in the context of current migration control practices. The topographical approach thus offers a general framework for identifying existing blind spots, critically assessing existing trajectories, as well as exploring the wider grid of potential accountability mechanisms.
Highlights
This Article develops what we call a “topographical approach” to accountability in migration control
Rather than advocating for accountability in regard to particular regimes or jurisdictions, we argue that multi-pronged approaches are likely to remain the best starting point for ensuring accountability for human rights violations in the context of current migration control practices
The means and agreements through which these policies are. This Article was first presented at a workshop on “Accountability for Human Rights Violations in Migration Control” held in Oxford on Nov. 10, 2018, that was funded by an ERC Starter Grant RefMig (Grant Agreement 716968), of which Cathryn Costello is the PI
Summary
Topography and Migration Control Since the end of the Cold War, migration control has emerged as the principal response of Global North states to refugees and irregular migrants. Billions of dollars and euros are spent each year on border patrols, technological surveillance systems, warning campaigns, and international agreements to stop or deter migrants and refugees. In Europe, the 2015 migrant and refugee protection crisis alone has prompted a tripling of the EU budget allocated to border and migration management. the means and agreements through which these policies are. The topographical approach does not claim to fill all accountability gaps for breaches of human rights in the course of migration control Some violations in this context may remain beyond the pale of the law, leaving asylum seekers and refugees in a situation of de jure or de facto rightlessness.. The topographical approach starts by perceiving the legal and geographical terrain where human rights violations or other legally wrongful acts related to migration control take place as a site for investigation It seeks to represent the “surface features” of the law by surveying and mapping the various accountability structures in a holistic manner. Though it draws on critical thinking in regard to legal geography and strategic litigation, it retains a focus on the potentiality of law through structured and creative explorations of litigative opportunities
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