Legal Frameworks and Policy Approaches to Migration and Human Security in a Globalized World

Abstract

The shift in world migration trends in the twenty-first century is increasingly being characterised by the growing tension between the conventional, state-centric approach of border security and the growing paradigm shift of human security. Although historical models used to believe in the sacredness of national borders and the sovereign right of states to exclude, the forces of globalization have made such isolationist policies quite ineffective and often counterproductive. This study challenges the legal systems and the various policy responses of governing international mobility, in particular, the way in which the securitization of migration often erodes the protection of vulnerable populations. There is a critical gap in the existing international law in recognising and protecting climate-induced migrants, i.e. those migrants who have been displaced by environmental degradation, and not by political persecution. Moreover, the emergence of digital surveillance and biometric border technologies has brought about new threats to privacy and personal safety, and these are commonly conducted in a legal vacuum. This study will show a disturbing correlation: highly securitised migration regimes are likely to deteriorate the human security outcomes and fail to reduce the overall amount of irregular movement. The results indicate that the restrictive measures fail to eradicate the causes of migration- such as extreme economic inequality, conflict and environmental crisis- but instead push the migrants into more dangerous and hidden routes controlled by illegal networks. In order to deal with such systemic failures, there must be a fundamental policy change. A shift to rights-based multilateral systems means that national interests can be brought in line with international humanitarian practices. The global community will be better able to manage the socio-economic forces behind displacement and ensure that the inherent dignity and security of the individual are at the centre of migration governance.