Border control technologies and Protection sensitive borders in the euromediterranean Region

Abstract

This paper sets out to combine analysis of two contemporary trends in border discourses and practices. First, the connection of borders and protection which was made explicit in UNHCR’s approach to mixed migration (UNHCR 2007) as “protection sensitive entry systems”. This term has retained considerable currency in directing discussions. The UK Refugee Council produced a study of ‘protection sensitive borders’ in the UK context (Refugee Council 2008) and UNHCR has held an international consultation focused on making entry systems protection sensitive (UNHCR 2008). These discussions consider ways of ensuring that tighter border controls, which in the European Union context are increasingly controlled extra-territorially, do not affect the ability of individuals to seek asylum. International protection is increasingly replacing the language of asylum, as in the European Council’s recent revisions of the Directive on minimum standards for granting and withdrawing refugee status, in which ‘refugee status’ has been replaced throughout with ‘International protection’ (EC 2010). A second important development occurring at borders is the progressive introduction of digital technologies as an integral part of control mechanisms. These developments include surveillance technologies, such as radar and thermal imaging, located at the physical border itself, the increasing adoption of biometric passports, following the International Civil Aviation Organization’s 2006 standard (ICAO 2006) and the establishment of databases