Strengthening The Rights-Based Approach In European Union Migration Policies: Seeking A New Balance Between Security and Responsibility
The European Union (EU) has structured its migration management in the post-2015 period largely on a security-centric approach. Following the 2015 refugee crisis, the EU's migration management strategies have largely focused on border control and externalization policies, leading to human rights violations and deviations from international protection standards. However, these approaches are growingly inconsistent with the EU's founding principles of protection of fundamental freedoms, promotion of societal solidarity, and maintenance of a rules-based legal order. This policy brief examines the need to reinforce a human-rights oriented framework in EU migration policies by addressing the current imbalance between security and responsibility. It argues that the EU should redefine its migration policies within the framework of its core values and international legal obligations. While acknowledging the legitimacy of security concerns, it emphasizes the long-term unsustainability of addressing these concerns at the expense of human dignity and rights. This brief offers a critical evaluation of existing policies and offers concrete policy recommendations to make the EU's migration policies more humane, transparent, and accountable. The study offers three key recommendations: establishing independent monitoring mechanisms at the EU level, adding human rights clauses to readmission agreements, and promoting programs that raise asylum seekers' rights awareness. These recommendations call for the EU to rebalance its migration policies on the foundations of rights and duties, paired with security priorities.
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