Humanitarian experts are concerned about a concerning trend: the erosion of the right to asylum. It’s puzzling why such a crucial right, especially for desperate individuals, is weakening.

Affluent nations are driving this concerning change by imposing restrictions to discourage individuals from seeking refuge.

In May 2022, a historic event unfolded: the United Nations disclosed that conflict, violence, and persecution had forced over 100 million individuals worldwide to abandon their homes.

These staggering figures underscore the substantial scale of migration.

Recent data has also highlighted environmental factors contributing to people’s displacement.

Amid these unavoidable and unforeseeable upheavals, there’s an observable decrease in the accessibility of seeking asylum.

“The doors are closing, and the language is coarsening. Hearts are hardening, walls are being built,” Allan Rock, a member of the World Refugee & Migration Council and former Canadian ambassador to the UN, told Al Jazeera.

“Everywhere you look, there is a weakening and often a disappearance of the right to claim asylum.”

The origin of the asylum right

The origin of this unique refugee right dates back to the aftermath of World War II when millions of European refugees were uprooted and seeking safety in other nations.

The foundation of this right lies in the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Both instruments, along with the 1967 Protocol, delineate who qualifies as a refugee under international law and spell out their rights.

This includes a key principle known as non-refoulement, which prevents countries from sending people back to states where they fear harm.

The definition of asylum has been widely misconstrued. In an attempt to reconnect it back to the refugee convention, a law professor at Temple University in the United States,Jaya Ramji-Nogales, explained “Asylum is a protection. It’s really about our moral obligation to other humans who are in need of protection because they are facing harm.”

Which countries have signed the refugee convention to support the asylum law?

Statistics has confirmed that One hundred and forty-nine countries have ratified the Refugee Convention or the Protocol, or both of them.

As such, many have equally incorporated the right to seek asylum in their own national laws. This makes them liable to support anyone from any country seeking this legal right, however, some countries have been unwelcoming.

European countries‘opinions about asylum

Asylum claims can only be submitted once a refugee sets foot on another nation’s territory, prompting certain countries to actively prevent migrants from entering their borders. This geographical barrier has been termed “Border externalisation”.

Though it is fairly new, it has evolved in several ways, spanning from pushbacks of refugees seeking to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, to bilateral agreements that discharge countries’ duties to assess asylum claims or effectively seal their shared frontiers.

This has particularly been in Europe, and it is becoming a growing concern.

Recent shocking news from the British government and its humanitarian ties with Rwanda left global open talks. This is because both countries signed a “memorandum of understanding” wherein Rwanda welcomed asylum seekers from Britain.

Similarly, European countries admit to having spent tens of millions of dollars to privately train Libyan coastguards.

This huge investment is to stop the flow of asylum seekers using Libya as a gateway to reach Europe by sea. Sadly, countless reports have confirmed tens of thousands of migrants who have died making such crossings in recent years.

North American countries

In North America, countries are considering changes to their asylum policies. For example, in March 2023, Canada extended a deal with the US.

Effectively it allows the US to shut the door on most asylum seekers who cross the US-Canada land border and send them back to the United States. This means they are violating the right even if migrants are present in the Canadian territory.

In response to the controversial immigration policy, US President Joe Biden’s administration also has proposed a policy.

Though nicknamed by human rights groups as “asylum ban”; the plan would block asylum seekers who arrive at the US-Mexico border from accessing protection in the US.

They will be asked why they didn’t first apply for asylum in Mexico or another country they crossed earlier in their journeys.

“The policies at the [US-Mexico] border are so restrictive that we’re seeing a record number of people amass because they’re being prevented from crossing,” said Javier Hidalgo, director of pre-removal services at RAICES, an organization in Texas that supports asylum seekers and migrants.

The deadly consequences of US immigration policies are often “erased from the public view”, said Hidalgo.

He pointed to recent figures that showed more than 850 people died in the 2022 fiscal year trying to cross along the US-Mexico border.

“It’s an increasing level of desperation,” Hidalgo added. “There’s a huge amount of preying upon this population that’s waiting to get across.

We have created a market for kidnapping by the cartels and corruption by the officials on the other side of the border

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