Migration and Covid-19

In times of pandemic, everyone is at risk. And yet, pandemic is not necessarily a great equaliser: vulnerable people and groups such as migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have been disproportionately affected by the measures put in place by governments to deal with Covid-19.

Excluded groups have been left behind by governments’ responses to COVID-19 as control measures amplify existing health inequalities and put life-saving advice and care further out of reach.

The travel bans and border controls instituted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 jeopardised refugees’ access to international protection, bringing the right to leave any country and seek asylum into direct collision with the human right to life. From extended refugee camps lockdown to requirements to travel in order to fulfil requirements for their visa application, other measures have further endangered people’s health as well as their already precarious freedom of movement.

We have observed how many of the technologies used to combat the coronavirus pandemic, including monitoring and analysing social media posts, telecommunications location data, and the use of sensors, were first tested on refugees during the 2015 crisis, and have since developed into a surveillance architecture which is now being repurposed in the name of public health. And this trend continues, as we have seen proposals for apps or ankle bracelets to be tested on migrants and used to monitor them.

While governments announced measures to protect citizens, migrants, including economic migrants, migrant workers, asylum seekers, refugees, IDPs and stateless persons, workers have often been disregarded and instead targeted with more restrictive measures which are further limiting their enjoyment of their rights and freedoms.