The Role of Digital Tools in International Protection
From chatbots that help asylum seekers register their protection claims and interviews conducted remotely via video, digital tools have permeated migration, asylum, and border management systems. This is particularly the case in Europe, where the 2015–16 migration and refugee crisis jumpstarted a first round of digitalization. Yet many stakeholders remain concerned about using digital tools, worried about data privacy, opaque decision-making, and the dehumanization of the process. This Migration Policy Institute report explores the opportunities and challenges of digital tools for asylum practices, procedures, and the organization of protection regimes.
The report is part of the three-year Beyond Territorial Asylum: Making Protection Work in a Bordered World initiative undertaken by MPI and the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The three-year initiative, developed jointly with MPI, aims to explore and test new ways to facilitate access to protection that better support equity and result in more flexible, sustainable infrastructure.
