ABSTRACT
This chapter is placed at the intersection of international human rights and international refugee law. Asylum and migration are increasingly addressed from a security perspective, and states are adopting a restrictive approach towards migrants and refugees. States are even negotiating economic agreements with third countries to prevent onward movements or arrange transfers. In the Global North, economic power seems to be used as a shield against new arrivals on state territory, leveraging the economic needs and interests of the Global South. This chapter investigates the 2022 Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, otherwise known as the UK-Rwanda arrangement, which constitutes an example of ‘externalisation of borders’. In this chapter, we take the agreement as a litmus test to explore these new border practices which challenge the concept of territorial asylum and the border landscape. We argue that the current approach represents a shift of the state’s responsibility to fulfil international obligations beyond its territory and jurisdiction.
