[Event] Digitalised Migration Management and Globalisation

The workshop is organised by Tilburg University, the University of Luxembourg, and two working groups of the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research, Migration & Borders and Human Rights in the Ditigal Age. It will bring together leading scholars and experts to explore the impact of digitalisation and algorithmic processes on migration management. Three expert panels will explore the the intersection of technology, law, and human rights in migration governance.

Panel 1 – Digital Transformation and Algorithmic Processes in Migration Management (Chair: Manos Roussos)

• ‘The Digital Border and the Rule of Law’ – Prof. Valsamis Mitsilegas (University of Liverpool)
• ‘Bridging Technological Realities and (EU) Law: Classifying AI Technologies in Asylum Decision-making’ - Ludivine Stewart (European University Institute)
• ‘EUROSUR: Balancing Border Security and Humanitarian Concerns’ - Irene Baceiredo Macho (University of Deusto)
• ‘Datafication by EU Migration Agencies: Who Controls the Data?’ - Dr. Sarah Tas (Maastricht University)
• ‘Digitilised Migration Secrecy: Non-Public Power’ - Prof. Deirdre Curtin (European University Institute)

Panel 2 – Digitalisation and Externalisation of Immigration Control (Chair: Sissy Katsoni)

• ‘The Impact of Externalisation on Third Countries: Data Exchange Agreements, and Human Rights Concerns’ - Prof. Elspeth Guild (University of Liverpool) (online)
• ‘The EU’s Digital Buffer Zone: The Case of Türkiye’ – Dr. Elif Mendos Kuşkonmaz (University of Essex)
• ‘Crimmigration’ and Digital Discourse: The Role of Platform Policies in Shaping the Narrative’ - Stevi Kitsou (Maastricht University)
• ‘Data Privacy Considerations in Sharing Asylum-seekers' Information with Law Enforcement Agencies under the GPSR and UK DPA’ – Dr. Didem Doğar (Tilburg University)
• ‘Extraction of Smartphone Data: The Right to Privacy and the Vulnerable Position of Asylum Seekers’ - Dr. Evelien Brouwer and Jarik ten Cate (Utrecht University)

Panel 3 – Legal Gaps Arising from the Digitalisation of Migration Management (Chair: Viola Bex-Reimert)

• ‘The History of slavery has no relation to granting visas’: Institutional Racism in the Context of Automated Systems in the Netherlands Term Visa Decisionmaking’ - Joan Lopez-Solano (Tilburg University)
• ‘The International Responsibility of Private Entities for Geolocation Data Sharing that Enables Refoulements’ – Dr. Sissy Katsoni (Tilburg University)
• ‘In Search for Secure and Fair Data Processing in EU Digital Border Management’ – Dr. Mariana Gkliati and Prof. Eleni Kosta (Tilburg University)
• ‘Crimmigration through Administrative Surveillance of Civil Society at the EU's External Borders’ – Dr. Niovi Vavoula (University of Luxembourg)

Details

Date & Time: 14 April 2025, 09:30-16:45 CET

Location: Mindlabs, Room MLZ2, Locomotiefboulevard 101, 5041 SE Tilburg, the Netherlands

Programme 

09:30 – 10:00 | Registration and welcome coffee

10:00 – 10:15 | Introduction and welcome  

10:15 – 12:00 | Panel 1 – Digital Transformation and Algorithmic Processes

12:00 – 12:45 | Lunch break

17:00 – 18:00 | Panel 2 – Digitalisation and Externalisation of Immigration Control

14:30 – 14:45 | Coffee Break

17:00 – 18:00 | Panel 3 – Legal Gaps Arising from the Digitalisation of Migration Management

16:30 – 16:45 | Closing and final remarks

17:15 | Dinner

Registration for online attendance can be made by clicking here.

The Conveners for this conference are:

• Dr. Mariana Gkliati, Assistant Professor of Migration and Asylum Law at Tilburg University
• Prof. Eleni Kosta, Professor of Technology Law and Human Rights at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society at Tilburg University
• Dr. Niovi Vavoula, Associate Professor and Chair in Cyber Policy at the University of Luxembourg