A range of commitment has been shown by governments in terms of legal and operational norms which however relate to border management issues. Often, the duality of intervention is vividly shown in these existing principles and commitments. An instance can be cited in the depth of international human rights law to which governments have devoted themselves are crucial to the promotion of more dignified, orderly and safe movement across borders. This is of utmost importance because it assists in the protection of the human rights of migrant populations during crisis situations. Simultaneously, however, different other norms and standards are in need of attention and intervention from the government to eradicate and curb human trafficking and smuggling of migrants as well as to serve as prevention of the transit of terrorists.
Normative Framework: it is no gainsaying that every nation is independent in exercising her sovereign jurisdiction at their international borders, it is obligatory thus that any intervention that rather deals with border management must occur in tandem with States’ obligations under international law. Specifically, it is an onus on the governments to ensure that the human rights of every individual at international borders are fully respected, safeguarded and fulfilled.
However, all these rights and obligations are adequately stated in the core international human rights instruments, which are not limited to that only but also include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in addition to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocols thereto, the Convention on the eradication of racial discrimination in all its ramifications, the Convention on the eradication of gender discrimination and all the paraphernalia that goes with it, the Convention against Torture, and the Convention in support of children’s rights.
More so, the Humanitarian Border Management (HBM), the four Geneva Conventions adopted in 1949 and the 1977 Protocols and also the application of The Hague Conventions 1899 and 1907. Though, Of the Geneva Conventions, it is expedient to recognize the impact of the Fourth Geneva Convention because it protected civilians in matters that involve international conflict and Common Article 312 that are of relevance.
Commitments on border management and security: The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha Development Agenda, employed during the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, and ensures that its members are devoted to taking “additional measures in order to make provision for access to effective market, largely at the border. It was then further stated in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda further that there is need for “improvement of trade- and transit-related logistics” to facilitate transport and trade, most importantly for landlocked developing countries.
However, in the context of developing border management to fight crimes and offences that are transnationally organized, myriads of resolutions have been passed by the United Nations (UN) conventions and protocols that make provisions the international legal basis for huge identity Management, enhanced Integrated Border Management and the use of Border Management Information Systems (BMIS).
In order to combat transnational crimes that are organized the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols are there to provide the initial point. The Convention was saddled with the obligations of correcting States domestically and encouraging international cooperation to hinder human trafficking and smuggling of migrants and the illegal production and trafficking of firearms. Part of its involvement is to provisions on document security and controls s well as on the collection, analysis and exchange of information at borders.
In ratification of the aforementioned, the purposes of countering terrorism, the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy as well as the Security Council resolutions and re relevant. These charges States with the establishment of “effective border controls and controls on issuance of identity papers and travel documents”, the improvement of data collection and the timely exchange of accurate operational information in order to prevent the terror of terrorists from crossing international borders.
(Adapted from Global Compact Thematic Paper: Border Management)