Editorial Introduction — Access Denied
| Date | 01 June 2013 |
| Author | Gijsbert Vonk |
| DOI | 10.1177/138826271301500201 |
| Published date | 01 June 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION − ACCESS DENIED
Gijsbert Vonk*
Th
e term ‘Access denied’ is taken from a conference held in Amsterdam in March 2012.
Th
is conference was organised to mark the end of a long term research programme
called ‘Cross-Border Welfare State’. It brought together more than 150 researchers from
all corners of the world to discuss the social security position of vulnerable migrant
groups. While the outcomes of the research programme have been brought together
in a book, entitled Cross-Border Welfare State,1 this Special Issue of EJSS includes a
selection of the best and most original conference papers, centring around the theme of
social protection of ‘formally excluded migrants’, i.e. irregular immigrants and asylum
seekers.
Th
e fi rst contribution by Gijsbert Vonk and Sarah van Walsum contains a
reconnaissance of the theme of this Special Issue. Th
eir article discusses some recent
trends in the position of excluded migrants in both formal and informal social security
under the headings of ‘exclusion’ and ‘retrenchment’ and concludes by calling for an
alternative strategy for the social protection of formally excluded migrants based
upon respect for human rights, extra-territorial responsibility of migrants and more
socially inspired return policies.
Th
e contribution of Dorothy Estrada-Tanck explores how international human
rights law can adapt to the challenges faced by undocumented migrants with reference
to the concept of human security. She examines irregularity as a cause of a human
security risk and questions whether an approach based on the concept of human
security can give a better insight into the rights of undocumented migrants.
Nadine El-Enany criticises the implementation of the EU Reception Conditions
Directive for asylum seekers, which, in her view, results in excessive diff erences in
practice and inadequate levels of protection across the EU. She argues that the EU’s
*
Gijsbert Vonk, guest editor of this...
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