Researchers from the Algorithmic Fairness for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (AFAR) Project, hosted at the Hertie School’s Centre for Fundamental Rights, brought their evidence-based insights to high-level UN dialogues shaping guidelines on digital border technologies.
On 24–25 June 2025, the AFAR team participated in two pivotal engagements in Geneva aimed at shaping the future of digital border governance. In collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), AFAR researchers presented key findings from their interdisciplinary work on algorithmic fairness in migration and asylum systems. These contributions helped inform OHCHR’s draft Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights-Based Digital Border Governance, currently under consultation.
On Monday, Dr Derya Ozkul, AFAR’s Principal Investigator and co-organiser of the event, and Professor Cathryn Costello, the project’s lead, participated in a public session in the context of a side event alongside the United Nations Human Rights Council. Hosted at the Palais des Nations, the event directly supported the refinement of the OHCHR’s draft Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights-Based Digital Border Governance.
Drawing on AFAR’s interdisciplinary research, Professor Costello addressed fairness-related challenges arising from the use of algorithmic technologies in European border governance, while Dr Ozkul explored the role of strategic litigation in challenging automated decision-making systems. Their interventions underscored the broader risks posed by digital technologies in migration and asylum contexts, particularly algorithmic bias, opacity, and accountability gaps, and emphasised the importance of embedding fairness, human rights, and independent oversight into the design and deployment of such tools.
On Tuesday, the Centre for Fundamental Rights co-hosted a closed expert roundtable with the OHCHR, aimed at strengthening the draft principles through deeper engagement with empirical research and civil society expertise. The roundtable convened a diverse group of participants, including representatives from UNHCR, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), IOM – UN Migration, Danish Refugee Council, Privacy International, and leading academic institutions.
AFAR researchers, now also joined by Dr William Hamilton Byrne and Dr Lenka Dražanová, shared data-driven and legal analyses from the project. Dr Hamilton Byrne presented findings on the use of digital evidence in refugee status determination, while Dr Dražanová discussed public perceptions of fairness in relation to border technologies. Their insights complemented presentations by Professor Cathryn Costello, who examined the broader fairness-related questions surrounding the automation of asylum and migration governance in Europe, and Dr Derya Ozkul, who focused on the role of strategic litigation in challenging automated systems in border control. Together, these contributions highlighted key concerns including algorithmic bias, lack of transparency, and the real-world implications of digital tools for people on the move.
These contributions helped anchor the OHCHR’s draft guidelines in both lived experience and robust evidence, contributing to a more nuanced and rights-aligned framework for digital border governance.