Human rights and a-legality: destitution of persons seeking asylum in the EU

Eleni Karageorgiou

Chapter 14 in Research Handbook on Human Rights and Poverty, 2026, pp 243-261 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Poverty has been widely discussed as a main driver of migration and the factor distinguishing a ‘refugee’ from an ‘economic migrant’. Although poverty resulting from discriminatory practices in countries of origin can exceptionally qualify as persecution, the concept is often seen as irreconcilable with forced displacement. The large-scale refugee movements from Syria to Europe, peaking in 2015, exposed the limitations of European asylum law in adequately addressing material poverty and destitution among refugees and asylum seekers, especially in times of crisis. Drawing on EU and Member State practice before, during, and after 2015, this chapter examines the intersection between legal status and destitution, situating asylum law and policy within both international and regional frameworks. It argues that the design of the European asylum system and its structural inequalities enable States to use destitution as a tool – both to deflect responsibility and to deter asylum seekers from entering their territories. At the same time, asylum-seeking in the EU can be seen as an a-legal act, disrupting the framework's capacity to categorize those who undertake it.

Keywords: Refugee rights; Asylum seekers; A-legality; European asylum system; Externalisation; Destitution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035350506
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