The background idea in this essay is that as migration is a constant of civilization, we are all migrants. We have however witnessed, over the past thirty years, the progressive devaluation of asylum. At first an immemorial tradition, asylum has recently been construed as a potential threat to national security and we are moving towards a securitized control of migration movements. Migrants have rights and the respect, fulfillment, protection and promotion of the rights of migrants, as they relate to the rights of citizens, is the next frontier in terms of human rights policies. Ultimately, we shall need to think about a re-conceptualization of citizenship, in order the recognize the presence of all "foreigners" in terms of their administrative status.
- Crépeau A Test for Democracies