Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

AI age assessment: why it puts child asylum-seekers at risk (ODI Comment, Sept. 2026) [text]

Closing the digital divide for refugee women means understanding their full experience of connectivity (GSMA Blog, Sept. 2026) [text]

When AI Explains African Crises, Local Knowledge Is Barely Visible (African Arguments, Aug. 2026) [text]

When Digital ID leaves people behind (ENS Blog, Oct. 2026) [text]

New open access book:

Border Necrotechnics: Automation, Surveillance, and the Racial Politics of Migration Control (Palgrave Macmillan, Aug. 2026) [open access]

- "Positioned at the intersection of criminology, critical migration studies, and socio-technical analysis, this book argues that AI and other autonomous surveillance technologies do not simply 'manage' migration: instead, these tools actively produce racialized suspicion, legitimize expanded policing, and enable new forms of pre-emptive control over people-on-the-move, often leading to adverse outcomes including discrimination, racism, and even death. The term border necrotechnics describes the assemblage of automated systems, infrastructures, and practices through which states and corporations decide which lives are rendered killable, deportable, or indefinitely surveilled at and beyond the border. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship, this book situates border AI and surveillance within a broader genealogy of punishment, racialized security practices, and the policing of global mobility. The author argues that AI systems automate historical logics of exclusion, embedding them in digital infrastructures that appear neutral yet replicate deep structural inequalities." 

Reports & journal articles:

Artificial Intelligence and Asylum Decision-Making: Any Role for Human Rights Law?, Policy Brief, no. 2026:3 (Delmi Swedish Delegation for Migration Research, 2026) [text]

- Focuses on Europe.

"Between community development and humanitarian communication in protracted encampment: young refugees, aid agencies, and Facebook," Development in Practice, Latest Articles, 7 Sept. 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on Kenya.

"Database(d) Immigration Enforcement," Cardozo Law Review, vol. 48 (Forthcoming) [preprint]

- Focuses on the US.

"Extract, Violate, and Scare: Data Mining Tools Take Over the Immigration Surveillance State," Surveillance & Society, vol. 24, no. 4 (2026) [open access]

- Focuses on the US.

"Navigating Borders and Screens: ICTs Practices and Digital Mimicry in the Sub-Saharan Boza Journey," African Human Mobility Review, vol. 12, no. 2 (2026) [open access]

- Focuses on "Cameroonians en route to Europe via Morocco."

"Smartphone Technology, Social Network Maintenance and Social Participation among Mandarin-speaking older immigrants in Canada," The Gerontologist, vol. 66, no. 9 (Sept. 2026) [open access]

- See also earlier related article.

"Teacher Perceptions of GenAI-Integrated Digital Storytelling for Refugee-Background Youth," TESOL Quarterly, Early View, 24 Aug. 2026 [open access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1 (21 Aug. 2026)

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 2 (21 Aug. 2026)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1

Opportunity:

CFP: International Review of the Red Cross [info]

- Contributions sought for a special issue on "Protection of Civilians and International Humanitarian Law in the Age of Artificial Intelligence." Submit proposals by 1 September 2026.

Short pieces:

AI is revolutionising everything (ALNAP Commentary, May 2026) 

- Part 1: Why do evaluations still look the same?

- Part 2: Where can (human) evaluators add the most value?

"AI tool will lead to more child refugees being treated as adults, charity warns," The Guardian, 29 July 2026 [text]

- Focuses on the UK.

Ceuta, Spain – How Social Media Can Make a Spectacle of Tragedy (USCRI, Aug. 2026) [text]

The Government’s Unexplained Reversal on Social Media Disclosure Requirements (Just Security, Aug. 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

How Ukrainian refugees in the UK negotiate identity and whiteness online (LSE European Politics Blog, Aug. 2026) [text]

U.S. Tech Companies Owe a Duty of Care to Afghan Girls Too – of a Different Kind (Just Security, Aug. 2026) [text]

Reports:

Digital Community Engagement in Protracted Crises: A Methodological Framework for Longitudinal Research using the Upinion Platform, HADRI Global Development Working Paper, no.2 (Western Sydney Univ., 2026) [text]

Role of AI and Automated Decision-Making Systems in Asylum and Migration (European Student Think Tank, Aug. 2026) [access]

- Country analyses are provided on Lithuania, Turkey, France, Cyprus, Italy and Germany.

Resource:

Stories & Insights (UNHCR Innovation) [access]

- Posts to UNHCR Innovation's Medium page are in the process of being shifted to a new section of their "recently refreshed website." Once all content has been moved, that page will be retired. 

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (7 Aug. 2026)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

Chinook and the limits of automation in Canadian immigration decision-making (IBA, July 2026) [text]

Sunsetting the Hive: 11 Years of Data-Driven Innovation for Refugees (USA for UNHCR, July 2026) [text]

"WFP restarts Gaza aid registration app, but cyber-attack questions linger," The New Humanitarian, 29 July 2026

Reports & journal articles:

"Beyond the digital divide: e-government services and subjective well-being among North Korean refugees and native-born Koreans during COVID-19," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 

Latest Articles, 4 Aug. 2026 [open access]

"Delivering Aid amid Active Conflict and Insecurity: Digital Transfers for Delivering Social and Humanitarian Assistance in Sudan," Chapter in War and Resilience: The Multifaceted Impacts of Sudan's Conflict and Pathways to Recovery (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2026) [open access]

Humanitarian Alternatives = Alternatives Humanitaires, no. 32 (July 2026) [Eng. full-text] [Fr. full-text]

- Issue theme is "Artificial intelligence: uses, tensions and issues = Intelligence artificielle : usages, tensions et enjeux." See also this related Forum post.

"Social Media as a Tool for Future-Making: The Cases of Two Entrepreneurs in Kakuma Refugee Camp," Social Analysis, vol. 70, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

"Tweeting migration: a decade of shifting sentiment across local areas of Great Britain," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Latest Articles, 25 July 2026 [open access]

"Unstable controversy: Illegibility and the automation of Canadian visa decisions," Security Dialogue, vol. 57, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (22 July 2026)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

CareLine: Using AI Responsibly to Help Answer Refugees’ Queries (UNHCR Blog, July 2026) [text]

Explainer: How UNHCR is using AI to support refugees and improve operations (UNHCR, July 2026) [text]

‘High-Impact’ or Not? How DHS Classifies AI in Immigration Enforcement (Immigration Impact Blog, July 2026) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

"What the WFP cyber-attack has in common with visa scandals," The New Humanitarian, 16 July 2026 [text]

York U awarded $2.5M to investigate, mitigate impact of increasing digital surveillance on refugees (York Univ., July 2026) [text]

Reports & journal articles:

Digital Community Engagement in Protracted Crises: A Methodological Framework for Longitudinal Research using the Upinion Platform, HADRI Global Development Working Paper, no. 2 (Western Sydney Univ., 2026) [text]

- Focuses on refugee populations in Greece and the Netherlands.

"The humanitarian AI paradox: Key opportunities, challenges and research needs for the use of AI in humanitarian mental health response," Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, vol. 13 (2026) [open access]

"Mediated information grounds: living with(in) pareshani, social networks and gendered media practices among the Rohingya refugees," Information, Communication & Society, Latest Articles, 8 June 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on Rohingya refugees in Australia and Bangladesh.

"Mobility as climate change adaptation in South Africa: Exploring the legal and policy significance of artificial intelligence," Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, vol. 18, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

"Prácticas digitales y experiencias afectivas entre mujeres mexicanas solicitantes de asilo atrapadas en Tijuana, México," Migraciones, vol. 67 (2026) [open access]

"When digital aid meets reality: A socio-technical analysis of feasibility requirements in cash-based interventions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 231 (Oct. 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on Uganda.

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (7 July 2026)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

10 things migration policymakers need to know about AI (WEF Blog, June 2026) [text]

AI can help protect forcibly displaced: UNHCR highlights responsible innovation for refugees (UNHCR, July 2026) [text]

Deferring Accountability, Not Obligation: Generative Artificial Intelligence and Non-Refoulement in Asylum (RLI Blog, June 2026) [text]

For refugees at the economic margins, is AI a threat or an opportunity? (LSE Inequalities Blog, June 2026) [text]

Rethinking tech in alternatives to detention: 10 principles rooted in community empowerment and transparency (Border Criminologies Blog, June 2026) [text]

RETS: Connecting humanitarian response in Chad (UNHCR Blog, June 2026) [text]

- RETS = Refugee Emergency Telecommunications Sector.

The right to education for forcibly displaced people: Exploring ideas on participation, connectedness and technology (BERA Blog, June 2026) [access]

- Blog series.

UNHCR: Hate speech and misinformation are creating real-world harm for displaced people (UNHCR, July 2026) [text]

- See also info on related session at the AI for Good Summit.

Video games are helping players imagine the realities of climate migration (The Conversation, June 2026) [text]

New open access book:

Digital Exiles: Refugee Work in the Global Digital Economy (MIT Press, June 2026) [open access]

- "The pursuit of a digital livelihood—from attending coding schools in Berlin to training datasets for AI in crisis-stricken Lebanon to online freelancing in Kenya’s refugee camps—represents an increasingly important income opportunity for refugees. Digital work programs by aid organizations and the private sector aim to help the forcibly displaced become self-reliant and successful workers, yet, for many, it creates new forms of exclusion, precarity, and risk. Combining human stories with insights from five years of multisited research and applied work with leading organizations, the author presents an alternative vision of an inclusive world of work that can help shape the fair digital economy of the future."

Journal articles:

"Can the subaltern speak online? Digital tactics and conditional audibility of Syrian refugees in Türkiye," Communication, Culture and Critique, Advance Articles, 24 June 2026 [open access]

"Connected lives: smartphones, family ties and dataveillance for Syrian refugees in Greece," Online Media and Global Communication, Ahead of Publication, 11 June 2026 [open access]

"Exploring migration research with large language model: methods and insights," Royal Society Open Science, vol. 13, no. 6 (June 2026) [open access]

"Messy digitality: reflections on using social media methods with Sri Lankan refugees," Digital Geography and Society, In press, 2 July 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on Australia.

"Professional Inequality in Exile: Digital Precarity among Skilled Syrian Refugees in Germany," Social Inclusion, vol. 14 (2026) [open access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1 (4 June 2026)

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 2 (4 June 2026)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 2

Journal articles & book chapters:

"Adaptation Strategies, Practices and Challenges of Afghans in Iran and the Role of Digital Interaction," Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, vol. 19, no. 4 (2025; posted April 2026) [open access]

"AI for Good: Expanding Legal Services for Immigrants," Rutgers University Law Review, vol. 77, no. 5 (2025) [full-text]

- Focuses on the US.

"The Automation of Deportation? Evaluating the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence," Rutgers University Law Review, vol. 77, no. 5 (2025) [full-text]

- Focuses on the US.

"Forced Migration and Information Seeking Behavior on Wikipedia: Insights from the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis," Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, vol. 20, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

"Mapping Arts and Digital Practices Supporting Diasporic Identity and Cultural Memory Among Migrants and Refugees: A Scoping Review Protocol," Culture, vol. 2, no. 2 (May 2026) [open access]

"Migrants’ Trust, Equity, and Inclusion in Digital Public Services: A Focus on Information Access and Use," Chapter in Migrações e Comunicação na Era Planetária: Debates e Ações (UMinho Editora/CECS, April 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on Iranians in Finland.

"Migration and Digital Political Activism: The Venezuelan Case," Chapter in Migrações e Comunicação na Era Planetária: Debates e Ações (UMinho Editora/CECS, April 2026) [open access]

"A Role for Artificial Intelligence in a Politicized Immigration World," Rutgers University Law Review, vol. 77, no. 5 (2025) [full-text]

- Focuses on the US.

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1 (4 June 2026)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Alternatives to detention: How tech ‘solutions’ expand containment (Border Criminologies Blog, June 2026) [text]

"Data of 600,000 Gaza households exposed in WFP cyber-attack," The New Humanitarian, 2 June 2026 [text]

- See also related Inklings article.

The digital lives of children experiencing displacement (Media@LSE Blog, May 2026) [text]

#NO_LONGER_REFUGEES: How dignity drives Syrians’ return in the post-Assad era (RSC Blog, April 2026) [text]

UK Home Office to use AI age estimation on asylum seekers – how accurate is the technology? (The Conversation, June 2026) [text]

- See also related EIN article.

Why Digital Access Matters for Refugee Girls in Conflict Settings (ACCORD, May 2026) [text]

- Focuses on Africa.

Reports: 

AI and Refugee Protection in the African Union: Smart Borders or Fortress Africa?, CIGI Policy Brief, no. 238 (Centre for International Governance Innovation, ) [text]

Community-Centered Connectivity in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, Uganda: An Internet Society Case Study (Internet Society, May 2026) [access]

LLMs as annotators of credibility assessment in Danish asylum decisions: evaluating classification performance and errors beyond aggregated metrics, MOBILE Working Paper, no. 98 (Univ. of Copenhagen, May 2026) [text]

Machine Learning Prediction of Conflict-Driven Refugee Migration: Evidence from Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine (SUNY Buffalo, 2026) [text]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (13 May 2026)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

Invisible by Design: How the EU Asylum AI Systems Evade the Regulatory Gaze (Verfassungsblog, April 2026) [text]

It’s OK to not be OK: Digital mental health in Mahama Refugee Camp (UNHCR Innovation, April 2026) [text]

- Focuses on Rwanda.

Piloting AI for Humanitarian Information: Reflections on Our Collaboration with Dataminr (ReliefWeb Blog, April 2026) [text]

Reports & book chapters:

"The Digital Turn in Asylum Determination through the Lens of Superdiversity," Chapter in Power, Mobility and Voice: Jan Blommaert's Unfinished Business (Multilingual Matters, 2026) [open access]

Mental Health in Conflict and Forced-Displacement Settings: Leveraging Digital Technology for Targeting and Assistance, presentation at Better Data for Better Jobs and Lives: Innovations in Survey Measurement in the Age of AI, 8 Dec. 2025 [access]

- Note: A related concept note was formerly available via this document; I'm sharing the URL for info purposes.

"Migrants’ Communicative Practices in Polycentric Spaces: Anomie, Stability and Change," Chapter in Power, Mobility and Voice: Jan Blommaert's Unfinished Business (Multilingual Matters, 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on Italy.

Journal articles:

"Building centaur responders: is emergency management ready for artificial intelligence?," Disasters, vol. 50, no. 3 (July 2026) [open access]

"Demystifying the Digital Transformation of Humanitarian Supply Chains Through AidTech," Logistics, vol. 10, no. 5 (May 2026) [open access]

"Digitised Migration: Entangled and Uneven Landscapes," International Migration (2025-2026) [access]

- Special collection. The introduction is freely available and six articles are open access.

"Empowering adult migrants through digital technology: language learning, identity, and career pathways," Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung, Latest Articles, 13 April 2026 [open access]

- Focuses on Germany and the US.

"Framing the crisis: X/Twitter discourse on Ukrainian war refugees in Poland," PLoS One 21(5): e0346666 (May 2026) [open access]

"Harnessing AI to Enhance Inclusion for Refugees with Disabilities: Mitigating Bias, Promoting Equity in Humanitarian and Resettlement Efforts," Disability and the Global South, vol. 13, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

"Introversion to Digital Ghettos: Wilful Self-Exclusion of Syrian Refugees in Türkiye," International Migration, vol. 64, no. 3 (May 2026) [open access]

"Vulnerable human rights in cyberspace: a multi-case study of Ugandan refugees’ digital risks," Online Media and Global Communication, vol. 5, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (13 April 2026)

New Issue of IJRL & Opportunity

The latest issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law (IJRL) has been published. Contents of vol. 37, no. 4, Dec. 2025 include:

• The twice displaced: UNHCR’s role in evacuations [open access]
• The good faith requirement in New Zealand refugee law [open access]
• Bridging the gap between principle and practice: the ‘right to asylum’ under Article 18 EU Charter and its implications for the EU Resettlement Regulation [open access]
• ‘In Any Manner Whatsoever’: Deconstructing Indirect Violations Beyond ‘Constructive Refoulement’ [abstract]

In addition, readers will find case law summaries; two book reviews; the freely-available texts of two sets of guidelines, accompanied by this introduction: "IARMJ Judicial guidelines for the analysis of social media evidence in refugee, protection and migration appeals" and "IARMJ Judicial Well-Being and Resilience Guidelines"; and two UNHCR statements from the 75th EXCOM session (the HC's opening statement and remarks by the AHC for protection).

Separately, IJRL has announced a call for proposed Special Issues. Details are provided here. Proposals must be submitted by 4 May 2026.

Tagged Periodicals.

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

"ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it," NPR, 5 March 2026 [text]

Leveraging AI for community-based protection (UNHCR Innovation Service, Dec. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on Ukrainians.

Nothing about us, without us: Reclaiming power in an age of border technology (openDemocracy, Feb. 2026) [text]

- Visit Migration + Tech Monitor to read other openDemocracy articles published under this initiative (scroll down to view).

*What deploying AI in humanitarian response teaches us in practice (HPN, March 2026) [text]

Reports: 

Building a Different World - from the Ground Up! (Migration + Tech Monitor & Refugee Law Lab, Feb. 2026) [text]

Ethical Considerations for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Country of Origin Information (COI) (ACCORD, Jan. 2026) [text]

- See also earlier related blog post.

Managing Fuzziness: Leveraging LLMs for Discovering Credibility Indicators in Asylum Cases, MOBILE Working Paper Series, no. 81 (Univ. of Copenhagen, Jan. 2026) [text]

Journal articles:

"Deportation Theater: An Analysis of ICE’s Twitter Account," Southwestern Law Review (Forthcoming, 2026) [preprint]

"From evidence to testimony: how AI-generated images of refugees can make demands," photographies, vol. 19, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

"Gaining tolerance of immigrants through simulating migratory experiences: Quasi-experimental evidence from secondary school classrooms," Computers & Education, vol 249 (Aug. 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on Sweden.

"The Impact of Digitalization on Asylum System Management in Mexico," Journal on Migration and Human Security, OnlineFirst, 13 March 2026 [full-text]

"Spatial Information for Border Health System Management in Stateless Persons and Migrant Working Group," Journal of Spatial Innovation Development, vol. 7, no. 2 (May-Aug. 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on the Thai–Lao border area.

Multimedia:

The aid sector’s techno-colonialism problem (Rethinking Humanitarianism Podcast Series, Feb. 2026) [access]

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (26 Feb. 2026)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Opportunity:

Seminar: Is AI a future panacea or problem for refugee law?, London, 18 March 2026 [info]

Short pieces:

ACNUR promueve la seguridad digital de las personas refugiadas en Panamá (UNHCR, Feb. 2026) [text]

Afterword: Systemic Unfairness for Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the Algorithmic Era (Verfassungsblog, Dec. 2025) [text]

- View all the posts that are part of this symposium here. 

AI in Aid: Experimentality, Maldata, and Data Extrapolation (GP Opinion, Feb. 2026) [text]

How digital learning is strengthening education in Dadaab refugee camps (UNHCR, Feb. 2026) [text]

*Leveraging AI for community-based protection (UNHCR Innovation Service, Dec. 2025) [text]

Journal articles:

"Anticipating Migration for Policymaking: Forecasting, Foresight, and Other Forward-Looking Methods to Inform Migration Policy," Data & Policy (2024-2025) [open access]

- "This special collection of papers in Data & Policy...seeks to understand the ways in which new data sources, technologies, and anticipatory techniques can help signal emerging migration trends."

"Artificial intelligence in humanitarian aid: A review and future research agenda," Technovation, vol. 151 (March 2026) [open access]

"Empowering Immigrant Library Users Through Personal Data Literacy Programming in Public Libraries," Library Trends, vol. 74, no. 3 (Feb. 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on the US.

"From search to imaginary: the algorithmic construction of the refugee figure and the reproduction of bias in the era of generative AI - The Spanish case study of Google AI Overviews and Gemini," Frontiers in Communication, 9 Feb. 2026 [open access]

"Gendered Networking and Social Capital Building Among Ukrainian Refugees: Insights From the ‘United for Ukraine’ Facebook Platform in Romania," Area, vol. 58, no. 1 (March 2026) [open access]

"Grass is always dark(er) on the other side: Exploring the dark side of artificial intelligence humanitarian supply chain operations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 224 (March 2026) [open access]

"Immigrants vs. Artificial Intelligence: The Human Cost of AI in Asylum Decisions," Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality, vol. 44, no. 1 (2026) [full-text]

- Focuses on the US.

Social Inclusion, vol. 14 (2026) [open access]

- Now completed thematic issue on "Digitalization and Migration: Rethinking Socio-Economic Inclusions and Exclusions."

"Unfinished Critique and the Duality of Humanitarian Digital Technologies," Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 39, no. 4 (Winter 2025) [open access]

Resource:

Algorithmic Fairness for Asylum Seekers and Refugees: Curriculum, v. 1 (Hertie School, Dec. 2025) [text]

- This resource was prepared to assist researchers focused on digital practices in migration-asylum governance. It highlights readings, introduces concepts, presents legal frameworks, and discusses the role that newtech plays in migration and asylum policy- and decision-making.

*UPDATED

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (28 Jan. 2026)

Thematic Focus: Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

Opportunity:

CFP/Call for registration: LGBTQ+ refugees in the welfare state: Research, policy and practitioners in dialogue, Uppsala, 21-22 May 2026 [info]

- Submit abstracts by 25 March 2026. Registration opens 30 March 2026.

Short pieces:

Fighting to Be Felt: Reimagining Feminist Protection Through the Lives of Trans Syrian Refugee Sex Workers in Lebanon (RLI Blog, Feb. 2026) [text]

On the limits and harms of LGBTQ+ asylum models: new book Queering UK Refugee Law (Border Criminologies Blog, Feb. 2026) [text]

Senegalese LGBTQ+ Migration (Immigration Lab Blog, Jan. 2026) [text]

- Focuses on France.

Silence: The Shirika Plan’s Impact on LGBTQIA+ Refugees in Kenya (Immigration Lab Blog, Jan. 2026) [text]

Reports & journal articles:

"Ambivalent intersectional solidarity: Berlin’s LGBTIQ+ civil society alliances during the war in Ukraine," Journal of Refugee Studies, Advance Articles, 3 Feb. 2026 [open access]

"Flipping the Lens: Using Instagram for Photovoice and Videovoice with LGBTQ+ Migrants in São Paulo," Qualitative Inquiry, OnlineFirst, 5 Feb. 2026 [open access]

"'I feel like I am losing myself': protection, ontological in/security, and queer/trans refugees in Turkey," Security Dialogue, Advance Articles, 6 Jan. 2026 [open access] 

"An LGBTQI+ child rights-based approach to eligibility for international protection," International Journal of Refugee Law, Advance Articles, 15 Jan. 2026 [open access] 

"Putting People in Boxes: Iranian Exiles and Queer Identities," Sexuality & Culture, vol. 30, no. 1 (Feb. 2026) [open access]

- Focuses on "queer Iranians in exile in Turkey, the UK and Canada." See also related project website and research brief.

"Using Creative Arts-Based Methodology to Build Solidarity Between LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ Refugees living in London," Displaced Voices: A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage, vol. 4 (Autumn 2025) [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (17 Dec. 2025)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

Criminalisation at European Borders and the Role of Artificial Intelligence (Border Criminologies Blog, Dec. 2025) [text]

ILO empowers refugee and host communities in Ethiopia through digital skills training (ILO, Dec. 2025) [text]

Introduction to the Symposium on Algorithmic Fairness for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (Verfassungsblog, Nov. 2025) [text]

- View the posts that are part of this symposium here.

Reports & journal articles:

"Immobility during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Mobile Perspective of Detained Refugees on Twitter," Rilce: Revista de Filología Hispánica, vol. 42, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

- Focuses on Australia.

"The 'Other' through the eyes of the host: a discourse analysis of American and German YouTube users’ reactions to migration and immigrant issues," Comparative Migration Studies, 13:89 (Dec. 2025) [open access]

"REGEN: REfugeesGENeration - AI Can Transform How We Recognize and Empower Refugees," PLA Inside Out: An International Journal on Theory, Research and Practice in Prior Learning Assessment, no. 9 (2025) [open access]

Social Inclusion, vol. 14 (2026) [open access]

- Thematic issue in progress on "Digitalization and Migration: Rethinking Socio-Economic Inclusions and Exclusions." 

Surveillance & Society, vol. 23, no. 4 (2025) [open access]

- Features "a guest-edited section on 'Global Futures of Digital Confinement'. Articles focus on immigrants and asylum-seekers.

Utilising AI and Emerging Technologies in Humanitarian Operations – Responding to Forced Displacement from a Human Rights Perspective, Legal and Protection Policy Research Paper, no. PPLA/2025/02 (UNHCR, Dec. 2025) [text]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1 (20 Nov. 2025)

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 2 (20 Nov. 2025)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 2

Journal articles:

"African Immigrants User Experience with USCIS.gov: A Critical Analysis of a Government-Issued Website Related to Immigration," Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 9, no. 7 (2025) [open access]

"A decade of discourse: Exploring sentiments and trends around immigration on social media from 2014 to 2024," Social Science & Medicine, vol. 388 (Jan. 2026) [open access]

"The digital journey on Facebook: ethos and memories of people in transit through Mexico," Migraciones Internacionales, vol. 16 (2025) [open access]

"Digital Tactics of Refugee Women: Towards an Inclusive Framework for Digital Literacies," Social Inclusion, vol. 14 (2026) [open access]

"Digital technology and securitisation in humanitarian field security: unpacking bunkerisation risks and operational challenges," Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 10:17 (Nov. 2025) [open access]

"Digitalisation of the Finnish asylum procedure: from efficiency to procedural vulnerabilities," Journal of Refugee Studies, Advance Articles, 17 Nov. 2025 [open access]

"Digitizing deportation: CBP One, CBP Home, and the infrastructure of digital authoritarianism," Dialogues on Digital Society, OnlineFirst, 16 Oct. 2025 [full-text]

- Focuses on the US. See also related Substack post.

"Enabling access or automating empathy? Using chatbots to support GBV survivors in conflicts and humanitarian emergencies," International Review of the Red Cross, FirstView, 7 Nov. 2025 [open access]

"Materialising Digital Borderscapes: Examining the Effects of Digital Systems on Asylum Seekers and Refugees," Social Inclusion, vol. 14 (2026) [open access]

- Focuses on South Africa.

"Understanding the role of sentiment and emotion for predicting forced displacement," EPJ Data Science, 14:75 (Oct. 2025) [open access]

- See also related news release.

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1 (20 Nov. 2025)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1

Short pieces:

Always watching: How ICE’s plan to monitor social media 24/7 threatens privacy and civic participation (The Conversation, Nov. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on the US.

IRC Launches 'ALMA', a Free Virtual Assistant to Support Newcomers in the U.S. (International Rescue Committee, Nov. 2025) [text]

Migration management through Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights implications presented at the Lisbon Forum (Council of Europe, Nov. 2025) [text]

Mobile operator partnerships driving connectivity for refugees and host communities in Chad (GSMA, Nov. 2025) [text]

- See also related joint UNHCR/ITU press release.

"To Preserve Records, Homeland Security Now Relies on Officials to Take Screenshots," New York Times, 6 Nov. 2025 [text]

- Focuses on the US.

The Use of Mobile Data in the European Asylum System (Border Criminologies Blog, Nov. 2025) [text]

New open access book: 

Data Protection in Humanitarian Action: Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World (Routledge, Oct. 2025) [open access]

- This book "takes stock of the lessons learned over the past decade and of the contribution that personal data protection has brought to the humanitarian sector in its ambitions towards responsible digital transformation. It reaffirms how data protection, grounded in the respect for the rights and dignity of affected populations, is a key enabler of effective, accountable, and responsible humanitarian action in the digital age." See also related ICRC press release and posts on the EJIL: Talk blog: 1) Data Protection in Humanitarian Action; 2) Data Protection in Humanitarian Action: Military Personal Data Processing; and 3) Data Protection in Humanitarian Action: A View from the Americas.

Reports:

"AI, surveillance and the privatisation of migration management," Essay in Mixed Migration Review 2025 (Mixed Migration Centre, Nov. 2025) [text]

Data Protection Handbook on Asylum and Migration in Europe (Statewatch, Oct. 2025) [text]

Enhanced Protection and Solutions for Refugees through Inclusion in Chad's National Digital Identity System (UNHCR, Nov. 2025) [text]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (5 Nov. 2025)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

"AI visuals: A problem, a solution, or more of the same?," The New Humanitarian, 28 Oct. 2025 [text]

The Human in the Loop: How Oversight Turns AI into a Humanitarian Ally (Data Friendly Space, Nov. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

It’s not digital platforms that hire refugees – it’s people (LSE Inequalities Blog, Nov. 2025) [text]

Reddit Migration Trajectories – Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Migration Research (nccr on the move blog, Sept. 2025) [text]

Two more immigration lawyers facing potential disciplinary proceedings for misuse of AI (Free Movement Blog, Oct. 2025) [text]

- Focuses on the UK. Note: See also related guidance on AI that was recently issued by the judiciary.

UK: Defense Ministry data breach could have led to the deaths of at least 49 Afghans (InfoMigrants, Oct. 2025) [text]

Reports:

Judicial Guidelines for the Analysis of Social Media Evidence in Refugee, Protection and Migration appeals (International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges, Sept. 2025) [text]

Palestinian population in Lebanon: Findings from UNRWA’s digital identity verification (UNRWA, Oct. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Journal articles:

"Algorithms for group recognition? Ensuring lawful and rights-based use of new technologies in group refugee recognition," Computer Law & Security Review, vol. 59 (Nov. 2025) [abstract]

- Note: Free access to the full-text of this article is provided for 50 days via the link in this post.

"Digital humanitarianism and the politics of visibility: algorithmic borders, displaced bodies, and the digital agency of youth in Nigeria," Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 10:16 (Oct. 2025) [open access]

"Examining the Potential Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Statelessness Determination from a Human Rights Perspective," International Human Rights Law Review, Advance Articles, 10 Oct. 2025 [open access]

"The Human in the Feedback Loop: Predictive Analytics in Refugee Status Determination," Law, Technology and Humans, vol. 6, no. 3 (2024) [open access]

- See also related Lawyers Weekly article.

"Scripted to fail: delayed discrimination in biometric asylum systems," Information, Communication & Society, Latest Articles, 11 Oct. 2025) [open access]

- Focuses on Brazil.

"Using generative AI to investigate the multimodal representation of refugees and migrants," Discourse & Society, OnlineFirst, 31 Oct. 2025 [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies (10 Oct. 2025)

Thematic Focus: Law/Policy Items

Opportunities:

Call for registration: "Building bridges: Advancing refugee protection in a divided world," 2025 Kaldor Centre Conference, Sydney/Online, 23 October 2025 [info]

Webinar series: Non-signatory States in International Refugee Law, 30 September–15 December 2025 [info]

- Three-part series exploring themes presented in the a/m newly-published open access book. The second seminar on 28 October 2025 will focus on "UNHCR and Norm Diffusion."

Book launch: Responsibility Sharing in International Refugee Law, London, 29 October 2025 [info]

Call for registration: 14th World Conference of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges, Nairobi, 17-21 November 2025 [info]

- This year's theme is "Protecting the Integrity of the Refugee and Migration Systems."

Seminar: Non-signatory States in International Refugee Law, Oxford, 26 November 2025 [info]

Short pieces:

The Refugee Convention in the 21st Century: Myths and Facts (Refugees International, Sept. 2025) [text]

"Trump administration urges other nations to join its push to restrict asylum rights," Reuters, 25 Sept. 2025 [text]

- Video of the US-hosted side event on "Global Refugee Asylum System: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It" is available on YouTube. See also related civil society letter to UN Member States and commentary from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Just Security.

"UNHCR official warns that the 1951 refugee convention is increasingly under threat," AP News, 17 Sept. 2025 [text]

The US Proposal to Reinvent International Refugee Law (EJIL: Talk Blog, Oct. 2025) [text]

Reports & book chapters:

Global Strategy on Strengthening National Asylum Systems (2025-2030) (UNHCR, Oct. 2025) [text]

"Introduction," Chapter in Irregular Migration, Refugee Status and the Law: Protection from Dangerous Migratory Journeys (Routledge, Aug. 2025) [abstract]

- A postprint version of this chapter is currently under embargo and will be available 1 March 2027.

Judicial Guidelines for the Analysis of Social Media Evidence in Refugee, Protection and Migration appeals (International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges, Sept. 2025) [text]

"Look Who’s Talking: Reflections on Authorship and Situated Knowledge in Refugee Law Scholarship," Chapter in Research Agenda for Refugee Law (Edward Elgar, Forthcoming) [preprint]

"Out of sight, out of mind? Migrant deaths and disappearances at sea and the interplay of the law of the sea and human rights law obligations," Chapter in ASCOMARE Yearbook on the Law of the Sea 2024, vol. 4 (2024) [open access]

- Scroll to p. 335.

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Gehad Madi: Externalization of migration governance and its effect on the human rights of migrants, UN Doc. No. A/80/302 (UN General Assembly, Aug. 2025) [access via Refworld]

- Available in all UN languages.

Multimedia:

Introduction to International Disaster Law (Audiovisual Library of International Law, July 2025) [access]

Related posts:

- New Issue of IJRL (20 Oct. 2025)

- Thematic Focus: Law/Policy Items - Pt. 1 (19 Sept. 2025)

- Thematic Focus: Law/Policy Items - Pt. 2 (19 Sept. 2025)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies

Short pieces:

"Apple pulls US immigration official tracking apps," BBC News, 3 Oct. 2025 [text]

Connected migrants: how digital technology is becoming a priority (Polytechnique Insights, Oct. 2025) [text]

Humanitarian Technology: The promises and risks of new technology in disaster response (The New Humanitarian) [access]

- Curated collection on how "the humanitarian aid system is adapting to the ongoing revolution in communications and computing."

Reports:

Checklist: AI Onboarding for Humanitarian Actors (CDAC Network, Sept. 2025) [text via ReliefWeb]

Detained at the Border: Electronic Device Searches, Biometrics, and Policy Continuity (2001–2025) (SSRN, Sept. 2025) [text]

Journal articles:

"The camera is on: Sudanese migration and digital communities," Routed Magazine (July 2025) [text]

Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture, vol.16, nos.1-2 (April 2025) [contents]

- Special issue on "In Transit: Mapping Digital and Transnational Narratives across Tunisian Borderlands." The editorial is freely available.

"Digital Technologies and Refugees’ Social Inclusion: The Use of ICTs by NGOs," Social Inclusion, Ahead of print, 6 Oct. 2025 [open access]

- Focuses on NGOs in Türkiye and the Netherlands.

"The role of forensic imaging in the allegations of torture in asylum seekers," International Journal of Legal Medicine, Latest Articles, 18 Sept. 2025 [open access]

"'That Machine Does Not Want Us': CBP One™ and Migrant Im/mobility in the Extended Mexico-US Borderlands," Migration and Society, vol. 8, no. 1 (June 2025) [open access]

"Using Generative AI to Investigate the Multimodal Representation of Refugees

and Migrants," Discourse & Society (Forthcoming) [postprint]

"When data doubles narrate asylum: the agency of government officials and asylum applicants in datafied asylum procedures," Public Management Review, Latest Articles, 17 Sept. 2025 [open access]

- Focuses on the Netherlands.

Multimedia:

Surveillance to Empowerment: Advancing Responsible Use of Technology in Alternatives to Detention, 16 Sept. 2025 [access]

Related posts:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1 (19 Sept. 2025)

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 2 (19 Sept. 2025)

Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 2

Journal articles & book chapters:

"Ambivalent Technologies: Everyday Life and Digital Practices in the Matamoros Refugee Camp," Global Studies Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 3 (July 2025) [open access]

"Copy-paste paths: Migrants’ networked practices in the platform economy," Migration Studies, vol. 13, no. 3 (Sept. 2025) [open access]

- Focuses on Norway.

"Magic bullet or questionable remedy? Discussing the use of Meta advertising to recruit hard-to-reach migrants for surveys," Journal of Refugee Studies, Advance Articles, 22 Aug. 2025 [open access]

"The Role of Social Media Content in Migration Aspirations: Mixed-Methods Evidence from Two Senegalese Regions," International Migration Review, OnlineFirst, 12 Oct. 2025 [open access]

"Stateless Studies in an Age of Artificial Intelligence: Challenges, Opportunities & Setting a Future Agenda," Statelessness & Citizenship Review, vol. 7, no. 1 (2025) [open access]

- See also related blog post.

Technology and Forced Migration: Ukrainian Migrants in Central and Eastern Europe (Routledge, Aug. 2025) [info]

- Two chapters are open access, the Preface and "Chapter 1: Migration and technologies dilemmas."

"Why sovereignty matters for humanitarian data," Big Data & Society, 28 July 2025 [open access]

Related post:

- Thematic Focus: ICTs & Other Technologies - Pt. 1 (19 Sept. 2025)

Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 2

Journal articles:

Caucasus Analytical Digest, no. 140 (Jan. 2025) [open access]

- Special issue on "Forced Displacement: Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in the South Caucasus."

"Ethics in Qualitative Migration and Refugee Studies in Europe: From 'Doing no Harm' to Reciprocity and Equity," International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 30 July 2025 [open access]

"Ethnic Nationalism and Attitudes Towards Refugees in the Czech Republic," European Review, FirstView, 28 July 2025 [open access]

"Exploring refugee experiences of migration management: A socio-legal inquiry into visual artworks and social media," Ethnicities, OnlineFirst, 30 July 2025 [open access]

"Framing Migration and Migrants Through Border Crises: The Case of Ceuta and Melilla," Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 23, no. 3 (2025) [open access]

"Non-member migrants in spaceless zones: the spatial membership frame of embassies and consulates in the European Court of Human Rights," International Journal of Human Rights, Latest Articles, 17 June 2025 [open access]

"Shielding from Culpability: The Responsibility System in EU’s Asylum and Migration Policy," UC Law SF International Law Review, vol. 48, no. 2 (2025) [full-text]

"Synchronizing out of gridlock: how the Council of the EU reached agreement on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum," Journal of European Integration, Latest Articles, 5 Aug. 2025 [open access]

"The Uncertainty of Forced Displacement: How Language and Violence Shaped Displacement Trajectories During Russia's Invasion of Ukraine," International Migration Review, OnlineFirst, 30 July 2025 [open access]

Related post:

- Regional Focus: Europe - Pt. 1 (10 Aug. 2025)