Towards a Humanized Border Governance in Africa: Protecting Vulnerable Migrants and Displaced Persons (The Cases of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya

Abstract

Migration governance in North Africa stands at the intersection of sovereignty, security, and humanitarian responsibility. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya occupy strategic positions along major migration routes linking sub-Saharan Africa to Europe, functioning simultaneously as countries of origin, transit, and destination. Over the past two decades, border management in these states has increasingly been shaped by securitization dynamics, externalization policies, and geopolitical pressures. While states retain the sovereign right to control their borders, an excessively security-driven approach has often generated protection gaps and heightened vulnerabilities for migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and displaced persons. This article advances the concept of humanized border governance as a normative and strategic framework capable of reconciling border control with international human rights and refugee protection obligations. Drawing on international and regional legal instruments—including the 1951 Refugee Convention, African Union displacement frameworks, and core human rights treaties—the study analyzes institutional practices, legal deficiencies, and structural vulnerabilities in the four North African contexts. Through comparative assessment, it highlights challenges such as the absence or weakness of national asylum systems, arbitrary detention, collective expulsions, and inadequate identification of vulnerable groups. The article argues that humane border governance does not undermine state sovereignty; rather, it enhances institutional legitimacy, reduces irregular migration dynamics, and strengthens regional stability. It proposes structural reforms centered on independent asylum authorities, protection-sensitive border procedures, accountability mechanisms, and reinforced regional cooperation within the African Union framework. Ultimately, the study contends that North Africa has the potential to develop a balanced regional model in which sovereignty and solidarity coexist, transforming borders from zones of exception into spaces governed by law, dignity, and shared responsibility.