Freedom House Report Highlights Use of Mobility Restrictions as a Tool of Repression
In its new report “No Way In or Out: Authoritarian Controls on the Freedom of Movement,” Freedom House, highlights authoritarian states’ growing use of mobility restrictions as a tool of repression. Immigration restrictions enacted by liberal democracies contribute to the problem; authoritarian regimes aren’t the only ones that enact unjust mobility restrictions. Here’s a summary of the Freedom House report’s findings:
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At least 55 governments around the world restrict freedom of movement in order to punish, coerce, or control people they view as threats or political opponents.
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The four main tactics for controlling mobility are revoking citizenship, document control, denial of consular services, and travel bans.
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Restrictions on the freedom of movement can be a less visible form of authoritarian control. They are often informal or imposed arbitrarily, leaving targets without a means to effectively challenge them. Restrictions are also frequently combined with other forms of repression, including asset seizures, smear campaigns, and bogus criminal charges.
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The impacts of coercive mobility controls are severe and far-reaching—including the loss of legal status, family separation, inability to pursue educational or professional opportunities, and psychological distress. They interfere with people’s ability to express dissent and participate in prodemocracy activism, and signal to would-be government critics that they may face similar consequences.
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Democratic governments should seek to hold those applying these tactics accountable, and review their own migration policies to ensure that they do not contribute further to the hardship inflicted on individuals facing coercive restrictions on their freedom of movement.
The report includes a variety of recommendations, including that democratic “Governments should review migration and asylum policies to ensure that they do not contribute to the hardship inflicted on individuals facing coercive mobility restrictions. This includes avoiding penalizing individuals who are unable to produce a valid national passport due to the application of mobility controls with fines, obstacles to educa
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