Deterring Migration in Times of Crises: The Ethics of Behavioral Change in Migration Information Campaigns

Abstract

The European migration “crisis” has led to new policy and funding mechanisms, such as the European Trust Fund for Africa and funding from the UK Home Office that have in common a dual, and often contradictory, objective: to support migrant protection, while reinforcing a migration management or migration control agenda. They have given flexibility, in a context of “crisis response,” to a range of actors with different levels of responsibilities and of transparency when reaching out to migrants, at times to the detriment of one aspect (the respect for human rights) for the benefit of another (irregular migration control), and with questionable results. This article provides an analysis of one program implemented in Ethiopia and Afghanistan: an information campaign implemented between 2016 and 2019, with a focus on behavioral change among potential migrants. This case study reveals practices in migration information campaigns that go against existing standards in social and behavioral communications campaigns. Building on such standards, the article provides a critical lens through which to assess migration information campaigns, through the prism of three criteria outlined in the paper and used to evaluate the results of the program, and provides a way forward for setting standards in planning and implementating migration information campaigns.