SEASON 8: Horrors & Hope

The third episode of this season of the Declarations Podcast delves into the topic of live facial recognition. Host Maryam Tanwir and panelist Veronica-Nicolle Hera sat down with Daragh Murray and Pete Fussey, who co-authored the “Independent Report on the London Metropolitan Police Service’s Trial of Live Facial Recognition Technology” in July 2019. Live facial recognition has been a widely debated topic in past years, both in the UK and internationally. While several campaigning organisations advocate against the use of this technology based on the Prohibition of Discrimination set out in the human rights law, independent academic research on the topic reveals important insights into trials of this technology. Our guests are at the forefront of this research, and present some of their findings in this episode.

In this week’s episode, host Maryam Tanwir and panellist Yasmin Homer discuss the role of technology in the securitization of European borders with MEP Patrick Breyer and researcher Ainhoa Ruiz. It was 71 years ago that the 1951 UN Refugee Convention codified the rights of refugees to seek sanctuary and the obligation of states to protect them. It was in 2015 that Angela Merkel famously declared “wir schaffen das” – “we can do it.” Yet the International Organization for Migration has described 2021 as the deadliest year for migration routes to and within Europe. The creation of Fortress Europe is inserting technology into the heart of the human story of migration. In this episode, we ask what the role role of technology is in the ongoing securitization of the EU’s borders, and what the implications for human rights could be.