Annual Criminalisation Report: 2024

Rooted in narratives that associate movement with criminality and threat, criminalisation is a phenomenon which views migration as an issue of national security and criminal law, while completely ignoring the need for safeguarding rights and providing protection. Within this logic, ‘migration management’ becomes synonymous with increased border fortification and securitisation, violence, control, punishment, and deterrence, criminalising the very act of seeking safety.

This report, building on BVMN’s and member organisations’ previous work, documents the evolving landscape of criminalisation across multiple regions. By examining both formal and informal trends, it seeks to highlight how state and EU-level policies and practices frame violations as ‘necessary’ security measures and actively criminalise both movement and solidarity.