AI, integrity of refugee systems dominate talks in global judges event

Artificial Intelligence can help streamline asylum processes, reduce backlogs and improve access to justice. [iStockphoto] The plight of refugees moving from one continent to another, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), took centre stage at a world judges' gathering in Nairobi on Monday. Speaking during the 14th World Conference of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ) yesterday, President William Ruto emphasised the importance of judges having a human touch when dealing with refugees and migrants. He said that Artificial Intelligence will not solve the current stalemate on what should happen to the millions migrating or being smuggled out of war, lack of jobs and even climate change. "The digital age brings both promise and pain. Artificial intelligence can help streamline asylum processes, reduce backlogs and improve access to justice. Yet Artificial Intelligence also carries biases, including algorithmic biases, and a lack of transparency over the indulgence of automated systems will undermine fairness. Technology must therefore remain a servant of justice, not its master," said Ruto. He insisted that technology must be subjected to human oversight, adding that refugees are about human dignity and cannot be replicated by a machine. The integration of the technology into refugee resettlement processes has been gaining traction as countries and organisations such as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) try out different AI tools to predict movement, and even fit them to the new world. Countries such as the United States of America and Switzerland use algorithm to resettle refugees to places where they are likely to get employment. In June this year, the World Bank developed an AI-powered refugee forecasting system which predicts issues such as conflict, climate data, news and social media languages, and economy, to predict or anticipate movement. Displacement Crisis Response Mechanism, or DCRM, was piloted in Uganda, with the refugees data from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) being used to feed the system. The World body said that AI can predict before the movement happens. However, the President observed that some use asylum as a backdoor form migration while countries manipulate data on refugees. He said that the solution is to come up with foolproof systems. The President said that human trafficking and smuggling have undermined efforts to deal with the refugee issue. He nevertheless averred that judges should factor in compassion but also act transparently and with credibility. "Your obligation as judges is the solemn duty of ensuring that every refugee and migrant who comes before you finds justice, fairness, and the reassurance that their case has been heard with dignity and integrity. Always remember that the decisions you make reverberate far beyond the courtroom; they shape lives, preserve families, and safeguard the credibility of the international protection regime," said Ruto. Kenya has at least 580,000 refugees and asylum seekers. Also speaking during the same event, Chief Justice Martha Koome said that refugees have brought new and dynamic legal problems for the host countries that require interpretation of the law. The head of the judiciary observed that, for example, Kenya had a lacuna on whether children born between refugees and Kenyans ought to be recognized as citizens until this year when the court ordered redrafting the law for their recognition. In July this year, the High Court ordered the government to change the citizenship law to recognise children born out of relationships between Kenyan citizens and refugees in the country as Kenyans. Justice John Onyiego said that the minors cannot be stateless as they are born and raised in the Kenyan soil. He directed Attorney General Dorcas Oduor to initiate the amendment to the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act within one year to give the minors a right to be citizens by birth. At the same time, the judge also opened the doors for refugees who are married to Kenyans to claim residence and subsequently citizenship using their refugees documents. At the heart of the case was the status of children born out of a relationship between Kenyan and refugees. For years, Kenya has been home to millions of refugees fleeing from war in their countries. In the early 1990s, Kenya received its largest number of asylum seekers following civil war in Somalia and South Sudan. Most of those who fled the two countries were granted refugee status by Kenya. It followed that Ifo, Dagahaley, Hagadera camps the in Dadaab, Garissa County and afterwards Kakuma Refugee camp in the county were opened. There are also refugees from Congo and Ethiopia. According to United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), most refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya originate from Somalia, at 53 per cent of the population. Other major nationalities are South Sudanese (25 per cent), Congolese (10 per cent), and Ethiopians (5.6 per cent). Meanwhile, Sudan, Rwanda, Eritrea, Burundi, Uganda and others, make up 6.9 per cent of the total population. UNHCR data reveals that there were 550,827 refugees in Kenya as of April this year. According to the agency, almost half of the refugees in Kenya (43 per cent) reside in Dadaab, 41 per cent in Kakuma and 16 per cent in urban areas, mainly Nairobi. Data also indicates that there are at least 18,500 stateless persons living in the country. Out of the many who have crossed into Kenya and sought asylum in the country, some have found love, married Kenyans and born children. However, the government did not recognize children born in the country to Kenyan and refugee parents as its citizens. Is the minor a Kenyan or a refugee? This is the question that the court was being asked to answer. Mahat Maulid, a father of 11, faced this dilemma. Maulid, a polygamous man, has part of his family and children living the Kenyan dream while another part is at Hagadera Refugee Camp. In his first marriage, he has seven children while his second marriage he has four. The children from the second marriage are at the heart of the dispute pitting Maulid and Haki na Sheria Initiative against Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary, Director General of Immigration and Immigration Services, Principal Registrar of Births and Deaths and the Attorney General. The association, which is led by Supreme Court Judge Isaac Lenaola, is in Africa for the first time. It will discuss Protecting the Integrity of the Refugee and Migration Systems.

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AI, integrity of refugee systems dominate talks in global judges event

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