Human Dignity as the Moral Minimum of Immigration and Asylum Law

By Linda Ghasemi

Let’s make no mistake about it: The right to human dignity is non-negotiable. . . Human dignity should never be viewed as an expensive commodity, one that is least attainable in our hierarchy of needs. None of us can truly get ahead if most of us are left behind. Closing this ‘moral lag’ will require a common conviction that access to human dignity and respect is just as important as access to medicine, education and technology.

—Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan at the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent

(Al-Abdullah 2003)

Immigration and asylum law is where the machinery of state power meets the fragile reality of a human life. Decisions regarding detention, residence, or removal are not just administrative checkboxes. These decisions dictate the very conditions under which a person is permitted to survive. In this arena, human dignity serves as the "moral minimum" which is the baseline below which the law must not fall.[1] This isn't a gift from the state, it is a recognition that every person is a "master of themselves" and an "end" in their own right regardless of the passport they hold.[2]

A recurring failure in asylum policy is the "Maslowian" assumption that physical needs like food and shelter must be satisfied before dignity can be addressed.[3] This incorrectly frames respect as a luxury rather than a necessity. Dignity is a subjective experience of well-being that integrates the physical with the psychological, providing a bed while denying agency creates a "moral lag" that leaves individuals in profound distress.[4]

Universal refugee rights are not merely abstract ideals, they are essential tools designed to restrain the abuse of disproportionate state power.[5] Their primary function is to secure the conditions, such as freedom from fear and participation in decisions, that allow dignity to be lived rather than merely proclaimed. Because democracy is built on the equal value of every person, treating a migrant as inherently "less than" or as a "burden" violates core democratic commitment.[6]

To take dignity seriously, we must move toward a "commonwealth of human dignity" that empowers those affected by immigration policies.[7] This requires a shift toward "interactive dignity," acknowledging that the way a person is processed by the system and perceived by society is as vital as their legal status.[8] When compassion tempers rigid rules and social prejudice, the law and our community evolve from a mechanism of control into a true measure of our commitment to human worth.

Bibliography

Kavuro C, ‘The Value of Human Dignity in Refugee Protection’ (2019) African Human Rights Law Journal https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S2410-79722019000100002&script=sci_arttext accessed 17 February 2026.

Perrin PC, ‘Applying a Dignity Lens in Migration and Displacement’ (2025) 13(1) Journal on Migration and Human Security 138 https://doi.org/10.1177/23315024241305408 accessed 17 February 2026.

Mattson DJ and Clark SG, ‘Human Dignity in Concept and Practice’ (2019) African Human Rights Law Journal https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.lib.le.ac.uk/stable/41486845?seq=1 accessed 17 February 2026.

[1] Callixte Kavuro, ‘The Value of Human Dignity in Refugee Protection’ (2019) African Human Rights Law Journal https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S2410-79722019000100002&script=sci_arttext accessed 17 February 2026.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Paul Clayton Perrin, ‘Applying a Dignity Lens in Migration and Displacement’ (2025) 13(1) Journal on Migration and Human Security 138 https://doi.org/10.1177/23315024241305408 accessed 17 February 2026.

[4] David J Mattson and Susan G Clark, ‘Human Dignity in Concept and Practice’ (2019) African Human Rights Law Journal https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.lib.le.ac.uk/stable/41486845?seq=1 accessed 17 February 2026.

[5] Kavuro (n 1).

[6] Mattson and Clark (n 4).

[7] Perrin (n 3).

[8] Perrin (n 3).