Migrant justice means decolonisation and border abolition.
Migrant justice means defying White supremacy.
Migrant justice means justice for all oppressed people across the world, from Palestine and Syria to Congo and Sudan, and to all those oppressed in the UK.
Migrant justice means saying no to racism and Islamophobia.
Migrant justice means no more narratives that rank people into hierarchies of deservingness.
Migrant justice means a world where everyone is free to move, but also a world where no one is forced to move.
Migrant justice means a world where colonial borders are no more.
Migration, abolition and decolonisation
Migration cannot be understood without understanding colonialism. That means migrant justice cannot be achieved without decolonisation. It’s time we recognise the role that neocolonialism and imperialism play in causing displacement, in creating borders and immigration systems, and in shaping narratives around migration.
Decolonisation looks like abolishing borders and the systems of oppression, such as racism and Islamophobia, that they uphold. It also looks like putting an end to the colonial and imperialist legacies that continue to displace people across the world and defying the colonial narratives surrounding migrants and migration.
“Abolition is not primarily a negative strategy. It’s not primarily about dismantling, getting rid of, but it’s about re-envisioning. It’s about building anew”.
–Angela Davis
We are committed to exploring in more detail what an abolitionist world could look like. Whilst we want more and more people to recognise that our current world is a deeply unjust and harmful one, we realise that the work does not stop there: we need to think about what comes next. We are collectively responsible for working out what kind of world we want to create.
Abolition In Migration Collective
MRN is working to contribute to a sustainable movement towards border abolition by collaborating with partners across the migration sector and beyond. The Abolition in Migration (AIM) Collective responds to a clear appetite among organisations, academics, and activists to work together in recognition of the scale required to build this movement. By creating long-term, collaborative spaces, AIM supports reflection, learning, and practical action to challenge and dismantle the border system, aiming to influence change at wider levels through collective imagination and strategic organising rooted in decolonial practices.


What does migrant justice mean to you?
We want to hear your thoughts on what migrant justice means to you, not only this International Migrants Day, but all year round! Email us at [email protected], DM us your thoughts, or share what migrant justice means to you on social media by using the #MigrantJusticeMeans and #AbolitionAndDecolonisation hashtags- don’t forget to tag us too! You can also use the template above, which you can save to your computer/phone and fill in to share your own thoughts on what migrant justice means to you.
International Migrants Day Video Message
Click the above title to see what members of our community had to say about what migrant justice means to them! You can also watch the video on Google Drive.
In this project
Our work so far
Blogs
- Words Matter: Colonialism
- Words Matter: Decolonisation
- Colonialism and imperialism cause displacement: World Refugee Day 2024
- Silent genocides: Congo, Armenia and Sudan
- Migration Week 2024: Decolonising Migration
- International Women’s Day 2024
- Words Matter: “Just like us”
- Words Matter: “Violence”
- Home is a place of liberation: Refugee Week 2024
- Climate justice is migrant justice
- World Refugee Day 2023
- The gender binary is White supremacy
- International Day of Charity 2023
- Reformism upholds White supremacy
- Black History Month 2024: Reclaiming narratives and liberating history
- Femonationalism, migration and colonial legacies
- Black History Month 2023
- Pride 2024
- Solidarity with the Syrian people
- Congo, Colonialism and migration
- Genocide Memorial Day 2024
- Holocaust Memorial Day 2024
- Palestinian Land Day
- Rwandan Genocide
- Want to take part in our video series on Sudan?
- Gaza Family Scheme
- Workers Memorial Day
- Anti-Racism Day 2024
- Islamophobia is racism- Islamophobia Awareness Month 2024
- Commodification of racialised people through immigration systems
- Qatar: MRN’s Statement on migrant and queer rights
- Homonationalism, Islamophobia and migrant justice
Personal stories
- “The Whiteness of Europe”
- “Colonialism and the distant elephant”
- “The scars of colonialism”
- Words Matter x National Storytelling Week
- Why Cypriots should stand in solidarity with refugees
- Cypriot Queerness beyond sexuality
- “Making noise: who has the permission to speak?”
- “I cannot support my coloniser’s football team”
- “United in Whiteness”
- It’s time to decolonise the migration sector
- Rebelling against the colonisers
- Commonwealth Day: our statement