On Granting Asylum to Victims of Colonial Injustice: An Argumentation built on Continuous Harm based upon Slow Violence

Abstract

This work examines the moral responsibility of the European Union to expand its asylum program to allow the victims of colonial injustice. After considering first the moral dimension of the current system of asylum and refugee protection, the moral responsibility of communities towards themselves and outsiders is discussed. In this discussion four principles of moral responsibility are discussed: causality, morality, capacity, and community. In regular discussion, appeals to morality and capacity are identified as the common reasons for aiding refugees.

The main argument of this thesis is that victim of colonial injustice should be allowed asylum in Europe because their plight appeals to strongly towards causal responsibility, and to a lesser extent community. Beyond merely arguing that that this causality is based upon past injustices, the argument holds that colonial injustice (as discussed in this work) is a form of slow violence that continues till this day, which cannot be merely described as a past moral wrong. Through the lens of this continuous harm being inflicted, the case of offering asylum to these victims is defended.