Pope Leo XIV warned that judging people by a “criterion of efficiency” risks undermining human dignity and could lead to the rejection and discarding of those deemed “unproductive.” This stark warning, delivered from UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, directly challenges the dehumanising logic underpinning Europe's border regime, which systematically criminalises and excludes those seeking safety and opportunity.
The pontiff stated that advances in artificial intelligence and other technologies must remain at the service of people, rather than becoming instruments of domination and injustice. He cautioned that AI risks impoverishing human “ideas and relationships” through a “process of dehumanisation,” a process already familiar to those navigating Fortress Europe's complex and often brutal asylum systems.
The Dehumanising Logic of Fortress Europe
The Pope’s criticism of a growing emphasis on productivity in modern societies resonates deeply with the experiences of migrants across the continent. Europe's border policies frequently frame asylum seekers and undocumented workers not as individuals with inherent rights, but as burdens or threats to national economies, effectively judging them by their perceived "efficiency" or lack thereof. This approach, the Pope noted, could lead to people being “rejected and discarded.”
He also called for emerging technologies to offer adequate safeguards for children, warning that the “vulnerability” of young people must “never become an opportunity for exploitation.” This statement highlights the precarious situation of countless migrant children, often unaccompanied, who face exploitation within the shadow economies fostered by restrictive border policies or within the very detention centres funded by EU member states.
Exploitation and the Crisis of Trust
The Pope observed that international institutions are viewed “with mixed feelings,” acknowledging their role in tackling challenges “no single state can face alone,” yet also noting they are “undergoing a crisis of effectiveness.” This crisis is acutely felt by those seeking asylum, as EU institutions struggle to uphold international law and human rights, often prioritising deterrence over protection. Dialogue, the pontiff added, is sometimes “seen as an obstacle to action,” a sentiment that mirrors the EU's preference for unilateral border enforcement over genuine humanitarian cooperation.
He called for greater “trust,” stating that “differences do not necessarily pose a threat” and that “sincere dialogue can bring about a greater good.” Such trust is conspicuously absent in Europe's approach to migration, where fear-mongering about cultural differences fuels policies designed to keep people out. The Trump administration's decision to withdraw from UNESCO in July 2025, describing the organisation as “woke” and “out-of-step,” further illustrates a global trend of right-wing governments undermining international bodies that advocate for human rights and cultural understanding – a trend that directly impacts the protections available to migrants.
The Right to Life at Europe's Borders
During his four-day trip to France, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the importance of the human right to life, calling it “the indispensable foundation to every other human right.” This fundamental right is routinely denied to thousands who die attempting to cross Europe's militarised borders, whether in the Mediterranean Sea or along land routes. Their deaths are not accidents; they are the tragic, predictable outcome of policies designed for deterrence through death.
The pontiff also warned that scientific progress, when “severed from wisdom, can turn into a weapon of destruction.” This observation applies to the sophisticated surveillance technologies, biometric databases, and drone systems deployed by Frontex and national border agencies, which are presented as tools for security but function as instruments of exclusion and criminalisation against people on the move. The Vatican’s staunch opposition to nuclear weapons, calling the belief in deterrents a “mistaken belief,” further underscores a broader critique of systems built on threat and exclusion, rather than human dignity and solidarity.