Refugees

Definition of Terms

A refugee is a person who has fled his or her home country because of life-threatening conditions such as war, armed conflict, natural disasters, or human-made disasters. According to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951), refugees are persons who have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; are outside the country of their nationality; and are unable to or, because of such fear, are unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country. In 1967, the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees was revised to include those displaced persons who sought temporary refuge to escape political and social disruption and now considers such persons eligible for assistance and protection. This protocol secured formal refugee immigration measures that included legal protections for alien status, freedom of movement, and prohibitions against arbitrary deportation. There are three phases to the refugee experience: preflight, flight, and resettlement.

Status of Refugees Worldwide

The UNHCR reported that in 2009 refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq made up approximately 50% of the refugee population worldwide followed by Somalia with 678,300, the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 455,900, Myanmar with 406,700, Colombia with 389,800, Sudan with 368,200, and Serbia with 195,600 refugees seeking resettlement. Women and girls represented 47% of the refugees and asylum seekers and half of all the internally displaced persons. Children below the age of 18 years represented 41% of the refugees and asylum seekers. Approximately 19,000 children mainly from Afghanistan and Somalia applied for asylum as unaccompanied and separated children in 71 countries, an increase since 2005. The UNHCR report states that more than half of the world's refugees lived in urban settings and less than 30% lived in camps.

Millions of people are living in exile, afraid to return home for fear of persecution or continuing armed conflict. The UNHCR estimated that 12 million people were stateless in 60 countries last year. Developing nations hosted 80% of the world's refugees (Pakistan hosted 1.7 million, Iran hosted 1.1 million and Syria hosted 1.05 million refugees). Of the developed host countries accepting refugees, the United States received the highest number of refugees (80,000), followed by Canada (12,500), Australia (11,100), Germany (2,100), Sweden (1,900), and Norway (1,400). South Africa was the recipient of the largest applications for individual claims for asylum and refugee status. European countries accepted refugees mainly from Iraq, Serbia, and Turkey. In the Americas, Ecuador received approximately 26,000 Colombians seeking refugee status. According to the report by the UNHCR, the major refugee hosting countries are Pakistan, currently with 1,740,700 refugees, followed by Iran [Page 538]with 1,070,500 (mostly Afghans), and Syria with 1,054,500 (mostly Iraqi refugees). Germany has approximately 594,000 refugees, Jordan's refugee count stands at 450,800, Kenya has 358,900, Chad hosts 338,500, China accepted 301,000 refugees, and the United Kingdom received 269,400 refugees. Mass migration of people from one country to another is caused by a number of factors such as (a) armed conflicts that include civil war, ethnic conflicts, and armed counterinsurgencies; (b) natural and human-made disasters such as famine, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, hurricanes, and toxic environmental disasters; (c) lack of economic opportunities; and (d) political instability. Refugees seek safety and protection in host countries, but the reality is that many find themselves in poor living conditions in refugee camps, relief camps, or settlement camps, often for periods as long as several years. Not all refugees or displaced individuals are eligible for assistance; they must register with the UNHCR to gain assistance from international relief organizations and to qualify for resettlement or repatriation assistance. According to leading researcher Georges Vernez, the United States and other industrialized Western European nations have adopted very strict interpretations of what counts as a “refugee” for fear of an influx of economic migrants seeking economic opportunities. Repatriation remains a viable option if industrialized nations support developing countries by providing assistance to their displaced citizens. This international support includes creating economic and social conditions that make possible refugees' repatriation and obtaining guarantees of their safety on return to their homelands.

...