Refugees Matter
Why do people become refugees?
There are many reasons people leave their homes and become
refugees. These include:
• war (including civil war)
• ethnic, tribal and religious violence
• political persecution
• famine and poverty (usually in combination with one or more of the
above reasons).
How many refugees are there in the world today?
• There are about 16.2 million refugees in the world.
• There are also an estimated 27 million internally displaced per-
sons and asylum seekers in the world.
• It is estimated that there are 12 million stateless people – those who often live in precarious
situations on the margins of society, frequently lack identification documentation and often face
discrimination.
Haul water to the thirsty, greet
fugitives with bread.
Show your desert hospitality,
you who live in Tema.
The desert's swarming with
refugees escaping the horrors
of war.
Isaiah 21:14-15
Countries with the most people risk of
becoming refugees
Countries with the most people of concern are:
• Colombia with 3.6 million persons (11% of the
population);
• Iraq with 3.5 million (11%),
• Afghanistan with 2.8 million (8%) and
• Sudan with 2.1 million (6%).
Countries with most refugees
• Afghanistan with 2.1 million or 20% of total refugee population
• Iraq (1.5 million)
• Sudan (686,000)
• Somalia (460,000)
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo
(402,000)
• and Burundi (397,000)
Source: http://www.unhcr.org/
Top 5 refugee hosting countries
The top five refugee hosting countries are:
• Pakistan (1 million)
• Iran (968,000)
• United States (843,000)
• Syria (702,000)
• Germany (605,000)
Developing countries and refugees
•
•
Developing regions hosted 7.1 million
refugees, 72% of the global refugee
population.
The 50 Least Developed Countries
provided asylum to 22 % of the world’s
refugees.
No-one chooses to become a refugee.
Anyone can become a refugee.
Refugees Matter
How are refugees protected?
• Governments normally guarantee the basic human rights and physical
security of their citizens. But when civilians become refugees this safety
net disappears. UNHCR's main role in pursuing international protection
is to ensure that states are aware of, and act on, their obligations to
protect refugees and persons seeking asylum. Countries may not
forcibly return refugees to a territory where they face danger or
discriminate between groups of refugees.
What are the obligations of a refugee?
• Refugees are required to respect the laws and regulations of their
country of asylum.
Refugees have certain rights in their country of settlement:
Protection from being sent back to their country of origin against their
will.
• Access to employment, education, the legal system and civil rights.
• The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees also states that a person should not be
discriminated against on the basis of how they arrive in another country seeking protection.
•
Who decides who is a refugee?
• Governments establish status determination procedures to decide a person's legal standing and rights
in accordance with their own legal systems.
When refugees settle in
your land with you, you
are not to harm them.
Refugees who live with
you must be treated just
as if they were nativeborn like yourselves, and
you are to love them as
you love yourselves, for
you were refugees in
Egypt. I am the Lord
your God.
Leviticus 19:33-34
•
Must every refugee undergo individual status determination?
• People who apply for refugee status normally need to establish individually that their fear of persecution is well-founded. However, during a mass
exodus such as occurred from Kosovo or Africa's Great Lakes, it may not be
possible to carry out individual screenings. In such circumstances, particularly
when civilians are fleeing for similar reasons, it may be appropriate to declare
'group' determination of refugee status, whereby each civilian is considered as
a refugee, in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
What rights does a refugee have?
A refugee has the right to safe asylum. Refugees should receive at least
the same rights and basic help as any other foreigner who is a legal resident,
including freedom of thought, of movement and freedom from torture and
degrading treatment. Economic and social rights are equally applicable.
Refugees should have access to medical care, schooling and the right to work.
In certain circumstances when adequate government resources are not immediately available,
including the sudden arrival of large numbers of uprooted persons, UNHCR and other international
organizations provide assistance such as financial grants, food, tools and shelter, schools and clinics.
•
Who helps refugees?
The UNHCR is the worldwide body whose aim is to protect the world’s refugees. The United Nations is
on hand almost immediately when the need arises to help and support suffering peoples.
• The UN works with NGOs (like Lutheran World Service) to assist refugees. The UN offers legal
protection and material help – shelter, food, water, sanitation and basic medical care. In major emergencies, tent cities are built as home to thousands of refugees. In time, some schools, clinics, bridges
and wells are re-built with UNHCR support.
•
Source: http://www.unhcr.org/