Refugees

Today there are about 20.8 million refugees world wide (UN), and with every conflict between nations, religious, social, and political groups this number just continues to climb higher and higher. The United Nations developed an organizational branch called the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) to try and deal with the issues of this ever growing number of refugees around the world. There has yet been an establishment of any solid international laws that lay a strong foundation of a proper way to deal with refugees. There have been some movement towards establishing law but as of now there is to much of a grey area where states can develop their own ideals of how they are supposed to deal with refugees. This is a major problem that is continually being debated. The UNHCR is continually working towards making the standards in which states deal with refugees put into international law.

The office of the UNHCR was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. Its objective is to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve the problems by safeguarding the rights and well being of the refugees. Its efforts include trying to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to seek asylum and be protected from harm from the state in which they fled from. They work to also provide the option of returning home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (UNCR). They work in partnership with governments, regional organization, and international and non-governmental organizations to try and achieve their objectives.

In the past 50 years the UNHCR has helped and estimated 50 million people restart their lives. The agency is made up of 6,689 staff in 116 countries around the world. One of their goals is to reduce the instances of forced displacement by encouraging states to create conditions which are favorable to the protection of human rights and the peaceful resolution of disputes (UNHCR).

A value that the UNHCR stands by is that it offers protection and assistance to refugees and others in an unbiased manner, on the basis of their need and irrespective of their race, religion, political opinion or gender. In all of its activities, UNHCR pays particular attention to the needs of children and seeks to promote the equal rights of women and girls.

Their efforts are authorized by two international conventions. The conventions include the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Statues of Refugees and its 1967 protocol. The 1951 convention relating to the Statues of Refugees is a key document that defines who is a refugee, and what the legal obligation of the states are and what rights the refugees have. It states;

"Any person who...owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his or her] nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself [or herself] of the protection of that country" (article 1A).

The problem with this statue is that it puts limitations on who is considered an actual refugee. It requires that a person be outside his or her country which excludes people who have been displaced within their state from receiving international protection. It also does not recognize situations of generalized violence like wars, and natural disasters, as a reason to flee an area. Thus the 1967 protocol was adopted which removed geographical and temporal restrictions from the document. The protocol made it possible for internally displaced people to receive help.

Along with the international convention there are also two regional instruments that have reaffirmed the basic principles of both the convention and the protocol as well as expanded the definition of refugee to more realistically account for contemporary root causes of departure such as war, internal conflict and human rights abuses. These include the 1969 Organization for African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees.

The dilemmas that surround the issues of refugees are for the most part all human rights issues. Effective tools that can be used to combat these issues and provide international protection for refugees are to implement human rights treaties. There have been several treaties that have provided protection for refugees that include; the1984 Convention against Torture, which provides refugees from being returned to places where their lives or freedoms could be threatened; the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , and the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms also protect against the return of refugees to unsafe areas; Lastly 1969 American Convention on Human Rights promotes the right of refugees to seek and be granted asylum.

There have been ongoing debates about how and which states should provide refugee protection. Over the past few years these states have begun to explore new ways in which to manage refugee movements and improve on their protection. But through this process there is often confusion about what duties these states are obligated to commit to under international law.

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights