Refugees: A Comprehensive Understanding

Since the beginning of 2015, an unprecedented number of people from Middle Eastern and
African countries have been crossing borders into and within Europe, traversing the
Mediterranean,the Balkans and the English Channel.The images of dead bodies , of drenched
refugees on overloaded,rickety boats,and of families climbing frantically through border fences
made of barbed wire form the basis of our common perception of “refugee crisis”. The figure of
Aylan Kurdi, whose tiny body was washed ashore on a Turkish beach ,sparked international
public outcry and has led to a drastic shift in their perception. Refugees who were earlier viewed
as threats to national security,have now become objects of sympathy and affirmative action.
This refugee crisis has turned immigration,asylum,border control, and state sovereignty into
interconnected problems,making migration not only a political event but also a massive media
spectacle. This makes it imperative to obtain a coherent understanding of the term “refugee” and
mark a clear demarcation with the other terms associated with it in order to provide solutions to
the problems confronting refugees.
The term “refugee”, like the people it describes, can cover a lot of ground. Politicians
,academics and the media approach the word from different angles and have varying ideas of the
rights , roles and the responsibilities the term implies.The Macquarie dictionary definition of a
refugee is 'one who flees for refuge or safety, especially to a foreign country, as in time of
political upheaval, war etc'. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
in its 1999 Statistical Overview, refugees are persons recognised under the 1951 Refugee
Convention; persons recognised under the 1969 Organisation for African Unity Convention on
Refugee Problems in Africa ; persons granted humanitarian or comparable status; and persons
granted temporary protection. The 1951 United Nations Convention defines a refugee as an
individual who: “owing to a 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 nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection
of that country”. As this definition did not provide recognition to situations of mass flight from
war , regional bodies such as the Organisation for African Unity, in its 1969 Convention
expanded the definition of refugees to include not only individuals subject to persecution, but
also every person who — in the words of the OAU Convention — "owing to external aggression,
occupation, foreign domination, or events seriously disturbing the public order...is compelled to
leave...to seek refuge in another place outside his country of origin or nationality." The
Cartagena Declaration, adopted in 1984 by a group of Latin American states, added massive
human rights violations to this list. Though it is not a treaty, the declaration carries considerable
moral force in the region and beyond.
The concept of refugees fleeing persecution is instrumental to their identification , however, the
term “persecution” is open to many interpretations.In the words of Jeremy Harding 'the order of
difficulty that prevails in some parts of the world is akin to persecution. It may either constitute
state-sponsored action or in some cases, persecution may be a cultural,social or religious
practice. Persecution may also be gender specific or directed against certain sections of
society.For example. Women being oppressed under the Taliban regime and violation of rights
of the LGBT community. For easier understanding, refugees can be classified into Economic
refugees- people impelled to flee from poverty and lack of opportunity, Political refugees- people
fleeing political persecution and Humanitarian refugees-people fleeing humanitarian crisis ,
torture etc.
International law and norms make a distinction between ​migrants​-those who voluntarily leave
their home countries and refugees. States are generally supposed to accept refugees, but they do
not have to accept migrants. ​Asylum seekers​ are similar to refugees in their status, but they have
not been formally declared as refugees by the country to which they fled. They ​enter or remains
in a country either legally, as a visitor or tourist or student, or illegally, with no or with
fraudulent documentation, and then claims refugee status under the terms of the 1951 United
Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. ​Convention refugees ​are people who
have been found to engage protection obligations, and are accorded refugee status, and thus the
right to remain within a signatory country, under the terms of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Internally Displaced Persons​ (IDPs) are people who have had to leave their homes but have not
left their own country. These p​eople are forced to flee their homes but never cross an
international border. These individuals seek safety anywhere they can find it—in nearby towns,
schools, settlements, internal camps, even forests and fields. Unlike refugees, IDPs are not
protected by international law or eligible to receive many types of aid because they are legally
under the protection of their own government. Kashmiri Pandits that fled the Kashmir Valley in
the early 1990s are an example of an internally displaced community. ​Stateless persons ​ ​such as
the Bedouin in Kuwait or Iraq, and Burmese in Thailand or Malaysia​ are commonly
discriminated against by certain groups, making them unrecognized as a nationality or belonging
to a specific country. They are not in possession of identification or citizen certification,
excluding them from access to basic human rights, including healthcare, education, employment,
and other government services. ​Returnees ​are former refugees who have returned to their home
countries after fleeing before.
According to the latest surveys conducted by the UNHCR, ​65.6 million​ people around the world
have been forced from home. Among them are nearly ​22.5 million refugees​, over half of whom
are ​under the age of 18. ​There are also​ 10 million stateless people​ who have been denied a
nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of
movement. As a result of conflict or persecution , ​20 people are forcibly displaced every
minute​. Of these, the largest displaced population is Syrians who have fled a devastating conflict
that has been marked by the widespread use of torture, targeting of civilians and use of bombs.
Most settled in neighboring countries, including Turkey (2.8 million), Lebanon (1.07 million),
Jordan (655,000), and Iraq (231,000). The vast majority of Syrian refugees remain in the Middle
East.​The equivalent of almost 10% of Afghanistan’s entire population is living as refugees with
about 2.7 million people from Afghanistan living as refugees​.​ Somali refugees are in the world’s
most protracted refugee situation, with second and third generations of Somali refugees being
born into exile. Sudan , South Sudan , Eritrea , Central African Republic are other countries of
refugee origin.
Mobilisation of efforts for protection and empowerment of refugees around the world is highly
dependant on grasping the concept and meaning of different relevant terms , along with
analysing their scope and significance in the wider discourse . This understanding requires the
coordinating actions and motivations of governments, aid workers, academics, and the media to
generate awareness among the public and instill a sense of responsibility among the authorities.
Complicated as they are, attempts to shed light on all of these topics are vital and are beneficial
for achieving a public understanding of these problems, formulating better policies for
facilitating the proper cognisance of the problems suffered by refugees and their alleviation to a
greater extent.
Refugee crisis situations require the international response to be more robust and collaborative
amongst a variety of stakeholders to address their problems. States should take an active role in
enabling the refugees to lead a life of peace and dignity. It is the responsibility of India and other
countries to work together for creating durable solutions to the problems confronting refugees
and asylum seekers. Ratna Omidvar, Independent Senator for Ontario, has outlined solutions for
dealing with refugee crisis. She argues that displacement of people from Syria , Somalia is
long-term and requires a shift from building temporary structures to permanent structures which
can support their survival. States should tackle inequality among the local people so that they do
not feel threatened about the entry of refugees. Resettlement commitments need to be honoured
and raised by the states. Issues of global governance need to be readdressed so as to develop a
common ground on which various states can cooperate to provide protection to refugees.

References
1. ​www.unhcr.org.in/
2. www.globalfootprints.org
3. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org
4. refugeesmigrants.un.org