EID and Protracted Refugees

Alicia Cavanaugh Holly Jones

Jenkins Divo Macedo Alyssa Villalba

Spring 2012

Right to Seek Asylum

•  Guaranteed under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

•  Under international law, anyone has the right to apply for asylum in any country that has signed the 1951 Convention and to remain there until the authorities have assessed their claim.

1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees

•  Refugees are those with “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.”

•  The scope of the 1951 Convention was limited to persons who became refugees due to events that occurred before 1951

Non-Refoulement

• Under Article 33 (1): • "No Contracting State shall expel or return

('refouler') a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion."

Regional Treaties

•  In 1967, a Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees extended the definition so that there was no limitation of date.

•  1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa

•  •  1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees

Ending Refugeehood

• There are three "durable solutions" available to refugees: •  Repatriation •  Local Integration •  Resettlement

Conservation Refugees

• Definition: Are people, usually indigenous, who are displaced from their native lands when conservation areas are created, such as parks and other protected areas.Relocation often occurs with the tacit approval or benign neglect of one of the five big international nongovernmental conservation organizations.

Conservation Refugees (Cont. ) • Question for Chapin and Dowie:

-Are the wilderness and human community really incompatible?

• -Is it necessary to have an undisturbed protected land mass larger than the continent of Africa? Explain. -In the Mark Dowie article, he quotes Richard Leakey saying, “The global interest in biodiversity might sometimes trump the rights of local people.” Do you agree? Explain.

•  -Can poverty alleviation be part of conservation? Explain.

Conservation Refugees (Cont.) •  Questions for Dianna Ojeda: •  -What are the obvious differences in regulations for the local

peasants and the company or elites (politics of difference) e.g. building/fixing infrastructure?

•  Comments on: •  -Democratic Security •  -The use of nationalism in promoting tourism and conservation •  -Similarities and differences between the MST and Tayrona

park with regards to land titles •  -Concessions of public/protected lands to private companies •  -Neoliberal conservation for tourism •  -Local communities being seen as environmental threats

Other refugee-related statuses and concepts:

•  internally displaced person

•  stateless person

•  undocumented

•  diaspora

Protracted Refugee Situations: The Case of Liberians in Ghana

•  It Involves groups of 25,000 people or more who have been in exile for over five years (UNHCR 2010).

•  Globally, there are about 33

PRSs. •  10.3 million refugees in this

situation out of the 43.7 forced migrants.

•  54, 000 Liberian refugees in

West Africa are in such situation.

Buduburam Refugee Camp

•  Established in October 1990 by the Government of Ghana and UNHCR.

•  Located 20 miles from the capital,

Accra. •  11,000 Liberians are currently

seeking refuge in Ghana at the Buduburam Refugee Camp

•  Camp Management Committee

(CMC) compose of UNHCR, the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB, and National Disaster Management Ogranization (NADMO)

•  2000 UNHCR terminated

humanitarian assistance to refugees at the camp

Conditions for Liberian Refugees Resistance

•  Lack of humanitarian assistance

•  Increase repatriation package

from $5.00 per person to $1,000 per family head.

•  Local integration is not an

option •  Resettlement of those who

qualified. •  Police Violence and Human

rights violations •  Undocumented Refugee

population

Images from Refugees' Protest at Buduburam

Permanent Refugees: Female Camp in Bihar

•  1947 – The ‘Partition’ •  1957 – India felt that West Bengal was

saturated •  Late 1950s and early 1960s – refugees

settled in other states and promised “proper rehabilitation”

•  1988 – state funding for the permanent liability camps stops

•  1999 – two camps remain

The Partition and Refugee Status

•  Hindu migrants from East Pakistan were normally termed ‘displaced persons’ by the Indian government

•  Those in relief and transit camps were termed refugees •  Temporary status, label erased after

rehabilitation

•  Those unattached to men were considered “unrehabitable”

Resistance in Permanent Liability Camps

•  Identification as refugees •  Acknowledging that they have no support from

anyone but themselves (still seen as foreigners) •  Reminds government of its debt to the refugees •  Remaining in camps changed kinship and gender

relations

•  Established new support systems and relations •  Women as head of household/breadwinners •  Acceptance of widowed and deserted daughters •  Intercaste marriages

Discussion Questions •  How did the camps and refugee status expose gender inequalities in Indian

society?

•  How did the widows subvert these relationships?

•  How was refugee status used as capital? Can you envision circumstances in which these women can shed this ‘temporary’ status?

•  Do refugees have the same rights are citizens of host countries do?

•  What are the pros and cons of organized camps Vs. self-settled refugees?

•  Dick discussed the issues of "humanitarianism" Vs. "Legal Advocacy"

Discussion Questions

• Both refugee camps and inner cities and ghettos are "closed" environments which limit the participation of their residents in social fabric, (jobs, houses). Are there ways in which the strategies for resistance in inner cities and refugee camps can intersect?

• In what ways is it strategic or unstrategic for refugees to receive recognition from states? (Either their state of origin or the state they live in?)