Fwd: UNHCR: Refugee Protection Concerns after Sept 11
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Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 17:06:21 +0300 (EEST)
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Subject: Fwd: UNHCR: Refugee Protection Concerns after Sept 11
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Eldar Zeynalov <[email protected]>
Fwd: UNHCR: Refugee Protection Concerns after Sept 11
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fabienne Philippe" <[email protected]>
UNHCR PRESS RELEASE
>From UNHCR NGO Unit
23 October 2001
TEN REFUGEE PROTECTION CONCERNS IN THE AFTERMATH OF SEPT. 11
The horrifying Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States have
changed the world, profoundly affecting millions of people around the
globe. The repercussions will be felt for years.
As the agency mandated to protect and assist millions of the world's
most vulnerable people, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is
particularly concerned about the impact of Sept. 11 on those most in
need of international protection and assistance.
UNHCR is concerned, for example, about the increasing public
perception of refugees and asylum seekers as "criminals" and over
attempts to create unwarranted links between refugees and terrorism.
Even before the tragic events of Sept. 11, asylum seekers faced
increasingly difficult obstacles in a number of countries, including
gaining access to asylum procedures or overcoming presumptions about
the validity of their claims because of their ethnicity or mode of
arrival.
UNHCR is also aware that several governments are now looking at
additional security safeguards to prevent terrorists from gaining
admission to their territory through asylum channels. This is
understandable and UNHCR endorses all efforts - multilateral or
national - aimed at rooting out and effectively combating terrorism.
In fact, UNHCR will be looking at what might be termed the "better
practices" of the many governments that are undertaking these reviews.
The question being posed - what additional, security-based procedural
safeguards can be taken by governments - is an inherently reasonable
one. But we need to ensure that it is answered correctly, and that any
new safeguards strike a proper balance with the refugee protection
principles that may be at stake. UNHCR stands ready to work with
governments on these issues.
As more and more governments undertake such reviews, UNHCR's main
concern is twofold:
* Firstly, that bona-fide asylum seekers may be victimized as a result
of public prejudice and unduly restrictive legislation or
administrative measures.
* And secondly, that carefully-built refugee protection standards may
be eroded.
Any discussion of security safeguards should start from the assumption
that refugees are themselves escaping persecution and violence,
including terrorism, and are not themselves the perpetrators of such
acts.
It is also crucial that states understand that the 1951 Refugee
Convention does not provide a safe haven to terrorists, nor does it
protect them from criminal prosecution. On the contrary, the
Convention is carefully framed to exclude persons who committed
particularly serious crimes.
So as governments around the world look at various additional
procedural safeguards in their efforts to combat terrorism in the wake
of Sept. 11, UNHCR has formulated 10 specific concerns over possible
actions that may directly affect asylum-seekers and refugees.
1. Racism and Xenophobia: UNHCR is seriously concerned over the
all-too-common tendency to link asylum seekers and refugees to crime
and terrorism. Making such unwarranted links incites racism and
xenophobia and is provoking serious protection worries. Equating
asylum with the provision of a safe haven for terrorists is not only
legally wrong and unsupported by facts, but it vilifies refugees in
the public mind and exposes persons of particular races or religions
to discrimination and hate-based harassment.
2. Admission and Access to Refugee Status Determination: All persons
have the right to seek asylum and to undergo individual refugee status
determination. Rejection at the border can result in refoulement -
sending people back into danger. This is contrary to international
refugee legal obligations. UNHCR's concern is that legislation may be
enacted which effectively denies access to refugee status
determination procedures - or even leads to rejection at the border -
of certain groups or individuals because their religion, ethnicity,
national origin or political affiliation are somehow assumed to link
them to terrorism. The 1951 Refugee Convention already contains a
so-called "exclusion clause" which excludes persons who have committed
particularly serious crimes. In addition, it lifts the prohibition on
refoulement for those who are a danger to national security. If
properly applied, the 1951 Convention will exclude those responsible
for terrorist acts, and may even assist in their identification and
eventual prosecution. In short, the 1951 Convention does not extend
protection to the non-deserving.
3. Exclusion: UNHCR is concerned that governments may automatically
or improperly apply exclusion clauses or other criteria to individual
asylum seekers based on the assumption that they may be terrorists
because of their religion, ethnicity, nationality or political
affiliation. Genuine refugees are themselves the victims of terrorism
and persecution, not its perpetrators. When appropriate, UNHCR
encourages governments to rigorously use exclusion clauses contained
in current international refugee instruments like the 1951 Convention.
But the application of any exclusion clause must be individually
assessed, based on available evidence and conform to basic standards
of fairness and justice. The assessment has to be part of the overall
status determination process.
4. Treatment of Asylum Seekers: UNHCR is concerned that governments
might be inclined to resort to mandatory detention of asylum seekers,
or to establish procedures that do not comply with the standards of
due process. UNHCR's longstanding position is that detention of asylum
seekers should be the exception, not the rule. Detention is only
acceptable when circumstances surrounding the individual case justify
it - including when there are solid reasons for suspecting links with
terrorism. But detention should always comply with due process.
Similarly, refugee status determination procedures put in place to
deal with suspected terrorists must comply with minimum standards of
due process, involve officials who are qualified and knowledgeable,
and contain the possibility of review.
5. Withdrawal of Refugee Status: UNHCR is concerned that states may be
inclined to withdraw the refugee status of individuals based on the
assumption that they may be terrorists because of their religion,
ethnicity, nationality or political affiliation. The rule is that the
withdrawal of refugee status can only follow evidence of fraud or
misrepresentation of facts that were central to the decision. A
refugee's ethnicity or origin cannot in themselves be grounds for
either denying or withdrawing status. The facts are what count.
6. Deportation: UNHCR is concerned that governments may be inclined
to deport groups or individuals on the assumption that they may be
terrorists because of their religion, ethnicity, nationality or
political affiliation. While the 1951 Refugee Convention allows for
the expulsion of individual refugees on grounds of national security
or public order, it should only be done in pursuance of a decision
reached under due process of law. This should include an opportunity
for the refugee to counter the allegations.
7. Extradition: UNHCR is concerned that states may be inclined to
expeditiously grant the extradition of groups or individuals on the
assumption that they may be terrorists based on their religion,
ethnicity, nationality or political affiliation. It is UNHCR's
position that extradition should only be granted upon conclusion of
the corresponding legal proceedings, and where it has been shown that
the extradition is not being requested as a means to return a person
to a country for purposes which in fact amount to persecution, not
prosecution.
8. Resettlement: Resettlement to third countries is one of three main
durable solutions for refugees (the others are repatriation to the
country of origin and integration in the country of first-asylum).
UNHCR is concerned that states may now be inclined not to maintain
their resettlement programs at promised levels, particularly for
certain ethnic groups or nationalities. As far as UNHCR is concerned,
resettlement remains imperative. This is especially true for some
vulnerable refugees from places lik Afghanistan, where women in
particular may be at risk. Continued support for resettlement is
vital. UNHCR is working to diversify the number of resettlement
countries.
9. UN Security Council Resolution 1373: Security Council Resolution
1373 was adopted on September 28, 2001. Among other things, it calls
on states to work together urgently to prevent and suppress terrorist
acts and to complement that international cooperation by taking
additional domestic measures. Resolution 1373, if properly
interpreted and applied, is in line with principles of international
refugee law. But care must be taken in its implementation to ensure
that bona fide asylum seekers and refugees are not denied their basic
rights under cover of the need to take anti-terrorism measures.
10. Draft Comprehensive Convention Against Terrorism: UNHCR would
welcome the development and swift adoption of a comprehensive
convention against terrorism. But it should not give legal force to
unwarranted linkages between asylum seekers/refugees and terrorists.
Nor should it be construed as implying that the 1951 Refugee
Convention is inadequate for the exclusion of terrorists from refugee
status, or that it somehow offers safe haven to terrorists.
--
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