Human Rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever their nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfill Human Rights. Refugees are a special class of migrants who under international law deserve specific protection by their host state.
Human Rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever their nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfill Human Rights. Refugees are a special class of migrants who under international law deserve specific protection by their host state.
Human Rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever their nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfill Human Rights. Refugees are a special class of migrants who under international law deserve specific protection by their host state.
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever
our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. Those are rights which a person should have in order to be a human being and by which every person should enjoy to lead an honourable life. Human rights entail both rights and obligations. States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfill human rights. The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses. The obligation to fulfill means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights. At the individual level, while we are entitled our human rights, we should also respect the human rights of others. Human Rights are the basic human needs and demands. They are necessary for the all round development of a human being. Hence it is expected that every civilized state will incorporate these rights in its Constitution and try to ensure that its citizens enjoy them. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. All individuals should enjoy these rights without any distinction of race, religion, caste, colour or sex. These laws have been given a proper place in the constitutions of almost all the democratic countries of the world. Even refugees are entitled to the enjoyment of those rights but they have mostly been the targets of violent attacks and intimidation, largely because they were perceived as different from the communities in which they had temporarily settled. Refugee crises have increasingly become a problem in todays modern day society. There are several reasons that have contributed to this situation namely global inequalities, people fleeing persecution and regimes, people fleeing from violence and outbreak of wars. Refugees are a special class of migrants who under international law deserve specific protection by their host state. According to Article 1 of the 1951 UN Convention, as modified by the 1967 Protocol, a refugee is defined as a person who owing to wellfounded 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. This definition implies that several qualifying conditions
apply to be considered a refugee: (1) presence outside home
country; (2) well-founded fear of persecution (being at risk of harm is insufficient reason in the absence of discriminatory persecution); (3) incapacity to enjoy the protection of ones own state from the persecution feared. The definition of refugees was actually intended to exclude internally displaced persons, economic migrants, victims of natural disasters, and persons fleeing violent conflict but not subject to discrimination amounting to persecution. International humanitarian law provides that victims of armed conflict, whether displaced or not, should be respected, protected against the effects of war, and provided with impartial assistance. Because many refugees find themselves in the midst of international or internal armed conflict, refugee law is often closely linked to humanitarian law It is the responsibility of States to protect their citizens. When governments are unwilling or unable to protect their citizens, individuals may suffer such serious violations of their rights that they are forced to leave their homes, and often even their families, to seek safety in another country. Since, by definition, the governments of their home countries no longer protect the basic rights of refugees, the international community then steps in to ensure that those basic rights are respected. In the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations General Assembly created the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). UNHCR is mandated to protect and find durable solutions for refugees. Its activities are based on a framework of international law and standards that includes the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the four Geneva Conventions (1949) on international humanitarian law, as well as an array of international and regional treaties and declarations, both binding and nonbinding, that specifically address the needs of refugees. Refugee law and international human rights law are closely intertwined; refugees are fleeing governments that are either unable or unwilling to protect their basic human rights. Additionally, in cases where the fear of persecution or threat to life or safety arises in the context of an armed conflict, refugee law also intersects with international humanitarian law. Refugees are entitled to two partially overlapping sets of rights: those rights accorded to them as individuals and guaranteed under international human rights standards and national law, and specific rights related to their status as refugees. The following are the rights that refugees may enjoy during their stay in the host country: NON-REFOULEMENT
One of those is the right to non-refoulement which
prohibits a state on the forced return of a refugee 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. Non-refoulement is universally acknowledged as a human right. It is expressly stated in human rights treaties such as Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Article 22(8) of the American Convention on Human Rights. This principle is also a part of so-called jus cogens. Thus (as a part of customary and treaty law), all countries are legally bound by the prohibition of returning refugees in any manner whatsoever to countries or territories where their lives or freedom may be threatened because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, which is the cornerstone of international protection. It is embodied in Article 33 (1) of the 1951 Convention. The principle of non-refoulement as contained in the 1951 Convention is not an unqualified principle. There are three exceptions to it. First, the benefit of the principle may not be claimed by a refugee who may pose a danger to the security of the country in which he or she is present. Second, the principle does not apply to a person who, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime constitutes a danger to the community of that country. Third, the benefit of the convention is to be denied to any person suspected of committing a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity, a serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge, or acts contrary to the purposes and principle of the United Nations (Articles 33 (2) and 1 (F) of the 1951 Convention).
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
At the regional level, the rights to seek asylum and
freedom of movement are closely related, since the inability to
return to ones country is the basis of an asylum claim while the
ability to leave ones country is a prerequisite for claiming refugee status under the 1951 Convention. Freedom of movement, however, is also a key right for refugees within their host country. Article 26 of the 1951 Convention provides that States shall afford refugees the right to choose their place of residence within the territory and to move freely within the State. RIGHT TO LIBERTY AND SECURITY OF THE PERSON
The right to liberty and security of the person is important
in the context of how asylum seekers are treated within the intended country of refuge. RIGHT TO FAMILY LIFE
The family is seen as the natural and fundamental group
unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. In respect of this right, a number of countries provide for the granting of derivative status to dependent relatives. Thus, where an individual is granted asylum, his or her dependent relatives will also receive protection through him or her. However, should that individuals refugee status be terminated, the status of dependent relatives will also be terminated. OTHER RIGHTS
The 1951 Convention also protects other rights of
refugees, such as the rights to education, access to justice, employment and other fundamental freedoms and privileges similarly enshrined in international and regional human rights treaties. In their enjoyment of some rights, such as access to the courts, refugees are to be afforded the same treatment as nationals while with others, such as wage-earning employment and property rights, refugees are to be afforded the same treatment as foreign nationals. 1951 Convention, art. 16 (refugees are to be granted equal access to the courts), art. 17 (refugees are to be afforded the same access to wage-earning employment as foreign nationals), art. 13 (refugees are to be afforded the same rights to moveable and immoveable property as foreign nationals).
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
was created in 1951 to assist in the international protection of refugees. The organizations primary objective is to ensure that all persons can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, and to return home voluntarily. One of the agencys pressing tasks is to encourage governments to adopt fair and flexible processes to promote just and effective refugee law. When UNHCR was first established, material aspects of refugee relief were seen to be the responsibility of the government that had granted asylum. As many of the worlds more recent major refugee flows have occurred in less developed countries, however, UNHCR has acquired the additional role of coordinating material assistance for refugees and returnees. Although this was not UNHCR's original mandate, coordination of material assistance has become one of its principal functions alongside protection and the promotion of solutions. The International Organization of Migration (IOM) assists with the return of rejected asylum seekers and refugees referred by UNHCR.
International law recognizes the right to seek asylum, but does
not oblige states to provide it. Nations at times offer 'temporary protection' when they face a sudden mass influx of people and their regular asylum systems would be overwhelmed. In such circumstances people can be speedily admitted to safe countries, but without any guarantee of permanent asylum. Thus 'temporary protection' is helpful to both governments and asylum seekers in specific circumstances. Yet it only complements and does not substitute for the wider protection measures offered by the Refugee Convention.