REFUGEE SOLUTIONS NOW!ERIN ANTALIS

HPA 430APRIL 7, 2009

Outline

Background definitions Presentation of data Presentation of the Issue Case specific presentation: Tanzania Policy Related Research Current Policy Policy Action Plan Stakeholders Endorsers

What is a refugee?

“A person 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 their nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of that country”

UNHCR 1951 Convention Relating to the Status

of Refugees

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

“…ensures the basic human rights of vulnerable persons and that refugees will not be returned involuntarily to a country where they face persecution”

“By assisting refugees to return to their own country or to settle permanently in another country, UNHCR also seeks lasting solutions to their plight”

Human rights defined in the UNHCR 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees Freedom of movement Freedom to wage employment Freedom of residence

www.unhcr.org

UNHCR- Persons of Concern

Internally Displaced People (IDP)

Stateless

Returned IDPs

Asylum-seekers

Returned Refugees

Various “other”

Scope of the issue (Data)

13.7 mil.-Internally Displaced People

11.4 mil.-Refugees

3 mil-Stateless

2 mil- Returned IDPs

760,800 -Asylum-seekers

729,100- Returned Refugees

63,400- Various “other”

www.unhcr.org

Total population of concern to UNHCR by country of asylum-2005

www.unhcr.org

Total population of concern to UNHCR by country of asylum-2005

www.unhcr.org

Meet ‘Sarah’

http://www.thewe.cc/thewei/_/images_1/somalia/somalia_refugee_girls_yemen.jpe

Refugee Cycle

Flight

Refugee camp:

processing and

recognition

ResettlementNaturalizatio

nRepatriationWarehousing

Urban migration

within the host country

Migration outside of the host country

?????

???

What is Warehousing?

Prolonged Refugee Situation 25,000 or more refugees in

exile in a single host county for over 5 years

6.2 million (2007) denial of human rights

right to earn a livelihood freedom of movement

confined to camps or segregated settlements

dependent on humanitarian assistance. 

Denied rights… to work to own property

UNHCR 1951 Refugee Convention

Barriers to Durable Solutions

Repatriation 731,000 (2007) Current Government not welcoming Environment of persecution continues Loss of family and property

Resettlement Limited capacity Est. 75,300 (2007) Less than 1% of total refugee population

Naturalization Est. 15,400 (2007) Highly restrictive Possibility of repatriation Patriotism Feeling of discrimination from host country Hope of resettlement

More Barriers…

CONFLICTING STATE / UNHCR POLICIES

Movement restricted Residence restricted Wage employment

restricted Refoulement Detention Deportation

Ex: Tanzania

“[R]egistered refugees from camps move spontaneously into towns and villages and reside among local populations, … usually without authorization, and may be considered as unlawful by the authorities.  In these situations, the “registered” status of the refugees when residing inside camps may no longer be recognized by the authorities”

(UNHCR issued a new draft Policy on Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Urban Areas, June 13, 2008)

Case Specific-Tanzania

Hosted refugees for over 50 yrs

Largest refugee host in Africa

Tanzanian government looking for a “durable solution” Repatriation Resettlement Naturalization

Case Specific-Tanzania

2000 2008

11 camps 700,000 camp

refugees Rwanda, Burundi,

DRC, Somalia

4 camps 218,000 camp refugees 90,000 repatriated to

Burundi and DRC 122,000 applying for

‘naturalization’ Concern over mixed

migrant flow GNA reports increased

threat from immigration authorities

www.unhcr.org

What happened to everybody else?

Why address this issue?

Number of refugees in the world increasing Prolonged refugee status, “warehousing”

Ex: 1972 Burundi refugees Aid dependency

Closing of refugee camps ‘forced’ repatriation?

Opening of new refugee camps Continuing state violence

Increasing financial burden on national and international levels

How does being a refugee impact health? Why this a PH issue?

IMMEDIATE IMPACTS LONG TERM IMPACTS

Food Insecurity Inadequate shelter Access to potable

water Access to healthcare Emotional Trauma

Deprived of… Income Healthcare

Sexual violence Gender based violence

and exploitation Food insecurity Reduced access to

education Stigmatized social

status

Health impacts of Forced Migration

Flight:

•Food Insecurity•Inadequate shelter•Access to potable water•Access to healthcare•Emotional Trauma

Prolonged Refugee Situation:

•Limited Healthcare•Sexual violence•Gender based violence and exploitation•Food insecurity•Reduced access to education•Stigmatized social status•Malnutrition

ResettlementNaturalizationRepatriation

Migration outside of the camps• Economic instability

• Food insecurity• Decreased educational

opportunity• Stigma

• Psychosocial stress • Informal sector work• Exposure to sexual violence• Economic exploitation

?????

missed im

munizatio

ns

Poor acce

ss to health

care

Possible re

liance

on survival s

ex (exposu

re to

violence, S

TIs, unplanned pregnancy

, etc)

Policy-Related Research

UNHCR Global Needs Assessment

“…to comprehensively map the real state of the world's refugees and people of concern under its mandate.”

“The aim is to outline the total needs, the costs of meeting them and the consequences of any gaps. The GNA will be a blueprint for planning, decision-making and action with governments, partners, refugees and people of concern.”

Pilot study in 2008 substantial and disturbing gaps in

protection shelter, health, education, food security,

sanitation measures to prevent sexual violence 30 % of needs unmet

2008 Recommendations improve and ensure access to asylum

systems better reception facilities and procedures,

registration, documentation and border monitoring

increase the capacity of governments to adequately respond to people of concern

Improve prevention and response measures for sexual abuse and violence

Adapt legal and administrative frameworks to respond to mixed asylum seekers

Key findings of the GNA pilot survey, 2008

•To support justice mechanisms

• Decrease sexual violence / gender based violence

•Improved and ensured access to asylum procedures

• Decrease political persecution

•Documentation• Increase access to

social services• Increase political

protection• Increase access to

justice mechanisms

“Sarah’s” Story continued

http://pro.corbis.com/images/AL027568.jpg?size=67&uid=%7B22EF1761-5BB5-467B-AACC-F643AFDE8AFB%7D

Current Policy

1951 UNHCR Refugee Convention Key document defining who is a refugee, their

rights and the legal obligations of states. 1967 UNHCR Protocol

Expands jurisdiction of UNHCR 1998 Tanzania Refugee Act

Section 17- 5a: Requirement to reside in a designated area Section 32

2008 UNHCR High Commissioner's Initiative on Protracted Refugee Situations

New Draft Policy on Refugees in Urban Areas (www.refugees.org)

“In an urban setting, it is particularly important that the protection of and assistance to asylum-seekers and refugees be integrated into national systems, and parallel structures be avoided.”

“Durable solutions should be pursued without discrimination between camp and urban refugees”

“There is no basis for a punitive approach toward those who move from camps to urban areas.  There may in fact be protection reasons existing in the camps which give rise to the movement to urban areas.  Therefore, no punitive measures should be implemented on refugees who move to urban areas from camps. ”

Proposed Action

Repeal section 17 from the 1998 Refugee Act

Amend section 32 allow for freedom of movement, residence and

work Why?

Allow those living outside of designated refugee camps avoid forced repatriation

Ensure the freedom to work Freedom of movement and self-reliance Be afforded the UNHCR protection afforded to

refugees

Proposed action

UNHCR sponsored international visas Why?

Article 26: Freedom of movement Right to choose one’s place of residence Right to move freely within the host country. 

Article 28: UNHCR provision of Travel Documents Dependant on destination countries granting visas

and honoring other Convention rights UNHCR protection would be portable

Stakeholders

UNHCR US Committee for

Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)

Host country governments

Resettlement country governments

Country of origin governments

Refugees Host country

citizens Resettlement

country citizens County of Origin

citizens NGOs

Amnesty Int’l, IOM

Legislators/ Endorsers

Khoti Kamanga Director of the Centre

for Forced Migration Ambassador Susan Rice

US representative to the UN

Senator Brownback Senator Joe Lieberman Senator Ted Kennedy

 Introduced and passed Amendment 1248 to the 2006 Foreign Operations funding bill sponsoring a pilot project to end warehousing

Dalai Lama Desmond Tutu Angelina Jolie

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador

www.refugees.org

“Count every refugee because every refugee counts”

Count Every Refugee. Every Refugee Counts

Count Every Refugee Every Refugee Counts

SOLUTIONS FOR ALLFREEDOM FOR ALL

UHURU KWA KILA MTU

UTATUZI KWA KILA MTU

‘Sarah’s’ Finale

Works Cited Feller, Erika; Turk, Volker; Nicholson, Frances (eds) .2003. Refugee protection in International Law:

UNHCR’s Global Consultations on International Protection. Caimbridge University Press Refugees Act, 1998 [United Republic of Tanzania]. 9. 15 April 1999, available online in UNHCR

Refworld at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b50bf.html  [accessed 2 April 2009] Slaughter, Amy. 2009. A Surrogate State? The role of UNHCR in protracted refugee situations. Policy

Development and Evaluation Service, UNHCR . Research paper No.168. Smith, Merril (2004) Warehousing Refugees: A denial of Rights, a waste of humanity. World Refugee

Survey. http://www.refugees.org/data/wrs/04/pdf/38-56.pdf . retrieved 28 Feb. 2009 U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). New Draft policy on Refugees in Urban Areas.

http://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=1122&rid=1179&subm=33&ssm=78&area=About%20Refugees#new_draft. Retrieved 31 Marc h 2009

United Nation High Commission for Refugees (2008) UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Protracted Refugee Situations. High Commissioner's Initiative, December

2008. Online. UNHCR Refworld, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/496f041d2.html  [accessed 4 April 2009]

UN General Assembly, Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 30 January 1967. United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 606, p. 267. Online. UNHCR Refworld, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b3ae4.html  [accessed 4 April 2009]

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Chairman's Summary, 11 December 2008 (High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges (10-11 December 2008), Theme: Protracted Refugee Situations, January 2009. Online. UNHCR Refworld, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/496711472.html  [accessed 2 April 2009]

Global Needs Assessment. 2009. http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/GNA. retrieved 28 Feb. 2009 Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. 1951.

http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/3b66c2aa10.pdf. retrieved 28 Feb. 2009 UNCHR 2007 Statistical Yearbook. http://www.unhcr.org/statistics/STATISTICS/4981b19d2.html. retrieved 28 Feb.

2009