Policies of Forced Migration Midterm Review
2016 Global Trends Report
Trends at a glance
• 65.6 million forcibly displaced worldwide
• 10.3 million newly displaced
• 2.0 million new asylum claims
• Developing regions hosted 84% of world’s refugees
• Estimate: 10 million people stateless or at risk of statelessness
• Which category of forced migrants includes the highest number of people? Internally displaced persons
Definition of Asylum Seekers
Individuals who have sought international protection and whose claims for refugee status have not yet
been determined.
Definition of Protracted Refugees
pp.22: protracted refugee situation as one in which 25K or more refugees from the same nationality have
been in exile for five consecutive years or more in a given asylum country
Host and source countries for refugees
• Top 3 hosts: Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon
• Top 3 sources: Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan
Host and source countries for asylum seekers
• Top 3 hosts: Germany, United States of America, Italy
• Top 3 sources: Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq
Host and source countries for IDPs
• Top 3 hosts: Colombia, Syria, Iraq
• Top 3 returns: Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan
International Protection on Forced Migration
Legal definition of refugees (1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees)
Any person who as a result of events and owing to 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; or who, not having a nationality and being outside of the country of his
former habitual residence as a result of such events is unwilling/unable to return to it.
Refugee definition o the 1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention (Arboleda 1991)
Term “refugee” shall also apply to every person who, owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign
domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin
or nationality, is compelled to leave his place of habitual residence in order to seek refuge in another
place outside his country of origin or nationality.
Refugee definition of the 1989 Cartagena Declaration (Arboleda 1991) (not binding)
Includes: persons who have fled their country because their lives, safety or freedom have been
threatened by generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violation of human
rights or other circumstances which have seriously disturbed public order.
Cessation clauses for refugees
• Conditions under which a refugee ceases to be a refugee
• Six (6) cessation clauses
1. Voluntarily re-availed himself of the protection of the country of nationality
2. Has voluntarily re-acquired nationality
3. Acquired a new nationality and enjoys that protection
4. Voluntary re-established in the country he left
5. Can no longer continue to refuse the protection of the country of nationality
6. Able to return to country of former habitual residence
Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (not binding)
• Bring together in one document the main rules of international law that are relevant to protection of IDPs
• Set out the rights of IDPs and responsibilities of States
• 30 principles
o General Principles
o Protection for Arbitrary Displacement
o Protection and Assistance during Displacement
o Access to Humanitarian Assistance
o Durable Solutions
Definition of Internally Displaced Persons
Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of
habitual residence, in particular as a result or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of
generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not
crossed an internationally recognized State border.
When is a person no longer considered to be an IDP?
No Cessation clauses for IDPs
Rights and Responsibilities of IDPs
• Role of international actors is to reinforce, not replace, national responsibility
• Protection of human rights according to international law
• National responsibility in preventing, raising awareness, supporting, legal framework, allocating resources
• Protection must be rights-based; individuals as right holders
o International human rights law
o International humanitarian law
o International criminal law
1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons
• Was originally an addendum to the 1951 refugee convention
• Primary international instrument that aims to regulate and improve the status of stateless persons
• No matter how extensive the rights granted to a stateless person many be, they are not the equivalent of
acquiring citizenship
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
Legal definition of stateless persons
One who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.
• A person has to prove that he/she has not legal bond with any relevant country
Rights and responsibilities of stateless persons
Human Rights Convention: “Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his
nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.”
• Abide to laws inside the country of residence
• Enjoy fundamental human rights; UHRD; not returned to the countries, non discrimination
Cessation clauses for stateless persons
• When they acquire citizenship
Environmental refugees
Those people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently
because of a marked environmental disruption that jeopardized their existence or seriously affected the
quality of their life.
• Migration due to disasters: acute events which don’t target a specific population and are more commonly
natural
• Expropriation: anthropological disruption of environment specifically targeting a specific population
• Disruption: gradual, anthropogenic deterioration of the environment that is not intentional and does not
target a specific population
Enocide
• Defined as: intentional destruction of human environments in order to strategically relocate a target
population during a period of time
UNHCR & Regional Cooperation & NGOs
Core responsibilities of the UNHCR
• Specific bureaus for each region
• Responsibility and accountability to the international community and the refugees for all aspects of the
complete life-cycle of a refugee situation
• Provision of humanitarian aid to those in need
• Emergency relief