Human Rights Assessment: Treatment of Refugees
Human Rights: Treatment of Refugees
1. Outline the domestic/international contemporary human rights issue you have chosen (see syllabus for suggestions)
A refugee is defined within the 1951 Refugee Convention as any person who:
"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 the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."
There are three main groups of people on the move; classification is based upon the circumstances which caused the individual/s to leave either domestically or internationally their country of nationality. These groups include Refugees, Internally Displaced Person (IDP's) and Migrants. The definition between these three groups is highly important, as their legal rights differ, however every day the groups are increasingly confused and increasingly treated the same.
Refugees: Refugees fleeing war or persecution, have no protection from their own state. Without the assistance of other countries, they may be condemned to death or an intolerable life without rights or security. An 'Asylum Seeker' is someone who claims they are a refugee, but whose claim has not yet been definitively evaluated.
IDP's: IDP's have not crossed international borders to find sanctuary, but have remained within their home countries. Even if they have fled for similar reasons as refugees (armed conflict, generalised violence, human rights violations), IDP's legally remain under the protection of their own government.
Migrants: Migrants is a wide-ranging term, which includes people who move to a foreign country for a variety of reasons (including economic reasons, pursuit of a
1. Outline the domestic/international contemporary human rights issue you have chosen (see syllabus for suggestions)
A refugee is defined within the 1951 Refugee Convention as any person who:
"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 the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."
There are three main groups of people on the move; classification is based upon the circumstances which caused the individual/s to leave either domestically or internationally their country of nationality. These groups include Refugees, Internally Displaced Person (IDP's) and Migrants. The definition between these three groups is highly important, as their legal rights differ, however every day the groups are increasingly confused and increasingly treated the same.
Refugees: Refugees fleeing war or persecution, have no protection from their own state. Without the assistance of other countries, they may be condemned to death or an intolerable life without rights or security. An 'Asylum Seeker' is someone who claims they are a refugee, but whose claim has not yet been definitively evaluated.
IDP's: IDP's have not crossed international borders to find sanctuary, but have remained within their home countries. Even if they have fled for similar reasons as refugees (armed conflict, generalised violence, human rights violations), IDP's legally remain under the protection of their own government.
Migrants: Migrants is a wide-ranging term, which includes people who move to a foreign country for a variety of reasons (including economic reasons, pursuit of a