Refugees,%20Internally%20Displaced%20Persons,%20and%20Human%20Rights

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Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons, and Human
Rights
Timothy H. Holtz, MD, MPH Emory Human Rights Week
2005 With gratitude to Basia Tomczyk, RN, PhD
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Overview

• Refugee/IDP definitions
• Human Rights/Legal and Policy Framework
• Demographics
• International agencies working with refugees
• Health issues
• Case studies
• Question and Answer period

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Persons of concern - UNHCR

• Refugees
• Internally displaced persons (IDPs)
• Asylum seekers
• Returned refugees
• Stateless persons

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Human Rights/Legal and Policy Framework

• 1951 Refugee Convention defined a refugee as a
  person who
• owing to a well-founded fear of being
  persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
  nationality, membership in a particular social
  group, or political opinion, is outside the
  country of his nationality, and is unable to or,
  owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself
  of the protection of that country.

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Human Rights/Legal and Policy Framework

• 1967 Protocol
• applied the same definition but removed the date
  January 1, 1951 and geographic restrictions.
• Entered into force 4 October 1967

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Human Rights/Legal and Policy Framework

• International instruments impose legal
  obligations on states parties to protect and
  promote the rights of refugees.
• National law dictates the admission of refugees
  and the types of services they will receive.
• Domestic laws therefore govern the civil, social,
  and economic rights of refugees.

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Human Rights/Legal and Policy Framework

• Both the convention and protocol set forth the
  principle of non-refoulement, and that refugees
  have a right to a fair hearing and expeditious
  processing.
• Article 33
• No contracting state shall expel or return
  (refouler) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to
  the frontiers of territories where his life or
  freedom would be threatened on account of this
  race, religion, nationality, membership of a
  particular social group or political opinion.

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Refugee Convention Omissions

• Gender discrimination and persecution
• Gender violence
• Reproductive rights

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Human Rights Framework for Womens Rights

• 1976 Declaration on the Protection of Women and
  Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict
• 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
  of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
  Against Women

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Internally Displaced PersonDefinition

• Someone who has not crossed a border but who
  shares many characteristics with refugees.
• Not protected under international refugee law
  because they remain inside their own country.
• Vulnerable population as many are attacked by
  their own governments and remain largely
  inaccessible to outside monitors and humanitarian
  assistance.

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Asylum seekerDefinition

• A person who flees their own country for fear of
  persecution to seek sanctuary in another state.
• Right to be recognized as a bona fide refugee and
  receive legal and material assistance.
• Must prove a well founded fear of persecution
  in their asylum case.

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Demographics

• 15 million refugees
• 20 million IDPs
• 1 million asylum seekers
• 17 million people of concern in 2004
• Causes War, civil strife, famine, natural
  disasters

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Refugee and IDP Facts

• Since 2000 the global refugee population has
  decreased by 10
• Number of persons of concern has remained
  relatively stable in the last 20 years
• About 50 are women and children
• About 25 are women of reproductive age

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Refugee, IDPs, Asylum SeekersUNHCR Demographics

• Asia 6.2 million
• Africa 4.3 million
• Europe 4.2 million
• Latin America 1.3 million
• North America 1.0 million

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Major Refugee Populations

• Afghanistan 2,100,000
• Sudan 606,000
• Burundi 530,000
• DR Congo 450,000
• Palestinians 420,000
• Somalia 400,000
• Iraq 368,000

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RefugeesBurden

• Ratio of Refugee Population to Total Population
• Pakistan 172
• Tanzania 173
• Japan 119,859

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Major IDP PopulationsThe no less vulnerable

• Sudan Unknown
• Colombia 1,244,000
• Azerbijian 575,000
• Liberia 530,000
• Sri Lanka 386,000
• Russian Federation 368,000
• Bosnia-Herzegovina 327,000

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Asylum Seeker PopulationCountry of origin

• Russian Federation
• China
• Serbia/Montenegro
• DR Congo
• Turkey

• Iraq
• Columbia
• Afghanistan
• Nigeria
• Somalia

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Asylum Seeker PopulationsCountry of asylum

• United Kingdom 61,000
• United States 60,000
• France 60,000
• Germany 50,000
• Austria 32,000
• Canada 32,000
• Sweden 31,000

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International Response Key Players

• UN High Commissioner for Refugees
• World Health Organization
• World Food Program

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International Response Key Players II

• Ministry of Health
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
• Religious groups
• Refugees themselves

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Adverse Health Effects of Refugee/IDP status

• Infectious disease
• Reproductive Health
• Mental illness
• Non-infectious disease
• Violence

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For every 1 violent death in DR Congo War Zone
there are

• 17 deaths from fever/malaria
• 10 deaths from measles, tuberculosis, meningitis
• 11 deaths from respiratory diseases
• 6 deaths from malnutrition
• 18 deaths from other causes/accidents

• International Rescue Committee, quoted in New
  York Times, March 20, 2005

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UN High Commissioner for RefugeesUNHCR

• Working in 116 countries
• Staff of 6,000 (83 in the field)
• Budget of 1.3 billion
• 565 implementing partner NGOs
• Serves 17 million persons of concern

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Health Intervention Areas in Complex Humanitarian
Emergencies

• Epidemiology/Surveillance
• Mental Health
• Injuries
• Nutrition
• Reproductive Health
• Immunizations
• Water and Sanitation
• Health Information and GIS

Research
Response
Training
Support
Information