The Refugee issue and the International Community

Imam Hissein Alio

What the international system have done so far to make an end to the long-living refuge crisis around the globe? If they have done so, then why those policies could not help so far? Why we still do face a record-breaking number of refugees today? What solutions can be proposed to put an end to this crisis? Those are only some main questions we need to ask while dealing with the refugee crises today.

It is quite clear that the refugee crisis has been a long-standing issue that still needs to be dealt with, as we are facing those days the highest levels of displacement since World War II. Unprecedentedly, almost 70.8 million people around the globe have been forced to change places due to conflict and persecution by the end of 2018. “Among them are nearly 30 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. There are also millions of stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. (United Nation)” As we can see, there is an immediate need for effective international policies and regimes to end this crisis or reduce it to minimal.

The term ‘refugee’ is defined by the 1951 Convention as “any person who is outside the country of his nationality, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and is consequently unable or unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country (Khan, A.2016)”.The Convention grants with a wide range of basic rights including administrative assistance, permission to transfer assets and facilitation of naturalization. These rights regarded as some practices of customary international law that applies to all countries regardless of whether they are a party to the 1951 Convention.

The existing law and organizations

Although the international community has not been successful in addressing the issue, however, so much have done in this regard. For instance, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created on December 14, 1950, in the aftermath of World War II by the international community under the United Nations. Also known as, UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR has been playing a central role in helping and protecting displaced people and it is the leading international agency in this area. Shortly after the emergence of UNHCR, on July 28, 1951, “The 1951 Refugee Convention” which highlight the statue of refugees as well as the legal foundation of assisting the refugees was adopted. The convention, which ratified by 145 state parties “defines the term ‘refugee’ and outlines the rights of the displaced, as well as the legal obligations of States to protect them (UNHCR)”. In 1949, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established to provide services such as health, education, relief and social services to the Palestine refugees in the Middle East. During its first years of the service, the agency was providing services to nearly 750,000 Palestine refugees, however; at the present, it is assisting around 5.6 million Palestine refugees in the region. In 1992, The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) established to strengthen humanitarian assistance affected populations, including the refugees who forced to live in camps. The agency brings together all the humanitarian regimes and organizations within and outside the UN system. Apart from those, international organizations such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and International Refugee Organization have also played a crucial in dealing with the refugee crisis.

The successlevel ofthe system in dealing with the problem

Although there has been undeniable legal as well as institutional progress (such as the conventions and organizations we discussed above) that played a central role in protecting and assisting the refugees, however; in general, the International community has never made a stable process or action against this crisis. This is because of the idea of realpolitik (a principle, which advocates politics-driven practical or pragmatic concerns such as state interest rather than moral or ideological considerations). Recently, the Bosnian genocide, the Afghan civil war and the Rwandan genocide and sub-human conditions in Sarajevo are just some examples that reflecting on this reality. Moreover, the lack of willingness of the states to share the responsibility of protecting and assisting refugees. Lastly, “refugees represent a fundamental challenge to state sovereignty, by forcing international actors to consider ethical principles and issues of fundamental human rights, which are part of their international obligations, over and above the interests of a tidy system of sovereign states (Harrell-Bond, B. 200)”.

On Potential Solutions

As we have seen so far, the international system requires further reforms and solutions developed in dealing with the problem, although it is not quite possible for the international law and organizations to effectively manage’ refugee crises in the full sense of the term. This is because there is a ‘serious legal lacuna in the international refugee law. For example, despite the fact that international refugee law clearly determines the rights of those who are classified as refugees, however, it does not show how the states should carry out this determination. Therefore, this allows states to determine whether a person qualifies for refugee status or not under their domestic laws or regional instruments. This clearly allows states to act in accordance with their benefits and finally, undermine the international legal framework.

Another concern that should be considered when talking about international refuge is the lack of enforcement of international refugee law. For instance, there is no UN legal agency dedicated to this issue; therefore, the existing refugee law is receiving a less than universal application. Again, there is no institutional mechanism allocated to enforce and protect refugee rights, simply because, unlike domestic law, there is no law enforcement in the international arena. Finally, there is “uncertain and unstable protection” in the international refuge law, which somehow allows the states to act at their sweet will. For instance, from the First World War onwards, states are “technically” given the right to depart and return immigrants to their countries of origin when they want, because this part left to municipal legislations, which at the first place favour the states’ interest rather than the refugees’. Therefore, looking at the issue from this angle, one can say that states have no legal obligation to protect individuals who are from other states.  For instance in the case of Bosnian refugees in Germany, although they are granted protection, however, in the end, they will be returned to their country. The decision of “when, and under what conditions” they will be returned is completely depending on Germany. Overall, under those situations, it is highly impossible to address the refugee crisis unless serious legal revolution and law enforcement made by the international system to restrict the selfishness of the states. Something that seems impossible, at least for now.