REFUGEES: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PLIGHT FACED AND THE RIGHTS AVAILABLE
Category: Public & Regulatory
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One should have the right to participate in the political process, voice out their opinions, engage in debates, right to protest, and others. unfortunately, people are distinguished based on their race, religion, caste, ethnicity, and other grounds due to which they face the threat of persecution eventually enabling them to move out of their countries and seek shelter to protect themselves. Refugees fall under the same definition. This paper delves into the reasons of fleeing, the problems faced by them. The rights they are entitled to are also focused.
KEYWORDS
Refugees, Persecution, Conflicts, Discrimination, Rights
INTRODUCTION
Refugees are the individuals who are coerced to flee away from their own nation and seek for safe shelter in other nations mostly due to the fear of being persecuted on the grounds of their race, religion, ethnicity, opinion conflicts, and others. Other reasons might be involved in any sort of violence, armed conflict, etc. eventually leading to public disorder.
It is generally observed that people resort to fleeing due to suffering human rights violations. Injured family members, or seen them being killed can be another reason.
There are many refugee laws constructed on the model of 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees. According to the Convention, refugees are people who leave their home countries “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”.
In contemporary times, diverse refugee laws have been playing a vital role in enabling refugees to take asylum in as many as 147 nations which are signatories to the convention.
CAUSES OF FLEEING
As the world is witnessed rapid climate change, and other effects of global warming, natural disasters are becoming very common. People usually in order to protect themselves, often flee to other nation seeking refuge from earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and others. it is to be noted that while displacement due to natural disasters are mostly internal within the nation, but they can sometimes lead to cross-border displacement also.
People may cross international borders in search of safety from other man-made disasters, such as extreme socioeconomic hardship. Although some may be fleeing persecution, the majority depart because they have no real choice but to go. Under the 1951 Convention, the absence of food, water, education, healthcare, and a means of subsistence would often not be sufficient to support a claim for refugee status. However, a few of these individuals could require security of some kind.
Compared to 2010, just 61% of refugees and asylum seekers left countries extremely susceptible to climate change in 2022, accounting for 84% of cases. There is less and less chance to provide these refugees with long-term answers.
Only 1% of refugees were able to return home in 2020 as the effects of climate change deteriorate living circumstances and development possibilities in their home countries.
Furthermore, a sizable portion of stateless and forcefully displaced individuals are presently residing in the world's most climate-vulnerable areas. These individuals lack the resources and resilience needed to deal with the effects of climate change, as do their host communities.
Because of prevailing cultural norms, duties, and obligations, women, girls, and other groups with particular needs frequently experience additional problems and costs from the effects of climate change.
PROBLEMS FACED BY THE REFUGEES
Non-citizens, refugees, and asylum seekers encounter numerous obstacles in obtaining suitable employment in government health care and education systems. One of the main reasons that refugees have a vulnerable status in society is that they are restricted in their movements.
Enrolling the children of refugees and asylum seekers in higher education at the university level is hampered by the former's lack of documentation and the latter's inability to produce genuine documents pertaining to their present residency.
The major problem of refugees and asylum seekers not having access to long-term housing is that they eventually endure hardships daily and are unable to find stable employment. The worst victims end up being the women and children of the asylum seekers and refugees. Language barriers can also be one of the problems faced by the refugees.
RIGHTS AVAILABLE TO REFUGEES
Every individual has the right to freedom from torture or inhumane treatment. The refugees and migrants must be protected from inhumane treatment.
Everyone has the right to express themselves freely, and no one should be denied this right because of their race, color, sex, nationality, place of birth, or national or social background. It is important to remember that this right forbids discrimination of any kind based on a person's nationality, political affiliation, or international standing of the nation or region they call home.
Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience, thinking, and religion, which includes the ability to change their faith or belief and to express it via acts of worship, teaching, and other activities. Nobody is compelled to change their religion, not even if they are a migrant or have refugee status.
Freedom from discrimination is one of the important rights available to refugees. Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that ‘All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.’
This suggests that discrimination against any person should never happen and that everyone is treated equally under the law. Rather than chances that are exclusive to residents, discrimination against refugees and migrants here refers to difficulties pertaining to basic requirements like food, safety, the right to be free from exploitation, and housing.
Right to asylum is mentioned in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It states that every person has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. It is further stated that this right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes.
The family has a right to protection from both the state and society since it is the basic and natural unit of social organization. It also states that everyone has the freedom to get married and raise a family.
Every worker has the right to fair compensation that guarantees him and his family a life worthy of human dignity and is enhanced, if needed, by additional social safety nets.
The term "non-refoulement" describes a state's duty to refrain from returning a refugee to a place where his life or freedom would be in danger due to his race, religion, nationality, membership in a specific social group, or political beliefs. Everybody agrees that this is a fundamental human right.
CONCLUSION
Given the significance of migration and displacement for states, local groups, and individuals, it is imperative to comprehend these phenomena and how they are evolving globally. Even though human migration and displacement have existed since the beginning of human history, their effects and manifestations have evolved as a result of increased globalization and significant changes in the geopolitical, environmental, and technological spheres.
OLQ is a Pan-India basis law firm connecting legal expertise nationwide.
WRITTEN BY: PATHI HRUDAYA REDDY
GUIDED BY: ADVOCATE ANIK
