REF EFUGEES UGEES

& THE ROLE OF UNHCR

PROTECTING

Refugee children from Myanmar study in Umpium camp, Thailand.

REFUGEES
& THE ROLE OF UNHCR
Cover: A young Afghan girl finds herself displaced again in her own country after being a refugee for years in Pakistan.

PROTECTING

4 6 9 12 14

WHO IS A REFUGEE?

REFUGEES, IDPS AND MIGRANTS

WHY DEFINITIONS MATTER

PEOPLE OF CONCERN TO UNHCR

HOW ARE REFUGEES PROTECTED?

UNHCR / ZALMA / A F G 2 0 0 8

15 17 19 22 25 28 30

T H E 1951 R E F U G E E C O N V E N T I O N

WHAT IS UNHCR?

HOW UNHCRS ROLE HAS EVOLVED

DURABLE SOLUTIONS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

STRUCTURE, FINANCE AND PARTNERSHIPS

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

UNHCR / R . ARNOLD / T H A 2 0 0 8

Tables
15 Top 10 Countries of Origin 16 Top 10 Asylum Countries 21 Five Biggest Operations 22 Top 5 Repatriations 23 Top 5 Countries of Resettlement

PROTECTING

REFUGEES

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WHO IS A REF
A REFUGEE IS SOMEONE WHO OWING TO A 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 TO OR, OWING TO SUCH FEAR, IS UNWILLING TO AVAIL HIMSELF OF THE PROTECTION OF THAT COUNTRY...

The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

UNHCR / H. CAUX / TC D 2 0 0 8

Chad, one of the worlds poorest countries, is hosting 267,000 refugees from Sudans war-torn Darfur region, including this family which arrived at the border after fleeing aerial 4
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UGEE?

h e pr ac t ic e o f granting asylum to people fleeing persecution in foreign lands is one of the earliest hallmarks of civilization. References to it have been found in texts written 3,500 years ago, during the blossoming of the great early empires in the Middle East such as the Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians and ancient Egyptians. Over three millennia later, protecting refugees was made the core mandate of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which was founded in 1950. This booklet addresses some of the most commonly asked questions about refugees themselves and how UNHCR and its humanitarian partners are engaged in a constant struggle to help them physically and legally. Who, for instance, qualifies as a refugee and why? What rights does a refugee enjoy and what obligations? What is the role of governments and of UNHCR itself? The booklet also introduces related issues such as the future of millions of internally displaced people (IDPs), the Kafkaesque world of statelessness, the development of temporary protection, and the increasing confusion between refugees, IDPs and migrants.

bombing of their village. In addition, some 175,000 people have been displaced within their own country by ethnic violence.
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REFUGEES , IDPS

hese are the three main groups of people on the move. Refugees fleeing war or persecution are often in a very vulnerable situation. They have no protection from their own state indeed it is often their own government that is threatening to persecute them. If other countries do not let them in, and do not help them once they are in, then they may be condemning them to death or to an intolerable life without rights or security. IDPs are often wrongly called refugees. Unlike refugees, IDPs have not crossed an international border to find sanctuary but have remained inside their home countries. Even if they have fled for similar reasons as refugees (armed conflict, generalized Every year, the Spanish coast guard intercepts hundreds of irregular violence, human migrants off the Canary Islands. rights violations), IDPs legally remain under the protection of their own government even though that government might be the cause of their flight. As citizens, they retain all of their rights and protection under both human rights and international humanitarian law. UNHCRs original mandate does not specifically cover IDPs, but because of the agencys expertise on displacement, it has for many years been assisting millions of them, more recently through the cluster approach. Under this approach, UNHCR has the lead role in overseeing the protection and shelter needs of IDPs as well as coordination and management of camps. UNHCR is currently active in 28 IDP operations,
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UNHCR / A . RODRIGUEZ / E S P 2 0 0 7

AND MIGRANTS
including Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Pakistan and Uganda. Millions of other civilians who have been made homeless by natural disasters are also classified as IDPs. UNHCR is not normally involved with this group except in exceptional circumstances, such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 or the devastating earthquake that hit Pakistan in 2005. Migrants and refugees increasingly make use of the same routes and means of transport. They, however, are fundamentally different and, thus, are treated very differently under international law. Migrants, especially economic migrants, choose to move in order to improve their lives. Refugees have to move if they are to save their lives or preserve their freedom. Unable to enter a particular state legally, people composing these mixed flows often employ the services of human smugglers. For example, almost 30,000 people crossed the Gulf of Aden from the Horn of Africa to Yemen in 2007. Of that number, 1,400 people died or were reported missing, almost doubling the death toll of 2006. In 2008, more than 50,000 people made the perilous voyage in smugglers boats. Of that number, at least 590 drowned or were killed by the smugglers. Another 359 were reported missing.
UNHCR / H. CAUX / K E N 2 0 0 8

A displaced family return to their home in the Rift Valley, Kenya. Some 350,000 people were displaced in 2008 by post-election violence.

To address the growing issue of mixed migration, UNHCR continued to implement in 2007-08 the 10-Point Plan of Action on Refugee Protection and Mixed Migration launched a year earlier. The plan sets out key areas on international mixed movements in countries of origin, transit and destination. Mixed migration movements are of concern mainly in the Mediterranean basin, the Gulf of Aden, Central America and the Caribbean, South-east Asia and the Balkans.
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AND ASYLUM SEEKERS

he terms asylum seeker and refugee are often confused: an asylum seeker is someone who says he or she is a refugee, but whose claim has not yet been definitively evaluated. National asylum systems are there to decide which asylum seekers qualify for international protection. Those judged through proper procedures not to be refugees, nor to be in need of any other form of international protection, can be sent back to their home countries. The efficiency of the asylum system is key. If the asylum system is both fast and fair, then people who know they are not refugees have little incentive to make a claim in the first place, thereby benefitting both the host country and the refugees for whom the system is intended. During mass movements of refugees (usually as a result of conflicts or generalized violence as opposed to individual persecution), there is not and never will be a capacity to conduct individual asylum interviews for everyone who has crossed the border. Nor is it usually necessary, since in such circumstances it is generally evident why they have fled. As a result, such groups are often declared prima facie refugees.

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W H Y D E F I N I T I O N S M AT T E R

UNHCR / A . WEBSTER / SO M 2 0 0 6

Most people smugglers do not distinguish between refugees and migrants either theyll simply smuggle anyone who can pay. That has been part of the problem in recent years. All smugglers thrive on prohibition, so stronger borders and tightened visa restrictions have helped push more people both refugees and economic migrants into the arms of the smugglers.

UNHCR / B. SZANDELSZKY / S V K 2 0 0 6

efugees, idps and economic migrants are increasingly being confused, and increasingly being treated in the same way: with mistrust, even hatred and outright rejection. The impressive body of international law designed to protect refugees is under intense pressure. Border controls are constantly being strengthened and made stricter. The aim is to keep out illegal immigrants and improve security something states have a perfect right to do. But refugees may be paying the penalty too. And, in their case, the failure to get to a safe country could in some instances lead to torture or even cost them their lives. That is why the legal distinctions matter.

An asylum seeker woman from Ukraine looks through the bars of a detention centre in Slovakia.

Asylum seekers from Ethiopia wait to be interviewed to determine their eligibility for refugee status in Somalia.

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DEFINITIONS IN BRIEF
REFUGEEThe 1951 Refugee Convention describes refugees as people who are outside their country of nationality or habitual residence, and have a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion (for full definition see p. 4). People fleeing conflicts or generalized violence are also generally considered as refugees, although sometimes under legal mechanisms other than the 1951 Convention. MIGRANTA wide-ranging term that covers most people who move to a foreign country for a variety of reasons and for a certain length of time (usually a minimum of a year, so as not to include very temporary visitors such as tourists, people on business visits, etc). Different from immigrant, which means someone who takes up permanent residence in a country other than his or her original homeland.

ECONOMIC MIGRANTASYLUM SEEKERSomeone who has made a claim that he or she is a refugee, and is waiting for that claim to be accepted or rejected. The term contains no presumption either way - it simply describes the fact that someone has lodged the claim. Some asylum seekers will be judged to be refugees and others will not. Someone who leaves their country of origin for financial reasons, rather than for refugee ones.

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON (IDP)Someone who has been forced to move from his or her home because of conflict, persecution (i.e. refugeelike reasons) or because of a natural disaster or some other unusual circumstance of this type. Unlike refugees, however, IDPs remain inside their own country.

Thousands of Congolese civilians flee the Kibati site for internally displaced people and head towards the provincial capital of Goma.

UNHCR / P. TAGGART / CO D 2 0 0 8

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STATELESS PERSONSomeone who is not considered as a national by ANY state (de jure stateless); or possibly someone who does not enjoy fundamental rights enjoyed by other nationals in their home state (de facto stateless). Statelessness can be a personal disaster: some stateless people live in a Kafkaesque netherworld where they do not officially exist and therefore have virtually no rights at all. Unlike the other groups outlined here, they may have never moved away from the place where they were born. But some stateless people are also refugees.

UNHCR / H. CAUX / TC D 2 0 0 7

A refugee girl from Central African Republic (CAR) in southern Chad. Many children in CAR have been kidnapped by bandits.

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11

PEOPLE OF CON
EU RO PE
3,033,800

N O RT H A M ER IC A
578,400

L ATI N A M ER IC A
3,571,800

(2)

(1) Includes people in refugee-like situations. The refugee like situations category is descriptive by nature and includes groups of people who are outside of their country or territory of origin and who face protection risks similar to those of refugees, but for whom refugee status has, for practical or other reasons, not been ascertained. (2)

(3) Includes both returned refugees and IDPs. Numbers may not add up due to rounding. Due to change in classification and estimation methodology in a number of countries, figures at January 1, 2008 are not fully comparable with those of January 1, 2007.

Includes Caribbean.
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12

2008-09

CERN TO UNHCR

A SIA
13,725,600

AFR IC A
10,731,600

OCE AN IA
36,600

REFUGEES (1)

ASYLUM SEEKERS

IDPs

RETURNEES (3)

STATELESS PEOPLE

OTHERS

AFRICA ASIA EUROPE LATIN AMERICA (2) NORTH AMERICA OCEANIA TOTAL

2,498,300 6,300,800 1,569,200 530,600 457,000 34,900 11,390,700

272,300 69,300 234,200 41,200 121,400 1,700 740,100

5,888,800 4,285,800 565,600 3,000,000 13,740,200

REFUGEES

1,971,600 814,200 14,900 2,800,700

2008-09

100,100 2,193,100 644,100 2,937,300

500 62,400 5,800 68,700

13

PROTECTING

HOW ARE REFUGEES PROTECTED?

G
UNHCR / R . ARNOLD / T H A 2 0 0 8

overnments normally guarantee the basic human rights and physical security of their citizens. But when civilians become refugees this safety net disappears. Without some sort of legal status in their asylum country, they would be exceptionally vulnerable to exploitation and other forms of ill treatment, as well as to imprisonment or deportation.

Governments bear the prime responsibility for protecting refugees on their territory, and often do so in concert with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). However, in many countries, UNHCR Refugees from Myanmar staff also work alongside NGOs and other partners proudly show their ID cards at a camp in Thailand. in a variety of locations ranging from capital cities to remote camps and border areas. They attempt to promote or provide legal and physical protection, and minimize the threat of violence including sexual assault which many refugees are subject to, even in countries of asylum.

UNHCR / J. REDDEN / N A M 2 0 0 7

A UNHCR staff registers an Angolan refugee in neighbouring Namibia. 14

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This Bihari girl is among a group of some 300,000 de facto stateless people in Bangladesh.

UNHCR / G.M.B. AKASH / B G D 2 0 0 6

T H E I M P O RTA N C E O F THE 1951 REFUGEE CONVENTION

TO P 10 COU NTRI E S OF ORIGIN
[ AS OF 1 JANUARY 2008 ]

COUNTRY

REFUGEES* 3,058,000 2,310,000 552,000 523,000 457,000 376,000 370,000 328,000 222,000 209,000

Afghanistan Iraq Colombia Sudan Somalia Burundi DR Congo Viet Nam Turkey Eritrea

he 1951 refugee convention and its 1967 Protocol are the cornerstones of modern refugee protection, and the legal principles they enshrine have permeated into countless other international, regional and national laws and practices governing the way refugees are treated. One of the most crucial principles laid down in the 1951 Convention is that refugees should not be expelled or returned to the frontiers of territories where [their] life or freedom would be threatened. The Convention also outlines the basic rights which states should afford to refugees, and it defines who is a refugee and who is not (for example it clearly excludes fighters, terrorists or people guilty of serious crimes).
PROTECTING REFUGEES

* Including people in refugee-like situations.

Note: Some 341,000 Palestinian refugees also come under UNHCRs mandate, while a further 4.6 million Palestinian refugees are cared for by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRW A).

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15

The 1951 Convention was never intended to sort out all migration issues. Its sole aim was and still is to protect refugees. The challenge is to find other efficient mechanisms to manage economic migration and maintain border security legitimate state concerns that need to be carefully balanced with their responsibility to protect refugees. By December 2008, a total of 147 countries had signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol (see separate brochure on the 1951 Refugee Convention for more details). TO P 10 ASYLUM COU NTRI E S
[ AS OF 1 JANUARY 2008 ]

COUNTRY

REFUGEES 2,035,000 1,504,000 964,000 579,000 500,000 436,000 301,000 300,000 294,000 281,000 After decades of exile, these Burundian refugees are given the chance to choose between repatriation or integration in Tanzania, including naturalization.

Pakistan* Syria** Iran Germany Jordan** Tanzania China United Kingdom Chad United States

* This number includes recognized Afghan refugees (1,700), registered Afghans in refugee villages assisted by UNHCR (886,700) and 1,147,000 Afghans living outside refugee villages in refugee-like situations. The latter do not receive direct UNHCR material assistance but benet from advocacy and reintegration support upon return. ** Refugee gures for Iraqis in Syria and Jordan are government estimates.

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W H AT I S U N H C R ?

NHCR is the united nations refugee agency (its full name is the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). The agency was created by the UN General Assembly in 1950, but actually began work on 1 January 1951. States still recovering from the devastation of World War II wanted to make sure that they had a strong and effective organization to look after the interests of or protect refugees in the countries where they had sought asylum. UNHCR was also charged with helping governments to find permanent solutions for refugees. UNHCRs original mandate was limited to a threeyear programme to help the remaining World War II refugees. However, the problem of displacement not only failed to disappear, it turned into a persistent worldwide phenomenon. In December 2003, the UN General Assembly finally abolished the requirement for the agency THE CONTRACTING to keep renewing its mandate STATES UNDERTAKE TO every few years.

CO-OPERATE WITH

The refugee agencys statute THE OFFICE OF THE was drafted virtually simultaUNITED NATIONS neously with the 1951 Refugee HIGH COMMISSIONER Convention, and as a result the key international legal inFOR REFUGEES strument, and the organization Article 35, 1951 UN Refugee Convention designed to monitor it, are particularly well synchronized. Article 35 of the 1951 Convention makes the relationship explicit, and requests states to cooperate with UNHCR in matters relating to the implementation of the Convention itself and to any laws, regulations or decrees that states might draw up that could affect refugees.
UNHCR / B. BANNON / T Z A 2 0 0 8
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UNHCR / S . ABDULLE / SO M 2 0 0 7

A displaced girl rests in a makeshift settlement in Afgooye after fleeing fighting in Mogadishu with her family. Thousands of civilians escaped the Somali capital and found relative safety in nearby areas. UNHCR has distributed aid to the displaced.

H OW U N H C RS RO L E H A S E VO LV E D

oncerning refugees: UNHCR is engaged in a constant effort, alongside states, to explain, clarify and build upon the existing body of international law spawned by the 1951 Refugee Convention. In recent years, it has launched a series of initiatives that aim both to bolster the Convention and to encourage the search for permanent and safe solutions for the worlds uprooted peoples. In 2001, the most important global refugee conference in half a century adopted a landmark declaration reaffirming the commitment of signatory states to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Through a process of global consultations, UNHCR drew up a set of objectives called the Agenda for Protection, which continues to serve as a guide to governments and humanitarian organizations in their efforts to strengthen worldwide refugee protection.

o n c e r n i n g other groups of disadvantaged people: Over the years, the refugee agency has taken on responsibilities for a number of other groups that are similar to refugees in some ways, but which were not explicitly woven into its mandate at the time of its founding most notably becoming the UN agency responsible for monitoring the situation of stateless people (in 1974). More recently it became a major player in the UNs new cluster approach designed to improve the delivery of protection and assistance for internally displaced
UNHCR / K . MYO / M M R 2 0 0 8
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UNHCR staff distribute blankets to victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar in May 2008.

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19

HOW UNHCRS ROLE HAS EVOLVED

people, who unlike refugees have never had a single agency wholly dedicated to their well-being. UNHCR has been involved with IDPs to some extent for at least two decades, but on a much more ad hoc basis. In general, nowadays, UNHCR plays a more prominent role in the countries where the displacement is occurring either because of its substantial involvement in helping returning refugees settle back into their home areas, or because of its increased activities on behalf of IDPs in countries such as Columbia, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Uganda. Occasionally, UNHCRs particular expertise has led to its being given an even broader role. In the 1990s, for example, UNHCR ran the worlds longestever airlift as part of its operation to assist besieged populations, as well as displaced ones, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More recently although it is not normally involved in natural disaster relief UNHCR launched major operations after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake because This young mother and her baby were among the survivors of a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands in Chinas in both cases shelter Sichuan region. and camp management, UNHCRs two assistance specialities, were at a premium. In May 2008, UNHCR began helping victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Later that month, the refugee agency provided thousands of tents for people left homeless by an earthquake in Chinas Sichuan province.
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UNHCR / N. BEHRING / C H N 2 0 0 8

Afghan children receive beauty classes at a Kabulbased NGO funded by UNHCR. Most are refugee returnees who survive by doing small jobs.
UNHCR / R . ARNOLD / A F G 2 0 0 8

ASSISTING REFUGEES

rotection and material help are interrelated. UNHCR can best provide effective legal protection if a persons basic needs shelter, food, water, sanitation and medical care are also met.

The agency therefore coordinates the provision and delivery of such items, manages or helps manage individual camps or camp systems, and has designed specific projects for vulnerable women, children and the elderly who FIVE BIGG EST OPE R ATIONS comprise 80 percent of a normal refugee populaI N 2007 tion. Education is a major priority once the dust has settled slightly. COUNTRY EXPENDITURE (US$) UNHCR also seeks ways to find durable solutions to refugees plight, by helping them repatriate to their homeland if conditions warrant, or by helping them to integrate in their countries of asylum or to resettle in third countries (see below).
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Chad Sudan Afghanistan Syria Kenya

82,378,395 75,579,687 70,329,927 55,389,599 53,534,420

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21

FINDING DURABLE SOLUTIONS

he un refugee agencys mandate also includes actively looking for solutions to refugees plight. Three main options exist:
UNHCR / L . TAYLOR / S R B 2 0 0 8

Voluntary repatriation is the preferred long-term solution for the majority of refugees. Most refugees prefer to return home as soon as circumstances permit (generally when a conflict has ended), and a degree of stability has been restored. UNHCR encourages voluntary repatriation as the best solution for displaced people, providing it is safe and their reintegration is viable. The agency often provides transportation and a start-up package which may TO P 5 R E PATR IATIO N S include cash grants, income-generation projects I N 2007 and practical assistance such as farm tools and seeds. COUNTRY RETURNEES
Afghanistan Sudan DR Congo Iraq Liberia
22 374,000 131,000 60,000 45,000 44,000

Sometimes, along with its many NGO partners, it extends this help to include the rebuilding of individual homes, as well as communal infrastructure such as schools and clinics, roads,
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An 18-year-old Sudanese refugee in Uganda holds up her repatriation registration papers. She is ready to return home in South Sudan after spending years in exile.

TO P 5 COU NTR I E S O F R E S E T TL E M E N T, 2007

COUNTRY REFUGEES
1

UNHCR / E . DENHOLM / U G A 2 0 0 7

bridges and wells. Such projects are often designed to help IDPs as well as returning refugees while also benefitting other impoverished people in the area who may never have moved anywhere. Field staff monitor the well-being of returnees in delicate situations. Longer term development assistance is provided by other organizations.

United States Australia Canada Sweden Norway

1

32,007 6,056 5,998 1,772 978

US scal year.

In all, some 731,000 refugees repatriated voluntarily to 46 countries during 2007. Globally, an estimated 11.4 million refugees have returned home over the past 10 years, including 7.3 million with UNHCR assistance. Local integration and resettlement

ome refugees cannot go home or are unwilling to do so, usually because they could face continued persecution. In such circumstances, UNHCR helps to find them new homes, either in the asylum country where they are living (and in an increasingly crowded world, relatively few countries are prepared to offer this option), or in third countries where they can be permanently resettled.

A Croatian refugee woman works in a greenhouse. She and her husband have four greenhouses under a UNHCRbacked income generation project.

&
UNHCR / H. DAVIES / G B R 2 0 0 7

Only a small number of nations take part in UNHCR resettlement programmes and accept quotas of refugees on an annual basis. In 2007, for example, 49,868 people were resettled in 25 countries. The number of refugees submitted by UNHCR to resettlement countries increased by 83 per cent compared to 2006 (54,182 submissions), with 98,999 submissions in 2007. For the first time in 20 years, UNHCR submissions exceeded the global capacity of resettlement countries (about 70,000 people). Who benefits from resettlement?

An Ethiopian refugee family visits the coastal resort of Brighton in the United Kingdom. They have been resettled in the UK after living for many years as refugees in Kenya.

eople facing particular problems or continued threats to their safety in their first asylum countries are foremost among those who can benefit from resettlement. In some cases, it is an essential life-saving option or the only way to save a particular refugee from having to resort to desperate measures (one unfortunately common example is the rape victim who has been rejected by her family and society, and has nowhere else to turn). Some very specific refugee populations are also on occasion beneficiaries of group resettlement programmes. In 2007, refugees from Myanmar were the largest group to benefit from resettlement, with 20,259 starting a new life outside their first asylum countries, followed by Burundians (6,142), Somalis (5,891), Iraqis (3,751) and refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2,426).
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?
QUESTIONS ANSWERS

&

S O M E F R E Q U E N T LY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT REFUGEES

What rights and obligations does a refugee have?

A refugee has the right to seek asylum. However, international protection involves more than just physical safety: refugees should receive at least the same basic rights and help as any other foreigner who is a legal resident, including freedom of thought, of movement and freedom from torture and degrading treatment. They should also benefit from the same fundamental economic and social rights. In return, refugees are required to respect the laws and regulations of their country of asylum.

UNHCR and other international organizations provide assistance such as food, tools and shelter, schools and clinics.

Are

people who flee war zones refugees?

Whats the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee?

The 1951 Convention does not specifically address the issue of civilians fleeing conflict, unless they fall within a particular group being persecuted within the context of the conflict. However, UNHCRs long-held position is that people fleeing conflicts should be more generally considered refugees, if their own state is unwilling or unable to protect them. Regional instruments, such as the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention on refugees and the Cartagena Declaration in Latin America, explicitly support this stance.

When people flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another state, they often have to officially apply for asylum. While their case is still being decided, they are known as asylum seekers. If asylum is granted, it means they have been recognized as refugees in need of international protection.
UNHCR / R . REDMOND / S D N 2 0 0 7

What happens when governments cant or wont provide help?

In certain circumstances, when adequate government resources are not available (for example after the sudden arrival of large numbers of uprooted people),
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A UNHCR convoy carries South Sudanese refugees back home from northern Uganda. 25

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 Can governments deport people who are found not to be refugees?

Can

a soldier be a refugee?

&
QUESTIONS ANSWERS

People who have been determined, under a fair procedure, not to be in need of international protection are in a situation similar to that of illegal aliens, and may be deported. However, UNHCR advocates that a fair procedure has to include the right to a review before they are deported, since the consequences of a faulty decision may be disastrous for the individuals concerned.

Do

all refugees have to go through an asylum determination process?

a war criminal or terrorist be a refugee?

No. People who have participated in war crimes and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law including acts of terrorism are specifically excluded from the protection accorded to refugees.

Can

In many countries, people who apply for refugee status have to establish individually that their fear of persecution is well-founded. However, during major exoduses involving tens or even hundreds of thousands of people, individual screening may be impossible. In such circumstances, the entire group may be granted prima facie refugee status.

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UNHCR / P. TAGGART / CO D 2 0 0 8

Only civilians can be refugees. A person who continues to pursue armed action from the country of asylum cannot be considered a refugee. However, soldiers or fighters who have laid down their arms may subsequently be granted refugee status, providing they are not excludable for other reasons.

This dilapidated collective centre in the Georgia capital of Tbilisi is occupied by families who fled the conflict in the breakaway region of Abkhazia in the 1990s. The building is in urgent need of renovation.

?
asylum seekers in specific circumstances. But it only complements and does not substitute for the wider protection measures, including formal refugee status, offered by the 1951 Convention. UNHCR advocates that, after a reasonable period of time has passed, people benefitting from temporary protection who are still unable to return home should be given the right to claim full refugee status.

What

is temporary protection?

UNHCR / P. TAGGART / G E O 2 0 0 8

Nations sometimes offer temporary protection when their regular asylum systems risk being overwhelmed by a sudden mass influx of people, as happened during the 1990s conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. In such circumstances people can be rapidly admitted to safe countries, but without any guarantee of permanent asylum. Temporary protection can work to the advantage of both governments and

&
QUESTIONS ANSWERS

For more information

On the 1951 Refugee Convention and on IDPs: there are additional brochures in this series dedicated to these specific subjects. Both publications are available from UNHCR offices, or can be downloaded from the Publications page at www.unhcr.org

Fearing outbreaks of cholera or typhoid, UNHCR distributes bars of soap and jerry cans to displaced Congolese in Kibati camp.

STRUCTURE, FINANCE
How big is UNHCR, and how does it function? oday, unhcr is one of the worlds principal humanitarian agencies, with some 6,500 employees working out of 267 offices in 116 countries. During more than half a century of work, the agency has provided assistance to well over 50 million people, earning two Nobel Peace Prizes in 1954 and 1981. Antnio Guterres, who became the 10th High Commissioner in June 2005, reports verbally to the Economic and Social Council on coordination aspects of the work of the agency, and submits a written report annually to the General Assembly on the overall work Sudanese girls from of UNHCR. UNHCRs programmes and guidelines are approved by an Executive Committee of 76 member states which meets annually in Geneva. A second working group or Standing Committee meets several times a year.

the war-torn Darfur region gather to register for the next school year in Djabal refugee camp, Chad. There are not enough secondary teachers in the camps.

A N D PA RT N E R S H I P S
Where does its money come from?

NHCR is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions, principally from governments but also from intergovernmental organizations, corporations and individuals. It receives a limited subsidy of just over three percent of its funding from the United Nations regular budget, for administrative costs, and accepts inkind contributions including relief items such as tents, medicines, trucks and air transport.

As the number of people of concern to UNHCR increased, its annual budget rose to more than us$1 billion in the early 1990s. In 2007, UNHCRs budget reached us$ 1.4 billion and us$ 1.8 billion in 2008. UNHCRs Annual Programme Budget includes general programmes supporting ongoing, regular operations and special programmes used to cover emergencies or large-scale repatriation operations: for example the return and reintegration of Congolese and Sudanese refugees and IDPs. What other organizations help refugees?

UNHCR / B. RAUNIAR / N P L 2 0 0 7

Many UNHCR operations and projects are carried out jointly with other aid agencies, including the World Food Programme.

s humanitarian crises have become more complex, UNHCR has expanded both the number and type of organizations it works with. United Nations sister agencies include the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
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Other organizations include the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and some 640 non-governmental organizations.
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N U M B E R S AT A G L A N C E *

General

Asia hosted around 43% of all the people of concern to UNHCR [13.7 million], followed by Africa with 10.7 million [34%], Latin America with 3.6 million [11%], Europe with 3 million [9%], North America with 578,000 [1.8%] and Oceania with 36,500 [0.1%].

Refugees
The decline in the global refugee
population UNHCRs core constituency witnessed since 2002 was reversed in 2006 when numbers started to go up again with 9.9 million, reaching 11.4 million in early 2008. This is mainly due to a rise in the Afghani and Iraqi refugee population in neighbouring countries as well as to changes in classification and estimation methodology in a number of countries.

Asylum seekers
During 2007, a total of 637,000
individuals applied for asylum worldwide, including 339,000 in Europe. At the beginning of 2008, there were 740,000 asylum seekers whose claims were still pending (a figure that includes unresolved cases from earlier years).

At the beginning of 2008, the

number of people of concern to UNHCR stood at 31.7 million.

636,970 new claims were lodged

in 2007 versus 596,185 in 2006, which represents an increase of 6.5%. Iraqis submitted the largest number of new individual asylum claims [58,700], followed by Somalis [47,100], Eritreans [36,400], people from the Russian Federation [24,300], Colombians [23,200] and civilians from the DR Congo [22,800]. In all, 209,000 asylum seekers were granted refugee status or a similar sort of protection status during 2007.

They included: 11.4 million refugees ........................................... 36%

(including 1.7 million in refugee-like situations) 13.7 million internally displaced people 43.4% 9.3% 3 million stateless people 2.8 million returned refugees and IDPs 8.8% 2.3% 740,100 asylum seekers 68,700 others of concern to UNHCR 0.2%
................................................................ .............................. ..... ................................... ......

Some 731,000 refugees repatriated

in 2007, virtually the same number as in 2006 (734,000). An estimated 11.4 million refugees have returned to their homes over the past 10 years and 7.3 million (65%) of them with the assistance of UNHCR.

By early 2008, the total

population under UNHCRs responsibility had dropped from 32.9 million in early 2007 to 31.7 million, representing a decrease of 1.2 million people (-3%). While the global refugee population and the number of IDPs protected and/or assisted by UNHCR has increased, the number of stateless persons has almost halved since the beginning of 2007.

In addition to Iraq, in 2007 there

were significant new outflows of refugees from Somalia [41,000], the Central African Republic [31,000], Chad [20,000], the
Democratic Republic of the Congo [19,000] and Sudan [8,000].

France received more asylum

Afghanistan remained the top

refugee-producing country with 3 million Afghan refugees spread over more than 70 asylum countries (27% of the global refugee population). Iraq comes second with 2.3 million (20% of the world refugee population).

seekers than any other country in 2007, with 58,200 new asylum claims, followed by South Africa [45,600], Greece [42,200], the United Kingdom [42,000], the United States [40,400], Sweden [36,400] and Germany [30,300].

* Figures do not include some 4.6 million Palestinian refugees cared for under a separate mandate by UNRW A in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

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Internally displaced
During 2007, 13.7 million IDPs
received some protection or assistance from UNHCR (compared to 12.8 million the previous year), out of a total
number of conflict-related IDPs worldwide estimated at 26

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BY :

UNHCR Media Relations and Public Information Service P.O. Box 2500 1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland www.unhcr.org For information and inquiries, please contact: Media Relations and Public Information Service hqpi00@unhcr.org

million*.

People fled their homes in 2007

mainly to escape long-standing internal conflicts. The numbers of IDPs increased sharply in Iraq (with 2.5 million IDPs in early 2008); the Democratic Republic of the Congo [1.4 million] and Somalia [1 million]. At the same time, the major IDP populations continued to grow in Sudan [5.8 million] and in Colombia (up to 4 million)*.

Stateless
The number of stateless people
identified by UNHCR has almost halved from 5.8 million at the beginning of 2007 to 3 million** at the beginning of 2008. However, the real total is believed to be nearer 12 million.

A young Kenyan girl carries water in a jerry can for her family near her home village. After spending months in a site for displaced people in the Rift Valley, she is finally back home.

Back cover: Sudanese refugees in a makeshift shelter in eastern Chad hope for peace in Darfur.
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* Figures from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre ** These gures, however, do not capture the full scale or magnitude of the phenomenon of statelessness. A signicant number of stateless people have not been systematically identied and the statistical data on statelessness is not yet available in many cases.

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