Topic: Refugee Protection and Forced Migration

1. Refugee Protection
Written By:
Name: Tofail AHAMED
Student number: 160131372
Programme: MA Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies
“Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, Article 14(1). The phrase international protection covers the gamut of
activities through which refugees’ rights are secured.
Persons of Concern to UNHCR, are those whose protection and assistance needs are of interest to UNHCR.
They include refugees, asylum-seekers, state-less people, some internally displaced people and returnees.
The 1951 Refugee Convention spells out that 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 protection of refugees has many aspects. These include safety from being returned to the dangers
they have fled; access to asylum procedures that are fair and efficient; measures to ensure that their basic
human rights are respected, and to allow them to live in dignity and safety while helping them to find a
more durable, long-term solution.
First of all, it is most important to identify the differences between the refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs,
stateless persons and migrants.
Refugees, as outlined in the preceding section, are persons- sometimes entire villages and towns - fleeing
armed conflict, religious or other persecution, often at the hands of their own governments. Their
situation is often so perilous that they cross national borders to seek sanctuary in nearby countries, and
thus become internationally recognized as “refugees” with access to official assistance from states, UNHCR
and other organizations. They are so recognized precisely because it is too dangerous for them to return
home and they need sanctuary elsewhere.
Difference between an asylum-seeker and a refugee: 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.
Migrants, especially economic migrants, choose to move in order to improve the future prospects of
themselves and their families. Refugees have to move if they are to save their lives or preserve their
freedom. 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 in the shadows, without
sustenance and without rights.
Countries 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

2. Yugoslavia. In such circumstances, people can be rapidly admitted to safe countries, but without any
guarantee of permanent stay.
The Protection Manual is the UN refugee agency's repository of protection policy and guidance, gathering
some 1,000 publications ranging from the 1951 UN Refugee Convention to the latest UNHCR policy
positions. It is updated whenever a new protection policy or guidance document is published, and can thus
be relied upon to represent the current state of UNHCR protection policy and guidance. The manual is
organized thematically or by subject, including legal topics (reflecting, for example, UNHCR guidance on
the different elements of the refugee definition) and operational protection guidance (for example, on
asylum-seekers at sea or age, gender and diversity). Under each heading, the documents are arranged in
reverse chronological order and are accessible individually through a hyperlink. Documents from external
sources are generally not included, unless they provide guidance on protection-related topics that also
applies to or has specifically been endorsed by UNHCR, such as inter-agency guidance. At the end of each
subject heading, relevant related sources are listed, containing older guidance and documents which serve
as background reading.
Protection includes a range of activities, including assistance activities that are aimed at securing refugee
rights; Refugee rights are defined in a number of international and regional treaties that provide guidance
for humanitarian workers; Governments are responsible for the protection of all people on their territory.
In reality, however, governments may be unable or unwilling to provide such protection, and they may
require the support of the international community; Refugees need to be engaged in their own protection.
The way, in which assistance programs are managed and implemented can facilitate the participation of
refugees and subsequently enhance their protection; In order to enhance refugee protection, it is
important to determine when an assistance activity might detract from or potentially threatens refugee
protection; A source of protection may also be a source of threat.
Refugee’s rights are to seek and enjoy asylum; Non-refoulement; Non-discrimination; Freedom of
movement and opportunity to Work. Additional rights are to get Housing; Education; Public relief and
assistance; not engage in activities that pose a threat to National security or public order. Refugees also
have responsibilities. For example, they must not engage in activities that pose a threat to national
security or public order.
Since then, UNHCR has offered protection and assistance to tens of millions of refugees, finding durable
solutions for many of them. Global migration patterns have become increasingly complex in modern times,
involving not just refugees, but also millions of economic migrants. But refugees and migrants, even if they
often travel in the same way, are fundamentally different, and for that reason are treated very differently
under modern international law.
International legal instruments to ensure protection are (i) International Human Rights Law, (ii)
International Refugee Law including of 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol;
Regional treaties; 1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention; 1984 Cartagena Declaration, (iii)
International Humanitarian Law including of Universal Declaration of Human Rights; International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights;
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC); Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.

3. In 2014, the UNHCR has published a report that at the end of 2013, the total Refugees were 42,876,582
around the world according their data. Especially in Europe: 1,726,256; America: 5,951,237; Middle East
and North Africa: 13,024,491; Africa: 11,480,048; Asia and Pacific: 6,912,363; Various/Stateless: 3,782,187.
UNHCR is following the five main modes of action to take the edge off the refugee crisis through
promoting protection.
Persuasion: convincing authorities through further private dialogue to fulfill their obligations and to
protect individuals and groups exposed to violations;
Denunciation: pressuring authorities through public disclosure into meeting their obligations and
protecting individuals and groups exposed to abuses;
Mobilization: sharing information in a discreet way with selected individuals, bodies, or states that have
influence the authorities to satisfy their obligations and to protect individuals and groups exposed to
violations;
Substitution: directly providing services or material assistance to the victims of the violations;
Support to structures and services: empowering existing national and/or local structures through project-
oriented aid to enable them to carry out their functions to protect individuals and groups.
At last, we have come to learn that, to alleviate the global refugee crisis it is most important to give them
protection according to the legal instrument is the right way to keep in peace around the world.