Managing Refugees Around The Globe

When people flee their countries and get asylum in foreign lands, they become refugees. Why do people flee their motherland even if they love it? There may be various factors such as persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and expulsion by the state. Even natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, floods and storms may force people out of their countries and land them even across the border. Such calamities may displace people internally or across the border.

By May 2024, over 120 million people were forcibly displaced globally. There were 43.4 million refugees, 63.3 internally displaced people, 6.9 million asylum-seekers and 5.8 million in need of international protection. Over one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are living in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh now. Since the Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022, 5.8 million Ukrainians have been displaced. About 6,500 Bhutanese refugees are still living in eastern Nepal, with the rest resettled in third countries such as the US, the UK and Australia. 

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was mandated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1949 to provide services for registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East. When the UNRWA began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of as many as 750,000 Palestine refugees. Since the Hamas-Israel war began in October 2023, over one million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza. And over 60 per cent of Palestinian houses have been destroyed or partially damaged, making it impossible for the displaced Palestinians to return and live there.  

Global cooperation 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in the aftermath of World War II on December 14, 1950 with the purpose of helping the Europeans displaced by the war. The UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees was adopted on July 28, 1951. The UNHCR has since been working in the interests of refugees around the world. 

On 17 December, 2018, the UNGA approved the Global Compact on Refugees. It has four primary objectives: easing pressure on host countries, enhancing refugee self-reliance, expanding access to third-country solutions and supporting conditions in countries of origin for safe and dignified return. It emphasises global cooperation in hammering out sustainable solutions to the refugee crisis. 

Under international law and the principle of family unity, children of refugees and their descendants are also considered refugees until a durable solution to the refugee crisis is found. Both the UNHCR and the UNRWA as well as the international community recognise this. The Bhutanese refugees came to Nepal in 1990. The children of these refugees living in the country are also considered refugees. The Bhutanese refugee crisis has not been fully solved although over one hundred thousand refugees have been resettled in third countries.   

The plight of refugees is deplorable. They have to live in unsalutary conditions. They lack basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and education. They are often accommodated in camps that are too crowded. The UNHCR along with the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) is involved in coordinating and managing refugee camps. At present, natural disasters are increasing owing to climate change. The impacts of climate change such as drought, desertification, groundwater salinisation and rising sea levels may force people to flee across the border. Further, anthropogenic factors like socio-economic plight can also lead to trans-border displacement. 

Lack of basic needs such as food, water, healthcare and education can constitute a claim to be refugees under the 1951 Convention. But such people need immediate protection. The plight of refugees and displaced people is constantly worsening. In 2022, 84 per cent of the refugees and asylum-seekers fled to the countries highly prone to climate change vis-à-vis 61 per cent in 2010. The possibility of the refugees returning to their homeland is slim. In 2020, only one per cent of the refugees were able to return to their homeland. This is because living conditions in the countries of origin are mostly unaccommodating and opportunities for sustaining livelihoods are mostly gone.

Many refugees and displaced people are living in climate change-prone places around the world. Such people cannot face climate change impacts because they have no required resources. Moreover, women, girls, older people and other vulnerable people such as those with chronic diseases are hard-hit.  

The refugee crisis has been a global concern. It is obvious that the refugees want to go back home. But they are circumscribed by the conditions in their home countries. Their governments should create an environment conducive to the return of their people living as refuges somewhere. For this, they can seek help from the UNHCR and other relevant bodies. But most refugees come from poor countries and their governments do not care about the issue. 

Durable solution

In case of the Bhutanese refugees, they were forcibly evicted by the Druk regime. These refugees are of Nepali provenance. Although sixteen rounds of talks were held between the Nepali and Bhutanese governments, Nepal could not send back the refugees to their homeland. At long last, many were resettled in third countries under the UNHCR-initiated resettlement plan. And there is no plan of resettling the remaining refugees. However, the refugees still want to be repatriated to their homeland. They are requesting the government to return them to Bhutan. As the Bhutanese government is not willing to take them back, the government is no in a position to fulfil their desire. 

The UNHCR and other stakeholders are doing their part to the extent possible in the interests of the refugees. But finding a durable solution to the crisis is well-nigh impossible. For this, both host and originating countries should work together, in collaboration with the UNHCR and other relevant bodies, to tackle the crisis.  

(Maharjan has been regularly writing on contemporary issues for this daily since 2000.)