UP PCS Mains-2024

Approach Briefly define the term Refugee. Discuss the major challenges associated with the refugees. Highlight the major areas and nature of problems related to the refugees in India.

Introduction

Refugees are people who have been forced to flee their homes and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. The 1951 Refugee Convention is a key legal document and defines a refugee as “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”

As of the end of 2023, there were 43.4 million refugees globally, according to the UNHCR - The UN Refugee Agency. According to Human Rights Watch, an estimated 40,000 Rohingyas are in India at least 20,000 of them are registered with the UN Human Rights Commission.

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Major Challenges Associated with the Refugees:

• Political Rights: Refugees do not have political rights such as the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh cannot vote and elect their representatives.
• Lack of Identity: They don’t have any identity, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) most of the refugees arrive at the camp without any identification.
  • The USA State Department report on human rights in Syria found that the Syrian government often denies its citizens passports and other identification documents. Refugees from Syria lack an identity by default, which leaves them utterly helpless.
• Lack of Access to Basic Amenities: The availability of basic amenities such as water for drinking, bathing, and cleaning, fuel for cooking and permanent shelter are not adequately available for the Refugees.
  • As per International humanitarian standards, refugees should receive a minimum of 15 liters of clean water per person per day in an emergency or 20 liters per day in older refugee camps.
• Education: As part of its international mandate, UNHCR is responsible for ensuring that refugees can access education while they are living in a country of asylum. Because of the movement and displacement, the education of refugee children is hampered.
• The problem of unemployment: For example the unemployment rate of 23 percent in Jordan, many refugees who hold work permits still struggle to find jobs and support their families.
• Crime and Human Right Violence: Due to the security problem refugees are more vulnerable to human trafficking, and sexual harassment, and most of the refugees are involved in unlawful activities such as drug trafficking.

Major areas and nature of problems related to refugees in India:

• Refugees vs. Immigrants: In the recent past, many people from neighboring countries tend to illegally immigrate to India, not because of state persecution but in search of better economic opportunities in India.
  • While the reality is that much of the debate in the country is about illegal immigrants, not refugees, the two categories tend to get bunched together.
  • Due to this, policies and remedies to deal with these issues suffer from a lack of clarity as well as policy utility.
• Ambiguity in the Framework: The main reason why our policies towards illegal immigrants and refugees are confused is that as per Indian law, both categories of people are viewed as one and the same and are covered under the Foreigners Act, 1946.
• Ad-hocism: The absence of such a legal framework also leads to policy ambiguity whereby India’s refugee policy is guided primarily by ad hocism.
  • Ad hoc measures enable the government in office to pick and choose ‘what kind’ of refugees it wants to admit for whatever political or geopolitical reasons.
  • This results in a discriminatory action, which tends to be a violation of human rights.
• Inefficient Citizenship Rules: The Government of India has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). CAA envisages providing citizenship to people who are religious minorities in India’s neighborhood and persecuted by the state.
  • Critics contend that the CAA inadequately addresses the refugee crisis due to its selective approach, as it excludes certain displaced communities.

Conclusion

India continues to accommodate refugees from various countries on humanitarian grounds. However, the lack of a comprehensive refugee policy remains a pressing concern, especially amid the influx of Rohingya and other displaced communities. The willingness of refugees to return to their homeland hinges on assurances of safety and security. Therefore, a durable and well-defined policy framework is imperative to effectively address the refugee crisis and uphold India's commitment to humanitarian principles.