Refugees and Human Rights - Thesis Example

Refugees and human rights Name: Institutional affiliations: Word count: 4159 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 CHAPTER ONE: PART 1 3 The main points for each paragraph and brief summary of the key literature 3 CHAPTER TWO: Part Two 7 Who are refugees and asylum-seekers 7 Asylum seekers 8 CHAPTER THREE 9 The Rights of refugees to engage in economic activities 9 CHAPTER FOUR 11 The host Government policy regarding refugee economic activities 11 Refugee system 12 CHAPTER SIX 13 The 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees 13 Refugees living condition 16 CHAPTER SEVEN 18 Human right 18 Sources of human rights 19 References 19 CHAPTER ONE: PART 1 The problem of refugees continues to be a thorny issue among many host states in the world. Human rights and refugees are two things that ought to be intertwined. However, this has not been the case and has resulted in poor living condition, harassment and restrictions. The main problem results from ensuring that refugees acquire decent living conditions and are free to conduct economic activity just like any other citizen. In most cases, refuges have poor living conditions, lack basic needs, and after the emergency phase, donations are limited. After this phase, the situations prompt them to return to their mother country. Refugees require decent living just like any other person in the host country and their human rights to be observed. The main points for each paragraph and brief summary of the key literature Refugees are persons displaced by war, persecution or conflict who have fled across a country’s border and require international humanitarian support. When a country has ratified international agreements the act of deliberating formal refugee status on an individual includes assigning to him a set of rights as well as protocols, including protection as well as access to international humanitarian aid (Jackson & Beswick, 2013, p. 4). Crossing an international border in flight from any danger is not enough to get refugee status. Individuals fleeing across a border are asylum-seekers; before acquiring the refugee tag, they should to be assigned refugee status by the host country (Jacobsen, 2005, p.1). According to Ingram (2011, p. 245), prima facie refugee status presumes that the people granted refugee status would be regarded as refugees if they undergo individual determination that they ought to treated as refugees and entitled to the rights of refugees. Asylum seekers are individuals who have requested the international protection for fear of their life and their refugee status is still not approved. Asylum seekers may be in the host country and have overstayed their visas or have illegally gained entry to the host state (Jacobsen, 2005, p.2). According to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, refugees have economic rights to pursue a livelihood. According Article 17 and 18 on wage earning and self-employment, the contracting state is required to accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory favourable treatment accorded to residents of a foreign state in the same circumstances regarding the right to take part in wage-earning employment (Khory, 2012, p.211). There are also other rights regarding refugee economic activities, for instance, the imposition of taxes: Contracting states ought not to impose upon refugees charges, duties or taxes that cannot be charged upon their nationals in the same situation (Castillo, 2009, p.76). The UNHCR has problems allocating funds to prolonged situations, however most donors want humanitarian aid directed during emergencies (Jacobsen, Samford & Thakur, 2008, p.162). Host states have national refugee legislation that sets out the country’s official response to the arrival of refugees, their stay, this includes their freedom of movement and their right to work. The main reasons why host states resist refugees economic activity are security concerns and resource burdens. The refugee system has high chances of being undermined if there nothing that is done promptly to protect them. The horrors of the Holocaust depicted the terrible potential of what national laws can do. It was after this that countries realized that there was an urgent need for international law, which transcends national sovereignty (Corr, Nabe & Corr, 2011, p.495). According to Biju (2010, p.241), the problem of the refugees is among the most complicated issue in the world community. The United Nation is undertaking several discussions regarding the problem of refugees as it continues to search for effective ways of protecting and assisting them, particularly vulnerable groups (Cox & Shawki, 2013, p.241). The 1951 Convention had a profound impact towards change in attitude towards individual rights. Before the existence of the Convention, countries had exercised the rights of determining who could come into their country and the circumstances that such individuals will be selected as well as allowed to remain (Jacobsen, 2005, p.2). The 1951 convention and its 1967 Protocol offer an explicit definition of refugee. According to Article 1 A (2) of the Convention and Article 1, paragraph 2, of the 1967 Protocol, a refugee is a person who “a result of a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of religion, race, nationality, political group, membership of a specific social group is not in his original country and is now in a position to protect himself owing to factors such as fear (Jacobsen, 2005, p.2). Individual refugee-status determination procedures are used to evaluate available evidence as well as establish if asylum claimants have a “well-founded” fear of persecution. Objective criteria are required to prove that claim for refugee status is well founded. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, therefore creating the institution, which would assume responsibility for protecting and assisting refugees worldwide. The UNHCR can grant protection to individuals who qualify as refugees irrespective of whether the country in which they are having signed the 1951 Convention or its Protocol or has given refugee status to individuals involved. Even though human rights law applies to everyone, regardless of citizenship or nationality, refugees have been traditionally been dealt with through the humanitarian law. However, the continued separation of the two disciplines appears unsound. Usually, refugees remain in the country that offered them asylum for as long as insecurity and civil strife persists in their home country. Mostly, there is a likelihood that either they will be invited to be citizens in the country offering them asylum or they will be resettled in another country. One amongst the most daunting issue facing refugees in protracted situation is lower level and quality of humanitarian assistance that take place once the emergence phase has been passed. Human rights is a new concept though it has a long lineage. The doctrine of human rights is the articulation in the public morality of world politics of the notion that each individual is a subject of global concern. Human rights are held by individuals, are cleaned upon by society, and state in general (Jacobsen, 2005, p.5). Briefly, refugees and human rights are two things ought to be intertwined however, this has not been the case. This prompted the refugees Convention in 1957. The Convention champions for the rights of refugees and ensures that they live decently just like any other citizen in the host state and suggests ways of ensuring that they get back home safely. CHAPTER TWO: Part Two In common parlance, refugees are individuals displaced by war, persecution or conflict who have fled across a country’s border and require international humanitarian support. Once a country has ratified international agreements the act of deliberating formal refugee status on an individual includes assigning to him a set of rights as well as protocols, including protection as well as access to international humanitarian aid. Therefore, this gives persons with formal refugee status a privileged position vis a vis other immigrants, and it is a status, which is not easily deliberated, by states. Refugees deserve fair treatment just like any other person in the host country. Who are refugees and asylum-seekers Crossing an international border in flight from any danger is not enough for refugee status. Individuals who have fled across a border are technically asylum-seekers; before acquiring the refugee status, they ought to be assigned refugee status by the host country (Jacobsen, 2005, p.4). This is done in two ways: on a personal basis and as part of a group determination. Personal determination procedures require that an individual proves to the host country that their state warrant refugee status. Individuals who undergo the lengthy process and acquire formal refugee status are known as “Convention refugee.” Nonetheless, when a host state has many refugees from a particular state the process of giving refugee status on a personal basis is too cumbersome and an alternative measures are put in place to determine. Most of the refugees in the world have a prima facie status. In 2003, 64% of the world’s 9.7 million refugees were given refugee status on a group or a prima facie basis, and less than a quarter were given the status following individual determination (Jacobsen, 2005, p.5). Prima facie refugee status presumes that the people granted refugee status would be defined as refugees if they undergo individual determination that they ought to treated as refugees and entitled to the rights of refugees. Even though, this method is best in a mass influx environment, it leads to a number of concerns. Firstly, it is cumbersome to differentiate combatants or criminals or other elements that do not deserve international protection. When these create problems for the host country, and all refugees suffer as a result (Jacobsen, 2005, p.5). Asylum seekers Asylum seekers are individuals who have requested the international protection for fear of their life and their refugee status is still not approved. Asylum seekers may be in the host country and have overstayed their visas or have illegally gained entry to the host state (n.a, 2013, p.8). In 2009, there was about one million-asylum seekers worldwide waiting decision on their application for acquiring refugee status (Jones, 2012, p.148). The number of asylum seekers' applications in developed countries was about 385,000 in 2010. The number was about 20 percent less than in 2009. France, United States, Sweden, Germany and Canada had a huge chunk of asylum applications. Recently, asylum applicants in developed countries have increased dramatically in developed countries than in developing countries. In 2010, Africa received 25 percent of the global asylum claims, Asia 45 percent, the America received 8 percent, Oceania 0.2 percent and Europe 19.2 percent. In 2010, among the top ten countries of origin of asylum seekers were; Serbia, Afghanistan, China, Iraq, the Russian Federation, Somalia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (n.a, 2013, p.7). CHAPTER THREE The Rights of refugees to engage in economic activities According to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, refugees have economic rights to pursue a livelihood. According Article 17 and 18 on wage earning and self-employment, the contracting state is required to accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory favourable treatment accorded to residents of a foreign state in the same circumstances regarding the right to take part in wage-earning employment (Davies, 2008, p.239). Additionally, the convention requires that Contracting State offer refugees the right to: make a choice of their place of residence to move freely within its boundary, acquire travel documents for travelling outside their boundary and practice a liberal field (Jacobsen, 2005, p.6). Additionally, there are other rights regarding refugee economic activities, they include imposition of taxes: Contracting States ought not to impose upon refugees charges, duties or taxes that cannot be charged upon their nationals in the same situation. However, the Convention does not outlaw the imposition of fees or charges before acquisition of administrative documents. They also have the right to transfer assets brought into the host country. Generally, the Convention necessitates that Contracting States ought to facilitate the assimilation naturalization of refugees (Jacobsen, 2005, p.7). Refugees have a right to humanitarian aid, however this aid declines precipitously in protracted situations. After a period, funding that is available is cut and is rationed. The rational behind the reduction in humanitarian support are both substantive and budgetary. Often, the UNHCR has problems allocating funds to prolonged situations, however most donors want humanitarian aid directed during emergencies. Conversely, sometimes the UNHCR and host state use reduced rations to discourage the prolonged presence of refugees and embolden repatriation. Whatever the logic, inadequate aid has immense implications on how the refugees survive. Donors reluctance to fund once the emergency phase has ended implies that the UNCHR ought to triage its funding of long-term refugee situations (Jacobsen, 2005, p.4). CHAPTER FOUR The host Government policy regarding refugee economic activities Each host state has national refugee legislation that sets out the country’s official response to the arrival of refugees, their stay, this includes their freedom of movement as well as right to work. Mostly, the refugees' right to be economically active are overruled or ignored. Most countries restrict refugees from any economic activities outside designated camps. If there is no legislation, the host state issue regulations regarding where they live as well as their freedom to seek work, move around and access social services (Jacobsen, 2005, p.6). The main problem in developing countries, many host states do not have laws regarding refugees as well as a clearly articulated refugee policy. Even if there exists such a policy it is poorly implemented, and some states, like Kenya, leave all refugee issues to UNHCR (Jacobsen, 2005, p.7). The main reasons host states resistance to refugees economic activity is security concerns as well as resource burdens. During the 1980s, a number of host states cited limited capacity of their national economies to accept refugees as the main reason for their desire that refugees ought to be fully catered for by aid agencies. Since 1990s, security issues have prompted segregation of refugees away from the local community (Jacobsen, 2005, p.7). Many host states are unwilling to be generous to refugees from the states are also faced with economic problems of poverty and unemployment and prefer ensuring what they stay in camps so that relief agencies takes care of them and ensure that they return home as soon as possible (Jacobsen, 2005, p.7). Refugee system The refugee system has high chances of being undermined if there nothing that is done promptly to protect them. Before the twentieth century, the outlines of international law were conceived solely in terms of the relationship among sovereign states (Nash & Humphrey, 1988, p.43). There were attempts to recognize the rights of individuals this recognition remained firmly rooted in the principle of national sovereignty. The horrors of the Holocaust depicted the terrible potential of what national laws can do. It was after this that countries realized that there was an urgent need for international law, which transcends national sovereignty. The outrageous evidence of what could happen when barriers were put in the way of providing help to people facing persecution was enough to catapult formation of an international law. This issue had been addressed by the Universal Declaration of Human rights that proclaimed that countries did not have the power to abuse its citizens. However, the Declaration as not a binding document, its catalogue of rights deserving protection found a place in a series of Conventions ratified by various countries. Initially, these Conventions regarding human rights protected individuals against the actions of their own countries but were related to refugees. The UNCHR has become the protecting state for refugees (Jacobsen, 2005, p.7). The problem of the refugees is among the most complicated issue in the world community. The United Nation is undertaking several discussions regarding the problem of refugees as it continues to search for effective ways of protecting and assisting them, particularly vulnerable groups (Biju, 2010, p.241). Some UN members call for increased levels of coordination and cooperation among relief agencies, other single out the gap in international legislation and seek for more emphasis in this area. Any approach would therefore have to be comprehensive and to address all the aspects of the issue. In this debate, there are some facts that are beyond dispute. Firstly, there needs to be effective law that addresses this issue. Secondly, the law should be signed and ratified by all the countries (Biju, 2010, p.241). CHAPTER SIX The 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees According to Zimmermann (2011, p.37) the 1951 Convention had a profound impact towards change in attitude towards individual rights. Before the existence of the Convention, countries had exercised the rights of determining who could come into their country and the circumstances that such individuals will be selected as well as allowed to remain. According to the Convention, while the obligation of a signatory to the Convention is on the state, the right is upon the person. According to the Convention, an individual who comes extemporaneously to another state and seeks for protection, the person has a right to explain himself and make his claim, the right to be judged on the merits of his explanation, and the right to be given protection if he is a refugee according to the Convention definition. The country has the obligation to listen to his story, fairly adjudicate the claim and provide protection to that person if he observes the criteria stipulated by the Convention Zimmerman (2011, p.38). Jointly, the 1951 convention and its 1967 Protocol offer an explicit definition of refugee. According to Article 1 A (2) of the Convention and Article 1, paragraph 2, of the 1967 Protocol, a refugee is a person who “a result of a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of religion, race, nationality, political group, membership of a specific social group is not in his original country and is not in a position to protect himself owing to factors such as fear. By ratifying the 1951 Convention as well as its 1967 Protocol, countries incorporate this definition in their national legislation Zimmermann (2011, p.37). In many countries, individual refugee-status determination procedures are used to evaluate available evidence as well as establish if asylum claimants have a “well-founded” fear of persecution. Objective criteria are required to prove that claim for refugee status is well founded. Neither the Protocol nor the Convention guarantees the right to be granted asylum, however they establish that refugees cannot be forcibly returned to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened. The forceful return of refugees as well as protection against it can be considered the main obligation that States have in according protection to refugees. Just before the Convention was opened for ratification, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, therefore creating the institution, which would assume responsibility for protecting and assisting refugees worldwide (Simeon, 2013, p. 318). The Statute of the Office has a definition of refugees that is virtually identical to that contained in the 1951 Convention, however it also stipulates that the work of the High Commissioner “shall relate, as a rule, to the group as well as categories of refugees”. The Statute also establishes that one amongst the tasks of the Office is to acquire “from Governments information regarding the number as well as conditions of refugees in their territories as well as the laws and regulations regarding them Zimmermann (2011, p.37) Noteworthy, as part of the mandate, the UNHCR can grant protection to individuals who qualify as refugees irrespective of whether the country in which they are having signed the 1951 Convention or its Protocol or has given refugee status to individuals involved. The 1951 Convention could only benefit individuals who had become refugees because of events occurring before January 1951 (Wallendal & Klabbers, 2011, 416). New refugee groups emerged after 1951 and especially in Africa. The refugees were in great need of protection however, it could not be granted owing to the limited time frame of the 1951 Convention. However, the 1967 Protocol extended the application of the Convention in that it accommodated the refugees Zimmermann (2011, p.37). Even though human rights law applies to everyone, regardless of citizenship or nationality, refugees have been traditionally been dealt with through the humanitarian law. However, the continued separation of the two disciplines appears unsound. The popular depiction of refugees is that of a mass influx when an emergency occurs: thousand or hundreds of traumatized individuals pouring across a country border and congregating in camps, where relief agencies try to meet food as well as health needs. Nonetheless, these images do not capture the harsh reality of refugee life (Zimmerman, 2011, p.37). Firstly, the mass influx of thousands of individuals does not occur frequently. Secondly, displaced people move as individuals or in small groups, stopping to seek assistance and slipping across borders when they can so that they can join their fellow refugee communities (Zimmerman, 2011, p.37). Most of the refugees seek residence in camps under the care of a number of authorities, however most of them live amongst the local communities, in urban or rural areas and do not register or seek international assistance. Thirdly, the reality of the refugee situation is that it is not captured by TV images, is the prolonged nature of displacement (n.a, 2013, p.87). The moment the emergency phase has passed, most of the relief agencies leave with the humanitarian assistance that is important during emergency need (Dumper, 2013, p.2004). Mostly, the conflict in the refugees home country does not end with the emergency phase and for hundreds of refugees returning to their home country is not possible. For instance, mass repatriation of Albanian Kosovars from Albania and Macedonia, which took place a scant six weeks or more after they were displaced from Kosovo in 1999, was an exception (Jacobsen, 2005, p.2). Mostly, Congolese, Afghans, Liberians, Sudanese and Burmese as well as other nationalities some repatriation takes place but new outbreaks violence as well as outbreaks arise and the refugees traverse the border and are not in a position to return to their home country (Jacobsen, 2005, p.2). When mass repatriation occurs, many refugees are left behind and are not in a position to return to their home country (Dumper, 2013, p.2004). Conceivably, their homes have been occupied or destroyed by others; others may be traumatized by the events they experienced or witnessed in their original countries; some fear persecution if they return to their home country (Wellman & Altman, 2009, p.181). Refugees living condition Usually, refugees remain in the country that offered them asylum for as long as insecurity and civil strife persists in their home country. Mostly, there is a likelihood that either they will be invited to be citizens in the country offering them asylum or they will be resettled in another country (Lawick & Groen, 2011, p. 67). The living conditions of refugees whether in self-settled or in the camps is usually protracted and is usually unsafe and challenging and have few means of supporting or educating themselves or their families . They face a number of security concerns ranging from harassment by local authorities and crime. Most of the refugees living adjacent to the border of the country of asylum suffer from the spill over effects of conflicts from their mother country and live in isolated and undeveloped areas (Doomernik & Jandi, 2008, p. 109). Both locals and refugees grapple to support themselves with few resources as well as many challenges (Jacobsen, 2005, p.3). One amongst the most daunting issue facing refugees in protracted situation is lower level and quality of humanitarian assistance that take place once the emergence phase has been passed (Jacobsen, 2005, p.2). In the camps, this decline can be intermittent or gradual or abrupt. However, for self-settled refugees, there is no official source of aid and they ought to rely on their hosts goodwill to support them. In such scenario, the resilience as well as creativity of the refugees is unravelled in a wide range of survival strategies. Though they are faced with marginalization as well as economic challenges, most of the refugees keep their cultural values and practices, join and form communities as well as meet livelihood challenges in new and familiar ways (Jacobsen, 2005, p.3). CHAPTER SEVEN Human right According to Brysk (2013, p.27), human rights is a new concept though it has a long lineage. Human interaction creates some expectations as well as commitments upon the individuals involved as well as some of them are standardized and recognized as rights by the community. Consequently, in all communities individuals have particular entitlements as well as rights, although under different names. Moral codes expressed in religious or philosophical texts and legal codes developed to organize social life as well as maintaining order in earlier, pre-modern time addresses duties of people towards each other rather than their rights (Whelan, 2011, p.210). The doctrine of human rights is the articulation in the public morality of world politics of the notion that each individual is a subject of global concern Brysk (2013, p.27). An individual spatial location, social group or political affiliation does not matter. Each human person has rights as well as responsibilities to protect as well as respect these rights may extend across social and political boundaries (Beitz, 2011, p.1). Sources of human rights Human rights are held by individuals and are cleaned upon by society and state in general. Human rights are prompted to ensure the dignity of everyone without discrimination. As legal rights, they are developed in national, local and international law and implemented by intergovernmental and governmental organizations. As moral rights, they are inherent rights, which each human is entitled to. References Beitz, C. (2011). The idea of human rights. Oxford University Press. Biju, M. (2010). Developmental issues in contemporary India. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. Brysk, A. (2013). Speaking rights to power: Construction political will. London: Oxford University Press. Castillo, G. (2009). Rebuilding War-ton states: The challenge of post-conflict economic reconstruction. Oxford University Press. Corr, C., Nabe, C & Corr, D. (2011). Death and dying:Life and living. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Cox, M & Shawki, N. (2013). Negotiating sovereignty and human rights: Actors and issues in contemporary human rights politics. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing. Davis, S. (2008). Legitimising rejection: International refugee law in Southeast Asia. Danvers: Brill. Doomernik, J & Jandi, M. (2008). Modes of migration regulations and control in Europe. Amsterdam University Press. Dumper, M. (2013). Palestine refugee repatriation: Global perspectives. New York: Routledge. Ingram, D. (2011). Rt-Habermas Z. New York: Cornell University Press. Jackson, P & Beswick, D. (2013). Conflict, purity and development: An introduction. New York: Routledge. Jacobsen, K. (2005). The economic life of refugees. Bloomfield: Kumarian Press. Jacobsen, T. Samford, Thakur, R. (2008). Re-envisioning sovereignty: The end of Westphalia? Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. Jones, A. (2012). Human geography: The basics. New York: Routledge. Khory, K. (2012). Global migration: Challenges in the twenty-first century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Koser, K & Black, R. (2011). End of the refugee cycle? Refugee repatriation and reconstruction. Herndon: Berghahn. Lawick, J & Groen, M. (2011). Intimate warfare: Regarding the fragility f family relations. London: Karnac Books. n.a (2013). Refugees worldwide. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Nash, A & Humprey, J. (1988). Human rights and the protection of refugees under international law: Proceedings of a conference held in Montreal, November 29-December 2, 1987. Halifax: IRPP. Simeon, J. (2013). The UNHCR and the supervision of international refugee law. New York: Cambridge Univers Press. Weil, M & Gamble, D. (2013). Community practice skills: local to global perspectives. New York: Columbia University Press. Wallendahl, A & Klabbers, J. (2011). Research handbook on the law of international Organizations. Chelteham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Wellman, C & Altman, A. (2009). A liberal theory of international justice. New York: Oxford University Press. Whelan, D. (2011). Indivisible human rights: A history. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Zimmermann, A. (2011). The 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol: A commentary. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More

The UNHCR has problems allocating funds to prolonged situations, however most donors want humanitarian aid directed during emergencies (Jacobsen, Samford & Thakur, 2008, p.162). Host states have national refugee legislation that sets out the country’s official response to the arrival of refugees, their stay, this includes their freedom of movement and their right to work. The main reasons why host states resist refugees economic activity are security concerns and resource burdens. The refugee system has high chances of being undermined if there nothing that is done promptly to protect them.

The horrors of the Holocaust depicted the terrible potential of what national laws can do. It was after this that countries realized that there was an urgent need for international law, which transcends national sovereignty (Corr, Nabe & Corr, 2011, p.495). According to Biju (2010, p.241), the problem of the refugees is among the most complicated issue in the world community. The United Nation is undertaking several discussions regarding the problem of refugees as it continues to search for effective ways of protecting and assisting them, particularly vulnerable groups (Cox & Shawki, 2013, p.241). The 1951 Convention had a profound impact towards change in attitude towards individual rights.

Before the existence of the Convention, countries had exercised the rights of determining who could come into their country and the circumstances that such individuals will be selected as well as allowed to remain (Jacobsen, 2005, p.2). The 1951 convention and its 1967 Protocol offer an explicit definition of refugee. According to Article 1 A (2) of the Convention and Article 1, paragraph 2, of the 1967 Protocol, a refugee is a person who “a result of a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of religion, race, nationality, political group, membership of a specific social group is not in his original country and is now in a position to protect himself owing to factors such as fear (Jacobsen, 2005, p.2). Individual refugee-status determination procedures are used to evaluate available evidence as well as establish if asylum claimants have a “well-founded” fear of persecution.

Objective criteria are required to prove that claim for refugee status is well founded. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, therefore creating the institution, which would assume responsibility for protecting and assisting refugees worldwide. The UNHCR can grant protection to individuals who qualify as refugees irrespective of whether the country in which they are having signed the 1951 Convention or its Protocol or has given refugee status to individuals involved.

Even though human rights law applies to everyone, regardless of citizenship or nationality, refugees have been traditionally been dealt with through the humanitarian law. However, the continued separation of the two disciplines appears unsound. Usually, refugees remain in the country that offered them asylum for as long as insecurity and civil strife persists in their home country. Mostly, there is a likelihood that either they will be invited to be citizens in the country offering them asylum or they will be resettled in another country.

One amongst the most daunting issue facing refugees in protracted situation is lower level and quality of humanitarian assistance that take place once the emergence phase has been passed. Human rights is a new concept though it has a long lineage. The doctrine of human rights is the articulation in the public morality of world politics of the notion that each individual is a subject of global concern. Human rights are held by individuals, are cleaned upon by society, and state in general (Jacobsen, 2005, p.5). Briefly, refugees and human rights are two things ought to be intertwined however, this has not been the case.

This prompted the refugees Convention in 1957. The Convention champions for the rights of refugees and ensures that they live decently just like any other citizen in the host state and suggests ways of ensuring that they get back home safely.

Read More