Conflict and Migration - Essay Example

Relationship between conflict and migration Introduction This essay discusses the relationship between conflict and migration. It focuses on IDPs (internally displaced persons) and refugees, mostly leaving out the motives of economic or social migration. The first chapter states factors that cause displacement, followed by a discussion about the extent to which mass displacement or migration can cause or exacerbate conflict. The second part treats the security risks faced by IDPs and refugees including the risks for communities, which is associated with migration, focusing on how they contribute to outbreak/escalation of conflict, giving counterarguments to the discussion. The last part states additional reasons for migration apart from conflict. The essay concludes with the statement that conflict is one but not the only major reason for migration, portrays other reasons such as educational or economic benefits, which bring people to leave their home countries and seek opportunities abroad. However, conflict seems to be a great force to make people, who under normal circumstances would not consider migrating, leave their home communities and move somewhere unknown. The first refugees were documented in the 17th century when the displacement of the Huguenots took place exemplifying “the moment in which states’ legal practices began to be defined in relation to sovereign territory, as opposed to being in relation to the monarch’s subjects” (Novak 2012). The expulsion of the French Protestants from French soil rooted the notion of territorial sovereignty identifying the sovereign with a specific territory (Novak 2012). Novak states in his 2012 article that “by transforming a group of vassals and subjects into a body of citizens, the Declaration of Man and Citizen asserted in law the need to belong to a nation and a state as a pre-condition for accessing security, prosperity and protection”, a notion that until now influences and defines the rights of refugees making crucial the distinction between citizen and non-citizen as engraved by law. In this historical moment after the breakup of European empires and the establishment of the nation-state, both the ‘national’ as well as the ‘alien’ became subjects of legislation in the now dominant political form of the nation-state (Novak 2012). The end of World War 1 and more than ten million refugees posed a significant threat to the overall stability of the world system. They for the first time were defined as “figures of concern for the interstate system” (Novak 2012) and identified “on the basis of lack of protection and effective non-nationality, and, although applied ex-post in relation to already in situ populations, that Convention established a legal framework attributing to refugees an internationally recognised status and determining an overall sense of purpose for refugee-related activities” by The Convention Relating to the International Status of Refugees (1933) (Novak 2012). In 1950 UNHCR was established and in the 1951 Convention the status of refugees was verified but refugees were still subject to geographical restrictions (Novak 2012). The ratification of the 1967 Protocol, which lifted restrictions contained in the Convention, universalising the refugee institution; the ever expanding geographical scope of the refugee regime; the profusion of assistance funds from Western Donors; the explicit recognition of the value of refugees in the fight against communism as much as the entanglement of refugee protection with anti-Soviet military struggles; are all testimonies of the dialectical relation between the refugee institution and Cold War imperatives . (Novak 2012) The dilemma of the refugees was met with high hopes in the 1990s which were considered to be the decade of repatriation as the end of the Cold War was seen as the end of the refugee cycle. However, it produced new cycles of displacement whilst the Cold War refugees did not vanish (Novak 2012). The same period of time saw a tightening of the asylum regime as donours and UNHRC alike high lightened the right of return in contrast to the right of asylum (Novak 2012). The new labels of political displacement and the restriction of the relevance of international protection presumed the economic motivations of refugees for leaving their home countries (Novak 2012). Most of the displacements in the past years have taken place because of internal rather than international armed conflicts, whereof most take place in the Middle East and North Africa region (WDR 2011, P. 5).In 2013, Syria turned from being the world’s largest refugee hosting nation in 2009 to the world’s largest refugee producing state (Global Trends 2013, P.5). Factors Leading to Displacement There are several factors that can cause displacement, amongst them internal conflicts and resource shortages, both of which will be discussed in the following chapter. At the same time it needs to be stated that conflict cannot only enhance but also hinder movement as conflict disrupts patterns of mobility (Black, Collyer 2014, P. 52) and those who beforehand were able to move unhindered are now unable to move. This mostly affects the less affluent of a society and therefor this share of the population affected by conflict is unable to move away from it (Black, Collyer 2014, P. 52f). Ethical cleansing can be a result of uni-ethical rulership in one country. This phenomenon goes way back in history. More recent examples for ethical cleansing is the mass migration of Jews out of Germany during the Third Reich; the Yazidi who left and still are leaving their native areas in Iraq (WFP 2014) or are ‘traded’ by the Islamic State in form of modern day slavery promising them a better future elsewhere (Zimmermann 2014); the Muslim population which came under attack during the conflict in Kosovo in the 1990s (Pekesen 2011); or the Muslim population in South Sudan fleeing after the nation building when Sudan split into two separate countries. Internal displacement and migration can also be caused by tribal conflicts such as the Hutu-Tutsi conflict in Rwanda in 1994, where members of the population were slaughtered because of their tribal origin and therefore were fleeing their realms (UHRC). Before 2013, the Rwanda refugee disaster in 1994 marked the highest seen number of refugees. However, 2013 has continued to overwhelm the world with a continuation of refugee crises that turned that year into one of the most challenging ones in history (Global Trends 2013, P.5). The geopolitical border conflict between India and Pakistan led to the Kashmir conflict and forced people to leave their native lands because of their religious affiliation (Insight on Conflict 2013). Reasons not related to conflict that induce people to migrate include economic reasons such as disparity in distribution of wealth (BBC). This can be observed in today’s Nigeria where only very few profit from the huge revenues from offshore oil. Environmental disasters (BBC) such as the oil spill in Nigeria in 2008 and 2009, the flood in Pakistan in 2010, the ongoing and aggravating desertification of the Sahara belt that forces nomad clans to migrate into populated areas as pastures are reduced, the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl in 1986 or in Fukushima-Daichii in 2011. Shortage of natural resources (BBC), mainly water and arable land, also leads to conflict that potentially results in migration. One example is the intention of the Ethiopian government to build a dam at the Blue Nile, which would dramatically shorten Egypt’s water supply. The extent to which mass displacement or migration can cause or exacerbate conflict Migration and mass displacement often results to conflict. More than 75% of all refugees seek protection in neighbouring countries sharing a border with the state in conflict, whereas 60 % of all non-bordering countries where refugees seek asylum are OECD countries and more than 10% of all refugees reside in fragile states. Only more than 8 % move to low-income countries (WDR 2011; P.2), as shown in table 1. As can be seen in Table 1, many bordering countries of conflict states have to bear the additional burden to meet with the additional needs of refugees, while they themselves are engaged or afflicted by subnational conflicts (WDR 2011, P. 4). In other words, 86% of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries (Global Trends 2013, P.2). LDCs (Least Developed Countries) hosted 2.8 million refugees by the end of 2013 (Global Trends 2013, P. 2). Table 1: (WDR 2011, P.5) Only two states that face ongoing insurgencies, i.e. Pakistan and Chad, also face insurgency problems because of large refugee groups. Pakistan has a high influx of Afghan refugees and Chad from Sudan (WDR 2011, P. 5). Hosting 1,6 million refugees, Pakistan ranks the top of the List followed by Iran (857,400)k, Lebanon ( 856,500), Jordan (641,900) and Turkey (609,900) (Global Trends 2013, P.2) To enhance the clarity of the way migration and mass displacement often results to conflict, various examples are given on how and to which extent mass displacement or migration can cause or exacerbate conflict. One main reason is spill-over effects that a conflict in one state can have on the neighbouring states. Refugees compete with members of the host nation for various things, amongst them provision of education, health services and infrastructure, such as water supply and nutrition (WDR 2011, P.7f). A very recent example for this problem is the ongoing war in Syria. In her article published in July 2014, Ferris states that well over a million people have been forced to leave their native places to move somewhere else within Syria or leave the country and the number is still rising (Ferris, 2014). Refugees from Syria migrate and seek refuge in neighbouring countries. One country strongly affected by this mass migration is Lebanon. In itself a rather fragile state Lebanon is fighting to cope with the influx of refugees from Syria into mostly northern Lebanon. This creates conflict between the resident Lebanese population and the Syrian refugees which results in attacks on the Syrians and anger about political non-decisions by the Lebanese government amongst the Lebanese population (Ferris, 2014, WDR 2011, P. 14). At the outbreak of the war, Lebanon was welcoming refugees. However, the challenges the Lebanese population faces, become more and more threatening (The Brookings Institution 2007, P.3). This led and still may further lead to cause problems despite a peace agreement, as insecurity in the form of resentments and conflicts “between returning, locally integrated or settled IDP populations and the already resident population”. (The Brookings Institution 2007, P.3). However, with 178 refugees per 1000 local inhabitants Lebanon welcomed the largest number of refugees in relation to its population (Global Trends 2013, P.3). Another problem that should not be underestimated when it comes to the risks of conflict being caused by migration and mass movements is the spill-over effect of diseases. A recent example is the Ebola crisis in Western Africa – a problem that will not be further discussed in this essay due to its limits. Migration can also put strain on natural resources, especially water and household fuel. The type and size of a refugee camp or settlement significantly influences the impact it has on the micro-environment (WDR 2011, P 15), which in turn can change the overall climate and have an even greater impact. Security risks faced by IDPS and refugees To discuss the security risks faced by IDPs and refugees, it is important to notice the difference between the two groups. IDPs are normally citizens of the nation state in which they migrate whereas refugees leave their nation state to settle in another state (WDR 2011). Furthermore it is crucial to state that the number of IDPs “by far exceeds the number of refugees who have crossed a national border to seek safety” (WDR 2011, P.6) and their numbers are still growing. In 2013, 10,7 million persons were newly displaced because of conflict or persecution, whereof 8,2 million within and 2,5 million across borders. For IDPs this is the highest number on record, for refugees this is the highest number of new arrivals since 1994 (Global Trends 2013, P.2). Worldwide the combined number of IDPs, refugees and asylum seekers amounts to 51,2 million people1 (Global Trends 2013, P.2). When it comes to analysing the generic term IDP it is important to notice that there is no agreed upon criteria when and under which circumstances an IDP should be or should no longer be called such (The Brookings Institution 2007, P3). This leads to ad hoc or arbitrary approaches that show very dissimilar assumptions by different actors. However, how and when this question is discussed, decides the outcome of the decision, and therefore the consequences for those persons (The Brookings Institution 2007, P.3). On the other hand, the persistence that people are still called IDPs can have serious implications as they will not be able to ingrate into the host community and lead a normal life (The Brookings Institution 2007, P.3) Full integration and ending of displacement does not happen at a certain point in time but is a continuing process during which IDPs need less and less assistance, support and protection (The Brookings Institution 2007, P.5) General risks that IDPs and refugees face are, amongst other the lack of acceptance of their presence in the new area, which leads to them being forced to stay within the limits of refugee camps, which in turn leads to internal problems. These protracted refugee situations is an example for a population, that is at the same time mobile yet trapped in the new surroundings as sometimes mobility outside or out of the camp is officially prohibited (Black, Collyer 2014 P. 55). This can and mostly does lead to hygienic problems as refugee camps seldom are equipped for long-term stay even though experience shows that many of those camps are in place for much longer than expected. Camps can be breeding places for vector borne diseases such as Malaria or Dengue, as well as directly transmitted diseases such as the common flu or oral-faecal transmitted diseases such as Cholera or Diarrhoea. Ethnical affiliation can create or avoid problems between refugees and the host nation. An example for successful integration is the three million Afghan refugees of Pashtun origin who settled among fellow Pashtun communities in Pakistan. Throughout their settlement there the process was largely peaceful (WDR 2011, P 11, 17). However, ethnical affiliation can also threaten the social peace as an influx of one ethnical group, as seen in Macedonia, when Kosovo-Albanians looked for refuge there in the 1990s and the social structure was thrown out of balance (WDR 2011, P.11). External problems can rise as the local residential population might see the refugees as a nuisance and a source of crime as mostly there is not enough provision of food or basic living consumer durables, so the local population fear that refugees provide themselves with those by stealing. Furthermore, provision of basic care can be limited as there are only a limited number of health workers and health infrastructure that mostly are not able to cope with the high influx of people. Risks associated with migration Some of the risks associated with migration in political and social sciences as well as in the perception of the population are the following. Diseases can spread more easily due to the high density of population and the limited health facilities. Amongst them are e.g. vector borne diseases like dengue, malaria, leishmaniosis and water borne diseases such as cholera. Another health risks is the lack of separation between wastewater and water for domestic use and cleaning facilities for wastewater or the lack of drainage in total. In Afghanistan and Iraq amongst other nations, the majority of civilian deaths in conflict zones occur due to disease and illness and not from violence (Bonventre 2010, P.21). This happens because public health systems and pharmaceutical and medical logistics systems collapse in time of conflict and access to safe water and food is reduced (Fagen, 2011). Additionally, health workers emigrate or flee the region, health infrastructure is damaged or looted and security for both patients and health workers cannot be guaranteed (Bonventre 2010, P.21). Logically, this process continues even after the end of the conflict as infrastructure needs to be built up again. (Bonventre 2010, P. 21) The trafficking of humans, drugs and weapons pose a major threat to the stability of the host nation, as sometimes refugees arm themselves to be able to protect their families. The end of the Cold War coincided with an increase of human trafficking as conflicts erupted after both polar powers, East and West, ceased to see every conflict as satellite or proxy conflicts and interfered (Shelley, 2010). Human trafficking and armed conflict frequently go hand in hand (Zimmermann 2014). Even though it is forbidden by the Rome Statute and can be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) because it violates the international criminal law, it still is a major occurrence in conflict (Zimmermann 2014). Terrorism is today one of the biggest global issues, which may never cease due to migration inevitability. Borders are often opened for members of terrorist organisations using refugee groups to disguise within to avoid detection at border control. This aspect continues to be a major risk associated with migration. Another is the degradation of the natural environment including the depletion of arable land, strain on water supply, higher greenhouse gas emissions. How the above contribute to outbreak/escalation of conflict Typically, the sudden influx of masses leads to higher strain on economy of host nation. The government of host nation has to feed all of them and to house all of them. These strains result to issues like housing shortage, which could as well affect the economic lives of the native citizens. Refugees are sometimes segregated from the natives. Segregation between local and foreign people raises tension between natives and the foreigners. Integrating them on the other hand would lead to long-term stay of IDPs/refugees in that area. Another problem could crop up in cases where the international community may intervene trying to help, which may be perceived as interference in internal affairs of sovereign states. In the case of the environmental problems, the sinking of aquifers in arid areas puts strain on local flora and local agriculture creating adverse environmental conditions that could trigger hate among the locals towards the refugees. Cases of crime also erupt, which are associated with obtaining food if not provided by host nation, which is evidenced through stealing of food and house breaking. The local people would consider this problem as caused by the refugees thereby generating some conflict. The refugees on the other hand develop their own problems. There is like to be a higher level of drug addiction due to psychological strain on refugees/IDPs as they avoid seeing their own problems/situation. This problem could be passed on to the locals, who in the long term may face related strains due to population pressure. This problem could then trigger more problems such as the rape of refugees in camps by other refugees. Refugees could also be raped or mistreated in any other way, in cities, by locals as they perceive them as second class citizens. Positive side-effect of migration The positive side effects of migration discussed in this essay will only focus on the conflict-induced migration. Naturally, there is also migration happening for other reasons, such as better economic opportunities elsewhere or better access to (in some cases free) education, societal reasons such as family members in another region that already provide a stable network when first arriving as a migrant. However, these will not be discussed in this essay. Despite the reputation of only bringing pain onto the host nation, there are examples of the positive impact refugees have on the host nation and society by creating opportunities for the host nation as well as the refugees (WDR 2011). One example is the impact of Rwandan refugees on the Tanzanian economy from 1993-1998. The prizes for local goods increased, so farmers who produced a surplus benefited from higher incomes generated by increased demand. At the same time, prizes for imported aid goods decreased which made them available for a bigger share of the population. This boosted the local economy, market and businesses and welfare indicators such as TV and electricity went up (WDR 2011, P. 7). Additionally, some refugee camps developed major local markets which then boost the local economy in purchasing power. However, it cannot be underestimated that a big influx of people also puts additional strain on the environment when it comes to increased need of e.g. firewood and building materials (WDR 2011, P.8). The impact of refugees in some areas such as the Daadab Camps in Kenya nevertheless is in majority positive (WDR 2011, P.8) Conclusion “Countries that host refugees for protracted periods can experience long-term economic, social, environmental, and political and security impacts,” concludes the World Development Report 2011, compiled by the World Bank. This seems to be even more accurate in today’s conflict-ridden world. Population increase usually exerts pressure on available resource, and this pressure would even be more if the population increases abruptly due to mass migration. In general, the pressure exerted by refugee is hardly expected and the host country has to restructure in many ways to accommodate and feed them. In the course of all these, conflicts are most likely to occur. Bibliography BBC, 2015. Migration trends. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/migration/migration_trends_rev2.shtml [Accessed 16 March 2015]. 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