World Refugee Day: Safety for all

April Dykes
4 日前
読了時間: 7分

We live in a world filled with uncertainties. With wars and natural disasters, millions of people around the world face displacement. This displacement could be temporary or permanent, depending on the circumstances. Today, as we celebrate World Refugee Day, we acknowledge the resilience of refugees around the world, strive to reduce bias, and consider ways we can offer a helping hand.

Defining ‘refugee’

A refugee is just one of many displaced people, but what exactly is a refugee? According to the UNHCR, a refugee is someone who has fled their country to escape conflict, violence, or persecution and has sought safety in another country (UNHCR). To avoid confusing ‘refugee’ with other terms, let’s also discuss terms that people could confuse with refugee.

Internally Displaced Persons
Asylum Seekers
Migrant
Immigrant

Internally displaced persons (IDP)

An internally displaced person is someone who has been forced to leave their home due to conflict, violence, persecution, or disaster. The only difference between them and refugees is that they remain in their home country, although unable to return to their homes.

Asylum seekers

Merriam-Webster defines asylum as a shelter, a place of retreat and security. When referring to receiving it, it is defined as protection to enter a country without fear of being deported to a country where they could face danger. An asylum seeker is someone who is seeking international protection and to become an asylee. “Asylum seekers say they are refugees and have fled their homes as refugees do, but their claim to refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled” (United Nations).

Migrant

While there is no internationally accepted definition, migrants are typically defined as people who leave their homes in the pursuit of education or better living conditions. Their departure isn’t due to violence, persecution, etc and they may eventually return.

Immigrant

Immigrants are people who typically move to another country permanently without threat of violence, persecution, etc. They go through an official process to permanently change their residence and nationality.

With wars and disasters forcing people from their homes, these terms are more important than ever to help ensure support is given, and that governments are able to better understand what roles they need to play in assisting. These terms, however, are fairly new: refugee, asylum seeker, internally displaced persons, stateless person, and returnee. There were no internationally agreed-upon classifications before the 1950’s, and with people fleeing in droves, the issue was exacerbated by the aftermath of WWII. These issues were addressed by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

“In the aftermath of the First World War (1914 - 1918), millions of people fled their homelands in search of refuge. Governments responded by drawing up a set of international agreements to provide travel documents for these people who were, effectively, the first recognized refugees of the 20th century. Their numbers increased dramatically during and after the Second World War (1939-1945), as millions more were forcibly displaced” (UNHCR). The framework for what would become the United Nations’ 1951 Convention was laid by the League of Nations through its creation of the High Commission for Refugees in 1921. This commission was tasked with helping the countless people who were displaced by the war.

By the end of WWII, the world was faced with even greater displacement and a stronger international committee of countries willing to work together to help solve the issue. In 1950, the UN created Resolution 428 (V), and it was adopted on December 14, 1950. This resolution created the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and paved the way for the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons in Geneva, Switzerland, from July 2 through July 25, 1951. 145 states parties attended this convention and continued the refugee work of the League of Nations. At this convention, ‘refugee’ was given an internationally agreed-upon definition, and the rights and responsibilities of refugees were outlined, in addition to the responsibilities of the host countries.

Some of those rights include:

The right not to be expelled, except under certain, strictly defined conditions;
The right not to be punished for illegal entry into the territory of a contracting State;
The right to work;
The right to housing;
The right to education;
The right to public relief and assistance;
The right to freedom of religion;
The right to access the courts;
The right to freedom of movement within the territory;
The right to be issued identity and travel documents.

The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees went into effect on April 22, 1954; however, it only applied to people who became refugees as a direct result of WWII events within Europe. The geographical limitations changed with the creation of the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. This protocol not only made it applicable to all peoples but removed the time limitations that the 1951 document placed. “2. For the purpose of the present Protocol, the term "refugee" shall, except as regards the application of paragraph 3 of this article, mean any person within the definition of article I of the Convention as if the words "As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and..." and the words "...as a result of such events", in article 1 A (2) were omitted” (United Nations, 1967, Article 1, para. 2).

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The UNHCR was created on December 14, 1950, with the ratification of Resolution 428 (v) by the United Nations. “The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is established by the United Nations General Assembly, mandated to 'assume the function of providing international protection [...] to refugees who fall within the scope of the present Statute and of seeking permanent solutions for the problem of refugees'" (UNHCR). Created with a 3-year limitation, the constant need for the UNHCR led to several extensions by the UN, and it eventually became a permanent organization on December 22, 2003. It will remain an active organization until “the refugee problem is solved”.

“The UNHCR, UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. We lead international action to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people”(UHCR). It has three main objectives:

Respond to emergencies
Protect human rights
Provide the building blocks for a better future

If you’re interested in learning more about the UNHCR and how you can support refugees through them, please check out their official websites. Below, I have included the links for their English global and Japan websites, but there are over 20 country sites that are available.

UNHCR

UNHCR Japan

World Refugee Day

Before World Refugee Day existed, Africa Refugee Day was celebrated on June 20th and was backed by the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union). In 2000, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to stand in solidarity with Africa, the UN designated June 20th as World Refugee Day. It has been celebrated since 2001 to “honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on 20 June and honours the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution” (UNHCR).

How to celebrate World Refugee Day

Read and share good news about refugees (Good Good Good)
Volunteer with or donate to a nonprofit that supports refugees
Challenge monolithic representations of refugees.
Support refugee-owned businesses.
Attend a World Refugee Day event in your community.

Organizations that support refugees

In addition to the UNHCR, here are a few more NPOs and NGOs within Japan that support refugees.

REI

Our Mission

To provide a hand-up to refugees for long-term recovery by investing in grassroots projects in forgotten communities around the world, ensuring the refugees own and build their future.

Our Vision

At REI, we envision a world where refugees and displaced communities are empowered to rebuild their lives and futures with dignity through self-sufficiency and independence. Our funding prioritises grassroots projects that leverage the inherent strengths and knowledge of refugees, an approach that is proven to lead to sustainable outcomes.

Japan Association for Refugees (JAR)

JAR is dedicated to supporting refugees who have been forced to flee their home countries, aiming to restore the rights they have lost.

Refugees have fundamental rights as human beings and as refugees. These rights are

wide-ranging, including, for example, the right to freedom and safety, not to be sent back to their home countries where their lives are in danger, to have basic necessities such as food, medicine, and shelter guaranteed, and to be able to live together with their families.

Supporting people who have difficulty accessing aid, such as refugees, is a cornerstone of JAR's work. However, refugees are not merely recipients of aid. JAR is working to create a future where those in need are properly supported, while at the same time, they can utilize their strengths to become active members of society.

AAR Japan

AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan) is an international NGO that supports people facing hardship due to conflict, disaster, disability, and other reasons. It engages in humanitarian aid around the world, including in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In 1997, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), of which AAR is a member, received the Nobel Peace Prize. AAR has obtained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Main Activities

- Soup kitchens for a total of 188,845 people

- Distribution of supplies for a total of 13,529 people

- Support for the operation of 17 welfare facilities

- Life reconstruction consultations for 1,186 people, etc.

Something to remember

This World Refugee Day, I hope that, even if you don’t remember anything else from this article, you will at least remember these words. All people, regardless of nationality, gender, ethnicity, religion or any other identifiable trait, are worthy of respect and deserve to have their basic human needs met. Never allow the media or personal biases to make you forget that we are all human. We bleed the same. Hurt the same. Our humanity is what makes us special. It’s what makes tomorrow worth looking forward to. So, as we look towards tomorrow, let us not forget that life, though unpredictable, can bring hardships, but also unimaginable joys.