Refugees' Rights and June 20th, World Refugee Day!

The years 2015 and 2016 have been marked by images of massive groups of displaced people marching toward Europe for a better life or for safety. They have been described as a giant spumoni landing at the shore of Europe, but they were mostly from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Africa. They were children, young, old men and women fleeing wars, persecution or luck of economic opportunities. They walked miles with their belongings or crumbed into small boats across the Mediterranean Sea at the mercy of human traffickers. They paid fortunes and risked their lives with the hope to reach the promise land, Europe, with an uncertain welcome.

The European Union Crisis in 2016 estimated over 91,000 Asylum Seekers arrived in Germany in January 2016, and in June 2015, The United Nations of High Commission for refugees estimated that the number of refugees worldwide has surpassed a record of 60 million people forcibly displaced, refugees fleeing wars and persecution, asylum seekers and internally displaced. Are there legal instruments to protect these children, women, men, elders and families, called Refugees?

Since June 20, 2001, with the approval of the United Nations General Assembly, the world has been celebrating June 20^th, as World Refugee Day. It is a day in which people reflect and shed light on the situation of millions of refugees and internally displaced people around the world.

As the consequences of slavery, colonization, two world wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945) and other conflicts around the world could attest, human history carries a great deal of war crimes, genocides, ethnic cleansing, and crime against humanity, and yet still we accept that we can not always resolve our differences peacefully, and that wars and their consequences are part of our ways of life. As a result, we need international legal tools to protect vulnerable people from the consequences of our madness.

The first legal tool to protect displaced people was adopted on December 10, 1948 under Article 14(1) of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which states “Every one has the right to freedom to seek and to enjoy other countries asylum from persecution.”

The second legal tool came with the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees which was adopted on July 28, 1951.  Known as the 1951 Refugee Convention, it was limited, considering it protected only refugees of European origin and was limited to events before January 1, 1951.

As a result, a universal legal instrument was needed to remove the geographic and nationality limitations of the 1951 Refugees Convention. On January 31, 1967, the United Nations convened to adopt the 1967 protocol which has a universal reach.

Article 1 of the Convention, as amended by the 1967 Protocol, defines a refugee as “ A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”

Article 12-30 of the Refugee Convention laid out the rights which individuals are entitled to once they have been recognized as Refugees. Amount these rights you could cite: Right to Non- Refoulement, Freedom of Movement, Right to Liberty and Security of the Person, Right to Family life and other Rights such as Education, Religion, access to Justice, Employment … etc. The international law recognizes the right to seek asylum, but does not oblige states to provide it

Despite this year’s harsh rhetoric related to the arrival of refugees in America, we must recognize that the United States of America (U.S.A) is by far the most generous country when it comes to resettling refugees. The Bureau of Public Affairs Fact Sheet published on October 21, 2015 attested that the United States will admit 85,000 refugees from around the world in the fiscal year 2015-16. The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, as of December 31, 2015, resettled 22,472 refugees from Africa, 18,469 from Asia, 2,363 from Europe, 2,050 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 24,579 refugees from the Near East and South Asia  

June in Chicago always gives birth to summer. The sun resurfaces after months of hiding, trees wear their beautiful green hats, flowers blossom with different colors, and nature is surrounded by a positive energy that gives you the desire to go out and enjoy life. June 2016 was no different, and the refugee community and organizations in the Chicago area gathered to celebrate the World Refugee Day on June 4^th and 16^th.  

The June 4^th celebration was marked by a march “One Humane Family” from 12 pm to 1 pm; from 1 pm to 3 pm as usual, they get together at the Foster Avenue Beach to play soccer, listen to music and share food from different part of the world. For a day, Foster beach was transformed into a large United Nations refugee camp under the protection of lady Michigan. June 16^th, Chicagoans gathered at the Daley Center from 12 pm to 1 pm for a lunchtime concert performance under the watchful eyes of Picasso.    

When World Refugee Day 2016 came to an end, I accepted the reality of a growing number of refugees as never before in the history of humanity; I also accepted the fact of a growing number of human sufferings, despite our economic growth and technical innovations. I came to peace with myself knowing there are international legal norms protecting these vulnerable families. I biked back home using the Lake front trail heading north and carried my wishes and hopes. I wished peace for Mama Africa, and I hoped to see the biggest Refugee Camp Dadaab close and its population return back home to the land of their ancestors, since there is not a place like home. I also carried my hopes that Israelis and Palestine’s brothers will come together in Jerusalem and pray under a common religion which is the religion of peace. Finally, I hope one day that Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans, South Sudanese, Central Africans and Somalis will choose Peace. As an African proverb tells it “Peace is costly but it is worth the expense.”

Sincerely,

Alpha