Refugees The practice of granting asylum to people fleeing for their lives goes back to the time of old civilizations. However, the most important developments in the period that followed the end of the Second World War were the establishment of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1950 and the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1951. According to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone 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 to go back to that country. The difference between refugees and the internally displaced persons (IDPs) is that IDPs do not cross any international border and remain within the borders of their country of origin. The number of refugees worldwide reached 15 million last year while the number of IDPs stood at 28 million as reported by UNHCR. It has to be pointed out that the majority of refugees/IDPs are women and children. Sudan has been hosting refugees since the 1960s. According to the Commission of Refugees (COR), which is responsible for refugee affairs in Sudan, the number of refugees reached one million in the 1980s. The majority of refugees came to Sudan from Eritrea and Ethiopia. Generally, refugees are the victims of civil wars and armed conflicts. Solutions Over the last 60 years, UNHCR has been using three solutions to resolve the problem of refugees around the world: 1/Repatriation For millions of refugees, returning home remains the strongest hope. As the durable solution of choice for the largest number of refugees, voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity requires the full commitment of the country of origin to help reintegrate its own people. It also needs huge financial support from the international community to ensure that those who choose to go home can rebuild their lives in a stable environment. 2/Local integration Integration of refugees in the host community is the second best solution to the problems of refugees as it allows them to live in dignity and peace and contribute to the development of their host country. 3/ the last solution is the resettlement of refugees in another country, mainly in Europe, Australia and North America. However, very few countries are willing to take in refugees
Posted on: Tue, 25 Feb 2014 15:26:48 +0000
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