2.a. Conflict and Persecution in increasing the number of refugees

Question 1

What is a Refugee, Asylum Seeker and an Internally Displaced Person (IDP)?

Answer 1

• Refugee - A person who has moved outside the country of his/her nationality as usual domicile because of genuine fear of persecution or death (35.3 million ppl, includes 5.9 million Palestine refugees)
  Percentage of refugees hosted in low- and middle-income countries [EDCs and LIDCs]: 76%
  Percentage of refugees hosted in neighbouring countries: 70%
• Asylum Seeker - A person who seeks entry to another country by claiming to be a refugee (5.4 million)
• Internally displaced person (IDP) - Someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country’s borders (62.5 million)

Question 2

What are the reasons for the large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers globally?

Answer 2

• Conflict – Conflict and violence are the leading cause of displacement worldwide. In 2022, there were 24 ongoing armed conflicts in 23 countries, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). These conflicts displace millions of people each year, forcing them to flee their homes in search of safety
• Political persecution – Persecution on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group is another major driver of displacement. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were 5.4 million asylum seekers worldwide at the end of 2022. These are people who have fled their home countries and are seeking international protection, but have not yet had their refugee status officially recognised
• Natural Hazards/Disasters/Climate Change – Climate change is also a growing driver of displacement. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), 50.8 million people were displaced by climate-related disasters in 2021. This number is expected to increase in the coming years as climate change worsens.
• Human right abuses – Human rights abuses, such as torture, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings, can also force people to flee their homes. According to Amnesty International, there were 53 countries in 2022 where people were tortured or ill-treated in custody, and 59 countries where people were extrajudicially executed.

Question 3

What is the pattern of the migration of refugees?

Answer 3

Most of the refugees are coming from war-torn countries or countries with political instability. For example, Ukraine which has 5.4 million refugees who are likely to be escaping from the war also, Afghanistan which has 6.4 million refugees
Most of the refugees leaving countries because of conflict or political instability are migrating to neighbouring countries to escape. For example, Iran has 3.8 million refugees most of which have come from Afghanistan and Iraq

Question 4

Case Study: The Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Answer 4

• The Rohingya, who numbered around one million in Myanmar at the start of 2017, are one of the many ethnic minorities in the country. Rohingya Muslims represent the largest percentage of Muslims in Myanmar, with the majority living in Rakhine state.
• They have their own language and culture and say they are descendants of Arab traders and other groups who have been in the region for generations.
• But the government of Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, denies the Rohingya citizenship and even excluded them from the 2014 census, refusing to recognise them as a people.
• It sees them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Since the 1970s, Rohingya have migrated across the region in significant numbers. Estimates of their numbers are often much higher than official figures.
• In the last few years, before the latest crisis, thousands of Rohingya made perilous journeys out of Myanmar to escape communal violence or alleged abuses by the security forces.

Distribution of refugees:
Around 1,000,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh
350,000 Rohingya have fled to Pakistan
200,000 Rohingya have fled to Saudi Arabia
150,000 Rohingya have fled to Malaysia
- Around 1,000,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh because it is very close to Myanmar, especially the North. Furthermore, because the Rohingya are Muslim they flee to Bangladesh for cultural reasons as 91% of people in Bangladesh are Muslim. Because Bangladesh is extremely close to Myanmar there are few intervening obstacles
- 550,000 Rohingya have fled to Pakistan or Saudi Arabia because of cultural factors with the main religion in these countries being Islam so the Rohingya would be able to practise their faith, unlike they were able to do in Myanmar

Question 5

Case Study: Syrian Civil War

Answer 5

• The conflict in Syria dates back to 2011.
• Many people were unhappy about the high levels of unemployment, widespread corruption and lack of political freedom.
• Inspired by the ‘Arab spring’ uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, peaceful protests started in March.
• However, the peaceful demonstrations were met by swift government opposition.
• When the government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests erupted nationwide. The violence rapidly escalated, eventually giving way to a brutal war.

Distribution of refugees:
Most of the refugees are fleeing to neighbouring countries like Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan
There are some countries in Europe who are taking Syrian asylum applications for example Germany, Hungary and Sweden
- The reason most of the Syrian refugees are fleeing to neighbouring countries like Turkey (2.7 million people), Lebanon (1 million people) and Jordan (640,000 people) is because it is a lot cheaper for these refugees to travel to these countries because they are very close in proximity. Furthermore, there are fewer intervening obstacles as the borders are not as strict in these countries compared to in Europe. Also, refugees are more likely to move to these countries as they have very similar cultures and religions to Syria
- Many Syrian refugees migrated to European countries like Germany and Hungary because of the economic opportunities (likely to be skilled workers). Furthermore, Germany had relatively generous asylum laws compared to other European countries, refugees believed they had a higher chance of being granted asylum and integrating into society than in other European countries.