Wk 11 - Forced Migration Flashcards
Background of Syria 2011-13 (x4)
Protests fro March 2011 – following other Arab Spring revolutions
FSA was first rebels in field = move from oppression to civil war
Growth of other rebels, inc ISIS
191 000 dead
No effective international response in Syria because… (x3)
Issues of P5 veto –
Russian national interests, China supports Russia,
Concerns any resolutions hide a regime-change agenda by west
The use of chemical weapons in Syria… (x6)
734 dead in Ghouta, August 2013
Suggestion govt accidentally used too much
Evidence points at gov, not rebels
Triggers UNSC action when US threatened unilateral action
Russia forced Syria to give up their chemicals – mostly successful in getting rid of
Non-binding UNSC Presidential Statement at this point = first ref to R2P: passed with consensus
Syrian refs and IDPs… (x2)
Four states that have taken highest numbers (Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon) not Convention signatories
Syrian govt doesn’t accept existence of IDPs, so won’t help them – even those not displaced are in crisis
Syria and humanitarian assistance… (x4)
Govt sought to block aid to rebel held areas: UN needs consent - requires adherence to govt rules
But NGOs eg MSF just operate illegally
UNSC resolution on putting aid in, but no use of force
Then another with ‘notification’: showing effects of R2P, but didn’t invoke it – a slow reinterpretation of sovereignty
Voluntary international migration consists of what two types?
Economic migrants
Family reunification
Three types of forced migrants are…
Refugee - fled from state persecution
Asylum seeker - seeks formal protection upon entering another country
IDP - fled but not crossed border
Durable solutions are…
Including (x3)
Means of changing the legal status from refugee
Voluntary repatriation
Local integration – gaining citizenship
Resettlement to third state
What is protracted refugee situation? (x2)
Average length of exile now at 17 yrs
2/3 of refs in protracted situation
Developing state have responded to protracted refs by… (x3)
Building camps in the most remote regions,
Limiting the rights of refugees to freedom of movement
In the most extreme cases, by rejecting them at the border or refouling them.
Three explanations for refugee flight
Individualised persecution: refugee as activist, state seeking to cease political activities; the cause framed by Convention
Generalised violence: seeking safety from, as in civil war, Syria
Systematic targeting due to social/cultural group: not covered by Convention – at extreme = cleansing/genocide
Three different types of refugee flows, and the conditions required for return
Situational refs: flee war, deprivation – voluntary return needs peace/stability
Persecuted: flee group-based persecution – return needs credible protections
State-in-exile refs: flee military defeat – need new govt/military victory
What two aspects form the basis of the international refugee protection regime?
With the only legal mandate being held by the
Protection offered by international law, and
Humanitarian assistance
UNHCR
The Refugee Convention (x4)
Right to seek asylum, and not be forcibly returned
Must be ‘well-founded’ and supported
Only applies to 5 categories – race, religion, nationality, membership of social group/political opinion
144 state parties, with 144 to Protocol
What ambiguities are present in the Refugee Convention (x3)
Define persecution: threat to life/freedom, but not quantified; newly recognised forms, eg SGBV not included – state to decide; EU calls gender a ‘social group’, therefor within def
Persecution only from govt source: not NSAs, eg by Taliban govt, who weren’t recognised by Germany, so refs had no status there
Asylum not defined in IL: can’t cherry-pick destinations; right to flee, and seek, but not to gain asylum
