Rohingya row shows why we need a national refugee law

25 Aug 2022 Rohingya row shows why we need a national refugee law

• Refugee arrivals in India began with the partition of the country in 1947 and by the beginning of 2010, the number of refugees in Indian Territory had reached about 450,000.
• India is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. Since there is no refugee law in India, there is no uniformity in the treatment of refugees in the country.
• However, the refugee question is inextricably linked with the larger question of human rights and humanitarian law, as well as other areas of international law, such as state accountability and peacekeeping.

Existing Legislative Framework in India for the Management of Refugees

• India deals with all foreigners (whether illegal immigrants, refugee/asylum seekers or people residing in the country after the visa permit has expired) in accordance with the following laws:

Foreigners Act, 1946:

• Under its section 3, the central government has the power to detect, detain and deport illegal foreign nationals.

The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 [Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920]:

• Under its section 5, the competent authority may forcibly eject an illegal foreigner under Article 258(1) of the Constitution of India.

Foreigners Registration Act, 1939 (Registration of Foreigners Act of 1939):

• There is a mandatory requirement under which all foreign nationals coming to India (except Overseas Indian Nationals) on long term visa (more than 180 days) have to register themselves with a registering officer within 14 days of their arrival in India.

Citizenship Act, 1955 (Citizenship Act, 1955):

• In this, provisions have been made regarding renunciation of citizenship, termination of citizenship and deprivation of citizenship.
• In addition, the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Christian, Jain, Parsi, Sikh and Buddhist migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• India has established a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed by all relevant agencies while dealing with foreign nationals claiming to be refugees.
• The Constitution of India also respects the life, liberty and dignity of human beings.
• In the case of National Human Rights Commission v State of Arunachal Pradesh (1996), the Supreme Court made it clear that all fundamental rights are available to Indian citizens, however, the right to equality and right to life are also available to foreign citizens.

Status of refugees in India

• Since its independence, India has accepted various groups of refugees from neighboring countries, including:
• Refugees coming from Pakistan due to Partition in 1947.
• Tibetan refugee who came to India in the year 1959.
• Chakmas and Hajongs from East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) in the early 1960s.
• Other Bangladeshi refugees who came in 1965 and 1971.
• Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka in the 1980s.
• Rohingya refugees from Myanmar recently.

Difference between refugees and migrants

• Refugees are people forced to live outside their country of origin who, as a result of persecution, armed conflict, violence or serious public disorder in their country of origin, face serious threats to life, physical integrity or liberty and are in danger of international security.
• Migrants are people who leave their country of origin for work or study or to join their families living abroad.
• There are well defined and specific grounds that have to be confirmed for a person to be marked as a ‘Refugee’.
• There is no internationally accepted legal definition of migrant.

Why has India not signed the Refugee Convention, 1951?

 Disagreements on the definition of refugee:

• The Refugee Convention, 1951 defines refugees as people who are deprived of their civil and political rights, but not economic rights.
• If the violation of economic rights is also included in the definition of refugee, it will obviously create a huge burden on the developed countries.

Centrality of Europe:

• India recognizes that the Refugee Convention, 1951 is mainly Eurocentric and does not care for South Asian countries. At the same time, apprehensions have also been expressed by India that it will affect the security and domestic laws of the country.

Challenges facing refugees in India

 Fear and Insecurity:

• Refugees are not given much importance in the society. They are not treated well by the local residents due to which they develop a sense of fear and insecurity.
• They are often exploited physically and emotionally by the local residents on the grounds of not being citizens of the same land.

Deprived of basic amenities:

• They also have to struggle to get the basic necessities of life like food, shelter and employment.
• They are forced to work for minimum wages without any high social status or privileges.

Lack of well-defined framework for their protection:

• India’s ad-hoc administrative policy on refugees has created an atmosphere of confusion.
• Lack of awareness and misleading information creates a sense of insecurity and isolation among refugee communities.

Long process of identification:

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issues a refugee card through the refugee status determination process, but this process is time-consuming and can take up to 20 months for identification and evaluation.
• If a refugee is arrested by the police within that period, they are subject to detention and deportation without being granted any access to the UNHCR.

Misidentification as immigrants:

• In the last few decades many people from neighboring countries have immigrated to India illegally. They have come not because of the oppression of the state, but to take advantage of better economic opportunities.
• Similar examples are found elsewhere in the world as well. As such 98% of the total migrants from Mexico have moved to the United States where they number more than 9 million (registered and unregistered).
• It is true that most of the discussions in India are about illegal immigrants and not refugees, but these two categories tend to be related to each other.

Conclusion:

 Fair and effective registration process:

• Processes determining the status of refugees should be made more equitable and effective while enhancing or maintaining standards in registration and identification.

Infrastructure improvements:

• The fulfillment of essential services and needs should be kept in mind.
• These include improving access to education, promoting programs for people with special needs, and maintaining health facilities.

Spreading awareness among local residents:

• Community participation is essential for providing shelter to refugees and improving their self-reliance capacity by providing them temporary livelihood, for which people should be made aware.

Ensuring the safety of women and children:

• In accordance with the Fundamental Duty enshrined in our Constitution, refugee women and children should be protected from violence and persecution by the authorities and local people.
• Article 51A (e) requires every citizen to abjure practices degrading to the dignity of women.

Emotional Support:

• A person becomes a refugee because of circumstances that are beyond that person’s control.
• He is compelled to leave his country, his land due to the fear of persecution in the face of human rights violations, socio-economic and political insecurity. In such a scenario, we should aim to provide inclusivity and emotional support apart from financial support.

Yojna IAS daily current affairs eng med 25th August

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