UNICEF Report on Child Refugees

UNICEF Report on Child Refugees

 

As per UNICEF Report

Children accounted for nearly half of all refugees, with the number of child refugees having doubled in the decade.

About one in three children who live outside their country of birth is a refugee. The much smaller ratio of displacement for adults — less than one in 20 according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees — reveals the starkness of the situation.

28 million of the 50 million children who have migrated or been forcibly displaced across borders are said to have fled violence. There were 10 million child refugees and one million child asylum-seekers, whose status had not yet been determined. The remaining 17 million children displaced by conflict remained within their home countries’ borders.

45% of the children refugees came from just two countries: Syria and Afghanistan.

Increasingly, these children are traveling alone, with 100,000 unaccompanied minors applying for asylum in 78 countries in 2015, three times the number in 2014.

20 million children are migrants, driven from their homes by poverty and gang violence among other things.

This highlights the brutal impact of the war on a segment of society that had little to do with the conflict directly or otherwise and has become the most vulnerable.

However, the refugees find no peace even when their motto is to get it when they leave their home which is in conflict zone.

Issues of Child Refugees:

Refugee and migrant children face a host of risks including drowning during sea crossings, malnourishment, dehydration, kidnapping, rape and murder.

Education of such children suffers. Even if the refugee or migrant child gets access to school, they are most likely to encounter discrimination – including unfair treatment and bullying.

When they arrive in other countries they often face discriminations and xenophobia.

Trafficking in boys and girls, conscription by armed groups in conflict zones and exploitation in the sex trade threatens both immediate and long-term danger to whole generations.

 

Suggestions:

 The report points to six specific actions that will protect and help displaced, refugee and migrant children:

Protecting child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence.

Ending the detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating by introducing a range of practical alternatives.

Keeping families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal status.

Keeping all refugee and migrant children learning and giving them access to health and other quality services.

Pressing for action on the underlying causes of large-scale movements of refugees and migrants.

Promoting measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization.

The recommendations of the UNICEF report are so comprehensive that anything short of swift and sweeping changes in global policy and practice are unlikely to yield tangible results.

 India and its refugee policy status

India is not a part to 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol. Hence, it is among the few liberal democracies to not have signed, supported or ratified the international convention that governs how nations should treat distressed people who are forced to leave their homes under harrowing conditions. India also does not have any domestic law or regional South Asian framework.

Logic behind India’s Stand:

Borders in South Asia are extremely porous and any conflict can result in a mass movement of people. Any commitment by such law can have:

A strain on local infrastructure and resources of developing countries that are poorly equipped to deal with sudden spikes in population.

It can upset the demographic balance in South Asia.

India is already home to biggest refugee populations in South Asia which caters to their needs when situation arises. Also, it does not take UN money to look after them.

Refugee status in India

India is home to diverse groups of refugees, ranging from Buddhist Chakmas from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, to Bhutanese from Nepal, Muslim Rohinygas from Myanmar and small populations from Somalia, Sudan and other sub Saharan African countries.

According to the UNHCR, there were 2,04,600 refugees, asylum seekers and “others of concern” in India in 2011. Majority were Tibetans and Sri Lankan Tamils.

Refugees come to India due to War (Bangladesh), Domestic conflicts (Tibet, Sri Lanka), Natural disasters (famine) and Environmental displacement and Human trafficking

Recently, government is planning to grant citizenship to Hindus and Sikhs who have sought refuge in the country from religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan.

Current status:

The refugee issue is dealt on a combination of ad hoc executive policies and judicial pronouncements, thus lacking a formal structure.

In the absence of a specific law, the Foreigners Act of 1946 deals with the entry and exit of foreigners. However, it does not recognise refugees as a special category deserving of humanitarian protection.

The process of deciding who qualifies as a refugee is also unclearà The Indian government determines refugee status for asylum-seekers from neighbouring regions like Tibet and Sri Lanka but asylum-seekers from other regions have to approach the UNHCR office in New Delhi.

Such inconsistent approach and lack of uniformity gave basis to Asylum Bill, 2015.

 Asylum Bill 2015

The Bill seeks to consolidate the various policies that apply to refugees in India and give India recognition for its long-standing commitment to refugee protection.

It codifies the rights and duties of refugees in India.

It proposes the establishment by the government of an autonomous National Commission, which will assess and determine claims for asylum in India.

The bill if becomes law, it will help government to have a formal structure of asylum management which is crucial in current times.

Also, the State authorities and structures will be well prepared to respond to any future refugee crisis coming to India. Europe’s lack of preparedness has shown the degree of undesirable consequences that have cast upon both host country and refugees.

The Asylum Bill, 2015 has been introduced as a Private Member’s Bill in Lok Sabha.

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