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In 2007, more than 14 million people worldwide fled their homes because of war and persecution. These refugees seek a safe haven in which to live, yet are often met with hostility. USCRI has identified the ten worst violators of the international principles of providing refuge as outlined by the U.N. Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
Find out which countries made the bottom 10 list. You might be surprised at the results.
- Bangladesh: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 177,600
- China: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 323,600
- Europe: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 252,000
- India: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 420,400
- Iraq: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 44,800
- Kenya: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 319,400
- Malaysia: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 155,700
- Russia: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 159,500
- Sudan: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 310, 500
- Thailand: Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 406,000
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| Rohinya refugees scale fish in a squatter camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Credit: RMMRU/C.R.Abrar |
Over 170,000 ethnic Rohingya refugees are subject to rape and torture in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. Authorities arrested hundreds of refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar-including more than two dozen Buddhist monks-following the Myanmar junta's crackdown.
The Bangladeshi government denies most refugees any legal status-including the right to work and own property. Even though refugees have been in camps for more than a decade, they have no hope to live a normal life.
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 177,600
Read Bangladesh's Country Update
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| Chinese military policemen patrol the Yalu River, which marks the border between North Korean and China, in 2002. Credit: AP/G.Baker |
After escaping one of the world's most oppressive regimes, refugees from North Korea were forced to return and almost certainly face persecution and in some cases death. Chinese officials imprisoned innocent refugees and blocked international organizations from providing assistance.
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 323,600
Read China's Country Update
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| The Spanish Coast Guard intercepts a boat carrying African migrants near Tenerife Island. Credit: UNHCR/A.Rodriguez |
European countries repeatedly denied refugees a safe place to flee despite often being signatories of international conventions. Greece, Ukraine, Poland, and Slovenia refused to grant asylum to most seeking refuge, thus leaving many to return to potentially deadly situations in their native country.
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 252,000
Read Europe's Country Update
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| A Chin refugee from Myanmar recuperating at a clinic on the India-Myanmar border. Credit: Women's League of Chinland/C.Zahau |
The Indian government restricted aid to Tamil refugees who had fled the civil war in Sri Lanka, forcing these refugees to try to survive in extremely poor conditions. Officials also allowed a nationalist group to forcibly return ethnic Chin refugees to Myanmar.
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 420,400
Read India's Country Update
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| Al Tanf camp, home to Palestinians trapped in Iraq, in the wake of a fire that injured 28 refugees. Credit: UNRWA |
Shi'a militias in Iraq have targeted Palestinians for retribution since the fall of the Hussein regime in 2003. Gunmen shot and killed Palestinians, while insurgents tortured them to death and fired mortars into their neighborhoods.
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 44,800
Read Iraq's Country Update
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| Kakuma camp, Kenya, where rape and domestic violence were common and refugees often clashed with the local population. Credit: SaveDarfur.org/A.Osman |
Refugees from Somalia and Sudan have been confined in two main camps in situations lasting 16 and 24 years, respectively, without the right to work or live a normal life. Female refugees are especially vulnerable to rape, domestic violence, and arbitrary detention in these camps. These refugees suffer violations of their basic human rights on a daily basis.
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 319,400
Read Kenya's Country Update
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| Members of the People's Volunteer Corps (RELA) taking a foreign worker caught without a permit into custody, in a November 2007 raid that netted 56 arrests. Credit: Rescue Dog |
Malaysian officials employed a militia infamous for its violent raids to enforce its immigration laws. Many refugees were detained illegally, caned and deported-while some were even sold into slavery.
>Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 155,700
Read Malayasia's Country Update
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| Ultranationalist, anti-immigrant demonstrators march in Moscow in 2005. Credit: AP/I.Sekretarev |
Russia expelled thousands of asylum seekers without hearings, and forcibly returned at least one refugee to China. Russia also collaborated with Uzbekistan to kidnap and deport those suspected of opposing their government.
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 159,500
Read Russia's Country Update
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| Eritrean refugee children await High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on his April 26, 2007 visit to Wad Sherrife camp, Sudan. Credit: AP/N.Nasser |
Refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia have been confined for over 30 years in Sudan's harsh refugee camps, which are plagued by a lack of food or adequate drinking water. Sudan denies refugees the ability to work, so they are unable to break free of dependence upon international aid. Many become ill and die in the camps with no hope for a normal life.
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 310,500
Read Sudan's Country Update
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| A Lao Hmong refugee recounting her 2005 refoulement from Thailand and subsequent torture and sexual harassment by Lao police. Despite the abuse, Laos forced her to testify to her good treatment to an international delegation before she was able to escape again to Thailand. Credit: AP/A.Weerawong |
Thailand forced over 25,000 Burmese refugees back across the border to Myanmar (formerly Burma), turning many over to the ruthless military junta. Many of these fled to escape persecution by the junta.
Thai officials confined approximately 8,000 ethnic Hmong refugees to a camp and vowed to force them back to Laos "no matter how many bullet wounds they have."
Number of refugees and asylum seekers: 406,000
Read Thailand's Country Update
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