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Coverage of the World Refugee Survey 2008
Statements from members of Congress
IRRI: World Refugee Survey: How Has Africa Scored in 2008?
The International Refugee Rights Initiative reviewed the grades African countries received in its July 2008 newsletter:
Examining the grades received by African countries included in the Survey between 2007 and 2008, we see an overall improvement in policy--a tribute to the good work of advocates across the continent. Amongst African countries 23 grades improved, while only 18 declined. That said there was also disturbing deterioration in some countries and two African countries -- Kenya and Sudan -- were singled out as among the ten "worst places for refugees." ...
As noted above, the grades necessary present a simplified, rather than nuanced assessment of refugee policies which are often complex and may benefit some refugees while targeting others. However, these grades can serve as an advocacy tool, challenging governments whose policies received poor marks and holding up others who received good marks as examples for their peers. Advocates on the continent may wish to consider both how they can use these grades as tools and also whether they would like to contribute information and analysis to next year's Survey. USCRI gathers much of its information through partner organizations working at the national level, such as the Rencontre Africaine pour la Defense des Droits de l'Homme (RADDHO) in Senegal and the Refugee Law Project in Uganda.
Uganda: Country Makes Progress in Refugee Care by Joseph Kariuki and Raymond Baguma
The New Vision covered the release of the Survey in a July 13 article:
A survey conducted by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants shows that by the end of 2007, the number of refugees in the world reached over 14 million, with Uganda hosting more than 200,000, mainly from Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan.
The 2008 World Refugee survey, titled, A race to the bottom, launched by the Refugee Law Project recently, paints a dark picture of how the refugees are treated worldwide. ...
During the launch of the report, Paulina Wyrzykowski, a lawyer and research officer at the Refugee Law Project, said while there was still a lot of work to be done to improve the lives of refugees around the world, refugees in Uganda had done much of it.
However, urban refugees face the greatest challenge since they compete for opportunities with the nationals. Wyrzykowski said although the refugees in camps were given land for cultivation, most of it was unproductive.
For this reason, they run to urban centres. Despite the urban refugees facing a myriad of problems like language barrier, poverty, disease and insecurity, Wyrzykowski said, they are better off than their counter parts in camps.
The New Vision also featured Urumuri Rw'abatimbo, the Burundian refugee drummers pictured above, in its July 10 article "Refugees Change Lives With Drums."
Report: Thailand, Malaysia, India among Ten “Worst Places for Refugees” by Warangkana Temapti
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation, a Berlin-based non-profit promoting human rights and liberal democracy, reported on USCRI-Thailand's release event:
The goal of the campaign is to end the practice of “warehousing” refugees or keeping them in camps and withholding their human rights to travel, relocate and most importantly to legally earn a living. “Withholding the right to work is synonymous to reducing the value of a human being…the dignity of looking after themselves and their families,” said [Dr. Anusorn Tamajai], one of the speakers at the press conference. “On the contrary, the government can reduce its financial burden simply by giving refugees the right to work.”
Dr. Anusorn, dean of the Economics Faculty at Rangsit University, said Thailand has an unfilled market demand for some labour jobs that can be filled by refugees. The fact that Thailand has restrictive policies on refugees and refuses to grant them the right to work has fostered corruption, cross-border human trafficking and exploitation of illegal immigrant workers.
In April 2008, for example, 54 Burmese suffocated to death in the back of a packed, unventilated container truck while being smuggled across Thailand. In Mae Hong Sorn province, refugees and asylum seekers who sought illegal employment in agriculture got paid between 41 to 60 baht a day (US$1.2-US$1.8) although the minimum daily wage in Thailand is in the range of 148-203 baht (US$ 4.5- US$6.2) depending on the province. According to the World Refugee Survey 2008 report, Thailand has 486,000 refugees and asylum seekers, the majority of which are from Burma. As many as 40 percent sought illegal employment outside the camps and are paid way below the minimum wage.
“There are jobs that Thais do not want to do, but the market demand is there,” said Dr. Anusorn. “If we give these refugees opportunities to fulfil this demand, our country will also benefit.”
Thailand: Bangkok Post Editorial Cites Survey
In calling for Thailand to work with UNHCR for the safe and voluntary repatriation of Hmong refugees from Laos in a June 29 editorial, the Bangkok Post cited the World Refugee Survey's criticism of Thailand's refugee rights record:
A US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) report recently gave the country bad marks for its record on refugees. While it should be remembered that few countries have had to deal with the kind of refugee pressures Thailand has for so long, chiefly from Burma and to a lesser extent from Laos - and despite the fact that Thailand has never signed the UN Convention on Refugees - repatriation should only be an option after an arrangement has been worked out between the Thai and Lao governments and the UNHCR to allow for monitoring of the situation.
Uganda: Urban Refugees Struggle to Survive by Evelyn Lirri
The Monitor in Kampala interviewed Paulina Wyrzykowski of the Refugee Law Project, USCRI's research partner in Uganda, for a June 25 story.
Mr Eric Miyumbeko, a Burundian refugee has been struggling to make a living in Kampala. The 23-year-old escaped violence in his country in July 2004 and sought refuge in Uganda.
"When there was a lot of fighting in our village, we ran and unfortunately I got separated from my parents and family members.
Todate I don't know where they are," Mr Miyumbeko said. Here at Old Kampala, he lives with his wife and son. But it's not all rosy for Mr Miyumbeko. He engages in odd jobs like washing cars and doing laundry. "Sometimes they even don't pay me and at times if they know that I am not Ugandan, they pay me less the price we had earlier negotiated," Mr Miyumbeko said.
"Others call me a Somali and others tell me to go back to Rwanda because I want to take over their jobs," he said. Mr Miyumbeko's concerns too have been raised in the latest 2008 World Refugee Survey that was released by the Uganda Refugee Law Project to coincide with the World Refugee Day on June 20.
Giving a global perspective, the report said more than 8.5 million refugees worldwide have been denied a right to work or move freely but said Uganda was more receptive to refugees than many countries.
"While there is still a lot of work to be done to improve the lives of refugees around the world, here in Uganda, refugees have done much of it already and in the process they have contributed a great deal to this country," said Ms Paulina Wyrzykowski, a lawyer and researcher at the Refugee Law Project.
Survey says 500,000 Iraqis fled fighting in 2007 by William C. Mann
The Associated Press (AP) reported on June 19, 2008 that:
A half-million Iraqis fled their embattled country in 2007, the third consecutive year more Iraqis were displaced than any other nationality, a survey of the world's refugees reported Thursday.
As before, most went to neighboring Syria, and some fanned out into other neighboring countries, the survey by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants said. It said the United States accepted few, just over half the 3,000 it had promised to resettle by the end of September.
The report said the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had referred 10,000 Iraqis for U.S. resettlement.
It said the Iraqi exodus "from the violence and instability of their homeland" constituted "the largest refugee crisis of 2007."
"While the Bush administration and the United Kingdom are busy trying to win the war, they have provided no leadership toward ensuring the rights and well-being of the victims of this war," the report said. "Europe, which for the most part warned of the dire humanitarian consequences of the war, has also done nothing to help the people they were so concerned about."
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said the survey "shows the United States still has far to go to support the rights of refugees worldwide."
"The United States has a moral obligation and a security interest in trying to alleviate the suffering of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons, particularly those who risked so much over the past few years to help our military and diplomatic efforts in their country," Cardin said Wednesday.
Iraq Still a Major Source of Refugees in 2007 by Jim Lobe
The Inter Press Service (IPS) reported on June 19, 2008 that:
Despite a marked reduction in violence due in part to more aggressive U.S. counter-insurgency efforts in 2007, Iraq was the biggest source of the world's newest refugees for the third year in a row, according to the latest annual report of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) released here Thursday.
Last year's exodus was absorbed mostly by Syria, which took in some 500,000 Iraqis during the year -- or nearly half of the more than a million people who sought refuge by crossing an international border during 2007. Tens of thousands more Iraqis also found their way to Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Turkey, and even Sweden and Germany, which took in, respectively, 10,000 and 6,700 Iraqis during the year.
The report, "World Refugee Survey 2008", said more than two million Iraqis are currently living outside their homeland, the vast majority in Syria and Jordan.
Somalia -- also caught up in Washington's "global war on terror" -- ranked second as a source of new refugees during the year, in large part due to renewed fighting there after U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops ousted Islamist forces, who had brought order to much of the chronically unstable East African nation in 2006, from the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the countryside, according to the new report.
Refugees Observe International Refugee Day by Saw Yan Naing
Naing wrote in a June 20, 2008 article for The Irrawaddy:
According to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), nearly 22,000 refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, departed Thailand to resettle in third countries in 2007.
The USCRI says refugees’ rights in Thailand should be improved.
Dares Chusri, the USCRI country director, said Thailand’s ranking has fallen recently, particularly in terms of refugees’ freedom and living conditions, partly because of the forced deportation of Burmese and Hmong asylum seekers, The Bangkok Post, an English-language newspaper, reported on Friday.
US Group Highlights Plight of World's Refugees by Michael Bowman
The Voice of America (VOA) reported on June 19, 2008 of the release of the Survey and the attention it brings to the plight of refugees today:
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, or USCRI, estimates the number of refugees has increased in the last year to more than 14 million people worldwide. Much of the recent growth comes from vast numbers of Iraqis, more than two million in all, who continue to flee violence and bloodshed that has gripped the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Most Iraqi refugees have settled in Jordan and Syria, where they are prohibited from working legally, according to USCRI President Lavinia Limon.
"You have 40 percent of the professional class of Iraq who have left the country," said Lavinia Limon. "How many teachers, doctors, engineers, who speak the same language, who have common culture and religion to Syria and Jordan, and if they were allowed to work they would be contributing to those economies, instead of being engaged in underground work where they are exploited?"
Limon was speaking on Capitol Hill. She was joined by several U.S. lawmakers who accused the Bush administration of failing to do its part to welcome refugees from Iraq, especially those who once served as translators for U.S. troops and contractors performing missions in Iraq. Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin:
"When you look at a country like Sweden, that has nine million people, and in 2007 alone relocated 18,000 Iraqis, and then you look at the United States, which has relocated around 5,000 [Iraqis] since 2003, you wonder as to the commitment our country has made to take care of people that we put at risk," said Senator Cardin.
Malaysia Disagrees With World Refugee Survey
Malaysia's state news agency reported on the Survey in a June 20, 2008 article:
Malaysia strongly disagrees with the newly released World Refugee Survey 2008, which among others puts the nation in the same basket as China, India, Thailand and Bangladesh, in the treatment of refugees.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in stating this here Friday, said Malaysia to date has been quite cooperative "in terms of some refugees who make their way to Malaysia" seeking shelter.
"But we have to balance (this) with the fact that we cannot open the floodgates, otherwise we would face serious problems.
"We already have problems of illegal immigrants in Sabah. This is already a major concern for some. How much more open do you want Malaysia to be? Already people are complaining (of Malaysia's situation for letting in too many illegal immigrants). I would certainly disagree with the report," he said.
He told reporters this after chairing the cabinet committee meeting on investment and infrastructure, here Friday.
Five Asian nations branded 'worst' refugee violators by P. Parameswaran
Agence France-Presse (AFP) focused on the five Asian countries cited as being among the worst places for refugees:
China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh have been identified as among the worst violators of refugees' rights in a global survey released ahead of Friday's World Refugees Day.
They joined Iraq, Kenya, Russia, Sudan and Europe as the 10 worst places for refugees last year, according to the World Refugee Survey 2008 released in Washington on Thursday.
The annual study, conducted by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), a non-governmental group, also showed the total number of refugees growing to 14 million at the end of 2007, the largest it has been since 2001.
India among 10 worst violators of refugees' rights in USCRI's 2008 list
Asian News International (ANI) reported on June 20, 2008 that:
India is among the ten worst violators of refugees' rights according to the World Refugee Survey 2008, which is releasing the 47th edition of the Survey.
According to a report from the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), Bangladesh, China, India, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, Sudan, Thailand, and some countries of Europe were collectively among the worst places for refugees last year.
Thailand ranked as one of worst places by Achara Ashayagachat
The Bangkok Post reported on June 20, 2008 that:
Thailand ranks as one of the world's worst places for refugees due to its poor treatment of Burmese and Hmong asylum seekers and of the long-necked Padaung tribe, according to a survey released on World Refugee Day yesterday. Other countries listed among the worst places for refugees are Bangladesh, China, several European Union (EU) countries, India, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, and Sudan, according to a 18-page report conducted by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).The ranking is based on a country's treatment of refugees such as giving them the right to earn a livelihood, physical protection, access to the courts, and freedom of movement and residence in the country surveyed.
USCRI country director Dares Chusri said Thailand's ranking fell from the previous survey, particularly in terms of refugee freedom and residence, due to the forced deportation of Burmese and Hmong asylum seekers and the Padaung tribe, who fled their homes in Burma to escape armed hostilities between government troops and ethnic rebels more than 15 years ago.
NGO names worst violators of refugee rights, criticizes border policies by Deirdre Jurand
Reporting for Jurist, Jurand reported on the release of the Survey in a June 20, 2008 article and focused the criticism of Europe:
European nations are among the worst violators of refugee rights because of the countries' strict border policies and their treatment of refugee seekers, according to a report released by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) on Thursday. The 60 main refugee host countries were graded based on their adherence to the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, specifically evaluating refugee policies on physical protection, detention and access to courts, labor, and freedom of movement. The report criticized France and Britain for returning asylum seekers to their home countries, and graded Russia as one of the worst refugee rights violators because of its "Byzantine system of rules and regulations that made it virtually impossible for asylum seekers to obtain legal refugee status." Five Asian countries, including Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as Iraq and the African nations of Sudan and Kenya, were named the worst violators of refugee rights.
Grupa 484, USCRI's research partner in Serbia, provided this compilation of Serbian news reports on the Survey's release.