STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS TO ENSURE PROTECTION

NGO submission to the 50th Session of the Executive Committee of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Programme, 6 October 1999

The non-governmental organisations (NGOs) welcome the focus on refugee protection and partnership at the 50^th Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner for Refugees’ programme (EXCOM). It is increasingly acknowledged that the protection of refugees involves NGOs as key partners both in situations of mass displacement as well as with individuals seeking asylum.

The Partnership in Action (PARinAC) process has been key in increasing UNHCR- NGO cooperation in refugee assistance and protection. We welcome the revitalisation of the PARinAC process and note that the spirit of PARinAC has led to enhanced relationships between NGOs and UNHCR, between NGOs and governments, and even between NGOs themselves. The partnerships between governments, UNHCR and NGOs in the CIS Conference have strengthened civil society and built a network of NGOs concerned with displacement questions. Two other recent partnerships also deserve mention: the Protection Reach-Out process with NGOs on protection and the inclusion of NGOs as observers to the Standing Committee, at least for the year 2000.

All parties have much to learn from each other about how partnerships might be strengthened in the interests of refugees. As NGOs, we are committed to finding new ways to forge transparent and meaningful partnerships based on equality and mutual respect. We affirm our strong commitment to the PARinAC process and related UNHCR-NGO partnerships, including the Protection Reach-Out.

We are concerned that recent bilateral efforts by governments, as was seen during the Kosovo crisis, are hampering UNHCR's ability to protect and assist refugees. Such efforts are a serious obstruction to meaningful partnerships. We urge governments to increase partnerships with UNHCR and NGOs. NGOs should be involved in all aspects of refugee protection and assistance.

If refugee protection is to be ensured, partnerships with refugees need to be strengthened. Refugees' voices lie at the heart of finding solutions to their plights. Community consultation and participation are crucial elements in avoiding beneficiaries’ dependency, in properly assessing their vulnerability, in rebuilding communities, and in paving the way for the full rehabilitation of the communities of concern. A community-based approach must be the basis on which refugee assistance is assessed, implemented, and evaluated.

The NGOs strongly endorse the recent opening speech of the UN Secretary-General to the 54^th session of the General Assembly stating that the aim of the UN Charter is to protect the rights of individual human beings, not to protect those who abuse them. While recognising that the primary responsibility to protect human rights lies with States, the United Nations, international organisations and NGOs must act when serious human rights violations occur. Far too often, indiscriminate attacks on civilians, killings, rapes, and other atrocities lead to large-scale forced displacements and widespread suffering.

The NGOs are deeply alarmed by the acute and grave crises presently taking place in the North Caucasus and East Timor. Once again the international community has seriously failed to prevent these crises. The international community is now being tested and found wanting as to its ability to provide protection and assistance to alleviate suffering and restore the human dignity of the thousands of refugees and displaced persons.

At the same time, NGOs continue to be extremely concerned by the double-standards that prevail in protection and assistance to refugees and displaced persons. The attention given to the Kosovar refugees, both in terms of assistance and willingness to share protection responsibilities, has not been repeated in similar crisis situations, such as Sierra Leone.

A protection response to refugees and displaced persons must not only be based on refugee law but must also make full use of the broad framework of international human rights instruments. Partnerships are essential in underpinning a comprehensive and effective international response.

We would like to see partnerships developed that encompass protection roles in more comprehensive terms and that address the following issues:

The past year has seen the right to seek and enjoy asylum being threatened in many regions. The use of unlawful and inappropriate control mechanisms including arbitrary detention, rejection at the border, interdiction, and carrier sanctions, as well as more blatant forms of refoulement, have all served to weaken the international protection regime. Lack of access to asylum procedures, as well as failures to heed very obvious early-warning signals – including human rights reporting by NGOs – have undermined protection through inaction or inadequate assistance. These threats to the institution of asylum can be avoided by the active participation of NGOs in drawing up regulations, building monitoring networks, and implementing conflict-prevention mechanisms.

NGOs are critical partners in ensuring effective and efficient refugee status determination procedures. By providing legal representation, for example, NGOs can ensure that fair and early decisions are taken on refugee status, thus avoiding drawn-out and inefficient processes. Governments should actively consider funding programmes for the legal representation of asylum-seekers.

A key partnership that ensures protection is that between NGOs and governments in drafting migration legislation, whether formally or informally, as has taken place in many countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. UNHCR also has a role in facilitating the input of NGOs in setting national standards. We appeal to governments to recognise the expertise of NGOs in agreeing on standards that all use as the framework for the rights of refugees.

The notion of security has different facets. It is, of course, paramount that refugees in flight, in camps and settlements, and in return movements are physically protected. The involvement of military forces plays an important role in providing security for refugees, such as the separation of armed elements from the refugees. But we note with great concern the increasing involvement of the military in humanitarian assistance that very often compromises humanitarian principles.

The physical security of women refugees is of real concern and we welcome the attention paid to this issue by UNHCR. The protection of refugee children, especially the girl-child, is also of concern. We call upon states to undertake greater efforts to ensure that children are not forced into participating in conflicts and that girls are not kidnapped as sexual slaves.

Continued and safe access to refugees and displaced persons is essential in providing protection and assistance. Access and security remain the biggest obstacles for mounting an effective response. In a number of regions, where, for security reasons, UNHCR, international organisations and international NGOs do not have access, they could work through local NGOs. However, it must be remembered that where there is no international presence to act as eyes and ears, refugees and internally displaced are in the most critical situations.

The notion of security has been taken by asylum States to mean their own security and not the security of refugees. For example, arbitrary detention has been resorted to in a number of countries on the flimsiest of security grounds. In other cases, refugees are deemed inadmissible to determination procedures for security reasons that are not disclosed.

NGOs share many of the concerns expressed by UNHCR in this year’s Note on International Protection (A/AC.96/914) and the Conference Room papers addressing detention, statelessness and family protection. We urge governments to fully incorporate key-issues raised in these papers into the Protection Conclusions. We are seriously concerned that many of the key principles get lost in the Conclusions of the EXCOM and often do not reflect a true commitment by Member States to ensure protection in accordance with established international human rights and refugee standards. As the High Commissioner stated in her opening remarks to this EXCOM in relation to the upcoming Tampere Summit: "Refugee policy should be developed in a way that is visionary and forward-looking and not simply based on minimum common denominators." NGOs believe they can add value to the Conclusions and should, therefore, have a greater opportunity for dialogue with governments and UNHCR about the Conclusions drafting process. We urge the Chairman to consider how this might be achieved in his deliberations about reforming the EXCOM procedures.

NGOs call on UNHCR and governments to take positive steps in providing guidance to states in resolving protection problems relating to statelessness, including prolonged detention. The June Standing Committee paper on statelessness provided constructive suggestions on this matter.

Statelessness is an increasing problem. One example where partnership resulted in a positive outcome is the situation of the Crimean Tatars, where UNHCR, working with the Ukrainian and Uzbek Governments, reached a durable solution to the long-standing problem. Yet there continue to be many unresolved and protracted examples of statelessness and disputed nationality, such as that of the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. We urge UNHCR and governments to address these outstanding problems as a matter of priority.

In the absence of a single organisation mandated to meet the protection and assistance needs of internally displaced persons, increased partnership among international organisations and between them and NGOs is more important than ever. Despite increased international attention to internally displaced persons over the past few years, most displaced remain vulnerable and unprotected.

In Colombia, where there is some limited international presence, the NGOs welcome the UN’s increased attention to the serious situation confronting internally displaced persons. The establishment of the offices of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNHCR has clearly contributed to a greater awareness of the problem by the Colombian Government, the implementation of stronger measures for protecting displaced communities and improvement of early-warning mechanisms regarding violations and possible displacement situations. Such partnerships can serve as a model to address similar problems elsewhere.

As we approach the new millennium, as well as the 50^th anniversary of UNHCR, we share UNHCR’s hope for global and equal partnerships between governments, UN agencies, NGOs and refugees and displaced persons for improved protection. The concluding statement in this year's Note on International Protection sums it up well:

"The protection of refugees is not only an ethical and legal imperative, but also a prudent insurance policy for an uncertain future."