Standing Committee of the Executive Committee
of the High Commissioner's Programme (30th Meeting)
29 June - 1 July 2004

NGO Statement on
Protracted Refugee Situations
Agenda Item 5(ii)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

This statement has been drafted in consultation with a wide range of NGOs and is delivered on behalf of NGOs.

We are pleased that the Executive Committee has given greater attention to the subject of protracted refugee situations and has issued a document entitled "Protracted Refugee Situations" (EC/54/SC/CRP.14). The problem of protracted refugee situations affects a majority of all refugees world-wide. Whether living in camps, segregated settlements, or urban settings indefinitely, millions of refugees are often denied many of their basic Convention rights, including the rights to earn a livelihood - to engage in wage-employment, self-employment, and the ownership of property - freedom of movement and residence, and the issuance of travel documents. The international community has failed to address this enormous problem, leaving a huge gap in protection, and we urge decisive action to address this massive protection failure.

The NGO community welcomes several aspects of the document "Protracted Refugee Situations," especially its recognition:

a) that the severity of protracted refugee situations depends more on their conditions than on their duration, especially with respect to economic and social integration, including access to land and labour markets (para. 7);
b) that refugees' enforced reliance on external assistance is often due to deprivation of basic human rights for years, typically including restrictions on employment, movement, and confinement to camps (paras. 3-4);
c) that confinement to camps, while perhaps necessary in times of crisis, is "not in conformity with the rights enshrined in refugee instruments" (para. 9);
d) that steps to ensure that refugees enjoy basic Convention rights, including those necessary for self-reliance, are "core, mandate functions for the Office" and applicable even in the absence of immediate durable solution prospects (para 17); and
e) that "the short-term nature of planning and funding modalities is a contributing factor" (para. 4) and that spending on care and maintenance, while often necessary, "can only ensure that such situations are perpetuated, not solved" (para. 12).

The deprivation of the Convention rights of millions of refugees for years - even generations - calls for all parties: donors, hosts, UNHCR, and NGOs, to re-examine their policies. Most of the efforts of the international community with respect to protracted refugee situations emphasise either the provision of basic assistance or the search for durable solutions. By comparison, the international community has paid little attention to the fundamental rights of refugees to economic activity and choice of residence, as recognised by the Convention. The Executive Committee has not directly addressed this enormous problem of so many refugees in protracted situations being unable to exercise such rights. An ExCom Conclusion addressing protracted refugee situations may be one way forward. Refugee protection should promote freedom and self-reliance rather than confinement and dependency, which deny them the opportunity to lead normal lives and leave them effectively warehoused without a future.

We should always strive for durable solutions, which are the cornerstone of refugee protection, but the Convention does not condition enjoyment of these rights upon prospects for such solutions. In fact, the Convention explicitly recognises nearly all the basic rights immediately upon a refugee's flight. We should not wait for durable solutions before working to ensure that refugees are able to exercise these rights.

The international community, working with and supporting host countries and communities, should strive to ensure that all the rights afforded refugees by the Convention are honoured. We must share responsibility for refugee populations by supporting initiatives that promote refugee rights and by offering support, assistance, and encouragement to host states that honour refugees' rights. In this regard, we welcome UNHCR's efforts to engage governments, donors, NGOs, development agencies, refugees, and others in the process of resolving certain protracted situations.

At the same time, we oppose the phasing out of assistance to refugees - even in the name of self-reliance - in situations where refugees do not yet enjoy the legal rights to work, engage in professions and enterprises, own property, move about, and choose their residence, or are not receiving adequate education or healthcare. The document on Protracted Refugee Situations discusses several case studies where UNHCR is phasing out assistance, ostensibly to promote self-reliance, but fails to recognise that, in most of these cases, refugees lack some or all of these rights. In some cases, such as in Kenya, they are confined to camps and enforced idleness. For the Burmese Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, the host government has not granted refugees the right to work or freedom of movement and, as a result, temporary local integration efforts have left the refugees without aid, physical protection, or any real means to self-sufficiency.

With respect to the Bhutanese refugees residing in refugee camps in Nepal, we are concerned about UNHCR's plan to phase out aid for the refugees and promote self-sufficiency when the Government of Nepal has not yet supported or acknowledged the refugees' right to work or engage in other self-reliance activities. The Bhutanese refugees are well-educated, but lack employment opportunities and many must work illegally, rendering them vulnerable to unfair labour practices. We urge UNHCR and the Government of Nepal to work together to ensure that the Bhutanese enjoy the right to support themselves - in the absence of this right, adopting a policy of self-reliance would be premature. To facilitate the resolution of this protracted situation, we also support targeted resettlement and strong efforts by the international community to enable the voluntary repatriation of the Bhutanese.

We are disappointed that the document on Protracted Refugee Situations has not identified how gender and age are being mainstreamed, which are priorities identified by the organisation that should be incorporated throughout its programmes and policies. In this respect, we would like to know how UNHCR initiatives designed to address protracted refugee situations promote gender equality and empower women.

In addition to protection from non-refoulement and identification of durable solutions, UNHCR's protection mandate includes ensuring all the fundamental rights set forth in the Convention. UNHCR may not always have the power to ensure the enjoyment of these rights, but the NGO community urges UNHCR, at a minimum, to acknowledge their violation when it occurs. As the leading international voice on behalf of refugees, UNHCR should put the international community on notice of the gap between the standards set forth for the treatment of refugees and the situations they actually face. Most importantly, UNHCR, host and donor governments, NGOs, and the rest of the international community must act together to close that gap.

Thank you.