NGO Statement on International Protection

Mr. Chair, High Commissioners, members of the Executive Committee and observers, This statement has been drafted and is delivered on behalf of a wide range of NGOs.

We first wish to welcome the new High Commissioner's emphasis on UNHCR's protection mandate, the protection of internally displaced persons and on gender issues both within refugee communities and UNHCR. We also thank the High Commissioner for his engagement with the non-governmental sector, particularly his stated commitment to including non-governmental organizations in the EXCOM Conclusions process. We are aware that deficiencies remain in enabling us to have a meaningful role in this process, but remain optimistic that these can be overcome.

Resettlement
Mr. Chair, we are pleased to see the increasing use of resettlement as a protection tool. We welcome the increasing number of States offering resettlement and expanding resettlement programmes, in particular the proposed European Union resettlement scheme. However, this must not replace state obligations to asylum-seekers arriving in their countries. Furthermore, we must ensure that the selection method used in any comprehensive plan of action or group resettlement, does not result in the creation of 'residual caseloads' of vulnerable refugees, including women and children at extreme risk, people with disabilities, low educational attainment and the elderly. Resettlement should be founded on the principle of resettling those in greatest need of protection and should not be used to select refugees according to 'integration criteria,' labour market needs or other non-protection criteria.

However, we caution against the resettlement of refugees from their country of asylum to a third country in a manner that prevents choice. We note with concern that in some places, refugees are being forced to resettle through the withdrawal of essential services and lack of any other viable option for survival. NGOs have expressed concern about these situations, such as the Vietnamese Montagnards in Cambodia. Resettlement must always be voluntary, without any form of coercion and States must respect the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention and human rights law in providing effective, and where appropriate, durable protection to refugees in their territory.

Fair and Efficient Asylum Systems
We wish to echo the High Commissioner's concerns regarding "the increasing intolerance in society fed by politicians, in search of popularity, and media, in search of increased market shares", which has led to the deliberate conflation of asylum, migration, and security issues. The perpetration of the view that refugees and asylum-seekers are agents of insecurity and terrorism erodes public support for refugees, encourages racism and xenophobia, and undermines the institution of asylum. It is, therefore, imperative that resources be made available to UNHCR, States, and NGOs to work collaboratively to combat this worrying trend through public education and awareness-raising.

While we recognize that States are entitled to adopt appropriate policies on migration and security issues, we are deeply concerned that increasingly restrictive border protection measures, such as admissibility procedures, detention and off-shore processing, prevents access to asylum procedures and violates their human rights.

NGOs caution against the increasing use of bilateral or multilateral safe third country agreements. These agreements are problematic as, essentially, they authorise States to ignore an asylum seeker's particular circumstances in favour of a generalised determination of a third country's safety. This may mean that refugees are returned to a country that does not have proper status determination processes or where their rights cannot be guaranteed, breaching a State's non-refoulement obligations. Assessment that return to a country is safe should be based on substantive consideration of the individual circumstances of each asylum seeker, rather than on generalised country information.

Also troubling, is the increasing use of mandatory, indefinite and non-reviewable forms of detention to penalize and deter arrivals. In many countries, recognized refugees are detained for long periods because UNHCR documentation is not recognized or understood by local authorities. In some countries, police have detained recognized refugees who are not eligible for resettlement and refuse to release them until UNHCR can find a third country for them. Such measures inevitably end up punishing and further traumatizing the very people States are obliged to protect, namely victims of torture and persecution. We, therefore, urge UNHCR to redouble its efforts to work with States to implement UNHCR's revised Guidelines on Detention and combat the spread of arbitrary forms of detention. The prompt publication of UNHCR's thematic study on detention practices world-wide will greatly assist this process.

Furthermore, NGOs are concerned that the trend towards extra-territorial detention and processing increases incidences of arbitrary detention and undermines refugee protection. Signatory States, such as Australia and the United States, are already using offshore detention and processing 'solutions', where the accountability and responsibility for protection is weak and unclear, asylum systems lack capacity, access to legal counsel is inadequate and there is no right to judicial review. Equally troubling is Italy's practice of interdicting asylum seekers in the Mediterranean and forcibly removing them to Libya.

We welcome the Conclusion on Complementary Protection, as it provides valuable recognition of the protection needs of those who do not fall within the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol, but still have compelling protection related needs under international human rights treaties. We look forward to working with UNHCR to develop guidelines setting out the indicative criteria for complementary protection and procedures for status determination.

UNHCR has now for the first time published comprehensive guidelines on its procedural standards for refugee status determination; an important step forward that recognizes the importance of legal aid, greater transparency and the need to provide reasons for rejections. We are concerned, however, that UNHCR continues to withhold much of the evidence used in refugee status determination from the applicants concerned. There is still no clear plan to develop an independent appeal system and some of the standards are so broad that they can be watered down at the discretion of local officers.

In this regard, the role of information is essential to ensuring better protection. We call on UNHCR to make available Annual Protection Reports and Country of Origin Information to its partners.

Effective Protection in Host Countries
The draft Conclusion on Local Integration could mark an important step forward in reviving the role of local integration as a durable solution. Far from being a burden, refugees have valuable skills and capacities and can make a significant contribution to their host countries. It is in a host State's interest to integrate refugees and involve them in national development plans and we congratulate those States that have done so.

Importantly, the Conclusion recognises the value of self-reliance in developing refugees' economic and social capacity, in order to meet their essential needs on a sustainable and dignified basis. Promoting self-reliance is vital in affirming the rights contained in the 1951 Convention, such as the right to enjoy freedom of movement, engage in wage-earning employment, and acquire property. It should be emphasised that self-reliance is desirable, even where a durable solution is not immediately available. This is particularly important in the context of protracted refugee situations. However, self-reliance should be understood as a tool to achieve a durable solution, not as a solution in itself. We must also recognise that marginalised groups, such as female-headed households, people with disabilities and the elderly, for whom self-reliance is not an option, require special assistance. Hence, we caution against the withdrawal of assistance prior to the achievement of sustainable self-reliance.

The impact of premature withdrawal of assistance can be seen in relation to food security, for example, the prolonged situation of over 165,000 Saharawi refugees in Algeria who continue to be confined to camps and lack any meaningful opportunity to earn livelihoods. Contrary to the memorandum between WFP and UNHCR and obligations in the 1951 Convention, WFP and UNHCR threaten to exacerbate the situation by reducing humanitarian assistance by almost half. This has led to acute increases in malnutrition and anaemia. We call on UNHCR to reconsider this decision and ensure that food aid is provided in quantities commensurate with international standards.

Congolese refugees in three camps in North Western Tanzania also face similar difficulties, since WFP cut food rations at the end of last year. The creation of such insecurity leads to sexual exploitation and violence, for example women being raped when they leave the camp to find food or being forced to exchange sex for food. The international community must adhere to previously made commitments to refugee food security.

Many urban refugees do not enjoy access to a legal status or to basic economic, social, and cultural rights, such as the right to work or to adequate housing. Many urban refugees around the world fall into a "protection gap" and are thereby rendered invisible to the international community. Unaccompanied minors living in are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Urban refugee women and girls face problems of sexual and gender-based violence, are often forced into prostitution, or fall prey to traffickers. In many cases, they are unable to access UNHCR offices. NGOs call on States to commit to respecting and protecting the rights of all urban refugees on their territories, with specific attention being paid to particularly vulnerable refugees, including women, children, and the elderly. We appreciate UNHCR's consultations with NGOs during the revision its urban refugee policy. Swift adoption and implementation of this policy would constitute a significant step forward.

Protection needs of particular groups
Child protection must be an integral part of every humanitarian response, in accordance with the human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. All children formerly associated with armed groups must have access to comprehensive service provision including psycho-social, healthcare and education.

Displaced women and girls are at risk of rape and harassment and are often forced to prostitute, or to stay silent following rape and sexual assault in order to survive. This frequently results in rejection and stigmatization by family and community members and has horrific consequences for the physical and mental health of refugee women and children. However, they often lack access to adequate treatment and protection, both in countries of first asylum and resettlement countries. We urge States, and particularly countries of first asylum and resettlement countries, to identify and respond to those women and girls at extreme risk, and to ensure that refugee women and children have access to a range of appropriate protection measures, including medical and psycho-social services.

We also recognise that the varied causes of sexual and gender-based violence require preventative responses. We encourage UNHCR to undertake an assessment of the root causes of sexual and gender based violence with a view to developing and implementing strategies, including direct activities with perpetrators, to reduce the prevalence of sexual and gender based violence.

Despite the international community's knowledge of widespread sexual and gender-based violence in refugee situations, little is known of the special issues faced by refugee women and their children born of rape. There are reports of women and their children being stigmatised and expelled from their communities, of husbands rejecting their wives, of unsafe abortions and babies of rape being abandoned or killed. Little is known about the impact of bearing a child or children of rape on the integration experience of refugee women following resettlement or repatriation. The international community must recognise this issue and undertake comprehensive research to more thoroughly understand these issues.

We would like to draw the Executive Committee's attention to the unique position of forcibly displaced Palestinians. Millions of Palestinians fall into a gap with no access to any form of international protection. In this regard, we call on all actors to redouble their efforts at addressing this gap for Palestinian refugees. UNHCR, governments and other UN agencies should ensure Palestinian refugees' protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention to Palestinian refugees in light of the inclusion clause of Article 1D. Of continuing concern is the lack of protection provided to Palestinians under UNRWA's mandate, as well as those new IDPs created by the destruction of refugee camps and the illegal wall under construction.

There are also major concerns about the humanitarian situation in the Caucasus: the extreme living conditions and the difficulty of access lead to an inability to adequately assess the situation in various regions. The coming winter period increases the risk of vulnerability. The security situation continues to be a serious issue for humanitarian organisations. Although Russian authorities recently stated that the number of kidnappings in the Caucasus has decreased, the Chechen and other Caucasian populations continue to be the victims of this lucrative practice.

The risk of kidnapping also endangers humanitarian assistance. Movements are still very much hindered, thereby limiting the scope of humanitarian programs. More than a year after the release of one MSF colleague in Dagestan, the NGO is still confronted with the aftermath of his kidnapping. Even though the final release was negotiated between the Dutch government and the Russian authorities, MSF is currently being sued by the Dutch government for the payment of the ransom. From an NGO perspective, we consider that MSF would do all that is required to ensure the safety of their personnel. However, that does not include responsibility for a ransom agreement that was made between the Dutch government and the Russian authorities. This court case, taking place in Geneva, is unprecedented and does not address the issue of the kidnapping of a humanitarian worker, but aims to absolve a government's commitment to pay the criminals by suing an NGO.

Finally, we are encouraged by some of the outcomes of the 2005 General Assembly Summit, particularly the commitment by States to the Millennium Development Goals. While many of the Goals and targets relate to refugees, refugee concerns are not directly addressed. We thus urge UNHCR to concentrate on the Goals to bridge this divide and strengthen protection measures through the integration of humanitarian and development aid. We also welcome the decision to create a Peace Building Commission, strengthen human rights machinery and establish a Human Rights Council and we call on the international community to ensure that this will strengthen the international protection of persons of concern to UNHCR.

Thank you.