Rethinking the Global Refugee Protection System
The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) hosted a free event on its initiative, “Rethinking the Global Refugee Protection System,” from 8:30am-12:00pm on June 16, 2017 in the Town Hall Room at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP (801 17th Street, NW , Washington, DC 20006).
The event built upon CMS’ three-day symposium in 2016 with representatives from states, the UN system, supranational entities, academia, and leading non-governmental organizations on cutting-edge ideas to re-conceptualize and strengthen the global refugee protection system. In conjunction with the symposium, CMS commissioned papers on different aspects of the refugee protection system by leading scholars. These papers are part of a special edition of our public policy journal, the Journal on Migration and Human Security (JMHS), available at https://cmsny.org/cms-research/refugeeproject/.
With the number of displaced in the world at an historically high level, and with more than 21 million refugees worldwide, experts featured in this event discussed the challenges confronting the global refugee protection system, including US refugee policy, and offered possible reforms to the global and US refugee protection systems.
Multimedia
Rethinking the Global Refugee Protection System | Welcome and Session I
Jun, 30 2017 Posted in Event Video
Rethinking the Global Refugee Protection System | Session II
Jun, 30 2017 Posted in Event VideoRelated Research
US and Global Refugee Protection System
Related Publications
Brad Blitz
Another Story: What Public Opinion Data Tell Us About Refugee and Humanitarian Policy
The article suggests that post-9/11 there has been a reconfiguration of refugee policy and a reconnecting of humanitarian and security interests which has enabled a discourse antithetical to the universal right to asylum. The main conclusion is that in a post-post-Cold War era, European governments have developed restrictive policies despite public sympathy. Support for the admission of refugees is not, however, unqualified, and most states and European populations prefer skilled populations that can be easily assimilated. In order to achieve greater protection and more open policies, this article recommends that human rights actors work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners to challenge the anti-refugee discourse through media campaigns and grassroots messaging. ...
Karen Musalo and Eunice Lee
Seeking a Rational Approach to a Regional Refugee Crisis: Lessons from the Summer 2014 “Surge” of Central American Women and Children at the US-Mexico Border
In the early summer months of 2014, an increasing number of children and families from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala — three of the most dangerous countries in the world — began arriving at the US-Mexico border in search of safety and protection. Responses to this “surge,” and explanations for it, varied widely in policy, media, and government circles. Two competing narratives emerged. One argues that “push” factors in their home countries drove children and families to flee as bona fide asylum seekers; the other asserted that “pull” factors drew these individuals to the United States. The first section of this paper examines and critiques the Obama administration’s policies during and after the 2014 summer surge, which took the form of expanded family detention, accelerated removal procedures, raids, and interdiction. The second section examines the “push” factors behind the migration surge — namely, societal violence, violence in the home, and poverty and exclusion in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. The penultimate section explores the ways in which the United States’ deterrence-based policies echo missteps of the past, particularly through constructive refoulement and the denial of protection to legitimate refugees. The paper concludes by offering recommendations to the US government for a more effective approach to the influx of Central American women and children at its border, one that addresses the reasons driving their flight and that furthers a sustainable solution consistent with US and international legal obligations and moral principles....
Ninette Kelley
Responding to a Refugee Influx: Lessons from Lebanon
Between 2011 and 2015, Lebanon received more than one million Syrian refugees. Already beset by political divisions, insecure borders, severely strained infrastructure, and over-stretched public services, the mass influx of refugees further taxed this small country. That Lebanon withstood what is often characterized as an existential threat has primarily been due to the remarkable resilience of the Lebanese people. It is also due to the unprecedented levels of humanitarian funding that the international community provided to support refugees and their host communities. The refugee response was not perfect, and funding fell well below needs. Nonetheless, thousands of lives were saved, protection was extended, essential services were provided, and efforts were made to improve through education the future prospects of close to half-a-million refugee children residing in Lebanon. This paper examines what worked well in Lebanon and where the refugee response stumbled, focusing on areas where improved efforts in planning, delivery, coordination, innovation, funding, and partnerships can enhance future emergency responses....
Susan Schmidt
‘They Need to Give Us a Voice’: Lessons from Listening to Unaccompanied Central American and Mexican Children on Helping Children Like Themselves
This article analyzes the responses of Central American and Mexican migrant children to one interview question regarding how to help youth like themselves, and identifies several implied “no-win” situations as potential reasons for the migration decisions of unaccompanied children. Furthermore, the children’s responses highlight the interconnected nature of economics, security, and education as migratory factors. Examination of children’s political speech revealed primarily negative references regarding their home country’s government, the president, and the police. The police were singled out more than any other public figures, with particular emphasis on police corruption and ineffectiveness. Additional analysis focused on children’s comments regarding migration needs and family....
Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, Nikolas F. Tan
The End of the Deterrence Paradigm? Future Directions for Global Refugee Policy
Asylum lies at the heart of the international refugee protection regime. Yet, today, most states in the developed world implement a range of deterrence measures designed to prevent access to asylum on their territories. With particular attention to Europe’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis, this paper categorizes contemporary deterrence policies. It then questions the sustainability and effectiveness of such policies. A number of deterrence measures do not conform with refugee and human rights law, rendering the refugee protection regime vulnerable to collapse. Finally, this article suggests some ways forward to address these problems. It discusses the partial success of legal challenges to deterrence measures and opportunities for alternative avenues to access protection. Ultimately, however, it argues that the viability of the refugee protection regime requires collective action and international burden-sharing. ...
Gabriella Sanchez
Critical Perspectives on Clandestine Migration Facilitation: An Overview of Migrant Smuggling Research
This paper provides an overview of contemporary, empirical scholarship on clandestine migration facilitation. It argues clandestine migration is not merely the domain of criminal groups. Rather, it also involves protection mechanisms crafted within migrant and refugee communities. Yet amid concerns over national and border security, and the reemergence of nationalism, said strategies have become increasingly stigmatized and perceived as an inherently criminal activity. This paper constitutes an attempt to rethink the framework in everyday narratives of irregular migration facilitation....
Bill Frelick, Ian M. Kysel, and Jennifer Podkul
The Impact of Externalization of Migration Controls on the Rights of Asylum Seekers and Other Migrants
This paper seeks to develop a working definition of the externalization of migration controls and how such externalization of the border implicates the human rights of migrants, and asylum seekers in particular....
Tara Magner
Refugee, Asylum, and Related Legislation in the US Congress: 2013-2016
This article describes the significant attempts to enact legislation related to refugees and international migrants since 2013 and examines the reasons why those attempts have not succeeded. It also describes American attitudes toward refugees and assesses whether those attitudes affected the fate of legislation....
David Hollenbach, S.J.
Borders and Duties to the Displaced: Ethical Perspectives on the Refugee Protection System
This essay proposes some ethical perspectives that can help in the task of reassessing the structure of the global refugee protection system in light of the extraordinarily high levels of refugee movement and forced migration occurring today. ...
Jeff Crisp and Katy Long
Safe and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation: From Principle to Practice
This article discusses the principles of voluntariness, safety, and dignity in the context of refugee repatriation. It begins by setting out the applicable legal framework, and discusses how that framework has been elaborated upon and refined since 1951. The article then discusses how the principles of voluntariness, safety, and dignity have, in practice, been applied (or, in a few unfortunate cases, ignored). After noting that we are now living in an era of protracted refugee emergencies, the article concludes with a number of recommendations regarding alternatives to repatriation and the conditions under which repatriation can take place without offense to the principles of voluntariness, safety, and dignity....
Donald Kerwin
How Robust Refugee Protection Policies Can Strengthen Human and National Security
This paper makes the case that refugee protection and national security should be viewed as complementary, not conflicting state goals. It argues that refugee protection can further the security of refugees, affected states, and the international community. Refugees and international migrants can also advance national security by contributing to a state’s economic vitality, military strength, diplomatic standing, and civic values. The paper identifies several strategies that would, if implemented, promote both security and refugee protection. It also outlines additional steps that the US Congress should take to enhance US refugee protection policies and security. Finally, it argues for the efficacy of political engagement in support of pro-protection, pro-security policies, and against the assumption that political populism will invariably impede support for refugee protection....
George Rupp
Rethinking the Assumptions of Refugee Policy: Beyond Individualism to the Challenge of Inclusive Communities
The values of individualism developed in the post-Enlightenment West are at the core of the contemporary refugee protection system. While enormously powerful, this tradition assigns priority to the individual as distinguished from the community. Based on patterns established in centuries of religious thought and practice as well as on the insights of key thinkers in the tradition of Western individualism, this paper argues that consideration of communities should receive greater emphasis. In terms of the refugee protection system, this shift requires examining how best to address the needs of communities that are uprooted, as well as the needs of communities into which displaced persons are received, rather than only focusing on individuals who cross a border and seek refugee status....
Susan F. Martin
New Models of International Agreement for Refugee Protection
This article argues for new frameworks to more effectively address the situation of the totality of displaced persons, citing two recent efforts — the Nansen Initiative and Migrants in Countries in Crisis Initiative — as examples of practical ways to move forward....
Volker Türk
Prospects for Responsibility Sharing in the Refugee Context
The current state of forced displacement today, with record numbers and rising levels of need, poses challenges of a scope and complexity that we have not had to face since the Second World War. Yet, if we make every effort to place refugee protection at the heart of our response, these challenges are not insurmountable. The international refugee regime provides us with tried and tested tools to address them. What is needed now is to put our collective resources and capacities to their most effective use. We are already seeing this in the recent move towards creating a proposed Global Compact on Responsibility Sharing for Refugees, as set out in the UN secretary-general’s report, In Safety and Dignity: Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. We are also seeing this with innovative directions in protection, assistance, and solutions for refugees that are helping us to operationalize long-standing principles of protection, transforming them into tangible results for refugees. New forms of group determination, combined with community-based protection and other measures, can help to ensure an appropriate legal status while at the same time identifying specific protection needs. Protection strategies can inform frameworks for governing migration and meeting the needs of the most vulnerable migrants. The integration of services to refugees within national systems and the expansion of cash-based programming can meet essential needs for assistance more effectively. Finally, the humanitarian-development nexus, the progressive realization of rights — including the right to work, and the creation of complementary pathways for admission — can provide the building blocks for achieving longer-term solutions, which remain, as ever, the ultimate aspiration of the international refugee protection regime....