UNHCR

The Rohingyas have been described as one of the most discriminated ethnic communities across the globe. The majority of the Rohingyas are Muslims who mainly resided in the Rakhine state of Myanmar but since the independence of Myanmar in 1948, this community has been persecuted and chased out from their homes by the majority Buddhist community. After the Burmese coup d'état of 1962, the newly established regime orchestrated a more

Tout premier instrument régional juridiquement contraignant relatif au déplacement interne ayant été adopté au monde, la Convention de Kampala représente une avancée historique pour promouvoir la responsabilité de l'État dans la protection et l'assistance aux personnes en situation de déplacement interne. Chaque année, les conflits, la violence, les catastrophes et les projets de développement contraignent des millions d’Africains à laisser leur foyer, leur communauté et leurs moyens de subsistance derrière eux. La Convention de Kampala met en place un cadre juridique africain pour prévenir les déplacements internes, pour protéger et aider les personnes pendant le déplacement, et pour fournir des solutions durables aux personnes déplacées. Cette étude se base sur les tendances actuelles du déplacement interne en Afrique de l’Ouest et met la lumière sur le contenu des obligations qui incombent aux Etats parties à la Convention vis-à-vis de leurs déplacés internes. Elle réaffirme également que la prise en compte des déplacements internes dans le cadre d'initiatives communautaires plus larges représente une opportunité pour les Etats membres de l’espace CEDEAO.

This evaluation reviewed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) child protection response in terms of its leadership role, strategies and programme performance with the purpose of informing the future of both UNHCR’s child protection strategy and the implementation of UNHCR child protection programming.

This project to reach this stage, could not have been possible without anticipatory, intellectual, professional and visionary input of the staff of Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas-Texas, Department of Anthropology, Forced Migration Innovation Project (FMIP). This is an opportunity to express my gratitude to them for their professional effort they invested when valuing the success of my idea. I want to thank the authorities of Nakivale refugee Camp for accepting my request to conduct the survey in the camp. Importantly, I would like to thank all respondents who committed their contribution to this research project by answering questionnaires through interviews. The information they provided contributed a lot in achieving the objectives of this research project.

With the Syrian refugee crisis after the civil war, which broke out in Syria in 2011,
the attention of the international community has once again turned to the international refugee law. In this context, it is possible to claim that the refugee influx
from Syria has brought important and problematic areas in refugee law to daylight. In this framework, especially precautions taken by unwilling states for not
allowing refugees to step in and worsening situation of the refugees in front of
the closed borders have made the non-refoulement principle an important subject
in the agenda of the international community. Since regulations concerning the
principle in different treaties and state practice vary, some important points of the
principle remain vague and as a result of this vagueness unwilling states interpret
the principle accordingly with their political and economic interests. This paper
critically outlines the important points of the principle and evaluates the principle
by referring treaty law, the decisions of different international courts and treaty
bodies and to the doctrine. Furthermore, in line with these evaluations, in this paper, some reform proposals with regards to defining the non-refoulement principle
are presented.

The authors conducted a new “mapping” in the sense that they re-identified general categories of stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness in Japan as broadly as possible in order to gain an overview of the cases in Japan.

Authored by Study Group on Statelessness in Japan. I co-authored and involved in the editing process.

Climate change threatens to cause the largest refugee crisis in human history. Millions of people, largely in Africa and Asia, might be forced to leave their homes to seek refuge in other places or countries over the course of the century. Yet the current institutions, organizations, and funding mechanisms are not sufficiently equipped to deal with this looming crisis. The situation calls for new governance. We thus outline and discuss in this article a blueprint for a global governance architecture on the protection and voluntary resettlement of climate refugees—defined as people who have to leave their habitats because of sudden or gradual alterations in their natural environment related to one of three impacts of climate change: sea-level rise, extreme weather events, and drought and water scarcity. We provide an extensive review of current estimates of likely numbers and probable regions of origin of climate refugees. With a view to existing institutions, we argue against the extension of the definition of refugees under the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Key elements of our proposal are, instead, a new legal instrument specifically tailored for the needs of climate refugees—a Protocol on Recognition, Protection, and Resettlement of Climate Refugees to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change—as well as a separate funding mechanism.

With emphasis on the ECJ's first Refugee Law case Salahadin Abdulla and Others (C-175/08), this article brings to light the failure to correctly interpret the Geneva Refugee Convention by different actors (UNHCR, the European Commission and the Court of Justice) responsible for its supervision and interpretation. The analysis focuses on: the relevance of the Refugee Convention for the EU's common policy on asylum; the role of the European Court of Justice in the interpretation of the Refugee Convention; the rules of interpretation to be used when interpreting the Convention; and the specific results to which the application of those rules would lead with respect to the so-called secession clause.

The reality is that UNHCR has to work with inconsistent and inadequate funding from States that lack the political will and contravene the principles of the convention and statute. There is the other question: is the 1951 understanding of refugee protection still attainable today? Cold war politics meant that protection was granted easily to refugees from enemy States and hence making UNHCR’s work easier, although the circumstances are different today. Yes, it may be true that UNHCR has abandoned some of its main principles but it is also important to remember the context of how this has happened.

In the summer of 2015, large numbers of refugees and migrants arrived on the shores of the Aegean islands but the Greek government and international organizations were slow to respond. How did civil society actors coordinate their responses when national, regional, and global governance failed? This article begins by describing how civil society actors improvised their response through everyday coordination mechanisms defined as the informal processes for communication and decision-making that make up the day-to-day action of implementation. Second, the article analyzes four examples of everyday coordination: new technologies (like Facebook groups and Whatsapp chats), peer-to-peer refugee coordination, maps of services, and field level working groups. Everyday coordination threatened state authority because it governed actors in a different way, created parallel systems, and sometimes promoted competing goals. The Greek government responded by institutionalizing, coopting, and cracking down on civil society actors helping refugees.

Durant la Guerre d'Algérie (1954-1962), plus de 200'000 civils algériens quittent leur pays pour trouver refuge en Tunisie et au Maroc. Bien que le Haut Commissariat pour les Réfugiés de l'ONU (HCR) ne soit a priori pas compétent pour les prendre en charge et que le gouvernement français refusent de les considérer comme des réfugiés à part entière, un élan de solidarité transnational va se mettre en place et permettre l'accueil, l'hébergement et enfin le retour des réfugiés. Le HCR va finalement s'impliquer dans cette vaste opération de secours qui constitue sa première mission hors d'Europe et le début d'une extension de son champ d'activité vers les pays du "Sud". Le Front de Libération National Algérien, la Croix-Rouge et de nombreuses autres ONG participent aussi à l'aide aux Algériens déplacés.
Encore peu documentée, cette histoire des réfugiés algériens permet d'éclairer l'épisode de la Guerre d'Algérie et la décolonisation en général à travers le prisme de la diplomatie humanitaire. Cette approche rend bien compte de la dimension profondément internationale, voire transnationale, du processus de décolonisation. Elle permet aussi de documenter l'impact de la question des droits de l'homme, des enjeux humanitaires et de la représentation des réfugiés sur le déroulement de la décolonisation.

Im Leben von Kriegsflüchtlingen bedeutet erlittene Folter eine einschneidende Zäsur. Die während der Folter erfahrene Machtlosigkeit kann zu tiefgreifenden psychischen Veränderungen führen, die das gewohnte Leben, seine Werthaltungen und Einstellungen in Frage stellen. Unter Folter erlittene Traumata wirken somit weit über die Dauer der unmittelbar lebensbedrohlichen Ereignisse hinaus. Hat ein Opfer von Gewalt auf verschlungenen und gefährlichen Fluchtwegen endlich Österreich erreicht, findet es sich erneut in einer - nicht nur rechtlich - unsicheren Situation wieder. Dieses Buch ist das Ergebnis einer Studie, in deren Rahmen die Situation von Flüchtlingen im österreichischen Asylverfahren anhand von 14 Einzelfällen aus psychotherapeutischer und rechtswissenschaftlicher Sicht untersucht wurde.

In psychotherapeutischer Hinsicht liegt der Fokus auf den Auswirkungen des Asylverfahrens auf die Situation der Betroffenen sowie umgekehrt, den Konsequenzen von Traumatisierung und Psychotherapie auf das Asylverfahren. Die rechtswissenschaftliche Perspektive widmet sich vor allem den Themen der Identifizierung der Menschen als Opfer von Gewalt im Asylverfahren, dem Dublin-Verfahren und der Prüfung der Glaubwürdigkeit der Asylsuchenden. Darüber hinaus werden auch der Zugang von Flüchtlingen zu medizinischer, psychologischer und psychotherapeutischer Betreuung im Zielland/Aufnahmeland Österreich und die Rolle des Weltstrafrechts- und Weltzivilrechtspinzips erörtert.

This chapter analyses the development of academic and policy attention to ‘women’ and ‘gender’ in forced migration contexts, highlighting the transition from documenting the particularities of female experiences, to a re-evaluation of the multiple ways in which processes of and responses to forced migration influence gender identities, roles and relations. The chapter is divided into three main sections. Firstly, it offers a brief historical overview of feminist contributions to analyses of forced migration. The second section then addresses gendered causes and experiences of forced migration by engaging with two sets of debates: gendered evaluations of individualised persecution on the one hand, and gendered experiences of conflict-induced mass displacement on the other. The first sub-section explores the gendered nature of refugee status determination processes, highlighting the biases underpinning ‘neutral’ legal definitions and policies, and documenting emerging sensitivity to the intersections between sexual orientation, gender identity and asylum. The second sub-section in turn traces developments in responses to sexual and gender-based violence in mass displacement contexts, and argues in favour of the continued incorporation of displaced men and boys into gender analysis and programming. In the third section, the chapter subsequently examines responses to displacement, again focusing on two sets of debates: the first regarding the paradoxical implications of policies designed to promote gender equality and empowerment in camp contexts, and the second on the nexus between gender and the three traditional durable solutions.

Egregious human rights violations have compelled some lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to seek refuge in countries with better human rights protection. Whilst this movement of refugees essentially began in the early 1990s, it is only in 2008 that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has directly addressed the issue by releasing the UNHCR Guidance Note on Refugee Claims Relating to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The most significant feature of the Guidance Note is that with its release, the UNHCR has recognized that sexual minorities have encountered a specific set of problems in having the refugee definition applied to their claims. This commentary argues that while the Guidance Note provides a first and necessary interpretive road map for decision-makers responsible for determining such claims, it should not be viewed as a full and complete analysis of refugee claims based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

This paper problematizes Malaysia’s apparently contradictory policies – harsh immigration rules applied to refugees and asylum seekers on the one hand, and the continued presence and functioning of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the other hand. It asks how it has been possible to protect and assist refugees and asylum seekers in light of such policies and how such protection and assistance is implemented, justified, and maintained. Giorgio Agamben’s concept of the state of exception is employed in analyzing the possibility of refugee protection and assistance amidst an otherwise hostile immigration regime and in understanding the nature of juridical indeterminacy in which refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia inhabit. I also argue that the exception for refugees in Malaysia is a particular kind of exception, that is, a ‘humanitarian exception.’ Insofar as the state of exception is decided on by the sovereign, in Carl Schmitt’s famous formulation, I argue that it is precisely in the application of ‘humanitarian exception’ for refugees and asylum seekers that the Malaysian state is asserting its sovereignty. As for the protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers, it remains an exception to the rule. In other words, it is temporary, partial, and all together insufficient for the preservation of the dignity of refugees and asylum seekers. To make these arguments, the paper begins with a brief history of Malaysia’s encounters with refugees and asylum seekers, that is, occasions when ‘humanitarian exceptions’ were invoked through the issuance of IMM13 permits. Next, it describes Malaysia’s current de facto policy towards refugees in the context of mixed migration to provide a picture of the kind of juridical order from which refugees and asylum seekers are at times exempted. Then, it describes the role of the UNHCR in protecting and assisting refugees and asylum seekers through the implementation of a number of informal mechanisms in cooperation with non-government organizations (NGOs) within and through this state of exception. To conclude, the paper offers some preliminary insights on the implications of the foregoing for the evolution of refugee rights in Malaysia.

Scientists predict serious impacts of climate change that could compel millions of people to leave their homes beginning sometime in the next decades. Yet the existing institutions and organizations are not sufficiently equipped to deal with this looming crisis. Reforms toward a system of global adaptation governance as part of a larger program toward comprehensive earth system governance are thus needed. Some of the possible reform options—extending the definition of refugees under the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or giving responsibilities to the UN Security Council—are less promising and might even be counterproductive. A better solution appears to lie with a new legal instrument specifically tailored for the needs of climate refugees—a Protocol on the Recognition, Protection, and Resettlement of Climate Refugees to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, supported by a separate funding mechanism, the Climate Refugee Protection and Resettlement Fund.

The Rohingyas are the largest group descending from Arab traders who have settled in Arakan for centuries are ethnically of the same group as the people of Chittagong. From the time Myanmar won its independence the Rohingyas in this Buddhist dominated area have been targeted by tyrannical government which aims at controlling and exploiting the non-Burmese ethnic groups in remote places of the country. In Arakan state of Burma the Buddhist has the stateless Muslims known as Rohingyas who according to them are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and they should be thrown out of Burma. These people are deprived from even the basic human rights and they have to survive in inhuman conditions. They are and were being prosecuted on the ground of religious difference as the majority of the Rohingyas belong to Muslim Community. The history of Rohingya ethnic group started when the ruling Arakan kingdom began to have good trade relations with the Muslims on the Bay of Bengal, the King of Arakan which is now referred as Rakhine state had very mutual relations with the Bengali Muslims and the Rohingya who had their own language which was similar to the Bengalis. Because of the growth of the British Empire in the 19th century and control of the Rakhine province led to significant amount of migration of Muslims from India to Myanmar. The main ethic tension began in Myanmar when the British brought many south Asian migrants to fill up the government post because the British had more faith in the south Asians then the local people of Burma. So the British policy of ― divide and rule‖ led to resentment among the Bengali Muslims who continued to exercise control over the Western Myanmar‘s economy which eventually led to marginalization of the Buddhist who used to live in the Rakhine state the Rohingyas like the Burmese were also marginalized and many shifted to the Chittagong area of Bangladesh but increasing the Muslim Bengali population in Myanmar who basically came for work and earn a living. The most unfortunate part is that because of the growing resentment between the Muslims and the Buddhist people failed to recognize the difference between Rohingyas and the Ethnic Bengalis and government say is that the Rohingyas were never an Ethnic group but instead they were Illegal Immigrants who have travelled to Myanmar from Bengal.

Tematem niniejszej rozprawy jest XX-wieczna idea ochrony uchodźców i analiza zmian, jakie się w niej dokonały na przełomie wieków, w kontekście kultury organizacyjnej i prawnej urzędu Wysokiego Komisarza Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych ds. Uchodźców (UNHCR). Ta „agencja” Narodów Zjednoczonych postrzegana w kontekście misji humanitarnej w rzeczywistości zorganizowana jest na sposób niemal wojskowy, charakterystyczny dla współczesnych firm międzynarodowych tzw. korporacji. W pracy pokażę mechanizmy niewidoczne celowo od zewnątrz, co pozwoli zanalizować i zrozumieć przyczyny chaosu w świecie pomocy humanitarnej i dylematy wyborów cywilizacyjnych związanych z masowym napływem cudzoziemców przymuszonych do poszukiwania tzw. „ochrony międzynarodowej”. Celem pracy jest przede wszystkim zwrócenie uwagi na problemy instytucjonalne pomocy humanitarnej oraz na kryzys motywacji pracujących w niej urzędników inspirowanych wartościami prawo-człowieczymi. Pragmatycznie ważne jest odpowiedzenie na pytania, dlaczego system pomocy humanitarnej dla uchodźców nie funkcjonuje, tak jak powinien, zgodnie z założeniami  planistów. Dlaczego ochrona i pomoc dla uchodźców, która z założenia ma być humanitarna, zazwyczaj nie spełniają oczekiwanych standardów?

O presente artigo objetiva identificar as falhas e as lacunas do sistema
internacional dos Direitos Humanos acerca da proteção aos refugiados. Foi realizado um estudo interdisciplinar entre Direito e Relações Internacionais como tentativa de analisar como os refugiados, um grupo em situação de extrema vulnerabilidade, são acolhidos, no direito internacional, em termos de proteção e promoção de direitos. A metodologia utilizada baseia-se em pesquisa analítica e qualitativa acerca de produções acadêmicas, documentos internacionais e relatórios do Alto Comissariado das Nações Unidas para Refugiados, tornando possível constatar que os refugiados encontram-se em limbo de direitos devido ao fato de fugirem à regra do sistema internacional fundado em Estados-Nação. O que há são tentativas
de minimizar a perda da dignidade humana dos refugiados sem, contudo, suprir adequadamente sua demanda eminente.

A personal essay on Patrick's advent to Ireland as a trafficked slave, his transformative return, and other lessons of life that should impel us to consider today's victims, whether trafficked, refugee, or destitute, more favourably and inclusively in Europe (and beyond).

(ITA) Questo lavoro è il risultato del mio studio per la mia tesi magistrale all'Università di Bologna (2020).
Il lavoro si propone di esplorare la nascita e lo sviluppo delle politiche d'asilo europee e italiane, cercando di rispondere alla domanda "Perché le politiche d'asilo europee hanno fallito?".
Il lavoro è strutturato in cinque capitoli. Il primo capitolo ripercorre rapidamente la storia delle migrazioni e il quadro storico e politico che ha portato alle primavere arabe. Il secondo analizza la nascita e lo sviluppo a livello internazionale della normativa a tutela dei rifugiati e dei richiedenti asilo. Nel terzo capitolo si procede allo studio dell'evoluzione delle politiche europee in materia di asilo, delle istituzioni che entrano in gioco e del loro contributo e influenza allo sviluppo, oltre che della legislazione di settore. Nel quarto capitolo vengono prese in considerazione le politiche italiane in materia di asilo, la legislazione inerente e il sistema nazionale di accoglienza. Il quinto capitolo, articolato in tre sezioni, analizza dapprima l'attuale situazione delle politiche europee e nazionali in materia di asilo (rimpatri ed esternalizzazioni), passa poi allo studio delle proposte per il Regolamento Dublino IV e infine alle possibili proposte per superare la fase di stallo, a breve e lungo termine.
Questo lavoro è stato pubblicato su Tesionline ed è reperibile al seguente link https://www.tesionline.it/default/tesi.asp?idt=54821&forceCom=y.
(ENG)This work is the result of my study for my master's thesis at the University of Bologna (2020).
The work aims to explore the birth and development of European and Italian asylum policies, trying to answer the question "Why have European asylum policies failed?".
The work is structured in five chapters. The first chapter runs quickly through the history of migration and the historical and political framework that led to the Arab springs. The second analyzes the birth and development at international level of the legislation protecting refugees and asylum seekers. In the third chapter we proceed to the study of the development of European asylum policies, the institutions that come into play and their contribution and influence in development, in addition to the legislation in the sector. In the fourth chapter, Italian asylum policies, inherent legislation and the national reception system are taken into consideration. The fifth chapter, divided into three sections, first analyzes the current situation of European and national asylum policies (repatriation and outsourcing), then moves on to the study of the proposals for the Dublin IV Regulation and finally to the possible proposals to overcome the phase of stall, in the short and long term.

2011 yılında Suriye Arap Cumhuriyeti’nde ortaya çıkan iç savaşa bağlı olarak kitleler halinde sınır ülkelere doğru bir göç akımı başlamış ve bu göçlerin artması ile mülteci krizi patlak vermiştir. Aynı yıl Türkiye’ye sınır illerden girmeye başlayan Suriyeli mültecilere karşı başından itibaren “açık kapı” politikası uygulamış ve girişlerine herhangi bir kısıtlama getirilmemiştir. Sayıları gittikçe artan mülteciler Türkiye için altından kalkması zor bir sınava dönüşmüş, uluslararası yardım talebinde bulunulmuştur. 

Bu çalışmada 2011 yılında başlayan Suriye mülteci krizinin yedinci yılına yaklaşırken gelinen son durum ve Türkiye’de sayısı 3 milyonu geçmiş olan mültecilere ait sorunlara yönelik uluslararası çözümler detaylı bir şekilde ele alınmıştır. Türkiye’ye göç ettikleri günden  itibaren genellikle birincil ve acil ihtiyaçları karşılanan mültecilerin diğer sorunlarına  da ışık tutarken, uluslararası örgütlerin öncelik verdiği konular derinlemesine incelenmiştir.

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Due to the civil war that emerged in the Syrian Arab Republic in 2011, mass migration to border countries began, resulting in the eruption of the refugee crisis. In the same year, Syrian refugees began their marches to safety from the borders into neighboring countries and in this regard, Turkey has carried out an "open door" policy with zero restrictions on refugee entry. Thus, vast numbers of refugees have fled to Turkey causing severe complications within the country. Therefore, international assistance has been requested by the Turkish government.

This study examines the recent situation stemming from the Syrian refugee crisis, which is currently approaching its seventh year. Furthermore, the study explores in detail international support for the plight of refugees, whose population now exceeds three million. This study also examines the primary topics of international organizations dealing with the crisis and focuses on other problems of refugees whose primary and urgent needs in general terms.

Migrants were intend to use Morocco as a transit route, but difficulties in entering Europe frequently result in longer stays in the host country. To what extent Morocco is a country of immigration or a country used as a transit country for migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa to reach their final destination. This study attempts to establish a connection between a changing political landscape around the Mediterranean and the effect on migration patterns towards Morocco.
Morocco is not the initial destination at the moment of departure from their country. Social contacts and networks are the most important factors in the trajectories of migrants to lead Sub-Saharan migrants to Rabat. Morocco is considered by migrants as a safe destination and Rabat is considered is attractive through the presence of several NGO’s and the UNHCR. The absence of a legal framework on asylum and integration in Morocco leads to practical difficulties. Many experiences and external factors will have an influence on the accessibility of the formal labour market. Access to the labour market is one of the most important aspects in the process of integration. The position of Rabat is in between a hub in trajectories and a permanent destination. If Morocco develops itself more in de coming years in the field of asylum policies, integration policies and economic developments, Morocco can be the destination for many migrants.

On 21 May 2013, I was bestowed the Heart at East Lifetime Achievement Plaque in Tel Aviv's Cinematheque. “Heart at East” is a coalition of 20 NGOs dedicated to promote community consciousness as it exposes and defies Israel’s folkloric marginalization of Mizrahi cultures. Formed in 2009, Heart at East was meant to remedy the extreme inequality in the allocation of public funds and other resources distributed by the Israeli regime to cultural institutions. The Heart at East Lifetime Achievement Plaque was established by these Mizrahi NGOs as an alternative to the Israel Prize, the state’s most prestigious lifetime achievement award. The Israel Prize recognizes contributions to the categories of humanities, natural sciences, culture and arts, and national contributions. Its award ceremony is on Israel’s independence day. Most recipients of this award, however, have been Ashkenazi. The Heart at East Lifetime Achievement Plaque aims to remedy this bias by recognizing the lifetime achievements of Mizrahi community authors, artists, musicians, scientists, and grassroots leaders coming from Israel’s majority citizenry. Below is a link to the Hebrew-to-English translation of the powerpoint presented by the Heart at East MC at the ceremony:

This paper seeks to define the nature and scope of temporary protection in the EU's Temporary Protection Directive and whether it has the potential to be applied successfully to deal with the current refugee crisis. The conclusions contend that, in its current format, the Temporary Protection Directive should not be invoked given certain gaps in protection that would ensue.

August 2019 marked the second anniversary of the exodus of nearly one million Rohingyas from Myanmar, fleeing atrocities arguably amounting to genocide and other crimes. For the most part, this news sank without a trace in India. This reality begs the question why the Indian media is unable or unwilling to create public consensus on the need to recognize refugees as victims of violence, terrorism, or State oppression. In comparison with news coverage of earlier refugee influxes into India, reportage around the Rohingya has seen a major shift. Tibetans, Bengali Hindus, Sri Lankan Tamils, among others, were welcomed with empathy, historically.

However, the Indian media’s reportage of the Rohingya crisis is at best negligible; at worst misleading, exaggerated and emotive—pitting the Bengali speaking Muslim Rohingya as an economic and security threat to India, and feeding into rising xenophobia and anti-Muslim ideologies in India and abroad. The role of the media as a watchdog in democracy cannot be understated. Its task is to inform the public accurately and hold governments to Constitutional standards—actions that can influence both opinion and policy. Much like the anniversary of the Rohingya exodus, reportage around India’s acceptance of the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact on Migration has also been next to absent in the Indian media—both print and television. Given the voluntary nature of the GCR, its uniqueness lies in its holistic approach towards refugee protection by bringing different stakeholders, including the media, together in order to generate support for victims of humanitarian crises. With nomenclature around refugees, migrants, asylum seekers merging into each other in the public mind today, how can the media improve its coverage of refugees as victims of a humanitarian crisis? Can it play a role in positively influencing opinion and building wider consensus around India’s acceptance of the Global Compact on Refugees? Accurate, well-informed reportage can sensitise audiences to the situation facing refugees and their distress, as well as introduce them to key debates and potential solutions to humanitarian crises. This paper analyses the role of media as a stakeholder in propagating, promoting and influencing narratives around ongoing refugee and migrant crises.

The findings in this study indicate that the role of torture is very versatile, and that there is no simple answer as to why it is systematically used inside the North Korean Gulag. Therefore, there are multiple factors that must be considered. First of all, the Gulag is the perfect breeding ground for torture practices. There are all kinds of structures ingrained in the system that make torture seem like a logical solution to various problems and a logical reaction to various actions. Also, these structures allow the guards to alleviate their conscience and make using vicious forms of violence against defenceless prisoners easier.
Torture is also a display and the result of the authoritarian regime’s absolute power, control, and the impunity with which it governs. No one in North Korea is assured of a life without torture, except perhaps “The Great Leader” himself. The Gulag is designed to control and exploit the people imprisoned there, and to hold the people living in relative freedom on the outside in an iron grip – a one way ticket to the Gulag always hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles. Everyone knows that once inside, chances of avoiding beatings and torture are virtually non-existent. If the guards do not have a reason to torture the prisoners, who they deem their sworn enemies, they will find a reason soon enough.
Finally, it should be remarked that torture itself must also be placed in the perspective of other human rights violations inside North Korea and the regime’s ideology. Torture belongs to a wide range of cruel and inhuman aspects of the Gulag, such as arbitrary detention, public executions, sexual violence, and forced labour. The ideology of the authoritarian Kim regime has always condoned such cruelties and used them to its own advantage, which in itself partially explains the use of torture. It would have been strange if the occurrence of these crimes was widespread, but torture was absent from the long list of human rights violations. Torture is therefore part of a system that will forever attempt to sustain itself despite the costs of the human lives it destroys.

Si l’instabilité politique et économique de la Turquie l’a souvent inscrite au rang des foyers de départs des migrations, le pays est depuis toujours, un territoire de passage et d’immigration. Marche entre les continents asiatique et européen, elle draine chaque année des milliers de migrants, faisant de la frontière avec la Grèce, la première porte d’entrée vers l’Europe. Parmi les diverses motivations qui poussent à l’exil, la persécution est considérée comme un motif à part. Chaque année, les conflits armés, les guerres, l’instabilité politique conduisent des individus voire des populations entières à fuir leur terres natales. Prenant en
compte la spécificité de ces migrations, la communauté internationale incarnée par l’ONU s’est dotée d’un cadre juridique afin de gérer et d’aider ces populations. L’accession au statut de « réfugié » permet ainsi de bénéficier d’une protection internationale. Si plusieurs pays se sont dotés de loi sur l’asile, vide juridique ou fragilité politique empêche l’application des engagements internationaux dans de nombreux États. Le Haut Commissariat aux Réfugiés (HCR), qui compte parmi les nombreuses agences de l’ONU, a été mandaté pour assister ces derniers dans la gestion des flux de réfugiés et demandeurs d’asile. Il joue, sur le territoire turc, un rôle crucial. Si la Turquie a ratifié la Convention de Genève de 1951 et son protocole relatifs au statut des réfugiés, elle avait à l’époque imposé une limite géographique qui demeurent encore aujourd’hui. Seuls les demandeurs d’asile originaires de pays du Conseil de l’Europe peuvent accéder au statut de réfugié sur le territoire turc. Pertinente au lendemain de la Seconde guerre mondiale qui a déchiré l’Europe, la limitation géographique exclue désormais les demandeurs d’asile issus des principaux foyers de départ (Irak, Afghanistan, Iran, Somalie ...). Si un Règlement a été nécessairement adopté en 1994, suite à l’afflux massif de populations issues du conflit en Irak (1991), il reste insuffisant dans le contexte actuel. Le HCR intervient donc dans la gestion des populations auxquelles la Turquie ne reconnaît pas le statut de réfugié sur son sol. En
dépit des pressions internationales, la Turquie maintient sa limitation géographique, avançant son caractère de « territoire de transit » pour des migrants en route vers l’Europe.  Cependant, les paramètres géopolitiques régionaux viennent changer la donne. Pleinement engagée dans le processus d’adhésion à l’Union Européenne depuis 2005, la Turquie s’est alors lancée dans un vaste effort d’adoption de l’acquis européen. Dans ce contexte, le pays
doit se doter d’une loi sur l’asile qui est désormais en préparation. Particulièrement préoccupés par la question des migrations en général, illégales en particulier, les gouvernements de l’Union Européenne plaident pour une suppression de limitation géographique et un renforcement du contrôle aux frontières. La présentation du rôle du Haut Commissariat aux Réfugiés permettra dans un premier temps de situer l’action de l’organisme et son rôle particulier sur le territoire turc.