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CHAPTER 18: REFUGEES

CHAPTER 18: REFUGEES. BRITTANY KRUTER AND ELISE DUNN. A STRUGGLE FOR SAFETY. Civil conflicts have generated more refugees and internally displaced people than the international wars of the previous era. WHO ARE REFUGEES?.

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CHAPTER 18: REFUGEES

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  1. CHAPTER 18: REFUGEES BRITTANY KRUTER AND ELISE DUNN

  2. A STRUGGLE FOR SAFETY Civil conflicts have generated more refugees and internally displaced people than the international wars of the previous era.

  3. WHO ARE REFUGEES? • In 2001, an estimated 150 million people lived outside of their birth country • Over 5 million people immigrated to Canada • Refugees are defined by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees as “persons who are outside of their country and cannot return owing to a well-founded fear for persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group” • They fear for their own lives

  4. CIVIL CONFLICTS AND REFUGEES • Fought by deliberately targeting civilians • Leaders are to intimidate, overpower or drive out some part of the population • The goal is not military victory, but psychological defeat • Violence based on gender • Young women : raped and humiliated • Young men : victims of mass murders and made to fight • Children : kidnapped and forced to be soldiers

  5. PROBLEMS OF DEFINITION • The challenge is determining who is classified as a refugee • Many flee without paperwork and therefore make it difficult to set the facts straight • Many apply as immigrants in order to skip the full length process of immigration and also because they don’t have the qualifications

  6. WHO ARE INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE ? • People who receive help from the UN and various non-governmental organizations (ex. Red Cross) • Those unable or unwilling to leave • Their lives may be in jeopardy and looking for shelter • These internally displaced people are vulnerable • They do not get support from their country • Countries are unwilling to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries • IDP are viewed as a domestic or civil matter

  7. THE HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE • Has become more complex • Typically involves UN agencies • Each play a different role in protecting and supporting refugees • UNHCR (UN agency) ensures that there is little duplication of activities that supplies are moving quickly • UNHCR was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 “Meeting the needs of the world’s displaced people – both refugees and internally displaced – is much more complicated than simply providing short-term security and assistance. It is about addressing the persecution, violence and conflict which bring about displacement in the first place” • United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

  8. CANADA’S REFUGEE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Many citizens were highly critical of the Canadian government for even letting large numbers of foreigners land on our shores. This prompted Canadians to argue that our policies are too soft and too many false refugees were being accepted.

  9. APPLYING AS A REFUGEE • In 2000, a total of 36 534 asylum seekers applied 1. Asylum seekers contact Canada’s immigration department. A senior immigration officer makes a decision as to whether or not a claimant has legitimate grounds for application. If you have past criminal behaviour, if the applicant is a threat to national security or if you have been accepted as a refugee in another country, these conditions will cause a claim to fail. 2. The IRB conducts hearings to determine the merit of asylum seekers’ claim. They have an opportunity to present their evidence and argue that their lives are in jeopardy. As long as one of the two officials at the hearing rules in the favour of the applicant, they are granted refugee status in Canada. 3. If an applicant is rejected, the claimant can ask for a judicial review by a federal court; the judge either confirms the decision of the IRB officials or sends back the case. This acts as a safeguard.

  10. PROBLEMS IN THE REFUGEE PROCESS • Length of time • Scheduling hearings, collecting evidence and making appeals can take years • Many Canadians object to the social, health and education costs that society must bear during this time of uncertainty

  11. TINKERING WITH THE REFUGEE PROCESS • In 2000, the government tabled in the House of Commons the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It responded to the criticisms of its refugee policy and acted on initiatives of its own • The new act is designed to “close the back door to those would abuse the system but ensure that the front door will remain open both to genuine refugees and to the immigrants our country will need to grow and prosper in the years ahead” • Elinor Chaplain, minister responsible for the bill • Canada’s refuge procedures were tightened up in the uncertain months that followed the terrorist attacks and the conflict in Afghanistan • For many, the discretionary power of the government is the most worrisome part of Canada’s refugee policy • Closing the front door would have the effect of keeping out legitimate refugees who need humanitarian support

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