Thursday, May 7, 2015

8. Statistics and information on Refugees

Abstract:

Both Switzerland and Canada are successful and prosperous countries thanks to their immigrants. 

Between 1993 and 2002

The United States (170,400) and Germany (170,000) granted Convention refugee status to the largest number of asylum-seekers, followed by theUnited Kingdom (139,000) and Canada (127,000). Sweden accepted the largest number of asylum-seekers for humanitarian reasons (117,000), followed by the United Kingdom (113,500), the Netherlands (97,000) and Switzerland (95,000). During the past decade, 37% of all asylum-seekers granted some form of individual protection in industrialized countries received humanitarian status.

In Europe, almost half (49%) of all accepted asylum-seekers were allowed to remain for humanitarian reasons. When all forms of asylum-seeker recognition and refugee admission are taken into account, Switzerland continues to rank first among the industrialized countries (24.3
persons admitted per 1,000 inhabitants), followed by Sweden (16.0), Denmark (13.7) and
Norway (12.1).

Between 1990 and 2013

The number of refugees entering Switzerland the past 23 years. 
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SM.POP.REFG
                
Between 1994 and 2003

299,738 claims were submitted in Canada, (9.6 per 1000 inhabitants) ranking 14 in the world.
239,260 were admitted (7.7 per 1000 inhabitants ) ranking 7 in the world.
95,113 were rejected at first instance.

247,683 claims were submitted in Switzerland, (34.5 per 1000 inhabitants) ranking 1 in the world.
169,517 were admitted (23.6 per 1000 inhabitants) ranking 1 in the world.
164,132  were rejected at first instance and 57,079 were rejected on appeal.
88,512 asylum-seekers were allowed to remain for humanitarian reasons at the first instance.

Between 1990 and 2013

772,651 refugees entered Canada. 518,046 (almost 33%) were rejected. 518,046 were able to stay. That is almost 1.5% of the 2013 population.  The population of Canada was 27.8 million in 1990. In 2013 it was 35 million, an increase of 7.2 million. Over 7% of the increase was due to refugees.

516,540 refugees entered Switzerland. 314,222 (about 60%) were rejected. 202,318 were able to stay. That is over 2.5% of the 2013 population.  The population of Switzerland was 6.7 million in 1990. In 2013, it was 8 million, an increase of 1.3 million. Over 15% of the increase was due to refugees.

Source of data:


Annual number of persons granted asylum as Convention refugees and allowed to stay by type of arrival, 1985-1994
http://www.unhcr.org/3bfa31e54.html

Table 17: Annual number of asylum applications submitted in selected countries, 1988-1997

Table V.1 Asylum applications submitted in selected countries, 1989-1998

Foreig nationals and asylum seekers in Switzerland
http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4c4ff7b22.pdf

Canada: A History of Refuge
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/timeline.asp



1776: 3,000 Black Loyalists, among them freemen and slaves, fled the oppression of the American Revolution and came to Canada.

1781: Butler’s Rangers, a military unit loyal to the Crown and based at Fort Niagara, settled some of the first Loyalist refugees from the United States in the Niagara peninsula, along the northern shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

1783: Sir Guy Carleton, Governor of the British Province of Quebec, and later to become Lord Dorchester, safely transported 35,000 Loyalist refugees from New York to Nova Scotia. Some settled in Quebec, and others in Kingston and Adolphustown in Ontario.

1789: Lord Dorchester, Governor-in-Chief of British North America, gave official recognition to the “First Loyalists” – those loyal to the Crown who fled the oppression of the American Revolution to settle in Nova Scotia and Quebec.

1793: Upper Canada became the first province in the British Empire to abolish slavery. In turn, over the course of the 19th century, thousands of black slaves escaped from the United States and came to Canada with the aid of the Underground Railroad, a Christian anti-slavery network.
Late 1700s:  Scots Highlanders, refugees of the Highland Clearances during the modernization of Scotland, settled in Canada.

1830: Polish refugees fled to Canada to escape Russian oppression. The year 1858 marked the first significant mass migration of Poles escaping Prussian occupation in northern Poland.

1880-1914: Italians escaped the ravages of Italy’s unification as farmers were driven off their land as a result of the new Italian state reforms.

1880-1914: Thousands of persecuted Jews, fleeing pogroms in the Pale of Settlement, sought refuge in Canada.

1891: The migration of 170,000 Ukrainians began, mainly to flee oppression from areas under Austro-Hungarian rule, marking the first wave of Ukrainians seeking refuge in Canada.

1920-1939: The second wave of Ukrainians fled from Communism, civil war and Soviet occupation.

1945-1952: The third wave of Ukrainians fled Communist rule.

1947-1952: 250,000 displaced persons (DPs) from Central and Eastern Europe came to Canada, victims of both National Socialism (Nazism) and Communism, and Soviet occupation.

1950s: Canada admitted Palestinian Arabs, driven from their homeland by the Israeli-Arab war of 1948.

1950s-1970s: A significant influx of Middle Eastern and North African Jews fled to Canada.

1951: The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees was created.

1956: 37,000 Hungarians escaped Soviet tyranny and found refuge in Canada.

1960: Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, whose grandfather was a German refugee of the Napoleonic Wars, introduced Canada’s first Bill of Rights.

1960s: Chinese refugees fled the Communist violence of the Cultural Revolution.

1968-1969: 11,000 Czech refugees fled the Soviet and Warsaw Pact Communist invasion.

1969:  Canada signed the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and its Protocol, agreeing not to return a person to their country of origin if that person had grounds to fear persecution.

1970s: 7,000 Chilean and other Latin American refugees were allowed to stay in Canada after the violent overthrow of Salvador Allende’s government in 1973.

1970-1990: Deprived of political and religious freedom, 20,000 Soviet Jews settled in Canada.

1971: After decades of being denied adequate political representation in the central Pakistani government, thousands of Bengali Muslims came to Canada at the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

1971-1972: Canada admitted some 228 Tibetans. These refugees, along with their fellow countrymen, were fleeing their homeland after China occupied it in 1959.

1972-1973: Following Idi Amin’s expulsion of Ugandan Asians, 7,000 Ismaili Muslims fled and were brought to Canada.

1979: Iranian refugees fled Iran following the overthrow of the Shah and the imposition of an Islamic Fundamentalist regime.

1979 -1980: More than 60,000 Boat People found refuge in Canada after the Communist victory in the Vietnam War.

1980s: Khmer Cambodians, victims of the Communist regime and the aftershocks of Communist victory in the Vietnam War, fled to Canada.

1982: The Constitution of Canada was amended to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

1986: The United Nations awarded Canada the Nansen Medal for its outstanding humanitarian tradition of settling refugees.

1990s: By the 1990s, asylum seekers came to Canada from all over the world, particularly Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa.

1992: 5,000 Bosnian Muslims were admitted to Canada to escape the ethnic cleansing in the Yugoslav Civil War.

1999: Canada airlifted more than 5,000 Kosovars, most of whom were Muslim, to safety.

2006: Canada resettled over 3,900 Karen refugees from refugee camps in Thailand.

2008: Canada began the process of resettling more than 5,000 Bhutanese refugees over five years.

2010: Refugees from more than 140 countries were either resettled or were granted asylum in Canada.

2011: Canada expands its refugee resettlement programs by 20% over three years.

Each year, Canada provides asylum to more than 10,000 persecuted persons and welcomes another 12,000 refugees from abroad.

If  you, your family or your community organization would like to sponsor a refugee, please visit cic.gc.ca for information. 

History of Asylum Policies in Switzerland:
http://www.immigrantwomen.ch/PDF/HistoricalShiftsAsylumPoliciesinCH.pdf

In summary:

At 21%, Switzerland has one of the largest percentages of foreigners in the world.

At 1.4%, Switzerland has the lowest number of naturalizations.

Switzerland has a long humanitarian tradition as a place of refuge, dating back 400 years.

In the 16th century, thousands of French Protestants, persecuted for their religious beliefs, sought refuge in Swiss cities. Many of these people became members of Switzerland`s cultural, political, and entrepreneurial elite.  

The Swiss universities founded in the late 19th century benefited from the arrival of German intellectuals who fled home when the liberal revolution of 1848 failed. Industrialization in Switzerland began around 1850 and required foreign labor, both skilled and unskilled. The liberal immigration policies that prevailed in the pre-war period resulted in a rapid increase in the foreign population.

Before and during WWI, refugees were considered as worthy. In order to take care of war refugees, the Swiss government built internment camps for 26,000 people.

After WWI and during WWII, Jewish refugees were considered as a danger to the country. Protecting national identity became one of the pillars of immigration and asylum policies. The group of refugees most affected by “the boat is full” rhetoric were the Jews. Swiss civil servants urged to use a “J” stamp to administratively label foreign Jews.

Between 1940 and 1945, at least 24,000 were sent back to face death in German concentration camps.

After WWII, refugees from communist countries were welcome.

In 1956, 13,700 Hungarians were allowed to settle permanently after the uprising.

In 1963, 1,000 Tibetan refugees came to Switzerland fleeing China`s invasion of Tibet.

In 1968, 13,000 Czechoslovakian nationals, who were well educated had little difficulty in obtaining refugee status.

In mid-1970, 1,600 Chilean refugees were accepted.

After 1981, the number of applicants, which had been steady at about 1,000 per year during the 1970s increased exponentially. Most of the refugees except for a large number of Polish refugees in 1982 came from non-European countries: Turkey, Zaire, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and from the Middle East. Unlike the anti-communist dissidents, they were not always professionals or university educated.
A weak economy made it hard for these non-European refugees to find work. The government carried out progressive revisions to the liberal 1981 law to make it more restrictive.Consequently, only a decreasing percentage of asylum requests were accepted, even from people fleeing civil wars and violence.

Positive answers to applications averaged 92.2% between 1975 and 1979 dropped to an average of 55.8% between 1980 and 1984 and then to an average of 8.7% between 1985 and 1989.

Evolution in the number of asylum requests and approvals 1964-2005:
As of 1990s Asylum seekers were regarded as “criminals and drug dealers”.

As the civil war broke out in the former Yugoslavia, the numbers of asylum seekers to Switzerland significantly increased. 

In 1991, demands for asylum reached a high point with 41,629 requests.

Between 1990 and 2002, Switzerland received a total of 146,587 asylum applications from the war torn Balkans.  About 10,000 people were granted asylum, and 62,000 received temporary protection over the course of several years. Most of the asylum seekers from Bosnia and Kosovo had to leave Switzerland after conflicts ended in 1995 and 1999, respectively. The law was made more restrictive and introduced new grounds for non-admission to a regular asylum procedure.

Despite the fact that the number of accepted refugees declined during the 1990s, in 2002 the nationalist Swiss People`s Party (SVP), launched a referendum against the “Abuse of Asylum Rights” to introduce further restrictions.  A narrow majority of 50.1% voted against the tightening of asylum laws.

In 2005, the Swiss Parliament accepted the tightening of asylum laws.

The government`s tightening of asylum laws came at a time of decreasing asylum applications.

In 2004, there were 14,248 asylum applications. This was 32% lower than in 2003.

In 2005 there were 10,061 applications, the lowest number since 1986. The largest single group of applicants came from Serbia and Montenegro, followed by Turkey.  

Canadian population growth:

With an increasing aging population and death rate, and a decreasing family size and birth rate, Canada needs to rely on immigration to give it a population growth rate needed for economic growth. Refugees, in the form of pioneers who later become immigrants and citizens are young, willing, hard workers who  can provide Canada with a vibrant population growth it needs.

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-310-x/98-310-x2011003_1-eng.cfm

Summary:
  •  In the decades from 1861 to 1901, the annual average growth rate was less than 1.3%.
  • Between 1901 and 1921, the population increased almost 3% a year on average. Then it gradually slowed in the following decades, to just above 1% between 1931 and 1941.
  • In the decades from 1941 to 1971, the annual average growth rate was slightly more than 2.1% due to the baby-boom and strong immigration.
  • Since the early 1970s, the rate of population growth has held at just over 1% per year on average. 


Two factors are behind population growth: natural increase and migratory increase.

Natural increase is the difference between the number of births and deaths during a given period. This is how any population is replenished in the absence of migration.

Migratory increase is the difference between the number of immigrants entering the country and the number of emigrants leaving the country.

Negative migratory increase in the 19th Century
During several decades of the past 160 years, immigration has contributed greatly to the growth of Canada's population. However, five decades were marked by a net outflow of migrants: the last four decades of the 19th century (1861 to 1901) and the 1930s (1931 to 1941). During these periods, the growth of the Canadian population was due entirely to natural increase. Starting in 1880, many immigrants, including some from Asia, entered Canada namely to work on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. However, more people, especially those living in Eastern Canada, left the country primarily to settle in the United States.

During the 1930's, migratory increase was slightly negative as immigration to Canada slowed, particularly because of economic and social circumstances arising from the Great Depression that began in 1929. The number of immigrants admitted to Canada declined considerably, from an average of 123,000 a year during the 1920s to fewer than 16,000 during the 1930s.

Two periods of high population growth

In the early 20th Century, large numbers of immigrants settled in Canada, mainly to populate the West. Between 1901 and 1911, more than 1.2 million immigrants, mostly from Europe, came to Canada, generating what was then a record migratory increase. A significant rise in fertility resulted in the post-Second World War baby boom. Immigration also rebounded after the Second World War and was especially high during the 1950s. In 1957, against the backdrop of the Hungarian and Suez crises, Canada received more than 282,000 immigrants, resulting in a high migratory increase during the 1950s.

Natural increase no longer a major factor since 2001

Between 1851 and 2001, natural increase was the main factor behind Canada's population growth. The proportion of growth due to natural increase, however, has declined since the late 1960s. Since 2001, it has accounted for about one-third of population growth. This decrease was the result of two factors.
  • The first was a rapid decrease in fertility in the late 1960s and the 1970s and its fairly constant level since then. By 1976, fertility had fallen to less than 1.8 children per woman. There was a corresponding decrease in the number of births during this period .Since the mid-1970s, the number of births has been stable at a level below 400,000 per year, owing to relatively low fertility ranging from 1.5 and 1.7 children per women.
  • The second factor was a steady rise in the number of deaths. This was due in part to the aging of the population. Migratory increase has taken on an increasingly important role in recent Canadian population growth.
Projections: Population growth could rely almost entirely on migratory increase

Natural increase is expected to continue to decline in the future decades, due to a projected increase in the number of deaths. The aging of the population will accelerate between 2011 and 2031 as baby boomers reach the age of 65. In 2026, the first of the baby boomers will reach the age of 80, an age when mortality is high. As a result, the number of deaths will increase significantly.

The medium growth scenario used in population projections assumes an immigration rate of 7.5 immigrants per 1,000 population and a fertility rate of 1.7 children per women. This scenario indicates that starting in 2031, migratory increase could account for more than 80% of Canada's population growth, compared to about 67% currently.

Without a sustained level of immigration or a substantial increase in fertility, Canada's population growth could, within 20 years, be close to zero.
Switzerland`s population growth
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/latest-statistics_swiss-population-continues-rapid-growth/33418062

Summary:
Switzerland’s population jumped by nearly 85,000 people in 2011, according to the Federal Statistics Office, with the majority of cantons experiencing population growth.In 2011, switzerland had a population growth of 1.1 per cent, comparable to growth experienced in 2007 and 2009.  1 in 8 live in the largest five Swiss cities of Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne and Bern, while nearly half of the population resides in a city with more than 10,000 inhabitants.The new population numbers include Swiss citizens and foreigners, with the exception of those with short-term residence permits and those who have been seeking asylum in Switzerland for less than one year. The foreign population rose by nearly 50,000 people to 1.815 million, making up 22.8 per cent of the total Swiss population. 63.3% of the foreign population comes from eurozone states.

Switzerland’s population has more than tripled since 1860, when it stood at 2.5 million. The strongest period of growth occurred between 1950 and 1970, when the population grew by an average 1.4 per cent every year. That rate slowed dramatically between 1970 and 1980 to 0.15 per cent because of immigration restrictions and the economic crisis in the mid-1970s.

Since 2000, Swiss population growth has been around 0.9 per cent annually but has stood at one per cent or higher since 2007.

Population growth in other countries:
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?c=sz&v=24
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=sz&v=24

UNHCR 2012 Refugee statistics

In summary:

The total number of people forcibly displaced worldwide has reached 45.2m people, the highest level in almost 20 years, according to a report published today by the UN's High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

The annual 'Global Trends' report shows that as of the end of 2012, more than 45.2m people were forcibly displaced compared with 42.5m at the end of 2011. Mark Tran writes today:

The world is in the throes of its most serious refugee crisis for almost 20 years, as conflicts in Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali have forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, the UN's refugee agency has said.

More than 45.1 million people were displaced last year, the largest number since 1994. This includes 15.4 million refugees, 937,000 asylum seekers, and 28.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs) – those forced to find refuge within the borders of their own countries.

Collectively referred to as "persons of concern", the term used by the UNHCR includes refugees, asylum-seekers, returnees, stateless persons and certain groups of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The number of refugees and asylum seekers entering different countries in 2012. 

Country/ territory of asylum
Refugees
People in refugeelike situations
Total refugees and people in refugee-like situations
Of whom assisted by UNHCR
Asylum seekers (pending cases)
IDPs protected/ assisted by UNHCR, incl. people in IDPlike situations
Total population Refugees of concern
 Australia
Austria
30,083
51,730
-
-
 30,083
51,730
-
-
20,010
22,429
-
-
50,093
74,701
 Belgium
Bosnia/Herzegovinia
 Bulgaria
Canada
22,024
 6,903
 2,288
163,756
-
-
-
-
 22,024
6,903
2,288
163,756
-
 6,903
 -
-
 15,036
 42
 1,270
32,643
-
103,449
-
-
40,958
177,440
3,558
196,399
 Croacia
 Cyprus
Czech Rep
690
3,631
2,805
34
-
-
 724
 3,631
2,805
 724
-
-
345
 2,636
574
-
-
-
24,023
6,267
4,883
Denmark
11,402
-
11,402
-
692
-
15,717
Eritrea
3,600
-
3,600
3,567
14
-
3,684
Finland
France
Germany
 9,919
217,865
589,737
-
-
-
9,919
217,865
589,737
-
-
-
1,881
49,885
85,560
-
-
-
13,817
268,960
680,980
Greece
2,100
-
2,100
-
36,183
-
38,437
Hungary
4,054
-
4,054
-
386
-
4,551
Ireland
Italy
Liechtenstein
 Luxembourg
Monaco
Malta
Netherlands
6,327
64,779
 102
 2,910
37
8,248
74,598
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6,327
64,779
102
 2,910
37
8,248
74,598
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
 5,471
14,330
17
1,239
-
767
10,420
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,871
79,579
124
4,326
37
9,015
87,023
Norway
42,822
-
42,822
-
9,354
-
54,489
Poland
15,911
-
15,911
-
2,390
-
29,126
Portugal
Romania
483
1,262
-
-
 483
1,262
-
132
 179
35
-
-
1,233
1,545
 Russia
Serbia/Kosovo
 Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
3,178
66,370
662
 176
 4,510
92,872
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,178
66,370
662
176
5,510
92,872
 3,178
 9,443
-
-
-
-
 844
 332
 194
100
 2,790
18,014
 -
 227,821
-
-
-
-
191,101
304,737
2,448
280
 7,366
120,482
Switzerland
50,747
-
50,747
-
21,709
-
72,525
Syria
476,506
-
476,506
67,815
2,222
2,016,500
2,784,801
 Macedonia
Tunisia
 750
1,435
 327
-
1,077
1,435
1,077
1,376
516
340
-
-
2,498
1,777
Turkey
267,063
-
267,063
267,063
14,051
-
282,200
Ukraine
2,807
-
2,807
493
5,082
-
42,889
United Kingdom
149,765
-
149,765
-
18,916
-
168,886
United States
262,030
-
262,030
-
18,966
-
280,996

People recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded.

Latest UNHCR data for Switzerland:
http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e48f0d6.html 

In summary:

The number of asylum applications received in 2014 in European Union (EU) Member States has risen by 25 per cent compared to the same period in 2013. A quarter of the applicants are of Afghan, Eritrean or Syrian origin, and a similar proportion are under 18 years of age. There have also been many more asylum applications from stateless people, with an estimated total of 436,000 people across the European Union. Germany continues to be the recipient of the largest number of asylum applications, followed by France, Sweden, Italy and the United Kingdom.

In the first seven months of 2014, more than 87,000 people arrived in Italy by sea, mainly from Eritrea and the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria). In an effort to reduce the risks linked to such journeys, in October 2013 the Italian Government launched the Mare Nostrum operation, which has rescued more than 100,000 people. Greece and Spain also recorded an increase in arrivals.



What are the solutions to refugee and displacement crises?

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) speaks of three “durable solutions” to refugee crises: return; local integration; and third country resettlement.

Return:

The most desirable way to end forced displacement is for people to return home when conflict ends. To return in safety and dignity, families need help with transportation and require basic goods for restarting their lives, including a provisional supply of food, seeds and tools, and building materials for home repair or construction. In addition, support for the reconstruction of schools and health clinics is also critical.


Local integration:

If instability persists or if the individual will face persecution when they return, then integrating into the country of asylum is another option. Most countries hosting refugees, however, are reluctant to allow refugees to integrate and become citizens, fearing competition for scarce resources between the refugees and residents of a particular locale.

Resettlement:

Resettlement to a third country can also be a solution for refugees who cannot return home, cannot establish a new life in their country of asylum, or are considered to be particularly vulnerable. Resettlement can never be an option for more than a tiny minority of the world’s refugee population, but still benefits tens of thousands of refugees who have made new lives in countries such as the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Norway.


Report from Amnesty International:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/people-on-the-move/

In summary:

Every day, all over the world, people make the most difficult decision of their lives; to leave their homes in search of a better life. Their journey can be full of danger and fear. Some face detention when they arrive. Many face daily racism, xenophobia, and discrimination. They are uniquely vulnerable, without the usual support structures most of us take for granted.

Amnesty has been working with refugees and migrants for decades. From helping to prevent refugees being returned to be persecuted to protecting the most vulnerable migrants from being exploited and abused by their employers, traffickers and smugglers.

In Europe, for many the only route in is by overcrowded and unseaworthy boats, run by traffickers who care little whether their passengers arrive. In October 2013, more than 400 people lost their lives in two shipwrecks off the coast of Italian island Lampedusa. At least 3,419 people died making the crossing in 2014 alone.
Migrant workers, vulnerable and without their usual support system, often end up paid a pittance and worked to the bone. Many cases we have seen amount to slavery.

Migrants are often scapegoated by politicians or the media as “illegal immigrants”, “gate-crashers” – even “invaders” – who exploit host countries’ generosity. This creates the impression that migrants have no rights at all, and leads to racism and discrimination.

The positive benefits migrants bring with them, including skills, resources and diversity, rarely make the news. According to the World Bank, international migration is good because workers can move to places where they are most productive. And the money migrants send home to developing countries (known as ‘remittances’) is worth three times more than what governments spend on development aid – an estimated US$404 billion in 2013.

Amnesty International is calling for;

Migrants must
• Be protected from racist and xenophobic violence
• Be protected from exploitation and forced labour
• Not be detained for no legitimate reason or deported
• Not be discriminated against

Refugees must
• Not be forced to return to a country where they are at risk of human rights abuses.
• Be resettled when they are in a vulnerable situation.
• Not be discriminated against.
• Have access to work, be housed and be educated.
• Be allowed to move freely, and keep their own identity and travel documents.

Asylum-seekers must
• Be allowed to enter a country to seek asylum.
• Not be returned to a country where they would be at risk.
• Have access to fair and effective asylum procedures, and if they are returned to a country it must be done safely and with dignity.
• Have access to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) if they need or want it.


Definition of terminology;

Migrant

A migrant moves around within their own country, or from one country to another, usually to find work, although there may be other reasons such as to join family. Some move voluntarily, while others are forced to leave because of economic hardship or other problems. People can migrate ‘regularly’, with legal permission to work and live in a country, or ‘irregularly’, without permission from the country they wish to live and work in.
Most international migrants live in Europe (72 million) followed by Asia (71 million) and North America (53 million).

Rrefugee

A refugee is a person who has fled their own country because they have suffered human rights abuses or because of who they are or what they believe in. Their own government cannot or will not protect them and so they are forced to seek international protection.

Asylum seeker

An asylum-seeker is someone who has left their country in search of international protection, but is yet to be recognized as a refugee.

The law

Regardless of how they arrive in a country and for what purpose, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers’ rights are protected by international law:
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 14), states that everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution in other countries.
• The 1951 UN Refugee Convention protects refugees from being returned to countries where they risk persecution.

2015 UNHCR Operation profile for Europe

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4a02d9346.html

In summary:

Strategy
  • Special attention will be devoted to the resettlement and humanitarian admission of Syrian refugees.
  • Managing the Emergency Transit Centres in Timisoara (Romania) and HumennĂ© (Slovakia) with a focus on return and local integration, including through the Regional Housing Programme.
  • Working with Governments, humanitarian actors and other stakeholders in Eastern Europe on addressing protracted internal displacement situations. These activities include assisting in the revision of relevant national legislation, technical assistance, capacity building, protection monitoring, provision of legal aid and limited direct assistance to particularly vulnerable people of concern. A special focus will be placed on supporting local integration, self-reliance and voluntary returns for IDPs.
  • Preventing and resolving statelessness
Financial information
  • The budget for Europe in 2015 is set at USD 480.5 million which represents a two-and-half fold increase compared to five years ago (2009).

Additional links:
How some Swiss citizens feel about refugees:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-23753875

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-23599502 

How the EU turns its back on Refugees

Record Tide of Refugees Expected to Strain European System

Asylum Statistics from eurostat:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_statistics

Finding your way in Switzerland as a refugee:
http://www.integration-zentralschweiz.ch/der_rote_faden_e.pdf 

Waiting to be accepted into Swiss society:
http://voixdexils.ch/2013/06/11/waiting-to-be-accepted-or-not-into-swiss-society/ 

Swiss backs tighter asylum rules:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22832616 

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