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Nahid Farhad

Due to the occurrence of the First and Second World Wars, asylum has been one of the most important and challenging legal issues in the 20th century. It has been sixty-four years since the adoption of the Geneva Convention on July 28, 1951. With the increase of national, cultural, and religious conflicts and the escalation of ideological wars around the world, the 21st century has also witnessed a softening of legal rights in this concept. Statistics show that violence, civil wars, and ethnic tensions have forced people to flee their homes, resulting in an unprecedented number of refugees and asylum seekers in human history. The statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are shocking and alarming. In 2014, the number of displaced persons (including refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and stateless persons due to reasons such as war and conflict) in the world was estimated to be around fifty-nine and a half million, and it was added that this is the highest

In a detailed report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has announced that in 2014 alone, a total of 1.66 million people officially submitted their asylum requests to branches of this organization around the world. According to this report, this number is the highest recorded number of asylum requests.

In the months following the presentation of these statistics (from June 2015 to present, meaning September 2015), due to the intensification of the civil war in Syria, global statistics on displacement (including refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and stateless persons) have faced a new wave of increase and have become a major concern for the world. This concern has particularly affected European countries and, in subsequent ranks, the United States, Canada, and Australia, who will be seriously involved in the issue of asylum seekers.

Although asylum has commonalities with migration and exile, it also has unique characteristics that distinguish it from concepts such as migration and exile. Asylum is a product of circumstances in which an individual’s safety is at serious risk. From this perspective, seeking asylum is not a voluntary or voluntary process, but rather a decision to leave one’s homeland due to other factors that the asylum seeker often has no power or control over. In fact, the asylum seeker does not leave their homeland with consent and prior planning, and this is precisely where the boundary between asylum and migration is formed.

In this note, we will have an overview of the evolution of the refugee issue. Before anything else, it is necessary to provide definitions of the key concepts related to this topic.

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Asylum seeker

An asylum seeker is someone whose request for asylum is based on one of the reasons listed in the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and has been referred to government authorities or officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but a final decision has not yet been made on their case. In fact, seeking asylum is a temporary and emergency situation (meaning that many people around the world spend years in these temporary conditions).

Refugee

A refugee is someone whose request for asylum has been accepted based on one of the reasons listed in the 1951 Geneva Convention. Such individuals are entitled to all the rights and privileges outlined in this convention and in the domestic laws of their host countries. Refugees usually receive long-term or even permanent residence permits and the host country is obligated to recognize their security and other socio-political rights, including the principle of non-refoulement (Article 33 of the Convention).

Homeless)

Homeless

Displaced Person

“من دوست دارم تا ابد با تو باشم”

“I love to be with you forever”

A refugee is someone who, due to wars or severe political-military crises, natural disasters, and of course the inefficiency of local governments, becomes homeless and ultimately is forced to live in other lands. It should be noted that by “other lands” we mean somewhere other than the person’s initial place of residence, and from this perspective, being displaced within the geographical borders of a country also has a legal meaning and significance. For example, those Syrian refugees who have left their homes and lives but are still within the borders of Syria are also classified as refugees (internally displaced persons).

Exile

Exile

A person who has been expelled from their place of residence by a government and forced to live in a specific location.

Existing differences between fundamental concepts

Asylum with Asylum Seeking

Asylum, generally refers to a temporary and emergency situation, but seeking asylum is not a temporary situation. Asylum seekers do not have the same citizenship rights as other members of society in which they reside. For example, until the asylum seeker’s status is clarified and it does not turn into refugee status, the individual does not have the right to education, work, or even choose their place of residence and housing.

However, asylum includes equal rights with other citizens of the host country in a permanent situation.

Asylum with displacement

Although at first glance, refuge and displacement may seem like similar concepts, in accepted legal terms, only those who have left their countries for political or social reasons are considered refugees. This means that legally, “leaving the country” is a necessary condition for recognizing refugee status, while for displacement, as mentioned earlier, “leaving the country” is not a necessary condition.

Seeking refuge through exile:

A refugee is a person who, due to being pursued, tortured, or facing life-threatening insecurity, leaves their own country. However, an exile is forced by a government to leave their homeland and must reside in a new land that has been designated for them.

History of asylum

Refugee has a long history throughout human history. Historical documents show that in ancient times, refuge was mainly reserved for kings and famous figures who, after defeat in wars, sought a safe place to live and often gathered new soldiers and sought refuge in other lands. In the religious books of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, we see groups of ordinary people who, for various reasons, leave their land and choose a life of exile, the same concept that we know today as “refugee”. In the Torah, God asks Moses to choose six cities to protect refugees. In the Gospel, there is also the story of the escape of Mary and her husband to Egypt and seeking refuge in this country to protect the life of Jesus, and in the Quran, the story of the Prophet and his followers who, due to the persecution of their enemies, are forced to leave Mecca and seek refuge in the city of Medina, is mentioned.

As a result of the French Revolution in 1789, seeking asylum became more prevalent during the modern era. The consequences of this revolution expanded the scope of asylum in Europe and opened the door for a large number of ordinary citizens to become refugees.

During the modern era, after World War I caused millions of people to become refugees and seek asylum all over the world, especially in Europe, the issue of asylum became one of the main concerns of the global community left over from the war. The establishment of an institution called the “League of Nations” in 1920 led to actions being taken to ensure the safety of refugees and find a solution to the growing problem of asylum. As a result of these actions, the responsibility of addressing the situation of 450,000 prisoners of war and their return to life in peacetime conditions was placed on the Commissioner for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the “League of Nations”.

In this way, this idea gradually formed that the protection of refugees and displaced persons is not dependent on charity and voluntary work, but rather it is the responsibility of governments. This idea gradually became the dominant discourse. As a result, the issue of refugees could no longer be explained solely by moral principles, the tradition of hospitality, or religious teachings, and instead, it became a recognized right in the process of changing the position of humans in the modern global order. This became the core of the recognition of the right to asylum as one of the fundamental rights in the constitutions of many countries, especially European countries.

With the passage of time and after the occurrence of the Second World War, the horrific dimensions of war gradually became apparent and as a result, the concepts of asylum, refuge, and displacement turned into one of the central issues of the international community. In 1948, the United Nations, as a replacement for the “League of Nations”, adopted the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. Article 14 of this declaration is about the right to asylum and states: “Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution, torture, and harassment in other countries.”

Nowadays, there are two major perspectives regarding the foundations of human rights and asylum rights: The first perspective categorizes these rights as natural rights of humans and therefore considers them non-negotiable, meaning that these rights are valid for all humans and no authority is able to cancel or revoke them.

The second perspective categorizes these rights as imperative (subjective) rights of humans and therefore believes that these rights are not eternal and can be taken away or granted to individuals again with changing circumstances.

Both of these arguments (natural rights and positive rights) have their own weaknesses and strengths.

It should not be forgotten that the legal aspects of asylum and even its access to constitutional law in many countries of the world are still not fully realized in terms of providing practical and executive conditions. Many human rights activists and experts believe that the right move is one that creates conditions where the need for asylum is no longer necessary.

Today’s refugee situation in the world.

Although seeking asylum is recognized as an international right, it is implemented in various ways by different countries that are asylum seekers. It is obvious that each country, based on its resources, domestic laws, economic situation, and other parameters, approves and implements its own specific laws when dealing with asylum seekers. On the other hand, the implementation of an individual and private right should not hinder the implementation of public rights (such as the right to security, sovereignty, and the like).

On the other hand, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also does not describe the right to asylum as an absolute right. Therefore, the exercise of the right to asylum should not hinder the exercise of the sovereignty of governments, and as a result of these definitions, governments have the right to accept or reject asylum seekers based on their capabilities and sovereignty.

Currently, governments that are known for being refugee-friendly, in addition to stricter laws compared to the past, also declare a maximum limit or number of refugees they can accept each year to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and are rarely willing to accept more than what they have declared. However, this limit may change for specific reasons, such as humanitarian concerns. A recent example of this is the influx of Syrian refugees and their acceptance by European countries, which goes against their previous capacities and plans.

However, despite the fact that Europe temporarily opened its borders to refugees and despite the settlement of millions of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, thousands of Syrian refugees are still stranded on the roads of Europe towards mostly unknown destinations. Additionally, a large number of refugees from mostly Middle Eastern and African countries have risked their lives on dangerous sea routes in search of a safe and peaceful shore, entrusting their lives to the merciless waves of the sea and extremely basic and dangerous boats. There are still countless refugees wandering in the waters, roads, and refugee camps around the world in search of a safe country.

In addition, as mentioned, a large number of people are also waiting for their asylum request to be processed by the branches of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees across the world, going through a lengthy and time-consuming legal process for their asylum process.

The image that portrays the state of refugees in the world is by no means clear, and is even far from being clear; it is a completely ambiguous, dark image without a practical plan for improving the situation, at least in the short term and even in the medium term. This issue requires urgent and comprehensive attention from governments, especially those of refugee-hosting countries, as well as human rights organizations, to find a fundamental solution to the issue of seeking refuge.