TY - JOUR
AU - van der Klaauw, Johannes
AB - Respecting refugee rights has become a challenge for States when confronted with mixed migration flows. Refugee protection principles and the implementation of refugee law have evolved as a result of State policies and practices to manage increasingly diversified population movements. In linking refugee protection with migration management, States have taken measures to restrict access to territory and to asylum, to apply the refugee definition in a less than full and inclusive manner, and to curtail the exercise of the basic rights of refugees and asylum-seekers. The entry management of States is lacking in some essential protection safeguards, and asylum procedures do not always take into account the mixed motives which have led people into forced or voluntary movement, resulting too often in summary rejections. Secondary movements of refugees remain largely unaddressed given lack of inter-State co-operation, whereas readmission and return operations risk to deny refugees access to safety and protection. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has developed a 10-Point Plan of Action to better protect refugees within mixed migratory flows, which is under implementation in a number of regions. The challenges of strengthening protection mechanisms and promoting respect for refugee rights in situations of mixed migration are particularly present and acute in North Africa. Confronted with a number of protection gaps, a collective effort by all stakeholders is required to develop the institution of asylum and to strengthen respect for refugee rights in this region. The North Africa case shows that protecting refugee rights is not an isolated exercise yet must be part of a wider approach aimed at developing sound migration management policies and strategies to avoid undue pressure on States nascent or fledgling asylum system. At the same time, States are called upon to achieve a fair sharing of responsibilities in protecting and assisting refugees, by adopting regional strategies as part of comprehensive policy approaches, involving countries of origin, transit and destination. Such regional strategies, however, need to fulfil a number of conditions if they are to be successfully implemented.
TI - Refugee Rights in Times of Mixed Migration: Evolving Status and Protection Issues
JF - Refugee Survey Quarterly
DO - 10.1093/rsq/hdq003
DA - 2009-08-25
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/refugee-rights-in-times-of-mixed-migration-evolving-status-and-DXHqujepSj
SP - 59
EP - 86
VL - 28
IS - 4
DP - DeepDyve
ER -