On Thursday the State Department announced in New York that it is seeking like-minded governments to help implement a dramatic restructuring of the international refugee protection system. In a panel discussion convened on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called for a conversation to develop new “principles” for refugee protection. In an attempt to make the U.S. proposals more palatable, he gave lip service to the vital importance of maintaining asylum for those in need.
As an organization that has fought for the internationally protected right for persecuted individuals to seek asylum, we are alarmed by the “reforms” proposed by Deputy Secretary Landau. They would completely reshape and decimate protection systems around the globe. The administration proposes forcing refugees to seek asylum in the first country they physically reach, regardless of whether they can find safety there, or whether that country is willing or able to admit them. It also suggests reducing asylum to a temporary legal status that can be revoked at any time.
“The Trump administration’s clear intent is for the United States and other wealthy countries to outsource their treaty obligations and shift their legal responsibilities onto poorer countries unequipped to protect and resettle refugees. As we have seen from the administration’s actions thus far, it is willing to send migrants to any countries that will take them – regardless of the human rights situation in those countries,” Professor Karen Musalo, Director of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), said today. “Meanwhile, missing from Landau’s remarks was any acknowledgment of the role that the United States and other wealthy countries have played in creating forced displacement crises around the world, and their consistent failure to comply with their existing international legal obligations to refugees.”
“During his address to the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week, President Trump went out of his way to demonize refugees and migrants, characterizing them as an existential threat to the countries which host them,” Musalo added. “These are not the words of an administration that is genuinely attempting to improve our refugee protection system. The United States and other countries of the world would do better to address the conditions that cause people to flee, rather than seek ways to undermine protection. We call on our government and all U.N. Member States and civil society to reject the premise that respect for human rights, including the right to seek asylum, is incompatible with national sovereignty and strong borders.”
As we approach the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, it is important to celebrate the millions of lives saved by the simple idea that governments should not forcibly return people to persecution and torture. Any reforms to this international framework should focus on ensuring greater support by richer nations to the poorer nations that host most of the world’s refugees and extending protection for a wider range of people in danger.