What is the UNHCR and the 1951 convention on refugees ?

To deal with the European refugee crisis following the Second World War, a special UN conference held on July 28, 1951 passed the 1951 Convention on refugees. Initially, it was limited to protecting European refugees who had left their country before January 1, 1951. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was appointed as the guardian of the convention. A new protocol in 1967 removed the geographical and temporal limits and made it a global refugee agency. The convention has so far been ratified by 145 countries.

Who is a refugee and how are they protected under the convention?

The 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees defines a refugee as someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.

The convention protects refugees by non-discrimination, non-penalisation (for entering the country) and nonrefoulement (forcible return to a country where they are likely to face persecution). It also lays down basic minimum standards for treatment of refugees that include access to courts, primary education, refugee travel documents in passport form and so on. Under the convention, signatory states undertake to cooperate with the UNHCR in exercising its functions.

Why has India not signed the convention?

Initially formed to protect only European refugees, many experts saw the UNHCR and the convention in its earlier days as a tool of Western Europe to win the ideological battle against communism. In its early days, the agency mainly dealt with resettling political escapees from the communist bloc to show the failure of communism and the benevolence of the ‘free world’.

India’s foreign ministry is reported to have told the UNHCR in 1953 that the global refugee policy was part of the Cold War. India was also reported to have stated its reservations with a definition of refugee which doesn’t identify the fundamental actors that cause the situation. Apart from this, signing the convention would mean mandatory cooperation with the UNHCR, which could be seen as losing some sovereign rights. India has faced a period of strained relationship with the agency during the Bangladesh refugee crisis and many experts argue that the legacy could also be a hindrance in India signing the convention.

What happened during the Bangladesh refugee crisis?

In 1970, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan’s Peoples Party lost the elections to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ’s Awami League. Politicians in West Pakistan were not willing to let Mujib lead the country and the inauguration to National assembly was cancelled by Yahya Khan, Pakistan’s military dictator. This resulted in massive protests in East Pakistan brutally suppressed by Pakistan’s army. Pakistan’s use of ruthless force on its own people resulted in the world’s largest refugee crisis.

By the end of 1971, over 10 million East Pakistanis crossed the border fleeing persecution by the army, putting huge stress on India. India provided relief by setting up camps and providing food and medicines to the extent possible. Although aid was coming from Western countries, they were not willing to acknowledge the root cause of this problem because of Pakistan’s proximity with the US. During this period, Sadruddin Aga Khan, the UNHCR head visited the subcontinent at the invitation of Yahya Khan and toured East Pakistan before visiting India. This visit was seen by India as UNHCR’s endorsement of Pakistan’s military government, which was responsible for the humanitarian crisis. As a result, the Indian government distanced itself from the agency.

In a report on the 1971 crisis, the agency says it was not allowed to work in refugee camps as the Indian government was shielding its assistance to Mukti Bahini, the Bangladeshi guerrilla force.

How does India deal with refugees and what are the laws to protect them?

India has had an exemplary track record in protecting refugees. It has protected refugees from Tibet, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

During the 1971 crisis, when 10 million refugees crossed the border, the government set up relief camps for 7 million while over 3 million were supported by host families. India, however, doesn’t have any formal definition of refugees and they are largely dealt with by the Registration of Foreigners Act 1939, Foreigners Act 1946 and Passport Act 1967.

The Indian constitution provides the right to equality before law and right to personal liberty to everyone living in India. India is signatory to various universal human right conventions against torture, child and women’s rights abuse, racism and so on and these also protect refugees. Apart from this, the principle of non-refoulment mentioned earlier is widely accepted as a principle of international law.

