Council for International Development. Kaunihera mo te Whakapakari Ao Whanui. CID Policy Paper. Refugee Policy

Transcription

1 Council for International Development Kaunihera mo te Whakapakari Ao Whanui CID Policy Paper Refugee Policy May 2008

2 CiD Council for International Development Te Kaunihera mo te Whakapakari Ao Whanui o Aotearoa P.O. Box Wellington 6142 Aotearoa/NZ Phone: (04) fax: (04) info@cid.org.nz Cover: Karen refugees camp in teak forest after fleeing a refugee camp to avoid relocation by the Thai army. Photo courtesy of The State Adversary magazine. Back cover: Afghan refugee children. Photo: May 2008

3 CID policy paper: refugee policy / 3 CID Refugee Policy Principles CID s refugee policy is based on the following principles: 1 New Zealand s refugee policy should be founded on recognition of the human rights of refugees. These rights are spelled out in international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on Statelessness, the Convention Against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child; All people have the right to seek asylum from persecution, and no person should be forced to return to a country where she or he might face persecution or torture; Asylum seekers should not be treated as illegal immigrants or as threats to national security without firm evidence that is presented to the individual involved; Refugee status determination procedures must be humane, just, fair, timely, transparent and thorough so as to ensure that all who need protection receive it; New Zealand has a responsibility as a wealthy country to play a part in finding durable solutions for refugees, including provision of development assistance, participation in international debates and standard-setting for treatment of refugees, and resettlement of refugees in New Zealand; New Zealand should provide resettled refugees with a safe and welcoming environment, free from discrimination and racism; Refugees resettled in New Zealand should be seen as an asset, not a liability or a cost. Refugee policy should be based on recognising, valuing and developing the skills and capabilities of refugees; The needs and rights of refugees overlap with but are distinct from those of other migrants to New Zealand; Family reunification is essential to successful resettlement of refugees in New Zealand; Refugee women and children have special protection and resettlement needs; Refugees should be involved in all levels of policy, programming and practice related to their needs and rights. This involvement should include policy development, implementation and evaluation. A refugee as defined by the 1951 UN convention is a person who: has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it. Internally displaced Afghani people at food distribution centre. Photo: WFP

4 4 / CID policy paper: refugee policy Recommendations International action The New Zealand government should: Help to reduce global refugee flows by taking a strong international stand on the promotion of human rights, conflict prevention, environmental issues and poverty reduction; Engage actively with processes aimed at finding a durable solution for refugees globally and in the Asia and Pacific regions; Be an international advocate for the rights of refugees and other people requiring protection. Official Development Assistance The New Zealand government should: Help to address the root causes of global refugee flows by increasing Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the United Nations target of 0.7 percent of Gross National Income by New Zealand s ODA should continue to focus on poverty elimination and human rights, and should have a strong component of conflict prevention and peace building assistance; The greatest number of refugees and asylum-seekers in 2006 came from: Afghanistan 3,260,300 Former Palestine 3,036,400 Iraq 1,687,800 Myanmar 693,300 Sudan 648,000 Colombia 453,300 Kinshasa-Congo 413,300 Somalia 410,300 Burundi 393,700 Vietnam 308,000 World Refugee Survey 2007 Increase New Zealand s contribution to funding the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as part of an overall increase in ODA; Support New Zealand and local non-government organisations (NGOs) working with displaced peoples and refugees in developing countries. NZAID should: Become more engaged in the development of refugee policy within New Zealand and internationally, contributing its development expertise and understanding of conditions in the countries from which refugees come. Refugee resettlement quota The New Zealand government should: Review the annual quota (750) of refugees accepted for resettlement in New Zealand and provide funding for increased and appropriate support services; Be prepared to respond to emergency appeals on behalf of refugees through appropriating further funds towards international appeals and by increasing its quota to accept additional cases above its annual quota. Family reunification The New Zealand government should: Review current family reunification numbers open to refugees to ensure that the criteria and processes are accessible and as fair and transparent as possible. As part of such a review the government should consult with refugee communities and NGOs; Review the 300 places made available as the Refugee Family Support category and ensure that these cases have access to the services provided to refugees being accepted under the Refugee resettlement category; Restore humanitarian criteria to the family reunification programme, and engage in discussion with refugee communities and NGOs about what constitutes genuine humanitarian need; Adopt the UNHCR definition of family for the purposes of refugee family reunification policy. Asylum seekers The New Zealand government should: Review interdiction policies and procedures to make them more transparent and to ensure that asylum seekers denied entry to New Zealand are not returned to situations where they face persecution or torture; Detain asylum seekers only as a last resort and in accordance with UNCHR guidelines; Not detain children under any circumstances; Ensure that detained asylum seekers have the right to come before a court and be told the specific reasons why they are being detained; Cease the detention of asylum seekers in prisons or other institutions where they are held alongside people facing criminal charges; Provide asylum seekers with better information about their rights, in appropriate languages; Grant New Zealand residence to asylum seekers and their immediate families at the same time as their refugee status is approved; Provide work permits for all conditionally-released asylum seekers, including those awaiting Removal Review Authority decisions; Make available to asylum seekers the same mental health and other services that are available to quota refugees; Put in place adequate safeguards to protect the human rights of asylum seekers whose application for refugee status has been declined;

5 CID policy paper: refugee policy / 5 Review the use of classified information and the introduction of national security considerations in relation to applications for refugee status, and ensure that such a review takes full account of human rights. Complementary protection and statelessness The New Zealand government should: Introduce a complementary protection category within the New Zealand immigration system for people who do not fit the criteria for refugee status under the UN refugee convention but who nevertheless have legitimate protection needs. This new category should not, however, be used as a substitute for providing full protection to those who do qualify for refugee status; Ratify the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and ensure that New Zealand law and practice complies with this convention. Refugee resettlement The New Zealand government and (where appropriate) local government authorities should: Provide adequate resources for the resettlement of refugees in New Zealand so that there is sufficient funding for services such as health, education and housing that meet the specific needs of refugees; Ensure that their contracted NGO partners in resettlement are appropriately resourced to deliver successful settlement outcomes through programmes that build social capital and are responsive to client needs and aspirations; Put in place policies in areas such as health (including mental health), education, employment and housing to ensure that government services meet the specific needs of refugees; Direct government agencies to work together to ensure that their policies, practices and services for refugees are consistent, complementary and coordinated; Ban Sala refugee camp, Thailand. Ensure that refugees have access to appropriate and competent trained interpreters; Extend to convention refugees (people who have successfully applied for refugee status in New Zealand) all the same resettlement benefits and services that are currently available to quota refugees; Provide resources directly to refugee communities and organisations to support their own initiatives aimed at meeting their needs and strengthening their communities in New Zealand. The New Zealand government, local government bodies and NGOs should: Help to build public support for refugee resettlement in the wider New Zealand community by promoting US$ 272 billion... Photo: Rae Julian public education about refugees and their countries of origin, public involvement in refugee resettlement and more positive media coverage of refugees and their countries of origin. New Zealand NGOs working with refugees in New Zealand should: Respect the autonomy of refugee communities and organisations, support refugee communities own initiatives and assist with building the capacity of refugee communities and organisations; Speak up in support of the rights of refugees, especially when these rights are under attack; Publicise positive stories about the contributions made by refugees to New Zealand society.

6 6/ CID policy paper: refugee policy Background to refugee policy AROUND the world, millions of people have been displaced from their homes and their ordinary lives by violent conflict, persecution and political upheaval. Many of these people flee to other countries seeking protection for themselves and their families. Refugees and other displaced people are among the world s most vulnerable, often facing insecurity and uncertainty even in the countries to which they have fled. Their human rights, guaranteed under international conventions, are often violated. The Council for International Development (CID) believes that wealthy countries like New Zealand have a responsibility to help to find long-term solutions that will allow refugees to live safely and securely. This may involve assisting refugees countries of origin to recover from war and human rights abuses, so that it is safe to return; providing assistance to help make refugees lives more secure in the countries they have fled to; or, for a small proportion of refugees, providing them with a new home in a country such as New Zealand where they can be safe. CID would like to see the New Zealand government taking a leading role in helping to protect and assist refugees, including through making more generous provision for the resettlement of refugees in New Zealand. Historical background Underpinning international policy on refugees lies the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees which was drafted in 1951 and entered into force in Prior to this international convention there was no formal obligation for countries to accept and provide for refugees although Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared, Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. Most cultures have had a long held tradition of offering assistance or sanctuary to those fleeing from oppression or persecution. Yet it was not until the mass movement following World War II that this custom of aiding and protecting those fleeing another country as a refugee became enshrined in international law. The newly-formed United Nations took a leading role in responding to the need for refugee protection and resettlement. The convention provided the means to consolidate other international instruments relating to refugees and sets out the rights of refugees in the most comprehensive document accepted at an international level. It also lays down basic minimum standards for the treatment of refugees. The convention requires non-discrimination of those claiming refugee status, regardless of their race, religion or country of origin and it set out the first definition of a refugee. Refugees include persons recognized under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees; its 1967 Protocol; the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa; those recognised in accordance with the UNHCR statute; persons granted complementary forms of protection; or, those enjoying temporary protection. UNHCR has a mandated responsibility to extend protection to all refugees wherever they may be, unless this role is otherwise specifically excepted. Thus, as indicated already, some 4.3 million Palestinian refugees in the areas of operation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) are normally not considered as falling under UNHCR s mandate. Asylum-seekers are persons whose applications for asylum or refugee status are pending a final decision. Internally displaced persons (IDPs), for purposes of UNHCR s statistics, are limited to conflict generated IDPs to whom the office extends protection and/or assistance. Nevertheless, IDPs referred to as persons of concern to UNHCR do not include all conflict-related IDPs Stateless persons are persons not considered as nationals by any state under the relevant national laws. The statistics in this report on statelessness include persons with undetermined nationality. UNHCR has been called upon by the General Assembly to contribute to the prevention of and reduction of statelessness and to report regularly on the magnitude of the phenomenon. It has been tasked to fulfil the functions under Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and act as an intermediary between states and stateless persons. Other persons of concern, refers first to persons who, while they may fall under any of the preceding categories, have not formally been determined or agreed to be so for one or another reason, but benefit from the protection, assistance or other activities of UNHCR. Also included are persons who may not necessarily fall directly into any of those groups, but to whom UNHCR may extend its services for humanitarian or other special reasons. From UNHCR s overview

7 The definition of a refugee was expanded by the convention s 1967 Protocol and by regional amendments. The first to make an amendment was the Organisation of African Unity in 1969 and the second was the 1984 Organisation of American States, both of which extended the definition of refugee to include people fleeing violence in those regions. The term covers those forced from their own country by war, civil conflict, political strife or gross human rights abuses. A person who is seeking to be recognised as a refugee is an asylum seeker. Only after their case has been deemed to be a protection issue will they then be officially recognised with the term refugee. One of the principles at the core of the UN convention is that of non-refoulement. This dictates that no treaty state shall expel or return ( refouler ) a refugee, against his or her will, in any manner whatsoever, to a territory where he or she fears for their safety. New Zealand took 4500 displaced persons from Europe after the Second World War, and in subsequent decades refugees were accepted from Eastern Europe, China, Chile and other countries. From the mid- 1970s to the early 1990s, New Zealand s refugee intake was dominated by people from Southeast Asia. Between 1977 and 1993, 5200 Cambodians, 4500 Vietnamese and 1200 Laotians arrived in New Zealand as refugees. Since the mid-1990s, refugees have come to New Zealand from a wide range of countries, including many from Africa and the Middle East. In 1987 the New Zealand government agreed to formalise its refugee resettlement programme by accepting an annual quota of 800 people who had been classified offshore as refugees by UNHCR. This quota was later revised to 750. There are now many thousands of people living in New Zealand who arrived as refugees and have since gone on to do well in their new country and to make valuable contributions to New Zealand society. New Zealand is one of 144 countries Photo: Sam Buchanan that have signed the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and, along with Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the USA, is one of the nine countries that take the largest share of all refugee cases. In New Zealand we accept a certain number of quota refugees. These are the cases that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has mandated as refugees. These people are selected for resettlement in New Zealand under the annual Refugee Quota Programme which comprises three main sub-categories protection cases, women-at-risk and medical/disabled. Underlying these categories is CID policy paper: refugee policy / 7 Principal host countries of refugees (as of December, 2006) World Refugee Survey 2007 Pakistan Syria Iran Gaza Strip Jordan West Bank Tanzania India Thailand Kenya China Sudan Lebanon Chad Uganda Saudi Arabia Congo-Kinshasa Venezuela Ecuador Russia Bangladesh Egypt South Africa Malaysia a focus on family links. International situation Not included in the definition of refugees currently are people displaced because of environmental problems that displace them from their lands as well as those internally displaced due to conflict. This is an ongoing issue of concern to humanitarian and development agencies as these groups of people have no formal protection offered to them apart from that within the country in which they live and are displaced. Displacement often occurs within countries due to conflict and governments are not always able or willing to come to the assist- Thai army rangers during an attempt to move the unofficial Mae La refugee camp.

8 8 / CID policy paper: refugee policy ance of those who are victims of a conflict situation. The UNHCR promotes three durable solutions for people who are forced to flee their country. The first, and preferred, solution is for them to go back to their countries of origin once conditions have changed sufficiently to allow them to return safely. The second solution is for them to settle in the country to which they have escaped (known as the country of first asylum ) and become integrated into the community there. The third solution, which is used only for a small percentage of refugees who cannot find adequate protection either in their country of origin or in the country of first asylum, is for the refugees to be resettled in a safe third country, such as New Zealand. In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of refugees choosing the first of UNHCR s durable solutions, return to their home country. Most of these people have returned to Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban regime. In 2004, for example, around 1.5 million refugees returned to their countries, of whom 940,000 were Afghans. Despite the return of some 3.5 million Afghans over three years, however, the remaining 3.2 million Afghan refugees still constitute the UNCHR s largest single refugee group. The countries in which most of them live, Iran and Pakistan, host the largest numbers of refugees globally. For those who are defined as refugees there are further protection concerns. The practice of warehousing refugees is an area where advocates for refugee rights and protection have been requesting change 2. This practice entails keeping refugees in camps or segregated settlements, deprived for years of the basic rights guaranteed in the UN Refugee Convention. A further cause for specific intervention is that the majority of the world s 32 million refugees and displaced people are women 3. Millions of refugees are living in very Palestinian refugees Over 4.3 million Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza and are covered by the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). These are people who lived in Palestine before 1948 and lost their homes as a result of the establishment of the state of Israel, and the descendants of such people. About one third of them live in refugee camps. UNRWA provides them with basic services such as education and health, as well as providing emergency aid and development assistance. One reason why these refugees continue to fall under a separate UN mandate is that the three durable solutions for refugees promoted by UNHCR are not easily applicable to the case of the Palestinians. Permanent resettlement away from their original homes is unacceptable to the refugees and to their host countries, while return to their home country is unacceptable to Israel. It is estimated that there are over four million Palestinian refugees worldwide. UNHCR population by category 2006 Others 3% IDPs protected/assisted by UNHCR 39% Refugees 30% Asylum seekers 2% Returned IDPs 8% Stateless 18% Returned refugees 2% poor countries, usually in refugee camps. Their lives are insecure and often dangerous, and women in particular are frequently subject to violence and sexual abuse. Infrastructure and services such as water, sanitation, health and education may be very basic or even non-existent, particularly in the early phases of a refugee crisis. International assistance provided through UNHCR, together with the work of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), helps to provide basic services to refugees in poor countries. However, life in refugee camps remains difficult, and many refugees are forced to live in these camps for years. Other refugees lead highly insecure lives outside the camps as illegal migrants, and may be subject at any time to deportation back to their countries of origin. For example, it is estimated that there are one million Burmese migrants in Thailand, many of whom were forced to leave Burma because of political repression. About 142,000 Burmese refugees live under UNHCR mandate in camps along the Thai-Burma border, with many others in camps across the Burmese borders with India, Bangladesh and China, but many others are forced to exist as migrant workers. Most of these people are considered

9 CID policy paper: refugee policy / 9 illegal migrants by the Thai government, and have therefore worked clandestinely, often under appalling conditions, and in constant fear of deportation back to Burma. In recent years the Thai government has moved to regularise the status of such migrants through a registration process, but there continue to be serious human rights concerns about their treatment 4. There are also worrying trends in the treatment of refugees as the war on terror is used as a reason for states to be less open to accepting those seeking asylum. According to Human Rights Watch 5, wealthy countries have not proven their commitment to the protection of refugees. They accuse the industrialised states of Europe, North America and Australia of being hostile and introducing restrictive policies to deal with refugees. This includes subjecting refugees to arbitrary arrest, detention, denial of social and economic rights and in some cases, violating the principle of nonrefoulement. Thus while the wealthier countries retrench from their obligations to care for refugees, poorer countries are left looking after the largest numbers of refugees. As at the end of 2006 there were 32.9 million persons who can be counted as refugees, displaced people or others of concern to UNH- CR. Following the intervention in Iraq, UNHCR reported there may be as many as 4.2 million Iraqis made homeless inside and outside the country. This means that the global refugee population has increased for the first time since Since 2002, refugee numbers had declined steadily on a global basis. However at the end of 2006, the figure stood at 9.9 million, the highest in five years. Compared with the figure of 8.7 million at the beginning of the year, there had been a net increase of some 1.2 million refugees, or 14 percent. The increase arose from two main sources. One was the 1.2 million Iraqis seeking refuge in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic. Secondly, there have been some changes in accounting for refugee caseloads, in the particular by the United States. 6 Official Development Assistance and refugees There are a number of ways in which overseas aid is relevant to the situation of refugees: Aid that helps to address the factors that cause refugees to leave their homelands can help to reduce refugee flows. In particular, aid aimed at poverty reduction, promoting a culture of respect for human rights, and conflict prevention and transformation, can help to prevent the deterioration in human rights and human security that forces people to seek protection in another country or become internally displaced; Refugees who have sought protection in other developing countries are usually assisted by aid, usually provided through UNHCR or nongovernment organisations. Many refugees live in camps where they are in need of basic services. It is often difficult, if not impossible, for governments in poor countries to afford the cost of providing services to very large numbers of non-citizens, and the international community must step in to provide assistance; Donor countries can report assistance to refugees in developing countries as part of their Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is aid from governments to assist developing countries. 7 The costs of assisting refugees from developing countries arriving in donor countries can be counted as ODA for the first twelve months after their arrival. 8 New Zealand s aid is mainly focused on the Pacific region. There are relatively few refugees in this region at present, although it cannot be assumed that this will always be the case. NZAID s second area of focus after the Pacific is Southeast Asia, and there are significant numbers of refugees both originating from and passing through this region. Due to its specific development and human rights perspective, and its understanding of conditions in developing countries from which refugees come, NZAID can make a valuable contribution to government refugee policy. The New Zealand government, through its aid agency NZAID, provides assistance that addresses the root causes of refugee flows. New Zealand s ODA has a strong focus on poverty elimination and human rights. Conflict prevention and peace building programmes are also core elements in the assistance provided by NZAID 10. Over the past few years, NZAID has provided annual core funding of $1.8 million to UN- HCR, as well as varying amounts in special contributions for emergency situations. In 2005/06, core funding Certain provisions of the convention are considered so fundamental that no reservations may be made to them. These include the definition of the term refugee, and the so-called principle of non-refoulement, i.e. that no contracting state shall expel or return ( refouler ) a refugee, against his or her will, in any manner whatsoever, to a territory where he or she fears persecution. Convention and Protocol relating to the rights of refugees UNHCR

10 10 / CID policy paper: refugee policy Right to seek asylum under threat? Protest at the Baxter Detention Centre, Australia. Photo: Mark Cunningham/IndyMedia AUSTRALIA has opted for a very tough immigration policy. In August 2001, the Australian government used troops to prevent the Norwegian vessel MV Tampa from sailing to the Australian territory of Christmas Island. The Tampa was carrying 433 asylum seekers rescued at sea on their way to Australia. The Australian government was determined to prevent these asylum seekers, and others who entered Australian waters in subsequent weeks, from reaching Australian territory. Instead, it reached an agreement with the Pacific states of Nauru and PNG that these asylum seekers would be detained, and have their applications for refugee status determined, in those countries. Nauru is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and has no expertise in processing applications for asylum. Other Pacific countries that have been cited as possible locations for detention camps, such as Palau (popn 16,000) and Kiribati (popn 70,000), have also not signed the convention. The Australian government not only paid for the establishment of the detention camps and associated infrastructure, but also provided additional aid to Nauru to help persuade the Nauruan government to accept the detention of asylum seekers in their country. Nauru was not previously a significant recipient of Australian aid, and the amount of additional aid allocated by the Australian government over two years was almost as much as the total aid provided to Nauru by Australia for the whole period The Australian government also approached other PICs, but they refused to act as detention centres for asylum seekers arriving in Australian waters. The Australian government s so-called Pacific solution to the asylum seeker problem was sharply criticised by a number of Pacific Island leaders and human rights groups. It has also been suggested that mandatory detention of asylum seekers contravened the constitutions of Nauru and PNG. Many of the asylum seekers detained on Nauru and Manus islands have since been found to be refugees and given protection in Australia, New Zealand or other countries. In October 2005, the Australian government announced that all but two of the remaining asylum seekers from Nauru would be flown to Australia, effectively ending the Pacific solution for now. However, the Nauru detention camp is to remain available for possible future use. While Australian refugee advocates welcomed the apparent end of detention of asylum seekers in the Pacific, and argued that it should never have taken place, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that the policy had been an outstanding success in helping to prevent illegal immigration. More recently, Australian refugee policy has come under criticism from Human Rights Watch in their attempts to trade refugees housed at Guantanamo Bay for those held on the island nation of Nauru. The policy seems aimed at deterring any future asylum seekers from trying to reach the United States or Australia by boat rather than provide any genuine succour for refugees. This is seen to be flouting international refugee protection principles which hold that detention and similar measures should not be used to deter other asylum seekers 9.

11 CID policy paper: refugee policy / 11 of UNHCR was doubled to $3.6 million, and UNHCR was designated one of ten priority partners for NZA- ID s multilateral programme. In recent years, NZAID has provided annual core funding of $300,000 to UNRWA (the UN body responsible for assisting Palestinian refugees see box), and has contributed to UN- RWA s emergency appeals. In addition, New Zealand counts the costs of resettling refugees during their first 12 months in New Zealand as part of ODA. In 2005, this amounted to some $15.5 million, or just over four percent of total ODA expenditure. The proportion of New Zealand s ODA spent on various forms of refugee-related assistance seems reasonable, especially now that core funding of UNHCR has been increased. However, the New Zealand government is still not contributing enough to assist refugees, because its total ODA budget is still behind the target of 0.7 percent. The New Zealand government urgently needs to continue to increase its overall aid expenditure. In doing so, it can provide further resources to address the factors that cause refugees to flee their homelands, as well as doing more to help meet their needs in countries of asylum. Notes 1 Some of these principles have been adapted from the Refugee Council of Australia s Refugee Charter and Core Position see World Refugee Survey rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/tbrl-74rm6m/$file/ RI_AnnRept06-july07.pdf?OpenElement; and World Refugee Report article.aspx?id= Human Rights Watch, Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Thai Policy towards Burmese Refugees, February 2004; Amnesty International, Thailand: The Plight of the Burmese Migrant Workers, June UNHCR 2006 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons 7 The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is responsible for determining what can and cannot be counted as ODA. 8 It is argable that assistance to refugees arriving in developed countries, which is spent entirely in the donor country, should not be counted as ODA. See the criticism in ActionAid, Real Aid: An Agenda for Making Aid Work, 2005, p See the NZAID policy statements Policy Statement: Towards a Safe and Just World Free of Poverty, Human Rights Policy Statement, and Preventing Conflict and Building Peace. Internally displaced Afghan women. Photo: WFP At the end of 2006 the number of refugees in the world was 9.9 million the highest in five years. Photo: IRC UNHCR 2006, Global Trends

12 CiD Council for International Development Te Kaunihera mo te Whakapakari Ao Whanui o Aotearoa