Forgotten Refugee Quiz Answers

8/3/2019 Forgotten Refugee Quiz Answers

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ANSWER 1:A person who is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable orunwilling to return, due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on one ofthe following reasons:

Race

Religion Nationality

Membership of a particular social group

Political opinion

ANSWER 2:An IDP is a person who is forced to flee his/her home to escape to anotherarea within the borders of his/her country of origin due to one or more of thefollowing circumstances:

Armed conflict

Generalized violence

Human rights abuses Natural or man made disasters

Climate change.

ANSWER 3:STATELESSNESS:

1960 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Art 1(1):For the purpose of this Convention, the term "stateless person" means a

person who is not considered as a national by any State under theoperation ofits law.

ANSWER 4: Person has to be outside the country of his/her nationality.

An individual must no longer be trapped or present in their country of

origin.

ANSWER 5: While refugees are not required to have come directly from their country of

origin . . . other countries or territories passed through should also have constitutedactual or potential threats to life or freedom.

It is realistic to take into account language, family ties, culture and

community links when a refugee is determining where she may seek asylum.

ANSWER 6:2 essential elements:

1. Applicant has internalized subjective fear or trepidation2. Subjective fear has a concrete foundation it is not simply in her mind

and is supported by an objective situation. If either of both elements are not established then there is no well founded

fear.


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ANSWER 7:FUTURE PERSECUTION:

The Convention looks to the future. What has occurred in the past

does not determine whether a person is a refugee. . . the past is aguide - a very important guide- as to what may happen. But that is all.

PAST PERSECUTION: EU Minimum Standards (2004): the fact that an individual has already

been subject to persecutionor direct threats of such persecutionor todirect threats of suchpersecutionis a serious indication of theapplicant's well-founded fear of persecutionunless there are goodreason to consider that such persecution or serious harm will not berepeated."

ANSWER 8:BEING PERSECUTED:Two essential elements:

1. Serious Harm Grave, unrelenting and without a remedy.

2. Failure of State Protection

ANSWER 9: Look at international treaties to find what harms are bad enough:

1. International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights, (ICCPR)2. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

(ICESCR)3. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women,

(CEDAW)

4. Convention on the Rights of the Child, (CRC)5. Convention Against Torture, (CAT)

ANSWER 10:SUR-PLACE DOCTRINE:

A well founded fear of being persecution may be based on events

which have taken place since the applicant left the country of origin . Thus, a person can become a refuge by virtue of doing something while

abroad that engenders a risk.

ANSWER 11:

The refugee regime is not open to everyone whose human rights are at risk. The drafters of the 1951 refugee Convention did not want to write a blank

check for protection Harm must be motivated by what the person is or what a person believes.

ANSWER 12:FIVE ENUMERATED GROUNDS FOR PROTECTION:

1. Race;2. Religion;


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3. Nationality;4. Membership of a particular social group; OR5. Political opinion.

ANSWER 13:

RACEEU Minimum Standards Directive 2004: Art. 10(1)(a): The concept of race shall in particular include considerations

ofcolour, descent, or membership of a particular ethnic group. Art 10(2): When assessing if an applicant has a well-founded fear of being

persecuted it is immaterial whether the applicant actually possessesthe racial, religious, national, social or politicalcharacteristic whichattracts the persecution, provided that such a characteristic isattributed to the applicant by the actor of persecution.

ANSWER 14:

1. Resident internationally unprotected persons2. Persons denied full citizenship in their own state; Ie; Palestinians in Israel

3. Victims of ascribed nationality; I.e: Apartheid tried to create artificial nationality to disenfranchise black

people nationally, but neither the EU nor the US recognized such status4. Residents of previously sovereign areas; Ie; A Tibetan in China or a former Latvian in Estonia.

5. Linguistic and culturally defined collectiveness. I.e; Tutsis in Rwanda

ANSWER 15:RELIGION:

ICCPR - Art. 18(1): Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought,

conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or toadopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, eitherindividuallyor in communitywith others andin public or private, to manifest hisreligion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

ANSWER 16:1. ICCPR - Art. 19(1): Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions

without interference.

ICCPR - Art. 19(2): Everyone shall have the right to freedom ofexpression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impartinformation and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, inwriting or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of hischoice.

2. Political opinion can be implied &/or imputed as well as actual.

ANSWER 17: The group has to have something more in common that just being


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persecuted:TEST; Ward v Canada (1993):

a) Groups defined by an innate or unchangeable characteristic;b) Groups whose members voluntarily associate for reasons so fundamental to

their human dignity that they should not be forced to forsake the association;

c) Groups associated by a former voluntary status, unalterable due to itshistoric permanence.

ANSWER 18:1. Cessation (Art. 1C) refers to a formal decision to end refugee status

because it is no longer necessary or required.2. Cessation may be declared by the host country or by UNHCR either for an

individual or for a particular group of refugees.

ANSWER 19:FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES - Art. 1C(5-6):Three requirements:

1. Change must fundamental.2. Change must be enduring.3. Change must not merely eradicate the well founded fear but resolve

protection.

ANSWER 20:Rationale behind Art. IF: To deprive those guilty of egregious acts of surrogateprotection:

a) He has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime againsthumanity;

b) He has committed a serious non-political crime outside the country of refugeprior to his admission to that country as a refugee;

c) He has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of theUnited Nations

ANSWER 21:NON-REFOULMENT ART. 33:

Art 33(1): No contracting state shall expel or return (refouler) a refugee in anymanner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would bethreatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particularsocial group or political opinion.Exception: Art.33(2):

There are reasonable grounds for regarding [a refugee] as a danger to

security . . . or having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularlyserious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of that country.

ANSWER 22:EXTRA TERRITORIAL REFOULEMENT

A State has a responsibility for its own conduct and those acting under its

authority, which is not limited to within its territory.


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Applies to the conduct of State officials or those acting on behalf of the State

whether beyond the national territory of the State in question, at borderposts, or other points of entry, international zones and at transit points.

ANSWER 23:

All Refugees & Asylum Seekers Need:1. Information on asylum procedures;2. Legal advice;3. Attendance in their mother tongue;4. Food, clothing, and safe accommodation;5. Financial assistance;6. Medical assistance and emotional support;7. Access: NGOs, UNHCR, family, and other support networks;

ANSWER 24:REMOVAL TO SAFE THIRD COUNTRY:

Principle ofnon-refoulementexcludes not only transferring a person directlyto a country where she may be in danger, but also sending her to a countryfrom which she may later be transferred to a third country which gives rise toa risk of persecution.

ANSWER 25:Characteristics of Mass Arrival:

Large numbers of people arrive at an international border;

Rapid rate of arrival at an international border;

There are inadequate absorption or response capacity in host states,

particularly during the emergency phase;

Individual RSD procedures, are unable to deal with the assessment of sucha large number of arrivals.

Tensions run high owing to the urgency of the situation, scale of need,

confusion over responsibilities, and manoeuvring for power.

ANSWER 26:NON-REFOULEMENT:

The principle ofnon-refoulementapplies in mass arrival situations and, as

customary international law, it applies even when the country is not asignatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

No State can deny entry to refugees in a mass influx situation unless it is

truly necessary to protect their most critical national interest.

ANSWER 27:Durable solutions: The goal of international protection is to achieve continuing andenduring solutions for refugee protection.

1. Voluntary repatriation:2. Local integration;3. Resettlement.


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ANSWER 28:VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION:

Voluntary repatriation relates to a refugees decision to freely return home

after examining all available information about conditions in their country oforigin.

Pursuant to Art. 1(C)(4) it is only when the refugee is re-established in hercountry of origin that refugee status ceases.

ANSWER 19:LOCAL INTEGRATION/NATURALIZATION:

1. Local integration refers to refugees who settle permanently in the country ofasylum and can fully participate in the social, economic and cultural life ofthe host community.

2. Art 34. Naturalization : The Contracting States shall as far as possiblefacilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees.

ANSWER 30:RESETTLEMENT TO A THIRD COUNTRY: Resettlement in a third country involves the voluntary transfer of refugees

from one country in which they sought refuge to another country that hasagreed to admit them.

ANSWER 31: Resettlement may be the only solution for refugees who have no possibility

of returning home in the foreseeable future. Refugees lives, liberty, safety, health, or other fundamental rights may be at

immediate risk in the country of asylum because of their identity or because

the country of refuge is unwilling or unable to protect them. Resettlement can also be employed to facilitate the special needs of a

refugee that cannot be sufficiently dealt with in the country of refuge. I.e;survivors of violence, torture, or severe trauma.

ANSWER 32: Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to

leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result ofor in order to:

1. Avoid the effects of armed conflict;2. Situations of generalized violence;

3. Violations of human rights; or4. Natural or human-made disasters, And who have NOT crossed an internationally recognised State border .

ANSWER to CASE STUDY 1QN 1: Does Lindsey meet the inclusion criteria of the refugee definition?

Outside country of origin


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Yes. Lindseys COO is Lowland and she currently resides in Highlife.Well-founded fearLindsey has applied for asylum. In her application, she explains that she is afraid toreturn. Hence, the subjective element of this requirement (fear) is satisfied. Thereare reports of arrest and detention, torture and killings of members of Lindseys

ethnic group. Those targeted were selected at random by the security forces,although such incidents are said to be increasingly frequent and widespread.(Objective fact)Putting the two elements together, it would appear that there is a reasonablepossibility that she would face such treatment at the hands of the security forces ifshe were to be returned to Lowland. Her fear is thus well-founded.PersecutionYes. This element is satisfied: arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, rape andextrajudicial killings are serious violations of international human rights guarantees.They amount to persecution.Enumerated Convention GroundYes. In Lindseys case, the risk of persecution is linked to her ethnic origin, in thecontext of an armed struggle for control of Lowland between this ethnic group andanother one, which currently controls the countrys government. Thus, the relevantConvention grounds are:

race (ethnic origin) (imputed) political opinion nationality (ethnic origin)

ANSWER to CASE STUDY 2QN 2: As Lindseys legal counsel, what arguments would you put forward tosupport an appeal against this decision?

The fact that Lindsey did not fulfill the criteria of the refugee definition when she leftLowland does not mean that she cannot qualify for refugee status at the presenttime. In her case, circumstances which mean that she now has a well-founded fearof persecution in her country of origin have arisen after her departure. She hasbecome a refugee while in Highlife, and has aSUR PLACECLAIM.

The fact that she never faced security problems while she lived in Lowland isirrelevant with regard to her current eligibility for refugee status. The analysis ofwhether or not an applicant comes within the scope of the refugee definition isforward-looking: what needs to be established, as a general rule, is whether thereis a reasonable possibility that the person concerned will be subjected topersecution linked to a Convention ground if returned to the country of origin atpresent or in the future. Past persecution is generally an indication that such a riskexists, but a persons fear of persecution may be well-founded even if he or shehas not suffered such treatment previously (see paragraph 45 of UNHCRsHandbook)

ANSWERS FOR CASE STUDY 2


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Key facts1. Presence abroad;2. Alternative of internal flight;3. Civil war, general violence within As country;4. Persecution of family members and attacks on surrounding villages;

5. Imputed political opinion: A may be perceived as a supporter of the formerpresident;6. Ethnic clashes between different clans;7. Lack of state authority and state protection;8. Persecution carried out by non-state actors.

Key points for analysis1. Persecution within a context of general violence/civil war;2. Under 1951 Refugee Convention, persecution for imputed political opinion

and/or race;3. Fear of persecution need not require demonstration of actual personal

persecution;4. Absence of national protection can be presumed in view of absence of

effective state control over territory;5. Under OAU Convention (if person is in Africa), need only demonstrate

general violence in part of the country;6. Severe discrimination on an ethnic basis, but not all members of Avivas

clan have been individually attacked;7. A has not been individually targeted: she is not a victim of persecution;8. Death of Avivas husband is not in itself persecution but rather a result of

civil war;9. However, widespread violence was a continuous threat to Avivas life and

security;10.Aviva was unable to live undisturbed in another part of her country;11.Aviva does not qualify as a refugee under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

ANSWERS FOR CASE STUDY 3Key facts

1. Casper is a child combatant. He is a minor under most countries laws (butnot in the United States, where an adult is anyone over 16 years of age);

2. Casper is abroad. It is unclear if he criss-crosses the border between thecountry of refuge and his own country;

3. Casper was a soldier, but he deserted;4. Casper was forcibly conscripted;5. Casper has laid down his arms.

Key points for analysis1. Casper was part of a larger group of refugees, who were collectively

determined, at first glance, to beprima facie refugees. In situations of massinflux, individual screening is not feasible. Refugee status is, however,forfeited, when any of the exclusion clauses apply. Taking up arms istantamount to losing international protection and benefits as refugees;

2. Only disarmed soldiers, i.e., non-combatants, can avail of asylum. Asylum isa civilian, non-political act and is not to be regarded as a cause of tensionbetween states;


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3. Recruitment of child soldiers (minors under 15 years of age) is prohibitedunder international law: Art. 38 of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of theChild, Art. 77 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the 1949 GenevaConventions. See also the UNHCR Refugee Children Guidelines, p. 85-86;

4. It is the responsibility of the neutral host country, under international

humanitarian law, to disarm and intern combatants in a location separatefrom civilian refugees. See Arts. 11-12. of the 1907 Hague Convention V:when receiving belligerent troops, the neutral power shall intern them inplaces set apart, as far a possible, at a distance from the theatre of war. Itshall supply food, clothing and relief to the interned;

5. The best-interest principle of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Childis the overriding guideline to incite Casper to resume a civilian life. Thewhereabouts of his family members should be immediately traced;

6. Casper is a deserter. Desertion is a common-law offence that is punishablein most countries. Desertion in itself does not constitute individualpersecution. Depending on the specific circumstances of his case, C may

fall within the individual 1951 Convention definition, e.g., if he will risk life-threatening harm should he be sent back to his country (see FrequentlyAsked Questions in Protecting Refugees: A Field Guide for NGOs).

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Forgotten Refugee Quiz Answers