UNHCR deplores deportation of asylum-seekers before claims heard
Press Releases, 19 December 2009
Geneva, Saturday 19 December 2009
The UN refugee agency expressed deep concern today about the involuntary return of asylum seekers before their claims have been heard. A disturbing pattern of such cases is increasingly evident around the world.
States are bound by the principle of non-refoulement, which applies to both those recognized as refugees and those seeking asylum.
The forced return of asylum-seekers without a full examination of their asylum claims is a serious breach of international refugee law.
UNHCR is deeply distressed at today's forced return of some 20 ethnic Uighurs from China who had filed asylum claims in Cambodia but whose cases had not yet been assessed.
On Friday, UNHCR communicated to the Royal Government of Cambodia its concern at reports of imminent deportation.
UNHCR advocates fair and efficient procedures for asylum-seekers
UNHCR Tents Reaching Earthquake Survivors in China
The UN refugee agency has provided 11,000 urgently needed tents to China to help with emergency shelter for some of the 5 million people left homeless after the devastating earthquake that struck Sichuan province on May 12, 2008.
The tents, which were manufactured in China for UNHCR, have been transported to the quake zone. The first 2,000 tents were airlifted to the zone and arrived in Chengdu on May 25 and the remaining 9,000 arrived not long after. These tents can provide shelter for 55,000 people. They have been distributed in the cities of Aba, Deyang and Guangyuan, close to the epicentre of the quake.
Posted on 4 June 2008
UNHCR Tents Reaching Earthquake Survivors in China
The makeshift camp at Patras
Thousands of irregular migrants, some of whom are asylum-seekers and refugees, have sought shelter in a squalid, makeshift camp close to the Greek port of Patras since it opened 13 years ago. The camp consisted of shelters constructed from cardboard and wood and housed hundreds of people when it was closed by the Greek government in July 2009. UNHCR had long maintained that it did not provide appropriate accommodation for asylum-seekers and refugees. The agency had been urging the government to find an alternative and put a stronger asylum system in place to provide appropriate asylum reception facilities for the stream of irregular migrants arriving in Greece each year.The government used bulldozers to clear the camp, which was destroyed by a fire shortly afterwards. All the camp residents had earlier been moved and there were no casualties. Photographer Zalmaï, a former refugee from Afghanistan, visited the camp earlier in the year.
The makeshift camp at Patras
From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France
Hundreds of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have created a number of makeshift camps in northern France. Drawn from a diverse range of countries, the men are hoping that from France they will be able to enter the United Kingdom.
Locals call it, "The Jungle" - a squalid warren of shanties made out of cardboard, plywood and bits of plastic that has mushroomed among the sand dunes and brambles outside Calais. Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers from such faraway places as Afghanistan, Somalia and Vietnam have traveled for months and over rough terrain to camp out and eventually cross the 34-kilometre stretch of sea that separates Calais from England's White Cliffs of Dover.
Some have family in the UK or have heard that it is easy to get a good job there. Others have been forced to flee their countries because of political, religious or ethnic persecution, and may be entitled to refugee status.
Since early June, the UN refugee agency and its local partner, France Terre d'Asile, have been present in Calais, informing and counselling hundreds of people about asylum systems and procedures in France and the UK.
From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France
Malta: Angelina Jolie meets asylum seekers
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visits an old air force base on Malata and talks to asylum-seekers who have fled North Africa.
Greek Gateway to Nowhere
Asylum-seekers see Greece as a gateway to Europe, but the reality is quite different.
Greece: Asylum-Seekers
Greece, buffeted by an economic crisis, is struggling to deal with a significant influx of migrants and asylum-seekers.
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