UNHCR: Deep concern over refugee deportation from Japan
18 January 2005
TOKYO, 18 Jan. - The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, is deeply concerned over Japan's unprecedented deportation of two Turkish Kurds recognized as refugees under UNHCR's Statute. Japanese authorities deported the two refugees to Turkey on Tuesday, Jan. 18, despite last-minute appeals by UNHCR and human rights groups.
In a note verbale sent earlier Tuesday to the Minister of Justice, UNHCR urged the government not to send back these refugees, pointing out that such a move would represent an act of "refoulement" prohibited under international refugee law.
UNHCR said it had taken steps to seek third country resettlement for the refugees. The persons deported are a Turkish Kurd and his 20-year-old son. His wife and three other children are facing the same fate. UNHCR considers the deportation contrary to Japan's obligations under international law. The deportation is unprecedented and contrasts with Japan's humanitarian assistance towards refugees and disaster victims abroad.
The two persons deported had exhausted all legal remedies to remain in Japan and were considered as refugees by UNHCR. The refugee agency had made previous interventions on their behalf.
Until now, the Japanese authorities have provided UNHCR with the possibility to seek durable solutions for such refugees, including local integration or, in some cases, third country resettlement in accordance with the refugee agency's mandate. The refoulement of these refugees represents a disturbing departure from that practice.
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Summary Report of the Second Day of the Ministerial Meeting of States Parties (13 December 2001)
13 Dec 2001 ... France, Nicaragua, Italy, Argentina, Austria, Japan, Chile, Colombia, Republic of Korea, Israel, ... Several references were made to the principle of non-refoulement 1 being a principle of customary ...... -
Refugees Magazine Issue 123: 1951 Geneva Convention 50th Anniversary
2 Jul 2001 ... ... Circulation: 227,500 in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and ... where they could face persecution (non-refoulement) have become funda- mental international law. ...... -
UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2013
18 Jul 2012 ... ... specific needs, especially where there is heightened risk of refoulement. Among other noteworthy developments in the region, Japan became the first resettlement country in Asia in 2009. Japan ...... -
UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs for 2013
9 Jul 2012 ... ... specific needs, especially where there is heightened risk of refoulement. Among other noteworthy developments in the region, Japan became the first resettlement country in Asia in 2009. Japan ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2005 - East Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview
1 Jun 2006 ... ... to provide basic protection against refoulement and no cases were reported in 2005. UNHCR ... In Japan, durable solutions were found for 24 refugees out of 27 cases recognized under the 1951 ...... -
Bullet point summary of the strategic presentation on UNHCR's operations in Asia and the Pacific, 29th meeting of the Standing Committee, 9-11 March 2004
26 Feb 2004 ... process and are not protected from refoulement. • In Mongolia the government has ... In Japan, UNHCR commented at different stages on the draft amendments to the Immigration Control and ...... -
Regional update - Asia and the Pacific
8 Mar 2023 ... ... continued to advocate alternatives to detention and adherence to the principle of non-refoulement. ... Pursuant to its July 2021 Memorandum of Cooperation with Japan, UNHCR worked with the authorities on ...... -
Summary Record of the 518th Meeting Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Tuesday, 14 October 1997, at 10 a.m
17 Oct 1997 ... ... the Congo's violation of the principle of refoulement, expulsion of UNHCR and other aid agencies ... AKAO (Japan) said that there had been no new large-scale refugee crises during the past year and ...... -
Opening Statement by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the Fifty-seventh Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (ExCom), Geneva, 2 October 2006
2 Oct 2006 ... I would like to congratulate our Chairman, Ambassador Fujisaki of Japan, and applaud the energy and ... To preserve asylum is also to firmly oppose all forms of refoulement and guarantee respect for ......