The Refugee Crisis

Page 1

September 2016

Promoting Solidarity, Equality and Social Justice Special Report by Michael Robinson

The Refugee Crisis

and the real villains of the piece Motion 67, which was passed at this year’s NIPSA Annual Conference, called “on the incoming General Council to support the refugees in their plight through lobbying, highlighting and raising awareness through the Global Solidarity Committee.” In the debate, we noted the failure of the media to properly define and differentiate between people falling within the various legal categories and statuses, who seek to enter the country. People, regardless of circumstances, are too often simply referred to, generically - as “migrants”. Caught up in this definition, are ‘asylum seekers’, refugees’, ‘economic migrants’ and European citizens openly availing of the free movement of people, goods and services, guaranteed by the EU. Despite the negative public perceptions generated by certain right-wing newspapers and the assertion that “these people are a drain on the economy”, the reality of the latter group is outlined in a report titled “Challenging Racism: Ending Hate”, by Dr. Richard Montague and Prof. Peter Shirlow. In this they point out that “recent European immigrants in the UK have paid £8.8 billion more in tax than they have consumed in public services.”

What then is a refugee?

A refugee is a person, defined within the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951, who ‘owing to 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 to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…’ Because of the well founded fear of persecution, Article 31 of the Convention prohibits states from - “penalising a refugee for illegal entry when the purpose of their entry is to claim asylum”.

The real origin of the Refugees crisis

But, people smugglers are not the only villains of the piece when it comes to the “causes of refugees.” There are others in respectable society and the recently published Chilcott Inquiry has exposed


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