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Populists Oppose UN Refugee Pact

November 24, 2018 | Expert Insights

The UN migration pact continues to be at the center of political debate. A second UN agreement on refugees is also now under fire, with populist governments saying it will facilitate an unregulated refugee influx. 

Background  

There are currently around 68 million displaced people worldwide, according to the United Nations. Most of those are internally displaced, still in their own country but driven from their homes. Some 25 million have fled across borders and entered neighbouring countries, or have fled abroad.

Nearly 70 years after the passing of the Geneva convention on refugees in 1951, these figures are at a record high. In response, the UN Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) intends to bundle international efforts, improve living conditions for refugees and provide relief to host countries; the pact is designed for refugees who seek protection from war and persecution and who can invoke the Geneva convention on refugees. The global compact comprises 23 objectives for better managing migration at local, national, regional and global levels. 

The process to develop this global compact started in April 2017. In September 2016 the General Assembly decided, through the adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, to develop a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. On 13 July 2018 UN Member States finalised the text for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.  

 

Analysis  

Representatives of 176 countries, including Germany, have approved the draft Global Compact on Refugees treaty. The US voted against it, because the GCR's worldwide approach was not in accordance with the country's sovereignty, in the words of the current US administration. 

Australia’s government has confirmed it will not sign up to the United Nation’s migration pact, claiming it will undermine Australia’s harsh policies to deter asylum seekers, despite Australia’s role in helping to draft it. The Refugee Council of Australia and advocates have strongly rejected the government’s claim, citing the fact that the compact is non-binding and has a provision stating that countries retain sovereignty over their migration programs. 

Australia and the US join Israel and a group of Eastern European countries that have also refused. 

Speaking before the German parliament on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the UN refugee and migration pacts, saying they were in Germany's national interest. In July, Germany’s Coalition signalled it would refuse to sign the agreement because the final draft of the compact said that migration detention should only be used “as a measure of last resort” and states should work towards alternatives.

The text of the pact provides recommendations for international standards with respect to the registration and accommodation of refugees, or with regard to arranging educational and health opportunities. Conditions for permanent admission of refugees are also discussed. 

The final draft includes a commitment to review legislation and policies to ensure “migrants are not detained arbitrarily, that decisions to detain are based on law, are proportionate, have a legitimate purpose, and are taken on an individual basis, in full compliance with due process and procedural safeguards, and that immigration detention is not promoted as a deterrent or used as a form of cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment to migrants, in accordance with international human rights law”. It states that refugees and migrants “are entitled to the same universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, which must be respected, protected and fulfilled at all times”. 

The compact nevertheless “reaffirms the sovereign right of states to determine their national migration policy … in conformity with international law”. 

 

Counterpoint 

According to Steffen Angenendt, head of the Global Issues Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, the aggressive criticism of the migration pact and the Global Compact on Refugees is part of a "politically motivated campaign of disinformation." It's no surprise for him that the compact has come under attack. 

This, he added, was about refugees, about the alleged "globalists" at the UN and about international solidarity which, in the age of US President Donald Trump, has come under abuse by many. The greater the number of people familiar with the actual content of the treaty, the quicker unsubstantiated criticism can be debunked, Angenendt believes. 

Assessment  

Our assessment is that the Global Compact on Refugees will ensure global solidarity in handling refugee crises. We believe that at present, one of the greatest challenges is that only a handful of countries do the heavy lifting in any refugee situation and that the GCR could significantly contribute to the management of such crises in a sustainable, mutually beneficial manner.