02/26/2004

President George W. Bush told reporters Wednesday that the United States “will turn back any [Haitian] refugee that attempts to reach our shore.”  The current U.S. position toward potential Haitian asylum seekers sets a poor precedent and undermines protection for displaced people everywhere.  Refugees International condemns this policy as a clear violation of U.S. obligations as a signatory to the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. RI again calls for the U.S. to allow Haitian asylum seekers to enter the country and to have their asylum claims heard on U.S. soil.

In light of the escalating violence in Haiti, thousands of Haitians may once again find themselves with no alternative but to attempt to reach the United States by crossing the Caribbean in boats. U.S. policy dating back to the previous Administration has failed to protect Haitians seeking asylum in this country. Haitian asylum seekers have not been granted a meaningful opportunity to present their claims.  Instead, the U.S. has yielded to domestic political pressures and closed its borders to individuals genuinely in need of protection.  

The U.S. responds to Haitians seeking asylum by intercepting vessels at sea and forcing passengers to return to Haiti with poor or no screening, and no guarantee for their safety.  By conducting off shore screening under less than appropriate conditions, detaining individuals (and in the process sometimes separating families) for extensive periods of time, and failing to monitor outcomes of returned individuals, the U.S. risks violating international and asylum law.  Specifically, such responses risk the involuntary return of bona fide refugees, a violation of the principle of non-refoulement.  RI believes that processing asylum seekers in the U.S. is the best option to provide adequate screening.

Governments have the right to take measures aimed at safeguarding security, but they must do so in conformity with their human rights obligations. Refoulement, or forced return, can never be justified legally or morally, and the responsibility for safeguarding the rights of refugees remains with states.  Each state must ensure adequate investigation of the applicant’s claim for asylum and a full and thorough determination of refugee status to safeguard a refugee against refoulement.
There is a clear relationship between refugees and human rights. Refugees are people who leave their homeland because it is no longer possible to rely on their own government for legal or social protection. They seek international protection by turning to other governments.  Individuals have the fundamental right to freely leave their country, to seek asylum in other countries, and to access the right to a hearing and a fair consideration of their eligibility for asylum.  A refugee also has the right not to be returned to a country where her life or freedom would be threatened. 

As a global leader committed to democracy-building, human rights, and refugee protection, the United States must serve as an example for other countries in respecting international laws and responding to individuals in need of international protection.  While it is important to continue to actively seek a peaceful resolution to the political crisis and address the root causes of political instability in Haiti, RI urges the U.S. to ensure that its borders are not closed in the face of those who seek asylum on these shores.

In the course of our numerous humanitarian assessment missions, RI has seen first-hand the generosity of countries and people with a tiny fraction of the income of the United States. Some of the poorest countries in the world --- Tanzania, Guinea, and Bangladesh --- have hosted refugee populations from neighboring countries for several decades. The U.S. is the largest single donor to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and is nominally a pillar of the global refugee regime. It is therefore hard to understand how giving fair treatment to Haitians seeking asylum in Florida is beyond the U.S.’s political and economic means.

International protection is more than an abstract concept.  It is a body of universal and regional refugee law and standards that demands humanitarian action, and one in which multiple actors have roles to play.  Access to asylum can be the difference between life and death.  

Refugees International therefore recommends that:

United States

• Vigilantly uphold the principle of non-refoulement.
• Accept and process Haitian asylum seekers in the United States.
  

• Urge the U.S. to accept Haitian asylum seekers and discourage the U.S. from taking any actions in response to individuals fleeing violence in Haiti that violate customary international law.

• Work closely with the U.S. to ensure proper screening and protection of refugees.
• Ensure the presence of agency protection officers in Haiti’s neighboring countries.