Part II: Refugees and the Global North

The numbers of refugees hosted by the Global North are much smaller. It is estimated that only 27 per cent of the refugees and asylum seekers are in countries of the Global North. More than just the distance refugees have to travel to get there, it’s the security walls that these nations have built over decades, and the new mechanisms that are created every passing year, that deter refugees for seeking entry. As forced displacement and refugee outflow reach unprecedented levels, policies and actions of Global North are being driven by fear, self interest and racism. Asylum routes are being shut down, and irregular routes weaponised forcing people to death. This had been the approach followed for decades now – prevent any inflow, except if it is for cheap labour and temporary residence.

In contravention to the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (which includes both the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol), most European countries and the US have only tightened anti-migration and refuge accepting approaches. Italy’s recent anti-migration plan provides for the pushback of mostly male asylum seekers of adult age rescued in the central Mediterranean whom Rome does not deem qualified for international protection. UK’s Illegal Migration Bill plans to house illegal migrants on ships before sending them back to the country of origin or a third country that is deemed safe.

A settler colonial state itself, the Government of Australia had in 2012 set up offshore processing of asylum seekers arriving by boat to Nauru and Manus islands in Papua New Guinea. More recently, the United Kingdom arrived at a bilateral deal with Government of Rwanda for offshoring asylum seekers on Rwandan land, till their applications were processed. In 2021 the then Danish minister for immigration and integration has obtained from Denmark’s Parliament a bill requiring all applicants seeking refugee status to be relocated to a “non European” country preferably in Africa while their situation was assessed with no eventual guarantee to be transferred to Denmark. Though it was later put on hold in view of resistance from groups, the trend continues. Very recently, Italy and Albania signed an agreement that would redirect tens of thousands of asylum seekers from Italy to the Balkan nation, even as European nations now seek to engage in a second act of criminality by looking beyond Europe’s borders and forcing refugees and asylum seekers there.

Further, as is getting even more evident with the inflow of refugees from Ukraine, there is differential treatment for refugees from Global South. In April 2022, there were reports of Afghan refugees being asked to vacate houses to accommodate refugees arriving from Ukraine.

Most refugee crisis are a colonial legacy, and those obtaining out of continued hegemonic wars and occupations. One of the then largest movements of people and creation of refugees was the colonial division of India, resulting in at least 14 million people being displaced and seeking refuge. The Nakba (Catastrophe) that occurred in Palestine, which led to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians, occurred because of the crisis in Europe, and the refusal of European countries to accept the Jews who were fleeing from the genocidal persecution they faced in that continent. The Afghan refugee crisis is also a result of various attempts that continued up to recent times to occupy and govern Afghanistan. Many view the current war in Ukraine a result of continued efforts by NATO to expand east. The truth in that can be seen in that NATO has not been disbanded despite the end of Warsaw Pact after the dissolution of Soviet Union.

We need to recognize that responsibility of creating the conflict, through direct attack or through proxy wars falls on the countries of the Global North. This pattern seems destined to continue as the global military-industrial complex continues to use arms and the threat of arms to push what can only be called imperialist agendas. By not recognizing this reality we must mark the current Refugee Convention as largely a Eurocentric one, calling for reform and more protection for refugees and people seeking refuge across borders.

Disclaimer: The article was originally published on Firstpost. The views expressed in the article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of ActionAid Association.