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Can Illegal migrants be given refugees status?
Why in news
- The Supreme Court is to examine a “substantial question” from the Union government on whether illegal immigrants could even be considered for ‘refugee’ status.
- This move is subsequent to a petition filed by two Rohingya men against the government’s proposal to deport their 40,000-strong community to their native land of Myanmar.
More in news
- About Rohingya
- The Rohingya, who fled to India after violence in the State of Rakhine in Myanmar.
- They are at present settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.
- Petitioners Plea
- Petitioners primary prayers made in the petitions were to stop any proposed deportation and allow the community rights under the international law.
- Deportation would violate India’s commitment to international conventions that recognise the ‘Principle of Non-Refoulement’
- Principle of Non-Refoulement - This principle of customary international law prohibits the deportation of refugees to a country where they face a threat to their lives.
- Centre’s move to deport illegal migrants violated the constitutional guarantee that the Indian State should “protect the life and liberty of every human being, whether citizen or not”.
- What UNHCR and NHRC have to say
- UNHCR conducted intensive questioning of the immigrants to determine whether they had fled persecution or if they had crossed across for sheer economic interests. If the former, they were granted refugee status.
- UNHRC report of 2016 on rights violations and abuses against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar had noted successive patterns of serious rights violations.
- The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had also issued notice to the government on the proposed deportation.
- Govts View
- Is to first settle the question of whether illegal immigrants can be granted refugee status?
Source
The Hindu