A critical assessment of Namibian refugee law in light of global and regional and regional trends of refugee migration
Loading...
Date
Master of Law
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Southern Africa is relatively less affected by refugee movements than for instance, Central Africa, but the impact of refugees on Southern African societies and the increasing retreat of Southern African governments from their responsibilities towards refugees are nonetheless causes for concern. Namibia is a signatory to both the 1951 and AOU Refugees Conventions.
In line with its international obligations, the country has promulgated the Namibia Refugees (Recognition and Control) Act 2 of 1999. The Act is designed in accordance with the 1951 and OAU Refugee Conventions, but the country has entered a reservation to Article 26 of the 1951 Refugee Convention that deals with freedom of movement.
The fact that the free movement of refugees is restricted means that they cannot seek jobs or earn a living. In addition, restrictions on movements of any person or a group of persons can severely curtail other basic human rights central to the survival of such a person or group of persons. Consequently, and despite, the positive steps taken by the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) in taking ownership and responsibility for persons in refugee like situations, asylum seekers and refugees remain highly vulnerable with no official access to arable land, labour markets, and higher education opportunities due to strict confinement policies. Indeed, the process of identifying durable solutions for the refugee population at Osire, Namibia’s one official refugee shelter, has been slow. This is a cause for concern, especially since the UNHCR intends to scale down its activities worldwide by 2010, a move that will adversely affect the lives of refugees worldwide.
In the premise this study seeks to investigate the reception system of asylum seekers as well as the social and economic rights of accepted refugees. Such an assessment is crucial since it establishes whether or not the rights and protection of asylum seekers and refugees should be a renewed concern for the Namibian Legislature. The provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the 1967 Protocol and the OAU Refugee Convention of 1967 are examined and compared with national laws with a view to identifying possible gaps in the national legislative structure. In many developing countries, refugees are denied basic rights, often due to a lack of resources. To this end, a disproportionate amount of energy and resources tends to be focused on determining who is a refugee rather than on their treatment pre-and-post recognition. It remains tragically true that international human rights law has not been permitted to evolve to a state of genuine efficacy in the international as well as national legal arenas. Given that, it is highly unlikely in the present political climate that State Parties would agree to any revision of the 1951 Convention in order to broaden its protective scope, that international human rights law is an effective device available to strengthen and to enhance existing standards.
This research also endeavours to identify possible gaps for the protection of other forced migrants and internally displaced persons. Currently environmental and economic migrants are excluded from the definition of a ‘refugee’ in international and most national legal instruments on refugees, including that of Namibia. Consequently it is imperative to explore possible avenues for a broader approach to the understanding of a ‘refugee’.
This study found that Namibia’s refugee law is properly in place, but the challenge is clearly in the implementation. Indeed, a generous interpretation of the Refugees Act, read with the two conventions, can go some distance to meeting the needs of at least the most acutely at risk populations outside the borders of their own nation. It is recommended that the legislator adopt and enhance the three traditional durable solutions, namely voluntary repatriation, resettlement and local integration. For some refugees the solution to their dilemma might be voluntary repatriation, but the Namibian government should also consider local integration of, especially long staying refugees who have severed ties with their countries of origin or who are unable to return to their home countries because of a fear of persecution. In the final analysis a combination of the three traditional solutions might prove to be the ultimate durable solution
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Law
Keywords
Regugees, Refugees legal status, law