We are witnessing refugee crisis reminiscence of the
World Wars I and II when thousands of refugees, mainly in Europe became a
phenomenon. The Universal Declaration of the Human Rights recognizes the right
of persons to seek asylum in other countries. Subsequently the 1951 Refugee Convention
relating to the status of refugees was adopted in 1951 as the centre piece of
the International Refugees while 1967 protocol removed geographical limits thereby
creating universal application to the refugee everywhere.
By definition, the term refugee refers to protection
of persons from political or other forms of persecutions. A refugee therefore
is anyone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin for
reasons of persecution from race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular group or political opinion. In other words, the convention provides
for application without discrimination as to sex, age, disability, sexuality or
other prohibited grounds of discrimination. This provides that refugees should
not be penalized for their illegal entry and stay in other countries which literally
means refugees can breach the immigration rules without arbitrary detention purely
on the basis of seeking asylum.
It should however be appreciated that the 1951
convention does not apply to those accused or alleged of having committed war
crimes, crimes against humanity, serious non-political crimes or acts against
the purpose of 1951 convention. There is only one exception, it does not apply
to those refugees who benefit from the protection or assistance of the UN
Agencies such as refugees from Palestine who fall under the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the near East (UNRWA) nor
does the convention apply to the refugees who have a status equivalent to the
nationals in their country of asylum.
Lately humanity has been faced with unprecedented
inflow of refugees mainly from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Nigeria and
thousands from Libya. They are all fleeing to Europe through Italy, Greece and Turkey.
This has meant due to the means and condition of their travels, literally
thousands have died while on board unsafe boats in the Mediterranean sea. To
make matters worse as has been widely covered by media and international news
networks, there has been luke warm reception of refugees in Europe. The
suffering of the old women and children was unfathomable literally five years
ago but since the onset of the so called Arab spring and the wars in Syria and
Iraq, there has been unabated flow of refugees.
In Europe, to observers of humanitarian and international
human rights, this has been one of the worst examples in treatment of human beings
since world wars. Europe is responding in the most unkind inhuman and
insensitive manner despite the fact that through a UN Security Council sanctioned
resolution, Muammar Gaddafi was removed from power through expeditionary airstrikes,
without pausing or thinking what the consequences of the invasion meant to
Libyans and other nationals working and living there. Clearly this is a
reflection of failed Western countries’ strategy and management of the unfolding
human catastrophe given the flooding of refugees. Western countries, especially
Britain are pretending that the refugee crisis is an accident and hence do not
take full responsibility for the failure of their application of technology of
violence against the Libyan people.
More tragically I have not heard a chorus of sympathy
for the affected refugees and asylum seekers by the international community. We
are acting with indifference and as a global citizen one wonders why there is
no serious debate on condemnation for the suffering of thousands if not
millions of refugees? Has humanity become so heartless that the problem is so far
out of our reach despite the daily images on our screens? Recently over 70
bodies of refugees were discovered dead inside a refrigerated car in Austria
all because some European countries are shutting gates/borders of their
countries to these desperate fellow human beings!
It is my conviction this is the greatest global
collective shame today. I call upon the UN Secretary General to mobilize the
human race to at least begin conversations to eliminate the human suffering.
Europe has a moral burden and so does Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other
countries in the region to provide the resources and the wherewithal to relief
the suffering of fellow human beings. What we are seeing today is nothing but a
manifestation of man’s inhumanity to man.
The 7 billion plus human beings, we are all potential
refugees, whether as presidents, prime ministers or fellow ordinary human
beings. The distinction is in the degree and when! But every country is potentially
either a source of refugees or a sanctuary. As long as one person out of the billions
isn’t safe, we all are unsafe. In the meantime, if the 21st century
architects of tyranny were condemned and held to account for the unfold
suffering and the loss of hope for the millions the refugee crisis would not be
there. We must stop keeping quiet and stand up for the refugees!
Kenya has been host to literally thousands of refugees
and asylum seekers from Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan and for over
twenty years to those fleeing from war torn and strife stricken Somalia. Kenya therefore
continues to discharge its international obligation as a haven for refugees.
But Ironically, Kenya has the infamous distinction of having Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs) as a result of politically and ethnically instigated killings
and destruction during the 2007/2008 post election violence. To this day, there
are Kenyans who live as though they are foreigners in their country while in
the past they lived prosperous and dignified lives but today they are
languishing in poverty while the majority of us are indifferent, don’t know or even
don’t care. I hope and plead with fellow Kenyans of good to learn from what is
happening in the Middle East and Europe and resolve to follow the wonderful
examples of our athletes who have demonstrated to the entire world at the
recently concluded World Athletics Championship, Beijing August 20 – 30, 2015
that Kenya is a drum major for global championship in the best of human kind.
Hence we must be committed to live in peace and take advantages of abundance of
opportunities to advance human cause. We must hurt for and care for one another.
Our potential is insatiable to be the best country in the world where every
Kenyan born and unborn, including foreigners and refugees, can and must call
home.
Karanja KABAGE
ADVOCATE,
HIGH COURT OF KENYA
September
4, 2015
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