By Anthony Ayres

2016 was a difficult year for international organizations and international governance. Many international institutions that have come to define the current world order suffered hits to their legitimacy.

The United Nations General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly had a notable year in that it elected a new secretary general in a surprisingly quick decision. All fifteen ambassadors from the security council unanimously supported António Guterres, the former Portuguese Prime Minister, for the position. Many observers expected the selection process to last much longer, and some believed that Russia would block Guterres in favor of an eastern European. However, Russia seemed to favor the prospect of the decision coming during their time as president of the Security Council. Guterres is the former head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He served in that position for ten years and as such vowed to carry on being a spokesman for refugees and those who suffer. As the head of UNHCR he appealed to the conscience of the international community over the worst refugee crises since World War II. It remains to be seen whether he will continue to speak out for human rights as the Secretary General.

Guterres ended 2016 by appointing three women to high level leadership positions. Amina Mohammed will serve as his deputy, Maria Luiza Ribeir Viotto will serve as his chief of staff, and Kyung-wha Kang will serve as the special adviser on policy. Guterres has made achieving gender parity a priority of his tenure.

The United Nations Security Council

Outside of their support for Guterres, the United Nations Security Council did not reach much consensus in 2016. The most significant example of this has been the Security Council’s continued inability to meaningfully address the six-year civil war in Syria. After an entire year in which the United States and Russia were unable to come to any real agreement on the situation, the Security Council finally agreed to support a ceasefire that was formed not by the Security Council, but by Russia and Turkey. The Security Council remains deadlocked on any sort of international accountability for the war crimes carried out in Syria by both sides of the conflict.

The International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court experienced a crisis of legitimacy this past year as South Africa became the second African country to announce that it planned to leave the International Criminal Court. Many supporters of the institution saw this as a decision that could lead to a mass exodus from the Court. South Africa’s main critique of the Court is that it focuses disproportionately on Africa, as all the people it has convicted so far have been African.  The attempt at withdrawal by South Africa has since been blocked by South African courts.

The European Union

The European Union suffered a blow this past year with the UK voting in a referendum to leave the Union. Britain had not played a significant role in the governance of the European Union, with France and Germany playing more of a role as members of the Eurozone. But the UK was one of the most powerful countries in the European Union. Their vote to leave had immediate ramifications and continues to today. However, the nation has yet to leave the European Union as the negotiations on their departure have been slow moving.

Read More

March 28, 2017

By Jordan Federer

The Numbers

After 2015, a year in which over one million refugees and migrants traveled to the EU, 362,376 people arrived in 2016 by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Of the 362,376 refugees and migrants that arrived by sea in 2016, 48% entered through Greece (Eastern Mediterranean Route), 50% through Italy (Central Mediterranean Route), and 2% through Spain (Western Mediterranean Route). Once migrants and asylum-seekers entered the EU through Greece, they tried to continue their journey towards Western Europe vis-à-vis the Western Balkan Route (through Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, and Croatia). Syrians, Iraqis and Afghanis were the predominant nationalities of those that made use of the Western Balkan Route. Overall, refugees and migrants traveled out of the following countries: Syria (23%), Afghanistan (12%), Nigeria (10%), Iraq (8%), Eritrea (6%), Guinea (4%), Côte d’Ivoire (4%), The Gambia (4%), Pakistan (3%), and Senegal (3%). In 2016, approximately 1,195,265 asylum applications were filed and the top five nationalities of asylum applications were Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Iran. The top five destination countries for asylum seekers were Germany, Italy, France, Greece, and the UK. Approximately 56% of first instance asylum applications received a positive decision. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Accommodation/Relocation Program currently provides those whose applications either have not yet been reviewed or those who have received a negative decision with temporary places to stay either in “apartments, hotel buildings, host families and relocation sites with services,” which serve as alternatives to camps.

Events

In February and March of 2016, Macedonia closed its border along the northern part of Greece. The move by Macedonia was “part of a chain reaction” of border restrictions in both Slovenia and Serbia. This coordinated effort resulted in the closure of the Western Balkan Route, stranding thousands of migrants, mostly Syrian and Iraqi migrants, on the Greek side of the border. In the same month, the EU and Turkey executed a deal (The “EU-Turkey Statement”), in which “Ankara would take back all illegal migrants who cross to Greece, including Syrians, in return for the EU taking in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and rewarding it with more money, early visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.” The UNHCR argues that the EU-Turkey Statement’s commitment to pushing refugees back into Turkey and Syria where they face persecution is a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights. Additionally, as a result of the Balkan border closures and the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement, migrant camps across Greece were turned into quasi-detention centers. Thousands of people fleeing war torn countries such as Syria and Iraq found themselves at the mercy of the Greek government and the EU-Turkey Statement’s directive. Organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Doctors Without Borders have publicly criticized the Greek government’s treatment of detained refugees and the conditions as “inhumane” and “fetid.”

Read More

March 27, 2017

By Elizabeth Gibson*

Deputy High Commissioner T. Alexander Aleinikoff

The United Nations’ refugee agency knows how to set up refugee camps, but finding long-term solutions to get refugees out of those camps is not easy.

The Deputy High Commissioner of UNHCR, T. Alexander Aleinikoff,** presented the 34th Annual Thomas F. Ryan Lecture at the Georgetown University Law Center yesterday, and he emphasized that the international community needs to rethink its response to refugee situations.

“Non-solutions have become the norm and literally hundreds of thousands of refugees have become forgotten people,” he said. “We have to move away from the paradigm of dependence that currently defines the refugee regime.”

Protecting the rights of refugees and providing for their basic needs is the bread and butter of UNHCR’s work—and it’s crucial, lifesaving work. However, no matter how much of a success you might consider Thai camps that provide shelter, food, medical attention, and education for families fleeing persecution in Myanmar, it is worrisome that the camp is 35 years old and still relying on food aid, Prof. Aleinikoff said.

Read More

November 22, 2013