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THE IMPROVEMENTS EFFECTED UPON IT THROUGH THE PROTOCOL RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES (1967), THE CONVENTION RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES (1951) REMAINS AN INADEQUATE INSTRUMENT AGAINST THE CHALLENGES OF THE REFUGEE PHENOMENON IN OUR TIMES.Bold text The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees was adopted on the 28th July 1951 by the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the status of refugees and the stateless persons convened under the General Assembly resolution 429 (V) of 14 December 1950. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Member States of the United Nations became acutely aware of the problems of refugees and particularly of the need to ensure respect for their basic rights. The Convention and the Protocol are the most comprehensive instruments governing the legal status of refugees which have been adapted to date at the international level. They contain the minimum humanitarian standards for the treatment of refugees. The convention provides the definition of a refugee; as being a person who is outside one’s country of origin (or habitual residence in the case of stateless persons) and who, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is unable or unwilling to avail oneself of the protection to which one is entitled.

According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, Article 1 of the Convention as amended by the 1967 Protocol provides the definition of a refugee: A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.

According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, several groups have built upon the 1951 Convention and attempted to create a more objective definition. While their terms differ to that of the 1951 Convention, the Convention has significantly shaped these new, more objective definitions. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa adopted a regional treaty based on the Convention, adding to the definition that a refugee is Any person compelled to leave his/her country owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin or nationality In 1984, a group of Latin American governments adopted the Cartagena Declaration, which like the OAU Convention, added more objectivity based on significant consideration to the 1951 Convention. The Cartagena Declaration determines that a 'refugee' includes: Persons who flee their countries because their lives, safety or freedom have been threatened by generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violation of human rights or other circumstances which have seriously disturbed public order Short comings and probable solutions

Article 3 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees talks about the issue of non-discrimination in which it straightens it out that the contracting states shall apply the provisions of the convention to refugees without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin. However, this has not been practiced in many member states as there is a lot of discrimination that is practiced in the different member states for example according to www.upstate.edu, the right to health is only accorded to the citizens of a particular country and the lack of nationality often makes it difficult for people to attain medical services in hospitals with in the nations in which the stateless people find a residence. However, this can also be solved in a way whereby all member states should put there a provision in their constitutions that allows people without to attain social services like the health services and thus helping to do away with the discrimination in the allocation of such services.

According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, Article 12 in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee states that the personal status of a refugee shall be governed by the law of his domicile or home of origin. However, this has proven a failure because many countries have failed to give orders on the status of refugees who may have fled their countries of Origin and at times this has caused some kind of wrangles amongst countries that try to dictate on the status of refugees since they belong to such countries originally. This can be rectified in the way that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees should make it clear for the countries of origins to govern the statuses of the refugees in the countries where they may have gone and even those countries should respect the ideas of the countries of origins regarding the refugee status while in the contracting states.

Article 21 in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees talks about housing in which the contracting states should accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory treatment as favorable as possible as and, in any event not less favorable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances. However, this has brought in some security problems like terrorism. This is because many countries that tend to welcome and house the refugees in respect of the article always end up being terrorized by the same persons who are welcomed as refugees in such countries. But still, this can be solved in the way that before one is welcomed as a refugee and housed as stated in the convention relating to the status of refugees should be interviewed seriously so as to avoid any security threats that they may tend to pause to the contracting countries if allowed to settle in and housed as refugees.

According to the convention relating to the status of refugees, article 22 laments the fact that in regard to public education, the contracting states shall accord to refugees treatment as favorable as possible like that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances, with respect to education other than elementary education and, in particular, as regards access to studies, the recognition of foreign school certificates, diplomas and degrees, the remission of fees and charges and award of scholarships. However, this has resulted into illiteracy and poor quality education for many refugees. This is because many refugees especially in Africa live in camps and there is less care for them especially by the governments of the contracting states. Many of them for example in Uganda may have access to the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) but then the problem is basically the fact that this type of education is of low quality because students have to attend classes under trees, tents, and even the teachers in such schools do not give their best to the students because of the low salaries that they receive from the government. But still, this can be solved in the way that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and other nongovernmental organizations should come in and set up good schools and with well stocked libraries in the camps such that the refugees in such camps can get access to quality education.

Article 24 of the convention relating to the status of refugees has it that contracting states shall accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory the same treatment as accorded to their nationals on issues concerning labor legislation and social security. However, this has caused public criticisms to the governments of the contracting countries by their nationals especially on issues regarding the allocation of social security because many employers who are nationals of the contracting countries tend to mistreat such refugees at work and in case of a government protection to such people at work, then the employer criticizes their governments of protecting the refugees instead of their own nationals. But still, this can be avoided through a way in which the United Nations High Commission for Refugees should design special rights for the refugees in all the different states where they may go, and all the contracting states should make their nationals aware of such rights, that the refugees hold and must enjoy as they stay and work in that country as this may help resolve such tensions and criticisms to the governments by their nationals.

Article 2 of the convention stipulates the general obligations in which every refugee has duties to the country in which he finds himself, which require in particular that he conforms to its laws and regulations as well as to the measures taken for the maintenance of public order (en.wikisource.org). However, the shortcoming on this is that both the convention and the protocol did not look at the issue violating the norms and values of refugees in their former countries. This therefore gives a burden to the refugees to try and assimilate to the norms of the countries in which they find themselves from their homes of origin and in one way or the other it is like they are forced to assimilate to the norms of the contracting countries which is a violation of their rights. But also, this can be solved in the way that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees puts in place a criteria in which all contracting states should let their refugees practice their norms and values and not being obliged to assimilate to the laws that they may have found in the new countries even when they oppress them.

The fact that both the convention and the protocol relating to the status of refugees allow someone to be accepted as a refugee so long as he or she owes to a well-founded fear of persecution has a short coming of disguise amongst people in search of better countries. This is in the way that many people tend to disguise belonging to countries under instability with the major aim of getting permission to go to other countries as refugees. However, this can be solved in the way that all people who may seek to move to new countries as refugees should be proved first of all as nationals of that country where they might be instability before being allowed into a new country as refugees.

According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, article 31, refugees unlawfully in the country of refuge, states that the contracting states shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees who come directly from a country in which their life was threatened enter into the country of refuge without authorization. This on the other hand promotes organized crimes in which individuals commit crimes voluntarily with the aim of fleeing their countries to other countries as refugees for security purposes. However, this can be solved through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees allowing countries of refuge to allow people as refugees in such countries after authorization as this on its own provides the basis of knowing the appropriate reason for one to become a refugee in that country.

According to en.wikisource.org, article 33 talks about the prohibition of expulsion or return, in which No contracting state should expel or return a refugee to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. This has however caused a lot of brain drain in Africa. This is because when refugees find greener pastures in the countries of origin due to their education qualifications in their former countries of origin; they never want to come back and instead tend to stay there even when circumstances that may have been causing them fear in their countries of origin cease to exist. However, this can be resolved in the way that all the contracting states should come up with a system in which a person irrespective of his education qualifications should be returned home after the conditions that may have made him or her flee the country of origin cease to exist.

Both the protocol and the conventions do not; consider the internally displaced people. (Guy S. Goodwin-Gill). Today there are many people that are internally displaced with in their countries of origin as a result of things like disasters and political instabilities as well as civil wars with in such countries. However, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees should come in and recognize such people as refugees because their causes are almost similar to those that define the refugee outside the country of one’s origin.

According to www1.umn.edu, article 3 on the Protocol relating to the status of refugees on the issue of information on national legislation, states that, the States Parties to the present Protocol shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations the laws and regulations which they may adopt to ensure the application of the present Protocol. However, this leads to time and resource wastage as these states shall not apply their laws on refugees unless communicated to the Secretary-General of the United Nations who has to approve them first. However, this kind of wastage can be solved in the way that uniform legislations are set by the United Nations such that they are made clear for every member state to put them into consideration. Also the United Nations should send out people to monitor the implementation of such legislations by the different member states instead of them wasting resources on communicating to the secretary general.

In conclusion, Much as the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 was even improved by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees 1967, the Convention still remains an inadequate instrument against the challenges of refugee phenomenon in our times due to the shortcomings that arise from it. However those shortcomings can be solved through the above suggested ways as discussed in the above concurrently.

Suggested sites for further reading.

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/v2prsr.htm

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1951_Refugee_Convention

http://www.upstate.edu/fmed/research/sparc.php.