Issue 22: April 4, 2022
In this issue...
We're covering the emerging humanitarian crisis in and around Ukraine from various angles, including a situation overview, how refugees of color leaving the country have faced even greater challenges than white refugees, and the precedents that World War II set with regard to global humanitarian response policy. We're also covering the failure of international law in protecting climate refugees as well as a situation update about the Somalian humanitarian crisis.
US Immigration Policy Update
By Marin Theis
Despite the growing amount of Ukrainian refugees, very few have travelled to the US. This fact is due to a variety of barriers. For example, Ukrainians cannot apply for a US visa in Ukraine. They must travel to another country, like Moldova or Poland, first.
In a statement on March 18, Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken asserted that many Ukrainians wish to remain in Europe with the hope that the war will end soon and they will be able to return to Ukraine. However, no arrangements have been made to hasten the immigration process for those who do wish to resettle in the U.S. Many Ukrainians are facing months-long wait times while their relatives in the U.S. wrestle with the immigration process.
Although President Biden raised the annual refugee cap to 125,000 for fiscal year 2022, only 6,500 refugees have arrived in the U.S. this year so far, according to a report from the Migration Policy Institute. In late March, the Biden administration announced that the U.S. would accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees but did not give a timeline with regard to when such an effort will be complete.
While addressing the Ukraine crisis, president Biden continues to expand his plans for drawing STEM talent to the U.S. as well. 22 new fields of study have been added to the F-1 STEM Optional Practical Training program, including forestry, bioenergy and climate science. There will also be an expansion of the J-1 visa, allowing exchange students currently enrolled in a STEM pre-doctoral program to apply for a 36-month extension to acquire more practical training.
Refugees, Internally Displaced People of Ukraine Continue to Face Great Peril
By Nick Costantino
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia has bombarded every major city in Ukraine and killed thousands of civilians and even more soldiers. Despite the Ukrainian military proving far more successful than experts expected, Russian forces have nonetheless caused a humanitarian catastrophe within the country and surrounding region.
As Ukrainians flee their homes in hopes of reaching safer territory, many have to travel far distances, and the journey is quite perilous. Some can board a train and escape to a neighboring country rather quickly, but others must get across the border on their own or must drive long distances in order to reach border-crossing transportation. Still others are internally displaced and have fled their homes in particularly threatened parts of Ukraine and gone to safer areas of the nation, most notably the western side of the country.
According to a report by the UNHCR, over 4 million Ukrainians have fled Ukraine and gone to neighboring countries, and authorities estimate 6.5 million people to be internally displaced in Ukraine. However, there are over 40 million residents in Ukraine, and the war continues to drag on, so experts only anticipate that these numbers of displacement will continue to increase. Most Ukrainian refugees that have left the country have gone to Poland, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, but Slovakia, Moldova, Romania, Belarus, and Russia have all received tens and in some cases hundreds of thousands oof Ukrainian refugees as well.
Ukrainians who have stayed within the country either by choice or by necessity have experienced immense hardship. In Mariupol, a city that has been besieged since the beginning of the war and is one of Ukraine’s largest cities, many residents have gone for days without food, water, and electricity according to reporting from the New York Times. On March 21, in diplomatic talks, Ukraine predictably rejected Russia’s demand for Ukraine to surrender Mariupol as fighting only continued to worsen.
Ukraine has tried to negotiate cease-fire humanitarian escape routes with Russia by which civilians can safely exit embattled cities and move to a safer area or a different country. While some people were able to flee during brief periods of successful cease-fire, many were left in their cities when the cease-fire agreements fell apart prematurely and fighting erupted once again.
Many of those who have escaped particularly dangerous regions like Kyiv and Mariupol have gone to Lviv, Ukraine, a city which has taken in over 200,000 internally displaced people, according to the city's government. Lviv, which is situated in Western Ukraine, is only 50 miles from Poland, a NATO country, and recent strikes in and around the city have come dangerously close to the Polish border with Ukraine. According to a report by NPR, Ukrainians living in Lviv have welcomed the newcomers and have helped distribute essential services, and 500 theaters, schools, gyms, and homes have opened to accept these internally displaced people, but the enormous number of them has pushed the city beyond its capacity for . A Russian attack on an overflowing city could be disastrous.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Poland, in response to the overwhelming number of refugees entering the country, has set up temporary housing; hospitals; and reception centers that offer food, information, and medical supplies. Officials in Ireland announced that their country would waive all visa requirements for all Ukrainian refugees, and the Czech Republic waved its entry ban and COVID-19 restrictions for all incoming refugees. The E.U. activated the Temporary Protection Directive which allows people fleeing Ukraine to enter E.U. states for up to three years without applying for asylum. All of these plans are making it easier and safer to enter these European countries and will help more Ukrainians survive the war and find refuge.
The UN also announced $20 million in aid for Ukraine from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and the UN refugee agency is seeking to raise $1.7 billion for humanitarian assistance. To contribute to the Ukraine relief effort, you can donate here:
Racist Incidents at Ukraine's Border Endanger Ukrainian Refugees of Color
By Jade Xiao
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, approximately 4 million people have fled Ukraine into nearby nations, according to a report by the United Nations. For the non-white people and the foreigners in the nation, the evacuation process is particularly tumultuous as they struggle with racism and xenophobia in addition to the perils of the war itself.
According to the data from the Migrants & Refugees Section of Integral Human Development, in 2019, there were about 133,000 temporary foreign residents in Ukraine, most of whom are temporary workers and male university students. In a report by the Ukrainian government, there are 76,548 international students from 155 nations. Approximately 25% are Indian nationals, and large percentages of them are Moroccans, Turkmenistans, Azerbaijanis and Nigerians. Racism and xenophobia towards these foreigners has persisted even during the urgent times of war.
Racism in the transportation system was particularly prevalent. According to a report by CNN, African students and foreigners were forced off a bus heading towards the Ukraine-Poland border, while the Ukrainian nationals were allowed to continue. The same report also included an interview of Rachel Onyegbule, a Nigerian student, who stated that she was forced to walk in freezing and perilous conditions despite the fact that 10 buses had arrived to take the Ukrainian nationals.
Similar discrimination continues upon refugees' arrival at the border. In a report by the Guardian, a 24-year-old Kenyan student recounted that she had to wait for hours at the Ukraine-Poland border due to the Ukrainian border guards unfairly prioritizing the Ukrainian nationals over the foreigners. When she was finally in Poland, she, along with her Kenyan friends, were allegedly banned from the hotel that offered free housing for Ukrainian refugees. The hotel continued to deny her stay even if she paid for the room herself.
Refugees of color in Eastern Europe have been experiencing direct violence in addition to blatant discrimination. According to a report by the Guardian, a group of Polish nationalists attacked African, South Asian, and Middle Eastern refugees at the Przemyśl train station. The attackers allegedly chanted and screamed “Go back to the train station! Go back to your country! Przemyśl always Polish,” before the police intervened. They physically abused three Indian boys, hospitalizing one of them, harassed a group of Nigerians, and forbade a young African boy from buying food.
False news about Ukrainian refugees of color has spread rapidly and expansively over social media, as non-white refugees have been repeatedly accused of violent crimes on various platforms. The Polish police warned that far-right groups have fabricated stories of crimes by African and Middle Eastern refugees, such as burglaries, assaults, and rape.
Both the Ukrainian and Polish governments have responded to the issue. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, claims in a statement that “Ukraine’s government spares no effort to solve the problem,” and that “Africans […] need to have equal opportunities to return to their home countries safely.” Polish police have denounced the racist fake reports and stated that “the police did not record an increased number of crimes in connection with the situation at the border.”
African governments have also responded to the crisis. The Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, stated, “all who flee a conflict situation have the same right to safe passage under the UN convention and the color of their passport or their skin should make no difference;” the country will dispatch 3 planes on March 23, to evacuate citizens from Poland, Romania, and Hungary. Ghana, South Africa, and the Ivory Coast have likewise begun an evacuation process.
A Reflection on WWII's effects on Global Humanitarian Relief Policy as New Crisis Influences Europe
By Harrison Huang
World War II caused one of the largest and fastest-growing refugee crises in human history. Overall, researchers estimate that about 60 million Europeans were forcibly displaced during World World II and the postwar period. Among them were 10 to 15 million residents of Allied nationality in enemy territory, prisoners of war, forced laborers of the German war industry, and survivors of the holocaust. As another war, this time in Ukraine, creates a humanitarian crisis in Europe on a scale unprecedented since the time of World War II, this article reexamines the lasting ramifications of the second World War on how the international community approaches humanitarian issues.
Before the 1940s, as the Anschluss began to form with Germany’s annexation of Austria, international efforts to aid refugees focused on repatriation rather than resettlement, given the difficult conditions of travel and limited capacity of host countries at war.
The Evian Conference of July 1938 resulted in a highly divisive response to supporting refugees. Delegates from 32 nations failed to achieve common ground, leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees to face Hitler’s “Final Solution to the Jewish Question”–extermination.
Less than a year later, United States and Cuban immigration authorities denied entry of over 900 refugees on the M.S. St. Louis by canceling their visas upon arrival. This refusal meant death for many on board, as they were forced to return to continental Europe. One of the desperate St. Louis passengers, Max Loewe, even attempted suicide. Although some passengers managed to achieve asylum in Britain, the ship ultimately returned to Nazi-occupied territory, and 254 of its passengers were later murdered in the holocaust.
It was not until the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers that global efforts to support refugee resettlement truly began. The world witnessed intergovernmental organizations springing up on a large scale, including the International Refugee Organization (IRO) and the United Nations, which formally replaced the League of Nations.
The IRO (IRO archive) operated under the United Nations as the single largest international refugee relief agency between 1946 and the Geneva Convention of 1951, and would later become the UNHCR.
The organization assisted 1 million displaced people – mainly enslaved laborers and POWs recently liberated by Allied forces – with possibilities of resettlement and vocational education in other countries.
For the first time in human history, the world recognized the devastating impacts of war on non-combatant civilians and acknowledged the necessity of humanitarian protection. By outlining the responsibilities of member nations with regard to the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, the Geneva Conventions prohibited refoulement (involuntary repatriation to the country of origin) in the post-World War II period. This development would lead to a more welcoming environment for refugees in subsequent years.
Power dynamics shifted in favor of international organizations that practiced humanitarian treatment and were less likely to manipulate and victimize individuals. In addition to the IRO and the UNHCR, the United Nations established the International Law Commission (ILC) in 1948 to restructure and codify the existing international law system and create principles that address the concerns arising from World War II: discrimination, victimization, genocides, etc. The International Criminal Court succeeded the ILC in 2002 as an ongoing adjudicator of global affairs and preserver of moral guidelines of the international community.
Today, as humanitarian crises rage around the globe, these structures of management remain the building blocks of global responses to such catastrophes. As a humanitarian disaster engulfs Ukraine, such structures remain key components of international support.
International Refugee Law Fails To Protect Growing Number of Climate Refugees
By Jack Elworth
Despite their increasing number of people fleeing climate change and their dire needs, people fleeing climate change do not qualify as refugees under international law. Countries therefore have no obligation to take in those who have been displaced due to climate change in any form.
According to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, climate change is a “key factor” in forced displacement, yet “most of the people affected will remain in their own countries.” He asserts that even “if they cross a border, they will not be considered refugees”.
International refugee law is primarily governed by the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. The treaties defined the term ‘refugee’ and outlined the legal obligations of party states towards them. These legal obligations are largely governed by the fundamental principle of non-refoulement, a notion which forbids countries from returning asylum seekers to locations where they are at high risk of persecution.
Though many organizations—and the general public—may have a broader definition of a refugee, international law is very specific in its application of the term. As a result, non-refoulement does not legally cover those fleeing from climate change events, whether those events are rapid or slow onset.
Though the vast majority of people fleeing climate change-induced disasters left their homes no more voluntarily than any other refugees, these people do not receive any of the same legal protections. Finding themselves in a legal void, those fleeing climate disaster run the risk of being returned to their country or forced into a crowded refugee camp with no definite future.
Often, climate change is not the obvious reason for displacement. According to data collected by the UNHCR, rising sea levels and increased flooding could displace coastal peoples; changes in weather patterns (i.e. temperature, humidity, rainfall) can displace farmers anywhere; and desertification and environmental destruction can displace any and all peoples. These three examples, among countless effects that climate change has had on our planet, are all symptoms of climate change yet are not covered by any international conventions or treaties.
A UNHCR report by dozens of experts on the matter called for a new framework for “climate refugees,” acknowledging that the existing principles governing refugees are not adequate. Considering the current political climate of the west, critics doubt the feasibility of a new international treaty that could cause the migration of displaced peoples into other countries, but the effort continues nonetheless.
Al-Shabab Violence, Lack of Government Effectiveness Leads to Continued Crisis in Somalia
By Luisfe Medina
Note: The IHA covered the Somalian crisis in a previous issue of our monthly newsletter. This article serves as an update. Read the old article here.
Throughout the past decade, Somalia has experienced a barrage of national issues that have rapidly deteriorated the country. According to the UNDP, around seventy percent of Somalis live in abject poverty, and consequently, the life expectancy in Somalia is an abysmal 56 years. In recent years, Somalia has dealt with desert-locust infestations that have heavily hindered food production; worsening hunger problems; and natural disasters that, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have displaced more than half a million Somalis. It’s been around a year since then, and Somali terrorist group Al-Shabab–a group of nearly 30,000 that calls for the establishment of an Islamic theocracy in the entire Horn of Africa–is incredibly active in the country. As of 2022, Somalia ranks eighth on the International Rescue Committee (IRC)’s Emergency Watchlist.
Al-Shabab launched numerous terrorist attacks in 2022 that mainly targeted Somali and Kenyan civilians. Since the beginning of the year, Al-Shabab has been involved in attacks on the Mogadishu International Airport, several suicide bombings, and more. In 2020, ACLED conservatively estimated that Al-Shabab was directly involved in the deaths of over 4,000 innocent Somalians, most of whom are Muslims. In the past two years, Al-Shabab has been more destructive than ever; according to major security officers in Somalia and some recent data, Al-Shabab has been focusing on highly precise suicide bombings in order to inflict the most amount of damage possible and ensure their violent ordeals are effective. This year, Al-Shabab succeeded in a plan to kill former Somali member of parliament Amina Mohammed. Due to their effectiveness at low cost, Al-Shabab is now likely to use suicide bombings more often than normal warfare tactics in the future. As new data emerges, reports estimate that Al-Shabab could be directly involved in over 10,000 civilian casualties and 54,000 grave injuries since its establishment in 2006. Most casualties and injuries have occured since 2015, despite the group’s evident territorial losses.
In 2013, the United States deployed ground troops in Mogadishu, Somalia to aid AMISOM (a UN approved peacekeeping organization in Africa) efforts in their battle against Al-Shabab. In 2014, an American air strike succeeded in assassinating former Al-Shabab leader Ahmed Umar. American-led efforts to hinder the terrorist group’s violence ensued, and in 2017, former US president Donald Trump ordered the first of dozens of air strikes in Somalia, killing hundreds of Al-Shabab members. Recently, the United States has pulled many military divisions and forces from the Somali region, allowing Al-Shabab to coordinate and carry out their operations in plain sight instead of in rural areas or hideouts. Thus, a lack of US involvement in Somalia in recent years has led to a rise in the terrorist group’s activity.
AMISOM had originally driven Al-Shabab out of its territories in major areas like Mogadishu and Kismayo in the early 2010s; however, in 2017, the UN withdrew thousands of AMISOM troops operating in Somalia in an effort to promote government action from the historically weak and ineffective Somali government. As it progressively became more evident that the Somali government could not effectively hinder Al-Shabab’s efforts, the UN approved yet another withdrawal of AMISOM troops in 2019 with the goal of reinforcing Somali forces. Somali forces have proven to be relatively effective, but the downsizing of AMISOM involvement in the area has led to surges in terrorism.
If you would like to help, please consider donating to the IRC https://www.rescue.org/country/somalia or Save the Children https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/somalia.