Handbook Voluntary Repatriation
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Voluntary Repatriation: International Protection HANDBOOK VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION: INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION 1996 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Geneva HANDBOOK Preface Chapter 1 - UNHCR's Mandate for Voluntary Repatriation 1.1 The Statute 1.2 The 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees 1.3 General Assembly Resolutions 1.4 UNHCR Executive Committee Conclusions 1.5 Requests by the Secretary-General 1.6 Summary of the Current UNHCR Mandate for Voluntary Repatriation Chapter 2 - The Protection Content of Voluntary Repatriation 2.1 International Human Rights Instruments and the Right to Return 2.2 Cessation of Status and Fundamental Changes in the Country of Origin 2.3 Voluntariness 2.4 Ensuring Return in Safety and with Dignity 2.5 Responsibilities of the Host Country 2.6 Responsibilities of the Country of Origin Chapter 3 - UNHCR's Role in Voluntary Repatriation Operations 3.1 Promotion of Solutions, Promotion of Repatriation, Facilitation 3.2 Profile of the Refugee Community and of the Country of Origin 3.3 "Organized" and "Spontaneous" Repatriation: Being Prepared 3.4 Cross-Border Coordination 3.5 Communication in Repatriation Operations: Whom Do We Talk To? 3.6 Repatriation Negotiations and Agreements 3.7 New Arrivals 3.8 Residual Caseload Chapter 4 - Voluntariness: Practical Measures 4.1 Establishing the Voluntary Character of Repatriation 4.2 Information Campaigns 4.3 Interviewing, Counselling and Registration 4.4 Computerization Chapter 5 - Repatriation in Complex Political Circumstances 5.1 Repatriation During Conflict 5.2 Repatriation as Part of a Political Settlement Chapter 6 - UNHCR's Role in the Country of Origin 6.1 UNHCR's Mandate for Returnee Monitoring 6.2 Returnee Monitoring: Amnesties and Guarantees, Monitoring, Reporting, Intervening 6.3 Internally Displaced Persons 6.4 Reintegration – the Anchor to Repatriation 6.5 Landmines Chapter 7 - Vulnerable Groups 7.1 General Considerations 7.2 Unaccompanied Children 7.3 Tracing Chapter 8 - Other Important Aspects 8.1 Personal Belongings, Cash Holdings, Livestock, Pensi on Entitlements 8.2 Health 8.3 Education 8.4 Security Considerations and Transport Arrangements 8.5 Repatriation and Elections in the Country of Origin 8.6 Repatriation of Individual Cases Chapter 9 - Interagency and NGO Cooperation Annex 1. Checklists Annex 2. Executive Committee Conclusions 18 (XXXXI) and 40 (XXXVI) Annex 3. Regional Instruments Annex 4. Sample VRF Annex 5. Sample Tripartite Agreement Annex 6. Sample Declaration of Amnesties and Guarantees Annex 7. Sample Cross-Border Travel Authorization Annex 8. PARINAC Oslo Conclusions on Voluntary Repatriation Annex 9. Other Relevant UNHCR Guidelines, Policy and Training Modules LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Additional copies of this publication may be obtained from your local UNHCR office or: General Legal Advice Section (HQPRO2) UNHCR Headquarters Case Postale 2500 CH-1211 Geneva 2 Dépôt Switzerland Fax: (41 22) 739 7354 © 1996, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva This document is issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for general distribution and reference. All rights are reserved. Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided UNHCR is acknowledged and receives a copy, which is to be sent to the General Legal Advice Section (address above). Working towards and implementing voluntary repatriation is to give refugees a chance to break away from being victims of persecution and to become a genuine part of the solution. Shirley C. deWolf, Christian Care, Zimbabwe Preface Over the last decade, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme has emphasized that the contemporary refugee problem is not, given its dimension and complexity, solely the problem of refugees themselves, but that of the entire community of nations. As such, there has been general agreement that the problem requires a comprehensive approach within a framework of increased state responsibility and international cooperation, solidarity and burden-sharing. Persons compelled to flee their country of origin principally to escape threats to their life, liberty, freedom or physical integrity must be able to call upon, and to receive, the protection and assistance of the international community. The purpose of international protection is not, however, that a refugee remain a refugee forever, but to ensure the individual's renewed membership of a community and the restoration of national protection, either in the homeland or through integration elsewhere. Voluntary repatriation is usually viewed as the most desirable long-term solution by the refugees themselves as well as by the international community. UNHCR's humanitarian action in pursuit of lasting solutions to refugee problems is therefore oriented, first and foremost, in favour of enabling a refugee to exercise the right to return home in safety and with dignity. In recent years, UNHCR has increased significantly its involvement in voluntary repatriation operations, and it was felt that UNHCR field staff and their partners should have at their disposal a consolidation of the basic protection principles relating to voluntary repatriation, as well as of the Office's operational experience in this field. This Handbook on the protection aspects of voluntary repatriation is intended for UNHCR staff and government and NGO partners working in this area. The Handbook deals primarily with large-scale refugee situations. The term "refugee", as used in this Handbook, denotes all persons outside their country of origin for reasons of feared persecution, armed conflict, generalized violence or gross violations of human rights and who, as a result, need international protection. For purely practical reasons, other categories of persons who may need UNHCR assistance to return home are not covered. We have tried to outline a wide variety of practical approaches to protection issues in voluntary repatriation operations in order to provide ideas and tools. We are aware that certain suggested courses of action may not be relevant or implementable in every operation. Users of this Handbook are therefore encouraged to look at it with a view to selecting actions according to their specific requirements, while ensuring that the fundamental principles are observed. We hope that the Handbook, intended to be used with the UNHCR Training Module on Voluntary Repatriation, will provide field staff and UNHCR partners with a practical protection tool, and promote consistency in international refugee protection and in the practice of agencies working in this area. Dennis McNamara Director Division of International Protection UNHCR Geneva April 1996 Chapter 1 - UNHCR's Mandate for Voluntary Repatriation UNHCR's role and responsibilities with regard to voluntary repatriation have been developed over decades through texts, instruments, and practice. In this process, the mandate of UNHCR has been refined and extended, from the initial consideration that UNHCR's responsibility ended when repatriants crossed the border back into their home country, to a substantive involvement with regard to securing protection and providing assistance to returnees in the country of origin. Some of the instruments from which UNHCR's mandate for voluntary repatriation is derived, such as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, have force of law and are binding on states that sign and ratify them. Others, such as the relevant General Assembly Resolutions and Executive Committee Conclusions, belong to the category of "soft law". While not legally binding, they nonetheless signify an international consensus. 1.1 The Statute General Assembly Resolution 428 (V) of 14 December 1950, adopting the UNHCR Statute, calls upon governments to cooperate with the High Commissioner in the performance of her functions inter alia by "assisting the High Commissioner in (her) efforts to promote the voluntary repatriation of refugees." Among other functions, the UNHCR Statue also entrusts the High Commissioner with seeking permanent solutions for the problem of refugees by assisting governments and private organizations to facilitate their voluntary repatriation (par. 1) and with providing for the protection of refugees by assisting governmental and private efforts to promote voluntary repatriation as a solution (par. 8(c)). These statements, however brief, are of great significance because they introduce three principal topics which later Conclusions and Recommendations on the subject have elaborated in detail: • Repatriation should be voluntary. • UNHCR, governments and private organizations (NGOs) have a joint role to play in voluntary repatriations. • Voluntary repatriation should be both facilitated and promoted. 1.2 The 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees While the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees does not address the question of voluntary repatriation as such, it contains several provisions with significant relevance to UNHCR's respective statutory functions. • Non-refoulement. Article 33 prohibits a state from expelling or returning ("refouler") a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where he or she would be exposed to persecution. • Well-founded fear of persecution. Such fear, as defined in Article 1, is central to the refugee definition of the Convention. The fact that repatriation must be voluntary implies that the subjective fear should have ceased. Refugee status can cease, however, once meaningful national protection