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IND35487 Country: India Date: 6 November 2009 Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: IND35487 Country: India Date: 6 November 2009 Keywords: India – Dharamsala – Tibetans – Employment – State protection – Right of entry This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. What is the situation of Tibetans in India in general? What is their situation in Dharamsala? 2. Are Tibetans subjected to mistreatment by Indians? Do they face discrimination in accessing employment or other services? 3. How are they treated by the authorities? Are they likely to receive effective state / police protection? 4. If a person held an Indian Identity Certificate valid to July 2010, what residence/re-entry rights does this document give him? RESPONSE 1. What is the situation of Tibetans in India in general? What is their situation in Dharamsala? A BBC News article dated 17 April 2008 provides brief information on the “large population of Tibetan exiles” in India, and states that “The city of Dharamsala in the Himalayan foothills, where the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government-in-exile are based, is the hub of the diaspora”. According to a September 2008 Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report on the Tibetan diaspora, “Tibetan migration to India transpired in three waves. The first wave occurred between 1959 and the 1970s, when over 80,000 Tibetans followed His Holiness the Dalai Lama into exile”. The MPI report continues: “The second wave began in the 1980s and increased steadily up to the mid-1990s. Between 1986 and 1996, the Indian government admitted 25,000 Tibetans”. According to the report “India has been far less welcoming of this second wave and more recent refugees. According to UNHCR, although the Indian government tolerates these ‘new arrivals,’ like earlier arrivals they are barred from engaging in any political activities. However, many of these newer refugees were denied residence permits, and because existing Tibetan settlements were not allowed to expand, they started becoming overcrowded”. The article also notes that “as India and China continue to foster improved diplomatic and trade relations with one another, the impact on Tibetans, their security, human rights, and place in India remain uncertain” (Astier, H. 2008, ‘Spotlight falls on India’s Tibetans’, BBC News, 17 April http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7352941.stm – Accessed 16 October 2008 – Attachment 1; MacPherson, S., Bentz, A. & Ghoso, D. 2008, ‘Global Nomads: The Emergence of the Tibetan Diaspora (Part I)’, Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute website, September http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=693 – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 2). Advice on the current situation of Tibetans in India was sought from Professor John Powers, of the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University. Professor Powers provided advice to the Tribunal on 5 November 2009. This is set out below, followed by the information found in other sources. Advice from Professor Powers In response to the question of whether the human rights situation for Tibetans in India is changing, Professor Powers advised the following: [T]he situation is becoming more problematic for Tibetans, particularly new arrivals. For those who have resided in India for more than ten years, the situation is much the same as it has been. They are stateless persons and must apply to the Indian government for travel papers, but if they have a residence in India they have few problems with the Indian authorities if they refrain from political activism. Those who are involved in activism, particularly anti-China protests, may face significant problems. New arrivals are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain Indian government permission to remain or to gain refugee status. Many new arrivals are being forcibly sent back to China, where they face a near certainty of incarceration and torture. India is fearful of China’s territorial ambitions and is trying to placate China, but this only makes China more assertive. In recent months China has strongly demanded that India curtail Tibetan’s rights of speech and protest, and the Indian government has complied. The situation appears to be deteriorating (Powers, J. 2009, Email to RRT Research & Information: ‘Re: Request for information from the Refugee Review Tribunal, Sydney’, 5 November – Attachment 18). US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants The most recent US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) World Refugee Survey, released in June 2009, has the following information on Tibetan refugees in India: India hosted around 456,000 refugees, including about 96,000 Sri Lankans, mostly Tamils fleeing fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Sri Lankan armed forces. About 73,300 stay in more than a hundred camps in Tamil Nadu State and 26,300 outside the camps but registered with the nearest police stations. About 2,800 more entered in 2008. Some 110,000 Tibetans, about 80 percent of whom lived in camps or scattered settlements, lived more freely in the country. Beginning in 1959, Tibetans followed the Dalai Lama to India, settling in Dharamsala in the north. A second wave occurred in 1979 after China relaxed its emigration policy. …Law and Policy Refoulement/Physical Protection India is not party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and has no refugee law, but has been a member of UNHCR’s Executive Committee since 1996. The Foreigners Act and the 1948 Foreigners Order implementing it govern the country’s refugee policy. They allow the Government to make orders “regulating or restricting the entry of foreigners into India or their departure therefrom or their presence or continued presence therein.” The Government may also order that any non-citizen of India “shall not enter India or shall enter India only at such times and by such route and at such port or place and subject to the observance of such conditions on arrival as may be prescribed.” India’s Citizenship Amendment Act of 2003 defines all non-citizens who entered without visas as illegal migrants, with no exception for refugees or asylum seekers. India does grant some Tibetans and Sri Lankans asylum under executive policies, based on strategic, political, and humanitarian grounds, and Bhutanese and Nepalis live in India under friendship treaties. India does not formally recognize UNHCR’s grants of refugee status under its mandate but typically does not refoule them either. …The Citizenship Act of 1955 states that Indian-born Tibetans may be eligible for Indian citizenship. Those born between 1950 and 1987 can become citizens if they were born in India. Those born between 1987 and 2004 are eligible if one of their parents was Indian at the time of their birth. Tibetans born in India later can become Indian citizens only if both parents are Indians or if one is a citizen and the other is not illegal. Nevertheless, fewer than three percent of Tibetans apply. Detention/Access to Courts The Government issues identity documents to Sri Lankan refugees and Tibetan refugees who cannot prove that they arrived before 1979. UNHCR issues certificates to those it recognizes as refugees under its mandate but they are not legal permits recognized by India and do not protect refugees from detention for illegally presence. …The Indian Home Ministry issues residence permits, which must be renewed yearly, to Tibetans who arrived or were born in India prior to 1979. Formerly, permits allowed Tibetans to obtain identity certificates, which were valid for two years and permit international travel. Indian officials in Delhi and Faridabad frequently harass UNHCR-recognized refugees seeking travel clearances and transfers of their residence permits. Freedom of Movement and Residence Local immigration offices impose movement restrictions on some refugees, requiring written permission to travel within specific periods. Refugees possessing UNHCR papers cannot leave New Delhi, as UNHCR’s mandate protects them only in the capital. Tibetan refugees may travel within India using their registration certificates, as long as they obtain permission from Indian authorities and check in with local police upon returning. Although since the end of 2006, the Government has restricted Tibetans from receiving international travel documents (and even then limited them to those present since 1979), in some instances, it approves specific requests. …The Constitution reserves to citizens the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence. The Foreigners Act and the 1948 Foreigners Order, give the Government the power to force all foreigners, including refugees and asylum seekers, to “reside in a particular place” to “[impose] any restrictions on [their] movements,” and to prosecute criminally anyone aiding or abetting their escape. The Foreigners Order prohibits refugees and asylum seekers from leaving India without permission. Right to Earn a Livelihood Even recognized refugees cannot work legally although Nepalese and Bhutanese nationals could do so under friendship treaties and the Government rarely punishes employers formally for hiring refugees illegally. Many refugees work in the informal sector or in highly visible occupations such as street venders where they are subject to police extortion, nonpayment, and exploitation. …Refugees cannot legally own land but Tibetan refugees often acquire land with Indians acting as proxies. Refugees and migrants can open bank accounts if they can provide local addresses and an Indian referee. Public Relief and Education The State Government of Tamil Nadu government gives registered adult Sri Lankan refugees food subsidies and 800 rupees (about $16) a month.
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