Countries should do more to guard religious refugees, says US commission

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has issued a report claiming that the nations of the world are each morally and legally required to guard refugees which can be fleeing religious persecution. The report also looks at the present state of play in numerous countries.

Citing the 1951 Refugee Convention and an attached 1967 Protocol, the USCIRF report said that signatory governments are legally required to guard the protection and human rights of refugees. However, it was also noted that at the very least 40 territories haven’t signed up to at least one or each of the Convention or Protocol.

USCIRF argued that even non-signatories are required to reveal some level of responsibility for refugees inside their borders, either attributable to domestic law or other international treaties they might have signed.

The report examined the treatment of allegedly religious refugees in numerous countries.

In November 2024, Thailand had an estimated 86,000 refugees inside its borders, mostly Muslim Uyghurs who fled from China and were attempting to succeed in Turkey. Many had been present within the country for a decade.

Some 300 of the refugees were arrested, with 173 mostly women and youngsters being sent on to Turkey, 109 mostly men sent back to China, and the remaining 53 placed in detention in inhumane conditions which will have contributed to the deaths of 5 people, two of them children.

In one other case, the Pakistani government announced the mass deportation of Afghan refugees on the grounds that they were increasingly involved in terrorism.

According to USCIRF a few of those deported were Christians and Sikhs, in addition to Muslims, who were susceptible to religious persecution in Afghanistan.

Of the overall state of the world, USCIRF said, “With the variety of refugees increasing, these populations are prone to grow to be much more vulnerable. 

“Refugees are forced to flee their homes only to come across extreme challenges of their recent communities, resembling discrimination, lack of services, poor living conditions, and untreated trauma.

“Addressing the essential needs of refugee populations can reduce grievances and mitigate the danger of radicalization, which in turn promotes national, regional, and global security,” the report concluded.