T. Alexander Aleinikoff, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, wrote the following on June 20th (World Refugee Day):

The protection of refugees and other persons forced from their homes is not an act of charity; it is not an act of noblesse oblige; and it is more than a moral obligation that the fortunate owe the less fortunate.

It is a matter of rights.

• Persons forced to flee have a right to seek and receive asylum.
• They have a right not be “pushed back” at sea or arbitrarily detained upon arrival.
• They have rights, under the Refugee Convention, to freedom of movement and to work within countries in which they have been recognized as refugees.
• Persons forced to flee have a right not to be discriminated against because of their race or their religion or their gender or their sexual orientation.
• Women forced from their homes have a right not to be forced into survival sex.
• Children forced to flee because of conflict have a right not to be forced to serve as child soldiers.

 

As persons forced from their homes have rights, so too the international community has responsibilities.

• Nations must share the burden imposed on countries that have opened their borders to those forced to flee.
• They are responsible for the humane treatment of asylum-seekers, and the development of fair and efficient asylum systems.
• And the international community has a responsibility to provide solutions to refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons—who sometimes remain in uncertain legal status for decades.

These rights and responsibilities belong to all of us; they are affirmed collectively to provide for our protection and to remind us of our duties.

I underlined two sections above, to emphasize Aleinikoff’s point that displaced people have rights. This is put in place for the protection of everyone, should they ever be placed in that situation.