World Refugee Survey: How Has Africa Scored in 2008?

Refugee Rights News
Volume 4, Issue 5
July 2008

Last month, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) released its annual World Refugee Survey. The World Refugee Survey 2008 has graded, for the fourth year straight, about 60 governments around the world on a scale from A (being the best) to F (being the worst) based on their treatment of refugees. Each country was graded in four areas: refoulement and physical protection, detention and access to courts, freedom of movement and residence, and right to earn a livelihood. While this type of grading system necessarily simplifies complex sets of law, policy and practice, it can be taken as a useful indictor of policy and practice on the continent.

Examining the grades received by African countries included in the Survey between 2007 and 2008, we see an overall improvement in policy--a tribute to the good work of advocates across the continent. Amongst African countries 23 grades improved, while only 18 declined. That said there was also disturbing deterioration in some countries and two African countries -- Kenya and Sudan -- were singled out as among the ten "worst places for refugees."

Refoulement and physical protection

One of the areas where the trend was most disappointing was in relation to refoulement and physical protection, where between 2007 and 2008 12 grades declined and only eight improved. One situation which notably deteriorated was in Cameroon, whose grades fell in almost every area. In the areas of refoulement and physical protection, however, its ranking has been subject to a steady decline starting from an A in 2006, going down to a B in 2007 and settling for a C in 2008. This degeneration can be attributed in part to cross border attacks by armed groups from the Central African Republic in refugee hosting areas and in part to its lack of implementation of its 2005 Refugee Law, which provided for a government status determination procedure and provided assurances against forced return. In the absence of a state-run status determination procedure UNHCR processed asylum claims, but asylum seekers were subject to long waits.

Egypt's grade fell to an F, after receiving a D in 2006 and improving its grade to a C in 2007. According to USCRI, one reason was that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly forced 20 Sudanese who had been returned from Israel back to Sudan, despite the fact that Sudan criminalizes travel to Israel and the deportees were therefore at risk of torture, life imprisonment, or death. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, denies the refoulement. There have also been numerous accounts of Egyptian border police killing and wounding Sudanese refugees attempting to cross the border into Israel.

Despite this discouraging trend, there were a few African countries whose performance improved in the area of refoulement and physical protection according to USCRI. Liberia went from a B in 2007 to an A in 2008. This improved grade reflected the positive handling of an influx of 1,800 Ivorian asylum seekers. The government accepted 1,200 as refugees and settled them in camps and allowed the rest of the refugees to stay until their cases were reviewed. Niger allowed Mahamid Arabs, refugees from Chad, to remain in the country even though they were not granted refugee status and hence improved its grade to an A in 2008 from a C in 2007.

Detention and access to courts

In the area of detention and access to courts, Kenya received one of the lowest scores with an F in 2008 after having a D in both 2006 and 2007. Kenya’s grade has gone down because of the number of refugees and asylum seekers that have been detained there. It was reported that at least 800 refugees were detained, in spite of provisions in the Refugee Law which clearly state that no person claiming to be a refugee can be imprisoned or punished for illegal entry or unlawful presence in the country. Indeed, Kenya received some of the lowest scores worldwide and was one of only two African countries (out of a total of 10) to be listed as one of the world’s “worst places for refugees.” 

Sierra Leone, on the other hand, has improved in relation to detention and access to courts grade and maintained that positive change over the past two years, according to USCRI.  In 2006, Sierra Leone received a B, but bumped its grade up to an A in 2007, which it has kept through 2008. While the police arrested refugees and asylum seekers for crimes such as rape, destruction of property, and other minor offenses, no one was detained because of their status as a refugee or for illegal presence in the country.

Freedom of movement

Sudan has the dubious distinction of joining Kenya as one of the world’s “worst places for refugees.” It has scored an F for the last two years in the category of freedom of movement and residence, going down from the D it received in 2006. Refugees in Sudan are required to settle in certain areas, designated according to nationality. Those who left the camps in search of jobs had to return to renew their documents. Indeed, this curtailment of freedom of movement was institutionalized in the Asylum Act which states that any refugee who leaves the place of residence specified for them by the government can be imprisoned for up to one year.

Senegal improved its freedom of movement and residence grade from a C in 2007 to an A in 2008. The government allowed refugees to choose where they wanted to reside and they were allowed to move about freely as long as they carried the proper documentation, which they could apply for at the Interior Ministry.

Right to a livelihood

Tanzania has been one of the lowest scoring countries in all areas receiving an F in almost each area for the past three years. This year they received an F in the right to earn a livelihood category. Under the Refugee Act, refugees are forbidden to work without permits and, if caught, face steep fines as punishment. There have been no reports of refugees receiving work permits due to the unclear and disorganized system set up by the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Employment Service Act allowed the government to ban foreigners from certain jobs in order to allow Tanzanians to be trained and employed, further discriminating against refugees. Interestingly, despite these dismal grades Tanzania was not included in the top ten “worst places for refugees,” perhaps in recognition of some positive elements of Tanzania’s refugee policy, for example, its offer to extend citizenship to Burundian refugees who arrived in the 1970s.

Chad scored a B in the right to earn a livelihood category after scoring two consecutive C’s in 2007 and 2006. Refugees are allowed to work at any job and can even own a business. However, those who do not live in camps have to file for work authorization. Refugees also enjoy the right to own movable and immovable property, but scarcity in arable land and other resources as well as a lack of family ties have made the pursuit for property highly competitive.

As noted above, the grades necessary present a simplified, rather than nuanced assessment of refugee policies which are often complex and may benefit some refugees while targeting others. However, these grades can serve as an advocacy tool, challenging governments whose policies received poor marks and holding up others who received good marks as examples for their peers. Advocates on the continent may wish to consider both how they can use these grades as tools and also whether they would like to contribute information and analysis to next year's Survey. USCRI gathers much of its information through partner organizations working at the national level, such as the Rencontre Africaine pour la Defense des Droits de l'Homme (RADDHO) in Senegal and the Refugee Law Project in Uganda. NGOs interested in participating should contact USCRI.

For more information see the USCRI website at http://www.refugees.org.

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