Press Release
Published on December 7, 2011
Geneva – Today, Human Rights First praised the U.S. government for its strong representation at the historic ministerial meeting at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, where state representatives from around the world joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to reaffirm their countries’ commitment to the protection of refugees and to offer pledges for ways in which their laws, policies, and practices can be improved to enhance the protection of refugees and other displaced or stateless persons. Today’s ministerial meeting – the largest of its kind ever – commemorated the 60th anniversary of the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 50th anniversary of the U.N. Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. In prepared remarks before the ministerial meeting, Secretary Hillary Clinton declared, “Protecting and assisting refugees is among my government’s highest humanitarian priorities,” and noted that “my country is a nation of immigrants, and we are proud to have welcomed so many refugees to our shores.” “The United States has long been a global leader in the protection of refugees,” described Human Rights First’s Eleanor Acer. “As a leader, other countries often look to the United States for guidance in addressing refugee protection concerns – and to U.S. treatment of refugees and asylum seekers as an example.” The United States Government offered 28 pledges, including:
Human Rights First commends the United States Government for engaging in the pledge process and urges the U.S. Congress, the White House and the Departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security to, as Secretary Clinton promised, “turn our pledges into action.” Moving forward with these and other reforms will however require action and commitment by multiple U.S. government agencies. As Secretary Clinton stressed in her statement, “the needs of refugees don’t respect our bureaucratic divisions,” and as a result “we have to do a better job of breaking down barriers.” “Beyond the pledges offered today, there are many significant gaps and challenges in the U.S. asylum and refugee resettlement systems that are noticeably absent from the U.S. list of pledges,” explained Acer. “Human Rights First continues to urge the United States to repair major flaws in U.S. laws, policies and legal interpretations undermining the institution asylum and creating significant challenges in the resettlement of refugees.” Human Rights First recommendations – not addressed in the U.S. pledges offered today – include:
“With leadership comes responsibility,” concluded Acer. “The United States must lead by example and live up to the same standards we expect the rest of the world to respect.”
