The government must promptly state its position on refugee protection and immediately stop attempts to roll back the refugee system
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This morning (6/29), the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) completed a briefing, through the Foreign Nationals Policy Committee at 10:00 a.m. and an announcement by the Vice Minister of Justice at 11:00 a.m., on the main theme of “the status of measures and future plans concerning the refugee applications of Yemenis in Jeju Island.” The Foreign Nationals Policy Working Committee justified only measures intended to block refugees as government-wide countermeasures, such as “pursuing an amendment of the Refugee Act to restrict abusive refugee applications” and “strengthening visa screening at overseas missions.” In the following briefing, the Vice Minister of Justice also said that the government would “pursue an amendment of the Refugee Act so that the refugee system is not abused” and “asked citizens to take neither an excessively hateful nor an excessively paternalistic attitude.” The Korea Refugee Rights Network and the Pan-Jeju Committee for the Human Rights of Refugees express serious concern over this message from the MOJ and state that it must immediately stop its attempts to roll back the refugee system. We also urge the Blue House to promptly state its position on refugee protection.
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Beyond saying that it will conduct “strict, accurate and swift screening” of the Yemeni refugees, the government has put forward no measures at all, and it is misleading the public by portraying the Yemenis who applied for refugee status through lawful procedures as people who abuse the refugee system. It has even described citizens who were helping the refugees with a spirit of hospitality ahead of the government as “excessively paternalistic,” deepening conflict among citizens. The concerns of citizens in the present situation arise from inaccurate information, fear of strangers, and misunderstandings created by a history without experience of coexistence. What the government should do now is not to regard refugees as potential criminals, but to state a clear position, in line with international standards, that can resolve citizens’ misunderstandings and fears about refugees.
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The government has even brought out the frame of “blocking abusive refugee applicants,” which has nothing to do with the Yemeni refugees at present, and has tried to roll back the Refugee Act and block refugees. Such an attempt runs counter to the purpose of the Refugee Act, which was made to protect refugees. Although it has many imperfect elements, the current Refugee Act is the institutional basis that the government of the Republic of Korea must naturally have as a member of the international community. It is a law that carries the suffering of countless refugees and the voices of civil society organizations and lawmakers who have struggled and worked together for decades. The improvement of the refugee system was demanded not because many refugees abuse the system, but because the government has not screened and protected refugees accurately. The MOJ must be reminded once again that the Refugee Act was made to protect refugees, not to monitor and control them.
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The position that the government should state at present is not a hasty institutional blueprint. It concerns the protection of refugees and the improvement of their treatment: the treatment of relatively vulnerable refugees such as women, children and persons with disabilities while refugee screening is under way; its position on refugees’ livelihoods and medical support; measures to ensure not only swift but also fair screening; and measures to run the appeal stage transparently and fairly. This is a time that calls for a clear message on refugee protection, not temporary measures that are eager only to calm public opinion in the spirit of putting out an urgent fire. Only a clear statement of the government’s position in line with international standards can settle the misunderstandings and controversy about refugees now taking place. Institutional improvement must be built from now on through deliberation together with civil society, academia and experts.
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We remember the attempt of the previous government, which unlawfully detained 28 Syrian refugees, who posed no danger at all, at the airport for seven months and then hesitated to grant them entry. People who came to us risking their lives to escape persecution cannot be driven back to the brink of death again. That is our role and duty as citizens of the world. The MOJ must immediately stop its attempt to worsen the Refugee Act by relying on the racist voices of some groups that hate refugees, and must protect the Yemeni refugees in Jeju, who have complied with the law properly. Moreover, the Blue House, which was built upon peaceful candlelight, should no longer hide behind an ambiguous attitude. To prevent the concerns, confusion and misunderstanding of citizens about refugees who came seeking peace, it should promptly announce a clear and principled position on the international and constitutional responsibilities and values of refugee protection, and on the picture of a “country that is truly a country,” with no other choice, in which refugees and citizens coexist as members of Korean society. End.
▣ Korea Refugee Rights Network (15 organizations)
공익법센터 어필, 공익사단법인 정, 공익인권법재단 공감, 국제난민지원단체 피난처, 난민인권센터, 동두천난민공동체, 세이브더칠드런, 아시아평화를향한이주MAP, 이주여성을위한문화경제공동체 에코팜므, 안산시글로벌청소년센터, 이주민지원센터친구, 이주민공익지원센터 감사와 동행, 재단법인 동천, 한국이주인권센터, 휴먼아시아
▣ Pan-Jeju Committee for the Human Rights of Refugees (as of 29 June 2018, 35 organizations, in no particular order)
기독교장로회 제주노회 정의평화위원회, 천주교제주교구이주사목센터 나오미, 제주불교청년회, 제주4·3희생자유족청년회, 제주여성인권상담소시설협의회, 제주여민회, 사)제주여성인권연대, 전국민주노동조합총연맹 제주지역본부, 정의당 제주도당, 녹색당 제주도당, 노동당 제주도당, 민중당 제주도당, 강정국제팀, 강정마을 해군기지 반대주민회, 강정친구들, 개척자들, 글로벌이너피스, 기억공간re:born, 사)제주대안연구공동체, 사)제주생태관광협회, 사)제주평화인권연구소왓, 바라연구소-평화꽃섬, 양용찬열사추모사업회, 제주다크투어, 제주민권연대, 제주민예총, 제주장애인연맹DPI, 제주장애인인권포럼, 제주주민자치연대, 제주차롱사회적협동조합, 제주퀴어문화축제조직위원회, 제주평화인권센터, 진실과 정의를 위한 교수 네트워크, 지구마을평화센터, 핫핑크돌핀스