Transcript Slide 1

Alternative Question #2 for Synthepaper:
In light of U.S. ratification of the 1951
Refugee Convention, which obliges us to
accept refugees and not return them to any
place where they might face the same or
similar dangers, should the U.S. change how
they currently deal with refugees and/or
asylum seekers?
4 points to keep in mind . . .
1. Despite the growing tendency of
“rejecting refugees,” global refugee
numbers are currently down from a high
in the 1990s (19 million to about 9
million today)
In line with this, the world-wide number of
immigrants has remained fairly consistent since
1960 (rising from 2.5 to 2.9 %), though admittedly
the percentage of immigrants in developed,
wealthy countries has grown significantly (from
3.4 to 8.7)
See http://www.unhcr.org/4444afc50.html
2. Most refugees are NOT destined to resettle
in developed northern countries
• 80-90% remain in their region of origin
See the parts of the world where the most refugees,
asylum-seekers are located:
http://www.unhcr.org/4444afc50.html
• There are 2-3 times as many IDPs (internally displaced
people) as there are refugees (people who cross a border
during a conflict)
3. Developing countries like the U.S. spend
more money trying to keep refugees out of
developed countries than allocating money to
a) serve their needs in regional refugee camps
See handout from Moorehead book
-orb) help to develop southern countries that are prone to conflict and
refugee outflux
see site on U.S. foreign aid:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/35/us-and-foreign-aid-assistance
4. There is a risk of double-abuse of the
human rights of asylum-seekers held in
detention
See CBS/60 minutes report “Detention in America”
(and read the posts!)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/09/60minutes/main4083279.s
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