1. Safe Journeys and Sound Policy: Expanding protected entry for refugees
- Author:
- Claire Higgins
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Sydney
- Abstract:
- Protected entry procedures are visa mechanisms that allow individuals to apply for entry into another country for the purpose of accessing protection under international refugee or human rights law. Procedures are made available within countries of origin or first asylum, their primary function being to ensure that asylum seekers and refugees can travel safely across international borders and avoid potentially dangerous or exploitative irregular journeys. This Policy Brief draws on past and current State practice to outline what these procedures look like, and how they should operate as tools of refugee protection. It speaks to a core objective of the Global Compact on Refugees, which is to expand access to third-country solutions for refugees and asylum seekers. Forced migration is currently at record highs worldwide, but not all those who are displaced will want or need to move outside their region of origin. UNHCR has identified a relatively small number of refugees, 1.4 million people, as needing resettlement under its annual program in 2020. This means that States could make a real difference by expanding the use of protected entry procedures and other complementary pathways to increase access to protection and solutions.
- Topic:
- Refugees, Forced Migration, Protection, Migration Policy, and Asylum Seekers
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus