EHRC: refugees fleeing from fear of death

On 20 June the World Refugee Day was celebrated to draw attention to the millions of people, who are risking their lives fleeing from armed conflicts or persecution in their home countries.

Executive Director of the Estonian Human Rights Centre Kari Käsper points out that according to the UN report published on World Refugee Day for the first time since the Second World War there are more than 50 million people across the world, who have been forces to leave their homes. “Those people are not prospecting for good life in Europe, but fleeing persecution and fear of death. They are desperate doing that and often clutching at straws whenever they see a way out.”

“At the end of last year the whole Europe was shocked by the Lampedusa shipwreck with nearly 400 refugees dead. A similar tragedy occurred for the first time on the Estonian border in January, when a Sudanese refugee froze to death while crossing Piusa River. What is particularly grieving is the fact that he left behind a bereft wife and four children and, keeping in mind the ongoing civil war in his home country, it’s quite likely that he would have been granted asylum in Estonia.”

“Refugees reach Europe while seeking asylum mostly because the refugee camps near conflict areas are often overpopulated, there’s shortage of food and poor sanitary conditions. Countries neighbouring Europe are also not keen on dealing with refugees or are even hostile to them,” Käsper explains.

Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their home country because they are persecuted for their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. They are unable to return home before the situation in the county improves. After being granted asylum in Estonia they receive a three-year residence permit.

Estonian Human Rights Centre is an independent human rights advocacy NGO dedicated to the advancement of protection of human rights in Estonia and abroad.

Read more:
UNHCR report
The Journey of a Refugee
Report on Human Rights in Estonia 2013 – chapter and recommendations on the rights of refugees and asylum seekers

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