Refugees Daily - Internal Global Press Review

GENEVA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) – The UN Refugees Agency (UNHCR) on Friday released guidance aimed at helping states deal with security concerns while maintaining vital standards of refugee protection.

The recommendations are contained in a paper presented at an inter-governmental meeting by UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Turk.

The paper argued that national security and international protection for refugees are not mutually exclusive, and calls for an integrated approach that ensures both goals are being met.

Currently, with growing polarization of political debate concerning refugees in some countries, the concern is that asylum-seekers and refugees could be victimized, and refugee protection, which has saved the lives of millions of people since World War II, could be endangered.

With border controls, UNHCR understands the need of states to identify security concerns at the point of entry, for example through increased checks, including the use of biometrics such as fingerprints and iris scans.

Its recommendations include practical guidance on ensuring that these and other measures are carried out properly and proportionately and subject to judicial control, and avoiding discrimination, for example based on nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion. Applications for asylum must be looked at individually.

With cases involving the exclusion of people for serious criminal or terrorist acts, UNHCR recommended that a factual and legal assessment be done, if needed, by specialized exclusion units.

Registration is a crucial part of the refugee protection process, and UNHCR believes that proper systems for this, plus identity and security screening are essential.

In addition, as refugees are people at risk of their lives, information-sharing between states has to be done in line with established principles and standards on data protection.