The whole world is embraced by migration flows, which pose many states with complex, sometimes insurmountable tasks. Europe has faced the largest influx of refugees and internally displaced persons in recent years. The situation requires comprehensive and serious efforts that are impossible within the framework of the existing fragmented approach.
Assessment of migration flows and processes in the world
Migration processes are becoming increasingly large-scale and are the cause of socio-economic, political, spiritual tension. The refugee problem is encountered not only at the level of a certain state, but also covers the whole world as a whole. International cooperation in this area is, first of all, well-coordinated work and interaction of various public organizations, religious foundations and other non-governmental international entities. Such activities affect the interests of a huge number of people and should have the necessary organizational and legal support.
Brief description of the concept of "refugee"
Now let's determine who the refugees are. According to the legislation of our state, a refugee is a person who has stopped or wants to cross the borders of his native state and has arrived on the territory of the Russian Federation. The flight from another state was committed due to violence or conditions that endanger the life and health of a person and members of his family on the basis of race, nationality, gender, age, membership in a particular social group or political opinion, and so on.
The definition of "internally displaced person"
An internally displaced person is a category of persons that acts only on the territory of Russia, that is, its legal status is not fixed in international law. Thus, based on the legislation, an internally displaced person is a citizen of the Russian Federation who left his location due to a threat to his and his family’s life and safety on the basis of race, nationality, religion, language, political beliefs and other grounds. There can be three options for recognizing a person as internally displaced person. The first option is when a person is a citizen of the Russian Federation, but lives on the territory of a foreign state and is forced to leave and arrive on the territory of the Russian Federation due to the reasons listed above. The second option is when a citizen of the Russian Federation is forced, due to all the same reasons, to move from one subject of the federation to another subject. There is another option when a person has the citizenship of another state, not the Russian Federation, or there is no citizenship at all (a person recognized as stateless). A person must permanently, legally live in Russia and change his location within the Russian Federation for the same reasons as indicated above.
Legal status
Thanks to obtaining refugee or IDP status, a person has a number of rights and benefits that are characteristic of these social categories. Thanks to international migration laws, the categories of people under consideration have a wide range of rights and freedoms, but they also have obligations. All this in general gives a full picture of the legal status of a refugee and internally displaced person.
Rights in Russia
It is worth noting that refugees in the Russian Federation have the same rights as citizens of the state.These include, first of all: the right to use the services of an interpreter, to live in a specialized temporary accommodation center, to help move to this center, which includes transportation of a person, members of his family, as well as baggage. In addition, these persons have the right to lump-sum financial assistance, to receive food, proper medical care and many others. Of course, these are not all the rights of refugees, the list is wider and more diverse, it is clearly indicated by law.
And what about internally displaced persons?
The rights of internally displaced persons as a whole are exactly the same as those of refugees, but there are still slight differences. For example, the VP has the right to independently, independently choose the place of his new residence in the territory of the Russian Federation, he can also live with relatives or friends in the territory of our state if there is permission from the latter. There is also the possibility of obtaining housing. Low-income categories of people are entitled to compensation for the costs of moving and carrying luggage to a new place of residence. The procedure for this procedure, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, is determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.
The situation of refugees in Germany
So, we determined who the refugees are. Now it is worth paying attention to what their situation in Europe is. For example, take a developed country such as Germany.
Recently, a law has come into force in Germany that has changed the rules for granting asylum in the territory of the state to refugees. First of all, the legislation is aimed at accelerating the process of processing applications for political asylum, as well as accelerating the return of people who have not received refugee status to their homeland. That is, in accordance with the new legislation, border guards have the right to take measures to expedite the expulsion from Germany of those migrants who visited Germany from selfish motives. Those refugees whose term in the state has expired are expelled without warning. The document also contains a list of countries whose citizens will be very difficult to obtain asylum. Such countries are recognized by Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo. For certain groups of migrants, the size and social assistance will be reduced, for some it will be reduced. Thus, we saw the situation of refugees in Europe by the example of a certain state.
Rights violations in Germany
In some federal states of Germany, migrants are issued special coupons or cards with electronic chips to buy things and hygiene items. All this does not allow to fully satisfy the needs of a person, because the authorities are not able to determine how many things this or that family or individual needs. In other lands, a package of certain products and hygiene items is immediately issued, which, according to practitioners, is not convenient. Only a few authorities exercise this right of refugees through material payments. The right to timely provision of medical services is also one of the most important rights and freedoms of any person. However, in practice, as it turns out, it is not fully implemented. In accordance with the law “On Measures Relating to Refugees Taken as Part of Humanitarian Measures”, medical preparations, as well as assistance, are provided only in case of “acute diseases”, which in practice is a significant limitation. It is because of this that many refugees are denied medicine, glasses, crutches and other aids and drugs.
How do international bodies solve the refugee problem?
In order to monitor the observance of the rights and freedoms of refugees, the United Nations has created its own system of human rights mechanisms, as well as an accurate legal definition of who the refugees are and how to protect them.Those states that have ratified the 1951 Convention must comply with all the rules of international treaties. Focusing on laws and international treaties, certain committees and bodies are constantly created and developed. They act to monitor the implementation by all states of the provisions of refugee treaties. Hearing reports of representatives of all states on the issue under consideration, as well as some bodies provide humanitarian assistance, accept complaints from citizens and so on.
The main objective of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is to make sure that all asylum seekers can obtain it in another country, return safely to their homeland and fully exercise their rights regardless of where they are. Based on this goal, the most important task is to influence countries to adopt fair procedures for securing the proper and effective right of refugees. Recently, the competence of this body began to include the organization of material assistance to refugees and returnees. This direction is in great demand and is significant.
Final provisions
So, we found out who the refugees are, what rights they have in Russia, and what legislative acts and provisions this is enshrined in. It is extremely important to know and understand how migration processes are regulated at the international level, because these are the realities of our life. We also found out on the example of Germany how things are with refugees in Europe. Of course, not everything is simple.
Note that in the Russian Federation refugee citizenship can be obtained quite easily, you just need to collect the necessary package of documents and go to the territorial office of the FMS of the Russian Federation.
Due to the large-scale migration crisis, many states are tightening the procedure for obtaining status and asylum rights. Despite this, those who have received status are endowed with a spectrum of rights and freedoms that equate them with the citizens of the host state. In practice, the Federal Republic of Germany, it can be said that often the law is imperfect and violations occur one way or another, but in general the situation of forced refugees remains favorable. The situation of this category of population is regulated and based on many international acts, conventions, declarations and so on. National legislation is required to comply with them and not violate the rights and freedoms of persons in need of assistance.