Human Rights Watch today condemned a decision by states participating in a preparatory meeting of the UN World Conference Against Racism to delete all reference to the 1951 Refugee Convention from the conference program of action.
Refugees and asylum seekers are often double victims of racism," said Rachael Reilly, Refugee Policy Director at Human Rights Watch. "They flee their countries to escape racism and ethnic intolerance, then many of them are again subject to racist and xenophobic treatment in their countries of refuge."
The decision by the anti-racism summit to drop any reference to the Refugee Convention came less than a week after countries around the world marked the 50th anniversary of the international refugee instrument on July 28.
"It is deeply ironic that less than one week after the UN marked the 50th anniversary of the international refugee convention, states should choose to ignore its importance for the World Conference Against Racism," said Reilly.
Human Rights Watch urged governments participating in the anti-racism meeting to recognize the alarming growth in racism and xenophobia towards refugees and asylum seekers world wide and to take immediate steps to reinsert a commitment to the 1951 Refugee Convention into the conference platform.
In December 2001, state parties to the Convention are due, for the first time ever, to formally reaffirm their commitment to the Refugee Convention and Protocol on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in Switzerland.
"It makes a mockery of this meeting if the same states are willing to drop all commitment to the Refugee Convention in the World Conference Against Racism," said Reilly.
