NPR

Amid Migrant Crises, Nations Flout International Law On Refugees

The rights of refugees were enshrined in international law in the wake of World War II. But those rules aren't always respected.

What are the international rules for dealing with foreign nationals who show up in a country often without any travel documents and definitely without a visa?

It's a timely question in this era of unprecedented refugee movement, as nations around the world struggle to deal with huge numbers of uninvited migrants who've appeared at their doors.

Bangladesh now has nearly a million Rohingya refugees living in camps just inside its territory and local officials say they want to send them back to Myanmar as soon as possible. Italy is refusing to allow boats carrying African migrants to dock in its ports. Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are hosting millions of displaced Syrians. In Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel has been scrambling to hash out a migration deal to keep her government together. Uganda despite being a low-income country has recently taken in hundreds of thousands of people from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. And the United States came under fire for separating migrant children from

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min readCrime & Violence
Federal Prosecutors Request 40-year Sentence For Man Who Attacked Pelosi's Husband
Prosecutors are asking a judge to impose a 40-year prison sentence for the man who broke into ex-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home seeking to hold her hostage and attacked her husband.
NPR4 min read
New 'Doctor Who' Star Ncuti Gatwa Feels 'Sad' For Critics Of Show's Diversity
Gatwa is the first Black man and the first person born outside the U.K. to play The Doctor. He's candid about how his own life has influenced his take on the role — and about his critics.
NPR11 min read
Kenya's Samburu Boys Share A Sacred Bond. Why One Teen Broke With The Brotherhood
After initiation rites – including circumcision – the boys leave their families to take charge of the herds, driving them high into the mountains. It's a way of life that climate change is testing.

Related Books & Audiobooks