LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place for refugees and migrants, with too many governments using the pretext of immigration control to commit abuses against these groups, Amnesty International said.
In its annual report launched on Thursday, the London-based rights watchdog said it is often harder for refugees to cross borders than it is for the weapons that fuel the conflicts from which they are escaping.
According to the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, there were an estimated 15.2 million refugees at the end of 2011.
The world's failure to deal with conflicts is creating a "global underclass", Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty said.
"The rights of those fleeing conflict are unprotected. Too many governments are abusing human rights in the name of immigration control – going well beyond legitimate border control measures," he said in a statement.
The European Union’s border control measures, for example, put the lives of migrants and asylum-seekers at risk and fail to guarantee the safety of those fleeing conflict and persecution, Amnesty said.
Shetty also said millions of migrants are being exploited with impunity – driven into abusive situations, including forced labour and sexual abuse, because of anti-immigration policies.
"Much of this is fuelled by populist rhetoric that targets refugees and migrants for governments' domestic difficulties," he added.
A lack of protection for refugees means that women are being raped in South Sudanese camps, and asylum seekers – in countries including Australia and Kenya – are locked up in detention centres or metal crates.
Hundreds die in leaky boats as they make the perilous crossing in search of safe harbour, Amnesty said. Italy turned away boatloads of Africans floundering off its coastline last year, while Australia continued to forbid boatpeople from entering its waters, Amnesty said.
The group also highlighted the deaths of 200 people a year trying to cross the desert from Mexico into the United States – a direct result of measures taken by Washington to make safe passage for migrants harder.
The rights of large numbers of the world's 214 million migrants are not protected by either home or host state, Amnesty said.
In 2012, recruitment agencies in Nepal, for example, continued to traffic migrant workers, charging fees above government-imposed limits and compelling people to take out large loans at high interest rates.
Recruitment agencies that violated Nepalese law are rarely punished, Amnesty said.
"Those who live outside their countries, without wealth or status, are the world's most vulnerable people but are often condemned to desperate lives in the shadows," Shetty said.
"A more just future is possible if governments respect the human rights of all people, regardless of nationality."
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
