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1 1 (March 27, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govclyy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0i E.$~ & Updated March 27, 2020 Global Refugee Resettlement: Selected Issues and Questions As the number of refugees worldwide reached unprecedented levels in recent years, Congress has demonstrated a continued interest in refugee resettlement, although such opportunities are available to only a small percentage of the global refugee population. (For more information on the refugee admissions process to the United States, see CRS Report RL31269, Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policy.) On March 17, 2020, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced they were suspending global resettlement travel for refugees due to the COVID-19 travel bans. Qu,-rent Re iupseCr,& ' The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) anticipates that in 2020 more than 168 million people worldwide will require humanitarian assistance and protection due to conflict and disaster. UNHCR (see text box) reported that in 2018 more than 70.8 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide due to armed conflict, widespread or indiscriminate violence, or human rights violations. Those displaced included 25.9 million refugees, 3.5 million asylum seekers, and 41.3 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance, consistently providing between one-quarter and one-third of total global humanitarian contributions. From FY2015 to FY2019, the United States provided over $43 billion in global humanitarian assistance. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Established by the U.N. General Assembly in 1950, UN HCR's mandate is to pr-ovide legal pr-otection, implement long ter-m solutions, and coo rdinate emerge ncy humanitar-ian relief for r-efugees and other- displaced per-sons ar-ound the wor-ld. UNHCR wodks with governments to seek pe rmanent solutions to iefugee situations and prefers voluntary repatriation, wher eby refugees retur to theii home countries. If repatr-iation is impossible, then UNHCR seeks either- local integration or resettlement in a third country. UNHCR depends almost entirely on voluntar-y contr-ibutions to fund its opeirations. The United States is UNHCR's lairgest donor-, with U.S. funding pr-ovided primarily through the Migr-ation and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account in annual State/Foreig operations appr-opriations. Ke-v Conrc* pts an<d Defdd Under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention), a refugee is legally defined as a person fleeing his or her country because of persecution or owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside of the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. A cornerstone of the Refugee Convention is the principle of non-refoulement, which means that a refugee should not be returned to a country where he or she faces serious threats to his or her life or freedom. An asylum-seeker is someone who has applied for refugee status but whose claim has not yet been definitively evaluated. Once an individual is considered a refugee, that individual automatically has certain legal rights, and states that are States Parties to the Refugee Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol are obligated to provide certain resources and protection. UNHCR's mandate is to lead and coordinate international action for the protection of refugees and the resolution of refugee problems worldwide. Refugee Status Determination (RSD) is the legal or administrative process by which governments or UNHCR determine whether a person seeking international protection is considered a refugee under international, regional, or national law. Countries have the primary responsibility for determining the status of asylum-seekers, but UNHCR may do so when countries are unable or unwilling. During mass movements of refugees (usually due to conflicts or generalized violence as opposed to individual persecution), individual asylum interviews cannot be conducted for everyone who has crossed the border. In such cases, it is generally evident why people have fled. As a result, with the agreement of the host country, these groups are often declared prima facie refugees. Resettlement is the transfer of refugees from a country where they have received temporary asylum to another country that has agreed to admit them and ultimately grant them permanent settlement with legal and physical protection, including access to civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights similar to those enjoyed by nationals. It generally leads to permanent resident status or even citizenship in the resettlement country. There may be many reasons for resettlement. In most cases, there is no prospect for repatriation or local integration, and the situation in the host country may create particular protection concerns for the individual. The refugee resettlement process typically involves UNHCR and the government of the resettlement country: 1. UNHCR registration (often includes taking biometrics); 2. UNHCR Refugee Status Determination (RSD); 3. UNHCR identification of a need for resettlement; 4. resettlement country RSD and admissibility procedures; 5. clearances by resettlement country; and 6. travel (reception and integration in resettlement country). Of the millions of refugees of concern to UNHCR globally, less than 1% is submitted for resettlement. The number of K~:> gognpo goo g , q 'S a X 11L1\LXW1kJ\W,

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