Rising refugee crisis amid collapse of global moral order
With the rise of populist nationalism and majoritarianism, the displaced are facing an unprecedented pushback around the world. Last week, the Lancet pointed out that one in every eight people in the world is on the move today, driven by economic, political, demographic, environmental and socio-cultural forces. However, even as migration—including movement propelled by climate emergencies—is emerging as one of the biggest concerns in the 21st century, the rights and lives of refugees are coming under inhumane pressure.
In this context, it is a solemn moment to remember that, stung by the partition's humongous refugee crisis, India has not ratified either the 1951 Refugee Convention, which serves as the principal legal document defining refugee status, or the 1967 Protocol that removed geographic and time-based limitations on the status. These treaties flowed from 1948's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the high-minded document that underlined the newly-formed UN's purpose. Today, with its resolutions observed more in breach, the warnings of its secretary-general ignored and the funding of its agencies gutted, the UN system is becoming increasingly comatose. The Lancet pointed out that the World Health Organization's Health and Migration Programme faces an uncertain future barely five years after being set up; the health journal warned of the devastating consequences of its closure for millions of refugees around the world.
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IT WAS AN unlikely picture of harmony. On June 27th the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo stood smiling in the Oval Office next to Donald Trump, America's president, who hailed the importance of the peace agreement they had just signed. 'We're here today to celebrate a glorious triumph,' said Mr Trump. 'The violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity, harmony, prosperity and peace.' PREMIUM A-peace-agreement-that-will-probably-not-bring-pea That was, to put it mildly, an overstatement. True, the deal is a sign that the two neighbours, which have been engaged in a long-running conflict in eastern Congo, see benefits in signalling their willingness to make up. The prospect of substantial investment by America, which is keen to secure access to mineral wealth in the region, may have tipped the scales towards an agreement. Yet every other attempt to end the conflict conclusively has failed. It is far from clear whether the latest one will turn out to be worth the paper it is written on. The fighting has its origins in the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Back then, some of those implicated in the genocide fled to Congo (then called Zaire) to escape troops led by Paul Kagame, now Rwanda's president. In 1996 Rwandan troops and allied militias invaded Congo and overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, its dictator at the time, claiming he was harbouring génocidaires. That conflict sparked two brutal regional wars that killed millions of people in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The fighting has never stopped completely. During the most recent escalation, in January, the Rwanda-backed M23 militia captured large swathes of territory, including Goma and Bukavu, the two biggest cities in eastern Congo (see map). The Congolese army—along with troops from South Africa and other allied countries, as well as European mercenaries and a UN peacekeeping force—found themselves outgunned. The relentless advance of M23 raised the spectre of another regional war. But a mix of diplomatic and economic pressure by America and Qatar, an important partner for Rwanda, appears to have succeeded in halting the advance and forcing the two countries to the negotiating table. America hopes that the new agreement will pave the way for American investment in Congo's vast mineral resources. It is negotiating a separate minerals deal with Congo's government that it hopes will give American investors access to mines in eastern Congo. Thin on detail, the peace deal is similar to an earlier agreement mediated by Angola that fell through in December when Mr Kagame failed to turn up for the signing. It calls for Rwandan troops to leave Congolese territory within 90 days. 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