W omen and children currently constitute more than 80 percent of the 40 million refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide. 1 The United States assists refugees through overseas assistance (the largest contributor to humanitar- ian and refugee assistance globally) and U.S. refugee resettlement and asylum. 2 In 2004, Congress gave the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) $800 million for regular and emergency refugee assistance. The majority of these funds support the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and nongovern- mental relief organizations, while a smaller portion supports internally displaced persons through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 3 While considerable provisions are made by the U.S. for refugee and internally displaced populations, the unique experiences of female refugees, the most vulnerable, is often overlooked or ignored in policy, funding and services. Refugee and internally displaced women living in refugee camps worldwide must provide for their children in an at- mosphere in which their security is threatened and the likelihood of sexual violence is heightened, and they are often discriminated against for access to food, shelter, health, education, and training. Within the U.S., immigration laws of the 1990s significantly undermined asylum oppor- tunities for refugee women and since September 2001, procedures for immigration have become even more stringent. 5 In 2004, 53,000 refugees were admitted into the U.S. for resettlement, down from previous years when over 100,000 refugees were admitted an- nually. Recent refugees in the U.S. come from countries in conflict such as Sudan, Burma, Afghanistan, Columbia and Haiti. 6 Definitions Under U.S. & International Law Refugee: Person outside his/her own country with a well-founded fear of persecution in that country based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, and who is entitled to protection and assistance from the states into which s/he moves and from the United Nations. Internally Displaced Person (IDP): Person displaced within his/her own country due to armed conflict or other situations of violence, human rights violations and/or natural or human-made disasters. It is the responsibility of the IDP’s home government to provide for his/her protection, and while international law often protects IDPs, no international law or UN agency is required to ensure their welfare. 1. Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, http://womenscommission.org. 2. Refugee Council USA. “U.S. Policy on International Refugee Protection and Assistance,” available from http://www.refugees. org/data/advocate/pdf/rcusa.refugee.policy.background.pdf. 3. U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, http://www.refugees.org/advocate.aspx. 4. Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, “Beyond Resettlement—Prospects for Health and Hope for the Forgotten Majority,” Statement, 25 September 2003. 5. Women’s Environment & Development Organization. Beijing Betrayed: Women Worldwide Report that Governments Have Failed to Turn the Platform into Action, March 2005. 6. Refugee Council USA. “Fewer Refugees Being Rescued,” 21 March 2005. Efforts are pending in the U.S. Congress that would provide specific protection for refugee women and children. Immigrant, Refugee and Internally Displaced Women and U.S. Policy The internationally accepted definition of a refugee, which has been adopted by the United States, does not explicitly recognize gender and age as grounds for refugee protection, making the presentation of claims based on such issues particularly complex and challenging. —Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children 4 CENTER FOR WOMEN POLICY STUDIES www.centerwomenpolicy.org LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS www.lwv.org WOMEN’S ENVIRONMENT & DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION www.wedo.org engaging globally women
Immigrant, Refugee and Internally Displaced Women and U.S. Policy
Jul 11, 2023
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