Seminar bares refugee-terror link

A senior United Nations official said terrorists disguised as migrants or refugees pose a serious threat to the host country.

Speaking at a seminar, 'Strengthening Refugee Protection In Migratory Movements' in New Delhi on Wednesday, Wilbert Van Hovell, deputy director, Department of International Protection, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, said: "Terrorists do not get international protection. We have to filter terrorists from mass refugees/migrants. These are people who have committed crimes against humanity and killed innocent people." 

Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, joint secretary, ministry of external affairs, felt countries giving shelter to refugees have to first take care of their security concerns as well as those of other States.

"Asylum seekers should not be allowed to abuse the process," she said.

According to statistics provided by UNHCR, over 175 million people live either as refugees or migrants in various countries -- 20 million in India alone.

Dr Mahendra P Lama, professor of South Asian economies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, expressed concern at terrorists taking shelter as refugees.

"Under the 1948 and 1950 treaties signed between the Government of India and the governments of Bhutan and Nepal respectively, citizens of these three countries have a right to move into each other's territories without any restriction. So it would not be possible to estimate the number of refugees/migrants in India, but it would be close to 20 million. We have 15 million refugees from Bangladesh alone. Because we have long borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, terrorists manage to cross into India quite easily," Professor Lama said.

He pointed out that India is the only country in South Asia which is not causing a refugee problem in another country. "People displaced by the turmoil in Nagaland, Mizoram, Kashmir and Punjab have moved within the country. In South Asia, India is the biggest host of migrants and refugees," he added.

Professor Lama emphasised that illegal migration from Bangladesh is now becoming a serious problem for India. "India must take care of its security concerns and evolve a system whereby we can distinguish between Indian citizens and migrants," he said. "If we start taking steps now, the results will be visible in 15 years. We need to have stringent laws that exist in China, Japan, USA, UK and other European countries."

Also see:
Complete coverage of Mumbai blasts
9/11 attacks in the US