Warehoused Refugees

Churches Call for an End to Warehousing Refugees in Camps - On 23 July, 2005, 13 of the NCCA's 15 member churches signed an a crucial statement calling for an end to the warehousing of refugees in remote camps and segregated settlement for more than 10 years without basic rights. The NCCA has now joined the campaign against warehousing and is actively working to raise awareness and bring about an end to the practice. 

More than two-thirds of the almost 12 million refugees worldwide have been confined in camps or segregated settlements  for more than ten years. According to the 2004 World Refugee Survey by the US Committee on Refugees (USCR), seven million refugees are deprived of the basic rights and freedom guaranteed by the United Nations. These “warehoused” refugees have no freedom of movement, are denied access to education, and are subjected to violence and sexual exploitation.

Of the three million refugees in Africa, nearly 75 per cent have been warehoused for more than 20 years. In Southeast Asia, 400,000 of the 600,000 warehoused refugees had lived under such condition for more than ten years; they mostly come from Burma where more than 30,000 exiles are created every year. More than 100,000 refugees  from Sri Lanka  have remained in India for 20 years while 114,000 Bhutanese have been in Nepal since 1992. Refugees in the Middle East comprise 37 per cent of the world’s total in 2003;  nearly 50 per cent of them have been warehoused for 55 years.

Follow these links for more information:

1. The International Campaign Against Warehousing
2. The International Conference on Warehousing
3. The World Refugee Survey June 2005 - looks at warehoused refugee groups worldwide 
4. ABC Radio National: On 10 September, James Thomson presented an opinion piece on warehousing refugees on ABC's Perspective program. The program was part of a series of three five-minute pieces that went to air each Friday at 5:55pm on ABC AM 576 (after PM and before the 6pm news bulletin). Read Transcript 

Statements and Articles on Warehousing:

1. Intervention by the Holy See at the Executive Committee of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Address of H.E. MSGR Silvano M. Tomasi, Geneve, 4 Octer 2004
2. Refugee Camps Becoming Permanent Homes, Vatican Official Tells UNHCR - 11 October 2004, Catholic News Service