Implementation of Diplomatic Assurance Against Torture: The Way to Reduce the Refugee Crisis in South Asia

Chowdhury Nujhat Samanta; Mohammad Belayet Hossain

doi:10.58829/lp.9.1.2022.1-29

Authors

Chowdhury Nujhat Samanta School of Law, Chittagong Independent University, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Mohammad Belayet Hossain School of Law, Chittagong Independent University, Chittagong, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58829/lp.9.1.2022.1-29

Keywords:

South Asian Countries, Refugees, Developed Countries, Diplomatic Assurance

Abstract

States aim to send refugees back to their home countries in order to end the refugee crisis in their nation. Due to the human rights situation in the countries of origin, this can occasionally be problematic; the return involves the prohibition of refoulment and the prevention of torture or other cruel treatment. States are not allowed to use torture, including putting someone in a position where they might be tortured. For a very long time, diplomatic guarantees have been employed as a defense against the death penalty or unfair trials. From that time, states used to rely on guarantees for a returnee’s treatment. The guarantees were protected at the diplomatic level of relations between nations. In this research, subject to legal value, the reliability of diplomatic assurance is measured as well as an assessment has been made about the current state of south Asian nations that have hosted refugees for an extended time. This paper also supports the use of diplomatic assurance as a workable option to alleviate the refugee crisis where developed countries can contribute the best. The findings indicate that there is no specific legal framework to support such assurances in different south Asian developing as well as other developed countries. There is even a lack of research in this regard. South Asian nations could take seven factors into account according to the recommendations of the study. So, it is necessary to implement the recommendations to reach the goal of solving the refugee situation.

Abstrak

Negara bertujuan untuk mengirim pengungsi kembali ke negara asal mereka untuk mengakhiri krisis pengungsi di negara mereka. Karena situasi hak asasi manusia di negara asal, hal ini terkadang menimbulkan masalah; pengembalian melibatkan larangan refoulment dan pencegahan penyiksaan atau perlakuan kejam lainnya. Negara tidak diperbolehkan menggunakan penyiksaan, termasuk menempatkan seseorang pada posisi di mana mereka mungkin disiksa. Untuk waktu yang sangat lama, jaminan diplomatik digunakan sebagai pembelaan terhadap hukuman mati atau pengadilan yang tidak adil. Sejak saat itu, negara biasanya mengandalkan jaminan untuk perawatan orang yang kembali. Jaminan tersebut dilindungi pada tingkat diplomatik hubungan antar negara. Dalam penelitian ini, tunduk pada nilai hukum, keandalan jaminan diplomatik diukur serta penilaian telah dibuat tentang keadaan negara-negara Asia Selatan saat ini yang telah lama menampung pengungsi. Tulisan ini juga mendukung penggunaan jaminan diplomasi sebagai opsi yang dapat diterapkan untuk mengurangi krisis pengungsi di mana negara maju dapat memberikan kontribusi terbaiknya. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa tidak ada kerangka hukum khusus untuk mendukung jaminan tersebut di berbagai negara berkembang Asia Selatan serta negara maju lainnya. Bahkan ada kekurangan penelitian dalam hal ini. Negara-negara Asia Selatan dapat mempertimbangkan tujuh faktor sesuai dengan rekomendasi penelitian. Jadi, perlu untuk menerapkan rekomendasi untuk mencapai tujuan penyelesaian situasi pengungsi.

Kata kunci: Negara Asia Selatan, Pengungsi, Negara Maju, Jaminan Diplomatik

References

Abu-Laban, Yasmeen, and Nisha Nath. “From deportation to apology: The case of Maher Arar and the Canadian state.” Canadian Ethnic Studies 39, no. 3 (2007): 71-98.

Allain, Jean. “The jus cogens Nature of non‐refoulement.” International Journal of Refugee Law 13, no. 4 (2001): 533-558.

Anwar, Sohail, Muhammad Hassan, and Allauddin Kakar. “Afghan Refugees Implications on Pakistan.” Pakistan Journal of International Affairs 4, no. 3 (2021): 116-129.

Arboleda, Eduardo. “The Cartagena Declaration of 1984 and its Similarities to the 1969 OAU Convention—A Comparative Perspective.” International Journal of Refugee Law 7, no. Special_Issue (1995): 87-101.

Artiles, Claudia. “Tibetan refugees’ rights and services in India.” Human Rights & Human Welfare Working Papers. https://www. academia. edu/40688593/Tibetan_Refugees_ Rights_and_Services_in_India (2011).

Aust, Anthony. Modern treaty law and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Bank, Word. “World development report 2012: gender equality and development.” Washington, DC: The World Bank (2011).

Bharadwaj, Prashant, and Rinchan Ali Mirza. “Displacement and development: Long term impacts of population transfer in India.” Explorations in Economic History 73 (2019): 101273.

Bonner, David. “Ireland v. United Kingdom.” International & Comparative Law Quarterly 27, no. 4 (1978): 897-907.

Brooten, Lisa, and Yola Verbruggen. “Producing the news: Reporting on Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 47, no. 3 (2017): 440-460.

Bruin, Rene, and Kees Wouters. “Terrorism and the Non‐derogability of Non‐refoulement.” International Journal of Refugee Law 15, no. 1 (2003): 5-29.

Buergenthal, Thomas. "The American Convention on Human Rights: Illusions and Hopes." Buffalo Law Review 21, no. 1 (1971): 121.

Burgers, J. Hermann. The United Nations convention against torture: A handbook on the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Vol. 9. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1988.

Chaudet, Didier. “The Rohingya Crisis: Impact and Consequences for South Asia.” Journal of Current Affairs 2, no. 2 (2018): 1-17.

Crawford, James. “The ILC’s articles on responsibility of states for internationally wrongful acts: a retrospect.” American Journal of International Law 96, no. 4 (2002): 874-890.

Declaration, Cartagena. “Cartagena Declaration on Refugees.” In Colloquium on the International Protection of Refugees in Central America, Mexico and Panama, vol. 22. 1984.

Division of International Protection Services (DIPS). “UNHCR Note on Diplomatic Assurances and International Refugee Protection.” 2006.

Donnelly, R. C. “Soering v. United Kingdom: Whether the Continued Use of the Death Penalty in the United States Contradicts International Thinking?.” New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement 16, no. 2 (1990): 339-368.

Franck, Thomas M. “Word Made Law: The Decision of the ICJ in the Nuclear Test Cases.” American Journal of International Law 69, no. 3 (1975): 612-620.

Frowein, Jochen A. "The transformation of constitutional law through the European Convention on Human Rights." Israel Law Review 41, no. 3 (2008): 489-499.

Hall, Julia. “Mind the Gap: Diplomatic Assurances and the Erosion of the Global Ban on Torture.” Human Rights Watch World Report 2008 (2008): 63-73.

Hawkins, Katherine R. “The promises of torturers: diplomatic assurances and the legality of rendition.” Geo. Immigr. LJ 20 (2005): 213.

Holliday, Ian. “Addressing Myanmar’s citizenship crisis.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 44, no. 3 (2014): 404-421.

Isman, Sara. “Diplomatic Assurances-Safeguard against Torture or Undermining the Prohibition of Refoulement?.” PhD diss., University of Lund, 2006.

Jillions, Andrew. “When a gamekeeper turns poacher: torture, diplomatic assurances and the politics of trust.” International Affairs 91, no. 3 (2015): 489-504.

Johnston, Jeffrey. “The Risk of Torture as a Basis for Refusing Extradition and the Use of Diplomatic Assurances to Protect against Torture after 9/11.” International criminal law review 11, no. 1 (2011): 1-48.

Joseph, Sarah, and Melissa Castan. The international covenant on civil and political rights: cases, materials, and commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Joseph, Sarah. “Rendering terrorists and the Convention against Torture.” Human Rights Law Review 5, no. 2 (2005): 339-346.

Kahn, Joseph. “Video Disputes China’s Claim Shooting Was in Self-Defense.” New York Times 16 (2006).

Karki, Netra Bahadur. Refugees in Nepal. Impact on Refugee Lives and National Security. Munich: GRIN Verlag, 2016.

Kelley, Ninette, and Jean-Francois Durieux. “UNHCR and Current Challenges in International Refugee Protection.” Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees 22, no. 1 (2004): 6-17.

Lambert, Hélène. “Protection against refoulement from Europe: Human Rights Law comes to the rescue.” International & Comparative Law Quarterly 48, no. 3 (1999): 515-544.

Larsaeus, Nina. The use of diplomatic assurances in the prevention of prohibited treatment. Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, 2006.

Levitt, Jeremy I. “Convention Governing the Specific Aspets of Refugee Problems in Africa:(Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, September 10, 1969, entered into force June 20, 1974).” In Africa: Selected Documents on Constitutive, Conflict and Security, Humanitarian, and Judicial Issues, pp. 413-422. Brill Nijhoff, 2003.

Lewis, David. “Humanitarianism, civil society and the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh.” Third World Quarterly 40, no. 10 (2019): 1884-1902.

Louie Albert, S. J., S. J. Stan Fernandes, and Bernard D’Sami. “Asia Refugees: in South Asia: Issues and Concerns.” Migratory Flows at the Borders of Our World: 275-298.

Lukashuk, Igor I. “The principle pacta sunt servanda and the nature of obligation under international law.” American Journal of International Law 83, no. 3 (1989): 513-518.

Mahmud, Tarek. “Rohingya influx: Refugees outnumber Ukhiya, Teknaf locals.” Dhaka Tribune (2017).

Martin, Susan F., Rochelle Davis, Grace Benton, and Zoya Waliany. “International responsibility-sharing for refugees.” Geopolitics, History, and International Relations 11, no. 1 (2019): 59-91.

Molnár, Tamás. “The principle of non-refoulement under international law: Its inception and evolution in a nutshell.” Corvinus Journal of International Affairs 1, no. 1 (2016): 51-61.

Nicholson, Frances, and Judith Kumin. A guide to international refugee protection and building state asylum systems. Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2017.

Noll, Gregor. “Diplomatic assurances and the silence of human rights law.” Melb. J. Int’l L. 7 (2006): 104-126.

Palmer, Victoria. “Analysing cultural proximity: Islamic relief worldwide and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.” Development in Practice 21, no. 1 (2011): 96-108.

Patel, Bimal N. “Nuclear Tests Case:(Australia v. France).” In The World Court Reference Guide, pp. 409-415. Brill Nijhoff, 2000.

Riyanto, Sigit. “The Refoulement Principle and Its Relevence in the International Law System.” Indonesian J. Int’l L. 7 (2009): 695-715.

Roehrs, Christine. “The Refugee Dilemma: Afghans in Pakistan between expulsion and failing aid schemes.” Afghanistan Analysts Network (2015).

Roy, Haimanti. “Partitioned lives: migrants, refugees, citizens in India and Pakistan, 1947-65.” (2012).

Rudolf, Beate. “Chahal v. United Kingdom.” American Journal of International Law 92, no. 1 (1998): 70-74.

Schmid, Evelyne. “The end of the road on diplomatic assurances: The removal of suspected terrorists under international law.” Essex Human Rights Review 8, no. 1 (2011): 219-235.

Schuck, Peter H. “Refugee burden-sharing: a modest proposal.” Yale J. Int’l L. 22 (1997): 243.

Seaman, JohnA. “Relief work in a refugee camp for Bangladesh refugees in India.” The Lancet 300, no. 7782 (1972): 866-870.

Shenk, Maury D., Carrie A. Rhoads, and Amy L. Howe. “International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.” International Lawyer 33, no. 2 (1999): 549-554.

Sinclair, Ian McTaggart, and Ian Robertson Sinclair. The Vienna Convention on the law of treaties. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984.

Skoglund, Lena. “Diplomatic Assurances Against Torture–An Effective Strategy? A Review of Jurisprudence and Examination of the Arguments.” Nordic Journal of International Law 77, no. 4 (2008): 319-364.

Stefanovska, Vesna. “Diplomatic Assurances and the State’s Responsibility When Considering Extraditing a Person Whose Human Rights May Be Violated.” Varstvoslovje: Journal of Criminal Justice & Security 19, no. 2 (2017): 167-182.

Sztucki, Jerzy. “The Conclusions on the International Protection of Refugees adopted by the Executive Committee of the UNHCR Programme.” International Journal of Refugee Law 1, no. 3 (1989): 285-318.

Tomuschat, Christian. “International covenant on civil and political rights.” United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law, United Nations (2008): 1-4.

Türk, Volker, and Madeline Garlick. “From burdens and responsibilities to opportunities: the comprehensive refugee response framework and a global compact on refugees.” International Journal of Refugee Law 28, no. 4 (2016): 656-678.

Ullah, Akm Ahsan. “Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh: Historical exclusions and contemporary marginalization.” Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies 9, no. 2 (2011): 139-161.

United Nations. “Convention relating to the status of refugees.” United Nations, Treaty Series 189, no. 1 (1951): 137.

United Nations. Universal declaration of human rights. Vol. 3381. United States of America: Department of State, 1949.

Van Klinken, Gerry, and Su Mon Thazin Aung. “The contentious politics of anti-Muslim scapegoating in Myanmar.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 47, no. 3 (2017): 353-375.

Velamati, Manohari. “Sri Lankan Tamil migration and settlement: time for reconsideration.” India Quarterly 65, no. 3 (2009): 271-294.

Volou, Aristi. “Are Diplomatic Assurances Adequate Guarantees of Safety Against Torture and Ill-Treatment? The Pragmatic Approach of the Strasbourg Court.” UCLJLJ 4 (2015): 32-54.

White, Kate. “Rohingya in Bangladesh: an unfolding public health emergency.” The Lancet 390, no. 10106 (2017): 1947.

Woodcock, George. “Tibetan refugees in a decade of exile.” Pacific Affairs (1970): 410-420.

Worster, William Thomas. “Between a Treaty and Not: A Case Study of the Legal Value of Diplomatic Assurances in Expulsion Cases.” Minn. J. Int’l L. 21 (2012): 253-346.