World Refugee Survey 2008

by US Committee for Refugees, June 2008

Our analysis shows that the treatment of refugee populations is usually based on geopolitical concerns, and possibly more importantly on the perceived kinship between the refugees and the host communities... In today's shrinking world, where our very survival is dependent on our recognition of our shared humanity, this behaviour is anachronistic and unacceptable. As history has shown us time and again, today's host may be tomorrow's refugee. There is only one lesson to be taken from this - we ought to treat refugees as we ourselves would want to be treated.

Worst Places for Refugees listing shows "India maintains blatantly discriminatory policies toward refugees, maintaining completely different rules for different refugee populations. Tibetan refugees were most favored and were able to exercise most of their rights. India maintained camps for Tamil refugees, and while it permitted them to leave for employment, they had to return for fortnightly censuses, and India restricted aid to the camps.

Warehoused Refugee Populations table shows 102,300 Sri Lankan refugees in India. These are populations of 10,000 or more restricted to camps or other segregated settlements or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement or livelihoods...in situations lasting 5 years of more.

Complete Survey here.