Abstract :
Amira is a 34-year old Iraqi woman. In 2005 a group of militants burst into her house in the Dora area of Baghdad. They told her husband to leave the house within 24 hours for sectarian reasons. He refused and was shot dead on the spot. One of the militants raped Amira in front of her two children. Afraid and ashamed, she fled Iraq with her children to a country in the region. She is still afraid in the country of asylum because many men are asking why she is alone and some are making unwanted advances. She is also afraid of being arrested because she entered the country illegally. She is afraid to return to Iraq because of her experience and the stigma associated with it. Fatima is a 20-year old university student from country A. For her summer vacation, she visited another country in the Middle East. She fell in love with a man whom she met at the hotel where she was staying with her family. She ran away with him and they got married. Her father was furious. He felt that she had shamed his family name. He threatened to kill her to protect the family’s honour. Fatima is afraid to go back to her home country: she knows that her father will kill her and the authorities will not stop him from doing so. Both Amira and Fatima are refugees — as defined by international refugee law. Their stories are typical and found across the world. However, in many places in the Arab region Amira and Fatima would not be recognized as refugees. Though many governments and the general public show a general tolerance towards refugees, due to the lack of domestic legal frameworks, the authorities apply immigration laws in force. As a result, refugees are often arrested for illegal stay and do not have access to the labour market, a situation which makes basic sustenance difficult. The rapid rate of globalization, coupled with the turbulent events in Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, and other parts of the world, has caused an increasing number of refugees to seek protection in the Arab region. Many countries of the region have been tolerant towards the likes of Amira and Fatima. However, this tolerance is not always anchored in a solid legal basis and its scope has been limited. This article outlines the scope and parameters of refugee protection1 in the region, as defined by international refugee law and international human rights law. The article will conclude that the Arab countries are obliged to protect non-Palestinian refugees because they have ratified various international human rights instruments. In light of this argument, this article advocates for the full implementation of those instruments which have been ratified by countries in the Arab region
