Centre Vs State over Myanmar refugees issue

  • Mizoram is caught between a humanitarian urge and India’s policy on refugees. 
  • At least 1,000 people from the adjoining Chin State of Myanmar are said to have crossed over to Mizoram, fearing a military crackdown.
  • Most of the refugees waded across the Tiau River that runs along much of Mizoram’s 510-km border with Myanmar. 
  • The Mizoram government favours providing refuge to the Chins, who are ethnically related to the majority Mizos in the State. 
  • However, the Ministry of Home Affairs made it clear that “India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol theron”.

INDIA-MYANMAR BORDER

  • Much of India's border with Myanmar is without any fence. 
  • The Assam Rifles personnel guard the border but a tough terrain comes in the way of maintaining airtight vigil. 
  • There have been calls to fence the border as it will also help in checking the movement of extremist groups to and from Myanmar.

REFUGEE CONVENTION 1951

  • It is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who is a refugee, and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum. 
  • The core principle is non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. 
  • The 1967 Protocol broadens the applicability of the Convention. 
  • The Protocol removes the geographical and time limits that were part of the 1951 Convention.
  • India has signed neither the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol, which has 140 signatories. 

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