Coronavirus: Four international organizations warn about the situation of refugees

Four international organizations have issued a joint statement warning of the alarming situation for refugees, migrants and displaced people amid the coronavirus pandemic. They called on governments to work to protect the lives of all people.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned in a statement released on March 31 that the coronavirus pandemic has created alarming conditions for refugees, migrants, displaced persons, and stateless people.

The joint statement said that three-quarters of the world's refugees and many migrants live in developing countries, where health services and systems are already struggling and at capacity. According to these international organizations, many of these refugees live in camps, settlements and tents that lack adequate access to health services, safe drinking water and proper sanitation.

In their statement, they warned that the situation of refugees and migrants held in harsh and unsanitary conditions in formal and informal detention centers is extremely worrying, given the deadly consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizations called for the immediate release of these refugees.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have stressed that migrants and asylum seekers face discrimination and deprivation, especially if their identity is not registered. The statement called on governments to do all they can to protect the rights and health of all people to prevent a “catastrophe”.

These organizations have written that governments need additional financial support to ensure refugees and migrants have access to the health system, and therefore it is necessary for global financial institutions to come forward to allocate more financial assistance.

The statement emphasizes that while governments have taken steps to close borders and restrict cross-border movement, there are still ways to manage border restrictions that ensure respect for international human rights norms and refugee protection standards.

These four international institutions have emphasized that in the current critical situation where the coronavirus is a threat to humanity, the main focus must be to preserve the lives of all people, regardless of their residency status.

The statement came as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his latest speech, called the coronavirus "the greatest challenge the world has faced since World War II" and said that this challenge requires a "strong and effective response" from humanity.

On Tuesday, March 31, Guterres warned world leaders and people about the political and economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak in a video message and called for international coordination in combating the disease.

Source: DW