Coast Guard to return Haitians picked up at sea directly to Haiti. This action. according to the administration. was in response to the large surge in Haitian boat people seeking to enter the United States and was necessary to protect the lives of the Haitians whose boats werent equipped for the 600mile sea Journey. Haitians who fear persecution can now only go to our Embassy in PortAuPrince for refugee processing. The administration justifies this action by stating that our international legal obligations under the U.N. protocol relating to the status of refugees and the United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees do not extend to persons located outside the territory of the United States. However. the convention and the protocol. which establish the basic norm of nonrefoulement. prohibits States from expelling or returning refugees to frontiers or territories where they would be threatened on account of race. religion. nationality. or membership of a particular social group or political opinion. While it is true that Haiti is one of the most economically depressed countries in the world. there are many Haitians leaving to escape the repression of the military forces. It is no secret that anyone who is a supporter of the Aristide government is in jeopardy of political persecution. On December 31. 1991. Americas Watch. the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees and Physicians for Human Rights issued a report that states the following: In the period immediately following the coup. massacre and widespread killings were the order of the day. Since then. techniques have become more refined but similarly brutal. Selected assassinations. disappearances. severe beatings and political unrests continue.
Keywords matched
Refugees refugee refugees