POLITICAL REFUGEES

                                                           Richard J. Estes
                                                           Patricia Harding
                                                 University of Pennsylvania


The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and
its 1967 Protocol, defines as a "refugee" 

     a person who--owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons
     of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
     group or political opinion--is outside the country of his nationality
     and is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of
     the protection of that country.

     These instruments define the rights and duties of refugees and
contain provisions dealing with a variety of matters in the day-to-day
life of the refugee, e.g., the right to work, public assistance, social
security, etc.  In regard to many of these matters, refugees are to receive
the same treatment as nations of the their country of residence.  As of
January 1990 the Convention and its Protocol had been ratified by 106
states.  

               Table 1.  Distribution of Political Refugees 
  
                         by Region of Asylum, 1990
               _________________________________________    

               Africa                         5,443,450      
               East Asia/Pacific                592,100      
               Europe and North America         737,600      
               Latin America/Caribbean          118,950   
               Middle East and South Asia     9,797,200      
               _________________________________________
     
               Total Refugees                18,355,400     
               _________________________________________         
     
               Data Source: World Refugee Survey, 1990.          

     Within the United Nations system, the Office of the High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) is the primary international agency charged with
responsibility of protecting, safeguarding the security, and for promoting
the freedom of political refugees.  Through a network of more than 2,000
staff members working in 80 countries, the UNHCR seeks three different
types of "durable solutions" in responding to the needs of more than 18
million persons classified as refugees in 1990 (Table 1):

     1.   Refugees can choose the solution of voluntary repatriation when
	  there have been fundamental changes in their country of origin, 
	  and they feel that it is safe for them to go back there;

     2.   When voluntary repatriation is not possible, local integration
	  programmes can help refugees to become self-supporting in their 
	  country of asylum; and

     3.   Resettlement in a third country represent a possible solution
	  when refugees cannot stay in their country of first asylum.

     Table 2 provides a detailed breakdown for country of origin and
country or area of asylum for refugees in Asia and the Pacific.  Asian
asylum patterns are characteristic of those found in other major refugee
resettlement regions, i.e., Latin America and
 Africa.


          Table 2.  Number of Refugees in Asia, by Country of Asylum 
                         and Origin, 1985-90
          ___________________________________________________________________
          Country or Area     Country of          1985                1990
           of Asylum           Origin 
          ___________________________________________________________________
          Australia           Indochinese        		    97,900 
          China                Viet Nam       	    279,750        280,500 
          Hong Kong            Viet Nam       	     11,896         49,500 
          India                Afghanistan            5,846          5,500 
                               Iran          	      1,215            500 
                    	       Other               	 92          3,500 
          Indonesia 	       Indochinese            9,453          4,500 
          Iran      	       Afghanistan        1,800,000      2,350,000 
                    	       Other                100,000        500,000 
          Japan                Indochinese            1,290          8,400 
          Lao PDR   	       Kampuchea      			     1,200 
          Macau                Indochinese              727            370 
          Malaysia  	       Indochinese            8,853         20,500 
                    	       Philippines                          90,000 
          New Zeal.            Indochinese                           4,700 
          Pakistan   	       Afghanistan        2,500,000      3,275,700 
          P-N-G                Indonesia             10,946          7,700 
          Philippines          Indochinese            1,960          6,678 
		                Refugee 
            	               Centre  Indochinese   12,907         19,972 
          Thailand  	       Kampuchea      	     41,619         17,230 
                    	       Lao PDR               82,094         68,741 
                               Viet Nam               4,726         13,974 
          Viet Nam  	       Kampuchea      	     21,000         15,000 
          ____________________________________________________________________
     
          TOTAL                    		  4,985,574      6,750,865 
          ____________________________________________________________________
     
          Data Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 1990.





                           RESOURCE MATERIALS ON
                                 REFUGEES

BASIC BOOKS

Carliner, David et al. 1990. The Rights of Aliens and Refugees: The Basic
ACLU Guide to Alien and Refugee Rights. (Carbondale: Southern Illinois
University Press).

Drachman, D. (Editor). 1991. Social Services to Refugee Populations.
(Washington: National Institute of Mental Health).

Frelick, Bill. 1991. Running the Gauntlet: The Central American Journey
Through Mexico. (Washington: U.S. Committee for
 Refugees). 

Gold, Steven J. 1991. Refugee Communities: A Comparative Field Study.
(Newbury Park: Sage).

Owan, T.C. (Editor). 1985. Southeast Asian Mental Health: Treatment,
Prevention, Services, Training, and Research. (Washington:
 USDHHS).

Phommasouvanh, B. (Editor). 1981. Bridging Cultures: Southeast Asian
Refugees in America. (Los Angeles: Asian American Community Mental Health
Training Center).

Sandler, Richard H., and Jones, Thomas C.  (Eds.).  1987.  Medical Care of
Refugees.  (New York: Oxford University Press).

Tenhula, John. 1991. Voices from South East Asia: The Refugee Experience
in the United States. (NY: Holmes & Meier).

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 1990. Refugee World
Map, 1990.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 1990.  Fact
Sheet(s), 4(1): inclusive.
 
Williams, C. and J. Westermeyer (Editors). 1986. Refugee Mental Health in
Resettlement Countries. (Washington: Hemisphere).

Zolberg, Aristide R.  1989.  Escape from Violence:  Conflict and  the
Refugee Crisis in the Developing World.  (New York: Oxford University Press).


SELECTED ARTICLES

Azam, S. and Vatikiotis, M. 1990. " For Those in Peril: Malaysia,
Indonesia at Centre of Boat People Row," Far Eastern Economic Review 48:8-9.

Bell, S. and Whiteford, M. 1987. "Tai Dam Health Care Practices: Asian
Refugee Women in Iowa," Social Science and Medicine
 24:317-325.

Brown, G. 1982. "Issues in the Resettlement of Indochinese Refugees,"
Social Casework 63:155-159.

Canda, Edward R. and Thitiya Thaobtong. 1992. "Buddhism as a Support
System for Southeast Asian Refugees," Social Work
 37(1):61-67.

Cox, D. 1985. "Welfare Services For Migrants: Can They Be Better Planned?"
International Migration Review 23(1):73-93.

DeWind, J. 1990. "Alien Justice: The Exclusion of Haitian Refugees,"
Journal of Social Issues 46:121-132.

Drachman, Diane. 1992. "A Stage-of-Migration Framework for Service to
Immigrant Populations," Social Work 37(1):68-72.

Gelfand, D. E., and Bialik-Gilad, R. 1989. "Immigration Reform and Social
Work, " Social Work 34:23-27.

Felsman, J. K. , et al. 1990. "Estimates of Psychological Distress Among
Vietnamese Refugees: Adolescents, Unaccompanied Minors and Young Adults,"
Social Science & Medicine 31(11):1251 - 1256.

Goodwin-Gill, G. S. 1989. "International Law and Human Rights: Trends
Concerning International Migrants and Refugees," International Migration
Review 23:526-546. 

Gallagher, D. 1989. " The Evolution of the International Refugee System,"
International Migration Review 23:579-598.

Hirayama, K. and Hirayama, H. 1988. "Stress, Social Supports, and
Adaptational Patterns in Hmong Refugee Families," Amerasia
 14(1):93-108.

Jones, J. 1988. "Southeast Asian Refugees, Mental Health, and Professional
Training," Social Development Issues 12(1):42-47.

Loescher, G. 1989, "The European Community and Refugees," International
Affairs 65:617-636.

Matsuoka J. K. 1990. "Differential Acculturation Among Vietnamese
Refugees," Social Work 35:341-345.

Montero, D. and Dieppa, I. 1982. "Resettling Vietnamese refugees: the
Service Agency's Role," Social Work 27:74-81.

Nguyen, U. 1990. "Working with Indo-Chinese Refugees in Malaysia: First
Asylum Camps - A Social Work Perspective," Australian Social Work
43(3):27-32.

Teveth, S. 1990. "The Palestine Arab Refugee Problem and Its Origins
[review article] ," Middle Eastern Studies 26:214-249.

Tran, T.V. and Wright, R. 1986. "Social Support and Subjective Well-Being
Among Vietnamese Refugees," Social Service Review
 60:449-459.

Tran, T. V. 1990. "Language Acculturation Among Older Vietnamese Refugee
Adults," Gerontologist 30:94-99.

Zolberg, A. R. 1989. "The Next Waves: Migration Theory for a Changing
World," International Migration Review 23:403-430.


BASIC JOURNALS 

International Migration Review
Human Rights Quarterly
Refugees 
Refugee Reports
Social Development Issues
World Refugee Survey



INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Intergovernmental Committee for Migration
International Labour Office (ILO)
International Committee of the Red Cross
International Relief Service of Caritas Catholica
League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Refugees International
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Development Programme
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)


U.S. ORGANIZATIONS

Central American Refugee Center
3112 Mt. Pleasant St. NW
Washington DC 20010

Church World Service
475 Riverside Dr.,  Rm. 656
NY, NY 10115

Refugee Women in Development
810 1st. St., Ste. 300
Washington DC 20002

Haitian Refugee Center
32 NE  54th St.
Miami, Florida 33137

South East Asia Refugee Center
1124-1128 W. Ainslie
Chicago, IL 60640

United States Committee for Refugees
1025 Vermont Ave. NW, Ste 920
Washington DC 20005


--------------------
Excerpted from Richard J. Estes (1992) _Internationalizing Social Work
Education:  A Guide to Resources For a New Century_ (Philadelphia: 
University of Pennsylvania School of  Social Work).

Permission is granted to disseminate this document so long as proper
credit has been given to the source.