Tag: human rights

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Issue 23

One for All or All for One? Equality in the Ukraine Refugee Crisis

As the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine continue to plague the people, civilian housing, and facilities have faced major destruction. The residents of several cities have been forced to evacuate to neighboring countries and refugee centers. The crisis is notably the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War 2. 

The civilians are fleeting towards western countries mainly Poland, Romania and Moldova who have cumulatively housed around millions of Ukrainians. Primarily the Schengen areas have stepped up due to the lack of internal border controls, creating a certain ease in the evacuation process. While the process has been ongoing since February now, the UN continues to estimate at least 6.5 million people who are still scattered across Ukraine, owing also to logistical delays of the lengthy queues at all borders. 

While the United Nations in unison with the Ukrainian and other governments is carrying out several humanitarian services, including monetary assistance, shelter and transit points, the evacuation of those living in besieged cities remains strained. As Russia allegedly continues to shell these towns, with no ceasefire to allow for safe transportation, those in the town of Mariupol and the Azovstal plant are in dire straits.

Furthermore, what defines a refugee, and to whom access to these habitating services is granted only includes Ukrainian citizens or foreign students with visas. In a crisis like this should a hierarchy of ethnicity or discrimination of any kind come into play ? The latest survey, conducted between April 11 and April 17, found that at least 60% of those internally displaced are women and children. This section of the population being majorly at risk, for cases of trafficking and sexual assault are being given priority. 

The jarring difference in attitude and assistance provided to Ukrainians versus the Syrian refugees of 2015 continues to elicit questions of differentiation in treatment. While the extent and portrayal of the destroyed homes, and stranded women and children is alike, why are countries like Germany now willingly harboring several Ukrainians in ways they denied the Syrians ?

As Moldova rolled out a welcome wagon to all Ukrainian refugees, Bea Ferenci, the UN Human Rights advisor, anticipated unfair treatment of the Roma minority group. The group being previosuly subjected to racial and biased discrimination is more prone to face negligence during evacuation procedures. However authorities have partnered with the Swiss Development Cooperation to provide the additional assistance and accessibility to the Roma refugees.

Besides Roma, refugee discrimination seeps further, with instances of relgious acceptance. Israel reportedly has only been sheltering Jewish citizens or those with a Jewish lineage. The Homes for Ukraine initiative started by the UK too, has faced criticism as staff and workers have come forward, calling it flawed. It is said to be crafted in a way which allows minimal entry of people into the UK, by not granting visas to entire families, providing almost no training to the staff and a lack of overall clarity. 

While countries like Switzerland are also offering social welfare schemes to aid the refugees who they accommodate in asylums and with families, the costs of living in Zurich makes survival even harder. The already displaced Ukrainians now struggle to meet daily food requirements, as the 500 Swiss francs budget is insufficient. Homes can no longer provide meals, and asylums and shelters sparingly distribute food. Can such restricted and meager support truly be considered a scheme for social welfare ? Is the help being offered only name-sake ?

Not only European leaders, but President Biden who first declared that the United states would take in 100,000 Ukrainians has now launched a new refugee sponsorship programme. It essentially allows for one to apply for temporary residency on humanitarian grounds. The refugees will be permitted to work and stay in the country for a period of two years. Owing to the strain on the humanitarian resources, the burden of Ukraines large-scale crisis has diverted attention away from the other ongoing global refugee situations like Afghanistan and Syria. 

Foreign countries aside, locals and citizens have stepped forward to aid what is deemed by the Pew research center, the sixth largest refugee crisis in the last 60 years. People in the Donbas region are hesitant to leave behind their fellow citizens, and are refusing to leave their now bombarded homes.  Aleksandr Prokopenko,a local of Popasna, a village now in shambles and primarily a battleground, told CNN in an interview about his love for his town and people and his desire to help them despite the circumstances. This native hero now drives to and fro from his hometown rescuing those in need. 

Babar Baloch, a spokesperson for the UNHCR said “The war in Ukraine has triggered one of the fastest-growing displacement and humanitarian crises ever.” To combat such mass-movement of populations there is a need for effective humanitarian resources. The existing system has been put to test with other global crises like the pandemic and economic inflation which have made it harder to control. It has also diverted attention away from the other ongoing global refugee situations like Afghanistan and Syria.The selective accommodation, biases and rigid policies disable true humanitarian services from unfolding. So as the world now witnesses one of the largest refugee crises, is the world moving towards a more inclusive system?

Maahira Jain is a third-year student at Ashoka University studying Psychology and Media studies. She is a movie buff and is extremely passionate about writing and travelling.

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Issue 10

Silence of the Players: The FIFA World Cup and Human Rights in Qatar

At the time of writing, there are 608 days left for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. There was controversy even during FIFA’s initial decision to award host status to the Middle Eastern country in December 2010, and criticism has, with good reason, only grown in magnitude since then. Reports of human rights violations and migrant labourers being forced to work in atrocious conditions have received wide publicity in the lead up to the world’s biggest sporting event. Earlier this year, the Guardian estimated that more than 6500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died in Qatar since December 2010. Another report by Amnesty International cites several issues that many migrant labourers in Qatar are forced to confront. These include terrible living conditions, wage problems and forcible detention in the country by employers. While calls to boycott the tournament have been made by fans and clubs alike, there has been a notable lack in public statements or stands made by players participating in the tournament. Many footballers who are aware of the situation unfolding in Qatar are likely to face some degree of moral conflict or external pressure whether or not to use their reach to advocate change, or even a complete boycott. The risk of losing one’s place in the team, being restricted from speaking out by sponsor companies, the influence of PR teams, football organizations and countries present several possible explanations for the relatively low amount of condemnation that the tournament has received from players. 

Players are the most visible part of a World Cup. Apart from being the carefully selected group to represent a country, they are also the most marketable part of the World Cup, and hence, subject to utmost scrutiny. However, should players be carrying any sort of moral burden? 

Although they are a fundamental part of the tournament, they are independent of the operations and decision making processes of FIFA and its political and commercial partners. The highest governing authority on football should be held more accountable for not only granting Qatar the rights for the World Cup, but also failing to ensure more stringent rules and directives. FIFA’s complicitness in Qatar exploiting its labourers points at the need for drastic structural change. There have been several accusations against the organisation that it took bribes to allow Qatar to host the tournament. Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who is serving a ban from FIFA-related activities following a separate scandal of his own in 2015, wrote in his book Ma Verite, that FIFA executive committee (Exco) members chose to disregard advice that Qatar would not be able to host a World Cup, and that “he alleges Qatar’s shock victory was a combination of a rule-breaking collusion deal and political pressure exerted on Michel Platini, the French Exco member”. With the multiple political and diplomatic layers shrouding the World Cup behind endless trails of scattered bureaucracy, it is unlikely that significant structural changes will take place before 21 November, 2022. The route that FIFA seems to have taken is one of deflecting attention until then, in the hopes that the glamour of the first World Cup to take place in the Middle East (and only the second in Asia) will outshine the tournament’s corrupt foundations. 

Some nations and players have chosen to publicly take objection with the events in Qatar on their own accord. Norway coach Staale Solbakken said that his team was planning to use a special gesture to raise awareness about migrant labour conditions in their first fixture against Gibraltar. In 2016, two Dutch players, Tom Hogli and William Kvist , who signed with FC Copenhagen in Denmark, spoke out regarding the same issue. Riku Risi, a Finnish striker, boycotted a collective tour with Sweden and Iceland in January 2019 due to “ethical concerns”, despite putting his place in the team at risk in choosing to do so. Yet, not all players and others associated with the game on the ground level share the same sentiments. Footballing legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic stated in a recent interview that “A football player will play in the World Cup no matter what. Whatever happens off the pitch is not up to me”. Former Barcelona superstar Xavi Hernandez, who is currently the manager of Al-Sadd in Qatar, has emerged in favour of hosting the World Cup there, mainly due to the country’s small size and subsequent lack of travel time between venues. His personal stakes in Qatari football, alongside the fact that he will be an official ambassador for the World Cup could mean that he is virtually unable to raise any grievances against Qatar or FIFA due to the implications for his career. Or, like Ibrahimovic, he could be detached from the various causes for concern associated with the tournament and simply wish to focus on football instead. 

It is evident that players who wish to publicize their opinions must take into consideration the effect it will have on their market values, commercial deals and position within the team, and not to mention, their chances of representing their country. Showing signs of solidarity at the tournament or even boycotting it entirely can only be part of a short-term solution— it would take a great deal of movement in a short time-frame before it starts, for any kind of drastic change in either Qatar or FIFA. For now, it seems like FIFA is counting on the worldwide spectatorship and footballing glory that the World Cup brings with it every four years to supersede the magnitude of their mistakes. 

Shourjo Chatterjee is a 4th year undergraduate student at Ashoka University studying English Literature and International Relations. In his free time you’ll find him drumming and reading novels.

We publish all articles under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noderivatives license. This means any news organisation, blog, website, newspaper or newsletter can republish our pieces for free, provided they attribute the original source (OpenAxis).

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Issue 3

Putting Civil Society In Its Place

Much has already been said on the most recent amendments to India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Op-ed writers have opined. Editors have pontificated. Civil society leaders have cried themselves hoarse, warning of the threat the amendments pose to both development and democracy.

Graphic from an article by Forbes India.

They all agree that the amendments are ill-conceived, ill-timed and probably ill-intentioned. It’s clear that the new provisions will deter international donors, cut smaller organisations’ access to overseas support, render nonprofit work in research, policy analysis, advocacy and capacity building more difficult and add considerable friction to transactions involving international funds. Few NGOs would survive the 360 days the law now afford enforcement agencies to freeze their finances and operations while they mount a prosecution, even if they are eventually proven entirely innocent of the charges. Many have pointed out the stark contrast between the ostentatious welcome provided to Foreign Direct Investment in the private sector and the minefield which international funding to civil society must traverse. Others have remarked on the relative opacity permitted to funds contributed to political parties via electoral bonds compared with the stringent scrutiny required of nonprofit incomes. For those seeking ease of doing philanthropy, one channel remains – the PM CARES Fund.

Graphic from The Hindustan Times

Less has been heard on the intent of the additional constraints the amendments impose. The government claims that international contributions to NGOs in India have been misused and that compliance with the onerous reporting required for such funds has been lacking. It has not, however, provided any evidence that the pre-amendment 2010 law was inadequate to the task of remedying such malfeasance. The cancelling of over 23,000 FCRA registrations since 2010 suggests otherwise. 

Coming on the heels of the praise lavished on NGOs by senior government functionaries for their outstanding humanitarian response to both, the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide distress caused by the summary measures taken to control its spread, the creation of new impediments to civil society work is nothing short of mystifying. As recently as October 17, 2020, the Prime Minister has sought to include civil society as a key partner in the plans to deliver coronavirus vaccines to all Indians.

What might one infer from these contradictions? Some clues might be discerned in the arguments put forth by senior government functionaries. They posit a ‘pure’ form of voluntary civil society action unsullied by formal organisational structures, partnerships with government or the addition of policy advocacy to the civil society repertoire. The government’s warmth towards this form of civil society action is manifest in its outreach to ‘service delivery’ NGOs for both, input to policy and to fill in the vast gaps in last mile public services from healthcare to education, skill development, sanitation and the like. It is also visible in the boundaries defined for the deployment of corporate philanthropy in the form of mandatory CSR. On the other hand, its intolerance for civil society work that focuses on human rights, environmental justice, amplifying muted voices, holding government or business to account, and defending democratic freedoms is equally evident in the kind of NGOs that have been singled out for punitive action, a list that includes Amnesty, Greenpeace, INSAF, Lawyer’s Collective and the like. 

The message is crystal clear. Comforting the afflicted is good, afflicting the comfortable is absolutely not. Silent, unquestioning delivery of services by nonprofits, and the philanthropy that supports such work, is fine, even praiseworthy. Any challenge to policy, in design or implementation, is unacceptable. Most Indian donors have proven themselves amenable to these restrictions, either because their own goals are in sync, or to protect themselves, their assets and their interests. International donors focused on augmenting government plans and programmes too will face no significant barriers. It is only the ‘black sheep’ who must be deterred, closely monitored, and made vulnerable to intimidation and harassment through a maze of regulatory hurdles.  

It is precisely for these reasons that the International Commission of Jurists has roundly condemned the new amendments to the FCRA as unconstitutional and in violation of international law on freedom of association. They echo the 2016 criticism by the first UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association who described the 2010 version of the FCRA as failing the test for allowable restrictions on the right to association developed by international human rights bodies.

It completes a vision of state, and executive, supremacy with every institution designed to counteract such untrammelled concentration of power reduced to cheerleader status at best, subservience at worst. At another time and place this vision was embodied in a slogan that has since come to signify some of humanity’s darkest deeds: ‘Ein Volk. Ein Reich. Ein Führer.’

Parliament, the media and, arguably, the judiciary have all been corralled to varying degrees. Women, Dalits, Muslims and other minorities are regularly reminded of their ‘aukat’. Civil society too, is being shown its place.

Ingrid Srinath is Director of the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University. The views expressed here are entirely personal.

We publish all articles under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noderivatives license. This means any news organisation, blog, website, newspaper or newsletter can republish our pieces for free, provided they attribute the original source (OpenAxis).