Discussion about the Rohingya Refugee Crisis and Hunger in India

Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Why in news?

Recently a report was published by The Azadi Project and Refugees International, that advocates for the rights of stateless people.

The report named ‘A Shadow of Refuge: Rohingya Refugees in India’ sheds light on the challenges faced by Rohingya refugees in India.

Who is a Refugee?

• According to the UNHCR, A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.
• A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
• Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries

Rohingyas:   Rohingyas are indigenous to Rakhine state (also known as Arakan) in Myanmar settled since the 15th century. Collectively they fall under the Muslim Indo-Aryans, a mixture of pre-colonial and colonial immigrations. However, according to Myanmar government, they are illegal immigrants migrated to Rakhine following Burmese independence and Bangladesh liberation war. They are victims of an organized genocide and are one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. The population of Rohingyas was around 1.1 to 1.3 million before the 2015 crisis. The crisis received international attention followed to Rakhine state riot in 2012, Rohingya crisis in 2015 and 2016-17 military crackdown. At present 40000 Rohingyas have their second home in India

 

What is the issue with Rohingyas?

• The Rohingya people have suffered decades of violence, discrimination and persecution in Myanmar.
  • Rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since 1982. They are one of the largest stateless populations in the world.
• Since the early 1990’s, the Rohingya have fled successive waves of violence in Myanmar.
  • Their largest and fastest exodus began in August 2017 when violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, driving more than 742,000 people to seek refuge in neighbouring countries —the majority of whom were women and children.

 

 

Concerns Outlined in the Report:

• Concerns Related to Rohingya:
  • Denied Exit Permissions for Resettlement:
    • India’s refusal to grant exit visas to Rohingya refugees who have completed refugee status determinations and gained approval for resettlement in third countries is a significant concern.
  • Stigmatisation and Anti-Refugee Sentiment:
    • The Rohingya refugees in India face various challenges, including being labelled as “illegal migrants”.
    • This stigmatisation not only hampers their integration into society but also places them at risk of being deported back to Myanmar, where they fled from a genocidal regime.
  • Fear of Deportation:
    • Actual and threatened deportations have instilled a sense of fear within the Rohingya community, compelling some to return to camps in Bangladesh.
    • International conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, obligate India not to return the Rohingya to Myanmar.
      • However, the Supreme Court has accepted the government’s arguments regarding national security threats, allowing deportations to proceed.
  • Harsh Living Conditions:
    • The report details the dire living conditions of Rohingya refugees in India, residing in slum-like settlements without safe running water, toilets, or access to basic healthcare and education.
      • Without valid travel documents, obtaining an Aadhaar card for essential services such as school admissions has become impossible.

Recommendations of the Report:

• • Formal Recognition and Domestic Laws: India should formally recognize Rohingya refugees as individuals with a right to asylum rather than as illegal migrants.
    • Signing the 1951 Refugee Convention and establishing domestic laws on refugees and asylum can be the crucial steps to achieve this.
  • Acknowledgment of Residency: India can recognize UNHCR cards as sufficient for accessing basic education, work, and health services.
    • UNHCR cards refer to identification documents issued by the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees to individuals who have been recognized as refugees or asylum seekers.
      • UNHCR is the United Nations agency responsible for protecting and supporting refugees worldwide.
    • UNHCR cards serve as proof of the individual’s status as a refugee or asylum seeker and may grant them certain rights and access to services in the country where they reside.
  • Global Credibility and National Security: Treating refugees better would enhance India’s global credibility and serve national security interests by documenting new arrivals and discouraging them from remaining under the radar.
    • The report suggests that India can play a proactive role in facilitating resettlement opportunities for Rohingya refugees by advocating for their acceptance in ally countries such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, Germany, and other European nations.

India’s stand on not to Sign the 1951 Refugee Convention:

• Issue with Definition of Refugee: According to the 1951 convention, refugees are defined as people who have been deprived of their civil and political rights, but not their economic rights.
  • If the violation of economic rights were to be included in the definition of a refugee, it would clearly pose a major burden on the developed world.
• Sovereignty Concerns: Countries may be reluctant to sign international agreements that they believe could compromise their sovereignty or interfere with their domestic policies and decision-making processes.
  • By not signing the convention, India retains the freedom to implement its own refugee policies.
• Limited Resources: India is one of the most populous countries in the world and already faces significant challenges in providing basic services and resources to its own population.
  • Signing the convention might result in increased responsibilities and resource burdens related to the protection and support of refugees.
• Regional Dynamics: India is located in a region that has been historically affected by various conflicts and displacement situations.
  • The country has faced influxes of refugees from neighbouring countries, due to the porous nature of borders in South Asia.
  • However, India is still bound by other international human rights treaties and customary international law principles.

 

Efforts to tackle the Rohingya Crisis:

The UN Response

• In August 2016 UN established a nine-person commission led by former UN Secretary – general Kofi Annan to discuss the options to propose a solution.
• The committee submitted its final report to the Myanmar Government on Augst 23, 2017.
• The committee’s final report included recommendations to reduce communal tension and support much-needed development efforts in the impoverished state.

The ASEAN Response

• There has been no coordinated response to the Rohingya problem from the ASEAN. The nature of the response indicates a divided region.
• Till now, there remains a notable lack of pressure on Myanmar from the ASEAN.
• Unlike the 1989 Comprehensive Plan of Action on Indochinese Refugees, which oversaw cooperation between recipient countries of 275000 Vietnamese refugees, no agreement has been made among the four largest destination countries of refugees from Myanmar.
• At first, Malaysia refused to provide any kind of refuge to the people reaching its shore but agreed to “provide provisions and send them away”. Later, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to provide temporary refuge to the Rohingya. Thailand said, it would provide humanitarian assistance and would not turn away boats that wish to enter its waters.

Bangladesh

• Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called her own country’s economic migrants “mentally sick” and said that they could have better lives in Bangladesh, and complained they were discrediting Bangladesh by leaving.
• Shortly thereafter, the Bangladeshi Government announced plans to relocate the 32,000 registered Rohingya refugees who have spent years in camps near the Myanmar border.
• The 200,000 unregistered other refugees were not officially part of the government’s relocation plan.
• Initially, Thengar Char, an island 18 miles east of Hatiya Island was reportedly selected for the relocation. A subsequent report put the location as 200 hectares selected on Hatiya Island, a nine-hour, the land-and-sea journey from the camps.

 

Way forward:

• Need for Refugee Protection Framework: In spite of not being a party to the 1951 refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, India has been one of the largest recipients of refugees in the world.
  • Therefore, if India had domestic legislation regarding refugees, it could have deterred any oppressive government in the neighbourhood from persecuting their population and making them flee to India.

SAARC Framework on Refugees: India should take the initiative to encourage other countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to develop a SAARC convention or declaration on refugees

 

Hunger in India

What is Hunger?

Hunger is a condition in which adults and children can’t get food all the time, have to eat less, eat poorly, and often go without food. Economist Amartya Sen explained that the inability to pay for food is the real cause of hunger. Hunger is the main effect of poverty.

• SDG-2: Zero Hunger by 2030
• Article 47: To raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of people and to improve public health.

What is malnutrition?

Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. The term malnutrition addresses 3 broad groups of conditions:

• Undernutrition
• Micronutrient-related malnutrition
• Overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases

 

What is undernutrition?

Undernutrition is a deficiency of calories or of one or more essential nutrients. Undernutrition manifests in four broad forms: wasting, stunting, underweight, and micronutrient deficiencies.

• Stunting is defined as low height-for-age. It is the result of chronic or recurrent undernutrition, usually associated with poor socioeconomic conditions, poor maternal health and nutrition.
• Wasting refers to a child who is too thin for his or her height. It usually indicates recent and severe weight loss, because a person has not had enough food to eat and/or they have had an infectious disease, such as diarrhoea, which has caused them to lose weight.
• Children with low weight-for-age are known as underweight. A child who is underweight may be stunted, wasted, or both.
• Micronutrient deficiencies are a lack of vitamins and minerals that are essential for body functions such as producing enzymes, hormones, and other substances needed for growth and development.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is an India-wide survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with the International Institute for Population Sciences serving as the nodal agency. First round of NFHS was conducted in 1992-93. The latest survey is NFHS-5 (started in 2019)

NFHS-5 Data

• Wasting: 19.3%
• Stunting: 35.5%
• Underweight: 32.1%

 

Double Burden of Malnutrition in India

The double burden of malnutrition consists of both undernutrition and overweight and obesity, as well as diet-related noncommunicable diseases. As per NFHS-5 about 6.4 per cent of women and 4.0 per cent of men aged 15-49 are obese.

 

Global Hunger Index 2023

• India is ranked 111^thout of 125 countries, indicating a serious level of hunger.

• Neighboring countries, such as Pakistan (102^nd), Bangladesh (81^st), Nepal (69^th), and Sri Lanka (60^th), scored better than India.

 

• It is published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhife.
• GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators:
  • Undernourishment
  • Child stunting
  • Child wasting
  • Child mortality
• The GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger – zero is the best score (implies no hunger) and 100 is the worst.

 

Other reports related to Hunger

• State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World: FAO
• Global Nutrition Report, 2021: Nutrition for Growth Initiative Summit (N4G)

 

 

Why Hunger still persists in India?

• Poverty: Poverty is the major reason behind the alarming levels of hunger. Poverty restricts the food choices and has been the causative factor of hunger related deaths.
• Multidimensional nature: Hunger and the related under nutrition is the result of various associated factors ranging from water, sanitation, access to food items.
• Ineffective food  policies implementation: The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the National Health Mission (NHM) have not achieved the adequate coverage.
• Climate change impact: Erratic rainfall and increasing frequency of extreme events have impacted agricultural activities everywhere creating unfavourable conditions for food production.
• Corruption: Corruption in PDS is widely recognised.
• Issues with agriculture: The change from multi to mono cropping systems limits the diversity of agricultural products.
• Food wastage: Food wastage is also an emerging challenge that undermines the efforts to end hunger and malnutrition.
• Unstable markets: Rising food prices make it difficult for the poorest people to get nutritious food consistently which is exactly what they need to do.
• Gender inequality: In many parts women’s nutritional requirements are often unmet as they consume whatever is left after everyone else has eaten.

 

Concept of Food Security

Based on the 1996 World Food Summit, food security is defined when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

The four main dimensions of food security:

• Physical availability of food
• Economic and physical access to food
• Food utilization
• Stability of the other three dimensions over time

 

Initiatives to eradicate hunger

• Eat Right India Movement: An outreach activity organised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for citizens to nudge them towards eating right.
• POSHAN Abhiyan: Launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2018, it targets to reduce stunting, undernutrition, anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls).
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana: A centrally sponsored scheme executed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, is a maternity benefit programme being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from 1st January, 2017.
• Food Fortification: Food Fortification or Food Enrichment is the addition of key vitamins and minerals such as iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A & D to staple foods such as rice, milk and salt to improve their nutritional content.
• National Food Security Act, 2013: It legally entitled up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidised food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System.
• Mission Indradhanush: It targets children under 2 years of age and pregnant women for immunisation against 12 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD).
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme: It offers a package of six services (Supplementary Nutrition, Pre-school non-formal education, Nutrition & health education, Immunisation, Health check-up and Referral services) to children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

 Way forward:

• Social Audit and Awareness: Mandate social audits of the mid-day meal scheme in all districts, involving local authorities, alongside raising awareness on nutrition.
  • Utilize information technology for better program monitoring.
  • Establish community-driven nutrition education programs that raise awareness about balanced diets, food preparation, and the importance of nutrition in local languages, particularly targeting women and children.
• PDS Enhancement: Revamp the Public Distribution System to enhance transparency, reliability, and affordability of nutritious food, benefiting the economically disadvantaged.
• Reducing Food Waste, Reducing Hunger: Address food wastage issues by improving warehousing and cold storage facilities.
  • According to the International Institute of Refrigeration, if developing countries had the same level of refrigeration infrastructure as developed countries, they would save 200 million tonnes of food or around 14% of their food supply, which can help in tackling hunger and malnutrition.
• Mobile Nutritional Clinics: Implement mobile nutritional clinics that visit remote and underserved areas to provide health assessments, dietary counselling, and supplementary feeding for children and pregnant women.