Bill Text: HI HCR224 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Non-refoulement

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-04-24 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HCR224 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-HCR224-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	224
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the United States Department of HOmeland Security to examine and re-evaluate its policies regarding refugee and asylee protections, including the principle of non-refoulement.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, non-refoulement is a principle of international law that forbids the rendering of a true victim of persecution to their persecutor and that reflects the commitment of the international community to secure the human rights of all persons; and

 

     WHEREAS, procedures or arrangements for identifying refugees should provide a guarantee against re-foulement by ensuring protection to all persons who are entitled to receive it; and

 

     WHEREAS, Article 3(1) of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees expressed the need for protections for refugees and asylum seekers; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States is a member of the United Nations and signed the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, thereby committing the country to abiding by the resolutions of the Convention; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is the duty and responsibility of the United States to protect persons who have fled their country of origin out of fear and found refuge within the United States' borders; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is the government agency within the United States Department of Homeland Security that oversees lawful immigration to the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is in the jurisdiction of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to determine whether an individual is rightfully protected under the principle of non-refoulement; and

 

     WHEREAS, the current guidelines to determine whether a person is truly a victim of persecution by their country of origin are vague and contain many exceptions that make following the guidelines confusing, thereby making the determinations inconsistent; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the past, true asylum seekers with a well-founded fear have been returned to their countries of origin from the United States, only to suffer further persecution, which in many circumstances has led to severe injury or death; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of Homeland Security's definition of refugee and asylee, and the limitations on the number of refugees and asylees that the Department will accept, deprives many persons of needed protection by the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii demands the equal treatment of all persons in the spirit of Aloha, recognizing that all persons are guaranteed their universal human rights by virtue of their birth; and

 

     WHEREAS, the refugees that are being returned to persecution need a voice to speak for them and to help ensure them a life of freedom, safety, and opportunity to seek the pursuit of happiness; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is a need for the United States Department of Homeland Security, through its United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, to review and examine its policies and regulations regarding protections for refugees and asylees in the United States to determine whether the regulations are effectively providing those protections; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that the United States Department of Homeland Security, through its United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, is urged to review and re-evaluate its policies regarding refugee and asylee protections, including the principle of non-refoulement to ensure fair, equal, and compassionate treatment to protect refugees seeking asylum in the United States; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of United States; the Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security; the Associate Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Refugee, Asylum and International Operations; and the Commissioner of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Non-refoulement