Though I focus much of my scholarly energy on due process failures in the U.S. immigration system, the "Wild West" policies and procedures of American immigration courts pale in comparison to the legal vacuum found in refugee camps throughout the world. More than 7 million of today's refugees have lived in camps for at least ten years (sometimes for generations), yet there exists no formal legal infrastructure to protect even the most basic human security needs in these camps. Given the dire economic and physical conditions of the camps and the societal violence from which these refugees are fleeing, it's no surprise to learn that violent crimes, particularly against women and children, are common. In a camp for Burundian refugees in Tanzania, for example, over 25% of women had suffered violence, often sexual in nature; in nine Thai camps for Burmese refugees, 350 serious crimes were reported between 2003 and 2006, with rape and domestic violence the most common and children often the victims.
In 2006, in three of these Thai camps, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the
International Rescue Committee opened legal assistance centers -- the first ever of their kind in any refugee camp anywhere the world. While 63% of camp residents at that time had concerns about their security, they were also skeptical of the Thai justice system, preferring the informal governing structures created within the camp communities. Since then, over 700 camp residents have consulted the centers with claims including murder, rape, and even contract disputes. Solutions offered by the legal assistance centers range from referrals to the Thai justice system (for the most serious cases) to working with the camp's sexual and gender-based violence committee on awareness training programs in schools and community-based organizations.
International Rescue Committee opened legal assistance centers -- the first ever of their kind in any refugee camp anywhere the world. While 63% of camp residents at that time had concerns about their security, they were also skeptical of the Thai justice system, preferring the informal governing structures created within the camp communities. Since then, over 700 camp residents have consulted the centers with claims including murder, rape, and even contract disputes. Solutions offered by the legal assistance centers range from referrals to the Thai justice system (for the most serious cases) to working with the camp's sexual and gender-based violence committee on awareness training programs in schools and community-based organizations.While it's hard to dispute that increased legal accountability is a positive step in situations of such violence and insecurity, it's a fine line that these organizations must walk between respecting local traditions of justice and imposing "universal" standards of justice from the top down. Particularly in cases of domestic violence and sexual assault, victims may be reluctant to come forward if reporting such crimes risks ostracization and other forms of social sanction by their community. It's important that the legal assistance centers are working alongside refugee women's groups to promote gender equality, reforming justice norms from within the community. Referrals of criminal cases to the Thai authorities offer an important stick, but one that must be exercised cautiously -- the laws might discriminate against foreigners on their face or in their implementation, and criminal laws in particular may lack adequate procedural safeguards for defendants. In this and many other situations, camps are located in societies geographically and culturally proximate to the refugees' home state, which may lead to some greater level of comfort with the host state's justice system and norms. If they are able to pull off the balancing act of protecting of local justice traditions alongside basic equality norms, these centers may offer a model for improving the physical security and fundamental rights of refugees in camps throughout the world.
