Degar refugees in Cambodia
Encyclopedia
More than 1,000 Degar
(Montagnard) refugees have entered Ratanakiri
and Mondulkiri
, Cambodia
, since 2001, raising issues of Cambodia's international law obligations toward refugees and its right to control its border. The government has a policy of deporting Degar refugees to Vietnam
, viewing them as illegal immigrants to the country, and has threatened prosecution of Ratanakiri residents who aid them. Human rights organizations have described this policy as a violation of Cambodia's international law obligation
of non-refoulement
(not forcibly returning refugees to a country in which they will be harmed). Though the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
has become involved processing asylum applications, refugees are often forcibly returned before they are able to apply for asylum. Many refugees have hidden in Ratanakiri's forests to avoid deportation.
Degar
The Degar are the indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The term Montagnard means "mountain people" in French and is a carryover from the French colonial period in Vietnam. In Vietnamese, they are known by the term thượng - this term can also be applied to other minority ethnic...
(Montagnard) refugees have entered Ratanakiri
Ratanakiri
Ratanakiri is a province in northeastern Cambodia that borders Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, Mondulkiri Province to the south, and Stung Treng Province to the west. The province extends from the mountains of the Annamite Range in the north, across a hilly plateau between the Tonle San...
and Mondulkiri
Mondulkiri
- References :...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, since 2001, raising issues of Cambodia's international law obligations toward refugees and its right to control its border. The government has a policy of deporting Degar refugees to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, viewing them as illegal immigrants to the country, and has threatened prosecution of Ratanakiri residents who aid them. Human rights organizations have described this policy as a violation of Cambodia's international law obligation
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is an international convention that defines who is a refugee, and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum. The Convention also sets out which people do not...
of non-refoulement
Non-refoulement
Non-refoulement is a principle in international law, specifically refugee law, that concerns the protection of refugees from being returned to places where their lives or freedoms could be threatened...
(not forcibly returning refugees to a country in which they will be harmed). Though the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
has become involved processing asylum applications, refugees are often forcibly returned before they are able to apply for asylum. Many refugees have hidden in Ratanakiri's forests to avoid deportation.