PP848
Analítico de Periódico
SEN, Sumit
Stateless refugees and the right to return : The Bihari refugees of South Asia / Sumit Sen
International journal of refugee law, Oxford, v.11n.4(1999); v.12n.1(2000), p.625-645; p.41-70
DIREITO DE ASILO, REFUGIADO, APÁTRIDA
PART 1: This article examines the situation of stateless refugees in international law, in the context of the forced population displacement of the Bihari refugees of Pakistan in 1947 led to the displacement of the Biharis, and the subsequent creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the Biharis were forced to flee a second time. However, their international legal status as refugees has seldom been recognized in international law. Part 1 of this article, which is published below, provides the background to the present problem, and shows that the Biharis claim to Convention refugee status is well-founded, on the basis of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of nationality and political opinion, even and despite the succession of Bangladesh from Pakistan and the subsequent denationalization of Biharis by Pakistan which made them de facto stateless refugees. Part 2, which will be published in the next issue of the IJRL (Volume 12 Number1), examines the nationality entitlement of the Biharin refugees' and considers their right to return to Pakistan, their country of nationality, as a central factor in any legal solution for them, based on the right to return in international law. PART 2: This article examines the situation of stateless refugees in international law, in the context of the forced population displacement of the Bihari refugees of Pakistan in 1947 led to the displacement of the Biharis, and the subsequent creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the Biharis were forced to flee a second time. However, their international legal status as refugees has seldom been recognized in international law. Part 1 of tis article, comprising Sections 1 and 2, was published in the last issue of the IJRL (Volume 11 Number 4); it provided the background to the present problem, and showed that the Biharis' claim to Convention refugee status is well-founded, on the basis of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of nationality and political opinion, even and despite the succession of Bangladesh from Pakistan and the subsequent denationalization of Biharis by Pakistan which made them de facto statelessrefugees. Part 2, comprising Sections 3 and 4, is published vbelow; it examines the nationality entitlement of the Bihari refugees' and considers their right to return to Pakistan, their country of nationality, as a central factor in any legal solution for them, based on the right to return in international law.