South Korea grants citizenship to first refugee - from Ethiopia

Tue, 23 Mar 2010

New York - South Korea has granted citizenship to a refugee from Ethiopia, the first-ever such decision since it adopted the 1951 Refugee Convention, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday.

The 38-year-old Ethiopian, whose name was withheld, fled persecution in his country and arrived in South Korea in 2001. He was given refugee status before being granted citizenship.

"This is a highly significant milestone in Asia, where few countries have signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, and even fewer have extended citizenship to refugees," said UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming.

"We are grateful to the Republic of Korea for its leadership in local integration, one of the three durable solutions available to refugees, and one that is rarely used in Asia," she added.

South Korea adopted the 1951 Refugee Convention in 1994, which includes the granting of citizenship as the most significant step to allow a recognized refugee to integrate into a society.

UNHCR said the Seoul government has received more than 2,000 refugee claims since 1994 and has given refugee status to 175 of them. Seoul also gave humanitarian status to another 93 people who were not found to be refugees but who still needed international protection.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/315469,south-korea-grants-citizenship-to-first-refugee--from-ethiopia.html.