Why we need to scrap the asylum system and build something better
A staunch defender of asylum and refugee rights during the 2015 migrant crisis, the influential British liberal weekly “The Economist” now believes that the current reception system is “broken”.
International rules on refugee status were initially created without a comprehensive plan. The Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees applied only to Europe, and specifically targeted Soviet dissidents to prevent them from being returned to face Stalin's wrath. The text states that anyone with a "well-founded fear" of persecution must be able to find protection and not be returned to a country where their life or freedom is threatened (this is the principle of "non-refoulement" ). In 1967, the text was extended to the entire world.
Most countries have ratified it. But fewer and fewer are implementing it. China takes in fewer refugees than tiny Lesotho and sends home North Koreans who risk the gulag. Donald Trump has ended the right to asylum in the United States for almost all nationals except white South Africans and plans to dedicate more money to expelling illegal immigrants than other countries devote to their defense. The West is hardening its stance. In Europe in particular, the positions between social democrats and right-wing populists are no longer so far apart.
The system is broken. Designed for post-war Europe.
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The Economist (London)A major British press institution, The Economist, founded in 1843 by a Scottish hatter, is the bible for anyone interested in international news. Openly liberal, it generally advocates free trade, globalization, immigration, and cultural liberalism. It is printed in six countries, and 85% of its sales are outside the UK.
None of the articles are signed: a long-standing tradition that the weekly supports with the idea that “personality and collective voice matter more than the individual identity of journalists.”
On The Economist website, in addition to the newspaper's main articles, you'll find excellent thematic and geographical reports produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit, as well as multimedia content, blogs , and a calendar of conferences organized by the newspaper around the world. As a bonus: regular updates of the main stock market prices.
The magazine's coverage may vary between editions (UK, Europe, North America, Asia), but the content is the same; in the UK, however, a few additional pages cover national news. The Economist is 43.4% owned by the Italian Agnelli family, with the remaining stake being shared among prominent British families (Cadbury, Rothschild, Schroders, etc.) and members of the editorial staff.
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