India among most generous towards refugees: UN
India is among the most generous nations towards refugees, ensuring their safety and employment in the best of her capacity, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said. Adding that India provides them long-term visas instead of refugee cards, a UNHCR official said India has been tolerant with people of different backgrounds, unlike many other nations.
New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) India is one of the most generous countries for refugees, ensuring safety and employment to the displaced people in the best of her capacity, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today. Yasuko Shimizu, the chief of mission for UNHCR in India and the Maldives, who was awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2015, said that the country has helped refugees by providing work permits and issuing long term visas. "India is one of the most generous countries for refugees. The country has given opportunities for such people to go for jobs by providing work permits. Although we give refugee cards to displaced people but the government here issues long term visas for them which is very helpful," Shimizu said. She said that the UNHCR has taken several initiatives in collaboration with governments and local bodies on ground, to address issues concerning proper education for children belonging to such communities. "Education is one of the most important issues for refugee families. We should have assistance for refugee children so that they can easily access education at local schools," she said. Shimizu, who has served in various capacities at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva and for many field operations in Afghanistan, Russia and Uganda, took up her current post in June 2016. According to UNHCR Global Trends report, 65.3 million people (1 out of 113), were displaced from their homes due to conflict and persecution in 2015. "Refugees are a result of political consequences in any country. We have been raising issues at the UN that humanitarian assistance cannot replace political concerns. "India has been tolerant with people of different backgrounds, ethnicity and cultures which is not the case with many other countries," she said. 