Reference no: EM133242368

Question: In the article, "Securing Protection for De Facto Refugees", author Celia Medrano argues that the primary responsibility for the protection and assistance of a country's internally displaced citizens falls to the country itself. However, she argues, in the absence of effective protection at the domestic level, the reality of forced displacement demands further action at the regional and international level.

The governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala fail to protect and assist their internally displaced citizens fleeing violence resulting in a humanitarian crisis. In order for the international community to effectively respond in protection of human rights, Medarno advocates for a revision of the 1951 Refugee Convention and Protocol to expand the definition of refugee in a way that recognizes that nonstate actors, including transnational gangs, are responsible for displacement, and that governments have an obligation to protect people fleeing this type of persecution.

What do you think of Medrano's arguments and proposed solutions? Should the 1951 Refugee Convention be revised to include migrants fleeing criminal violence? Why, or why not? Are there alternative approaches that the U.S. Government could take either unilaterally or in cooperation with other regional governments to respond to the human rights crisis caused by violent displacement in Central America?