| Refugee magnitude in Africa has usually been measured by the prevalence of war and conflict, not by the gross violation of human rights. However, this researcher argues that the presence of war does not necessarily generate a massive overflow of refugees; the absence of war, on the other hand, does not guarantee the absence of refugee overflows. The central theme of this thesis is to demonstrate the notion that peace is not just the absence of war but it embodies an absence of injustice and the safeguards of fundamental human rights. The wrong assumption that war is the prime cause of Africa's refugees' flight has usually led to misguided decisions jeopardizing the lives of refugees. Due to the fact that the international humanitarian agencies and the host countries tend to repatriate refugees when the perceived cause is eliminated without evaluating the factors that initially inspired exile. Therefore, taking the Eritrean refugees as a case, this thesis explores the experiences and magnitude of refugee flight from totalitarian regime and how the UNHCR and the host countries respond to their moral and legal obligations of handling refugees and asylum seekers. |
