Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
23
Table 3: Top five internally displaced populations due to conflict, end 2015
Host country Number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
Syrian Arab Republic 6,600,000
Colombia 6,270,000
Iraq 3,290,000
Sudan 3,182,000
Yemen 2,509,000
Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Table 1: New displacement by country for disasters and
conflict and total number of IDPs for conflict and violence, accessed on July 6, 2016,
Forced migrants in the OIC flee their homes for a combination of different reasons, including
violent conflict, political and ethnic oppression, state instability, and environmental factors. Of
those who cross international borders, many are recognized as refugees by UNHCR or host
country governments, while others have been granted alternative forms of protection.9 Some
may lack legal status altogether, either because protection frameworks in the host country are
limited or because forced migrants themselves may prefer to remain underground. Migration
in OIC countries thus consists of “mixed migration flows,” where individuals move for a
variety of humanitarian, economic, and other reasons - not all of which are considered
grounds for protection under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
OIC countries have taken varying approaches to humanitarian protection, which depend
widely on national interests and the regional context. In some OIC regions, notably the Middle
East and Southeast Asia, few countries have adopted legal frameworks to provide protection
to forced migrants. Less than two-thirds of OIC Member States (35 of 57) have ratified the
1951 Refugee Convention.10 Furthermore, only 29 OIC states have implemented
comprehensive national asylum systems; such systems include a refugee status determination
(RSD) mechanism, delineate the rights of refugees, and grant refugees with legal residency for
a set duration of time - including a procedure for renewal of this status. As a result, UNHCR
often still takes on a large role in adjudicating asylum claims and providing services for
refugees in these countries.11 Even in the absence of a national asylum regime, OIC countries
broadly respect the work of UNHCR and almost all uphold the principle of nonrefoulement -
almost all OIC countries (52 of 57) have ratified the UN Convention against Torture.12
9 Several European countries, as well as Turkey, offer temporary protection (also known as “subsidiary protection”) to
migrants who are in need of protection but might not qualify for refugee status under the 1951 Convention. Federal Office
for Migration and Refugees, “Subsidiary Protection,” updated July 27, 2010,
Rebecca Kilberg, “Turkey’s
Evolving Migration Identity,” Migration Information Source, July 24, 2014
10 UNHCR, “States Parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol,” updated April
2015 Of the 49 UN member states that have not ratified the 1951 Convention, 21
are OIC countries.
11 Information about national asylum legislation is derived from U.S. Department of State, “Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices for 2015,” accessed June 1, 2016,
12 The OIC countries that have not ratified the UN Convention against Torture are Iran, Malaysia, Oman, Palestine, and
Suriname.