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“The Problem of Witchcraft”: Violence and the Supernatural in Global African Refugee Mobilities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 October 2020
Abstract:
Over the last two decades, witchcraft violence has emerged steadily as a “push factor” for African asylum seekers who argue that being accused of witchcraft or targeted with witchcraft renders them members of a “particular social group” (PSG), subject to persecution and eligible for refugee protection under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. This article examines the refugee status determination (RSD) processes through which immigration regimes in Canada and Australia have adjudicated allegations about witchcraft violence made by asylum seekers from across Anglophone Africa. It critiques the utility of expanding PSG along cultural lines without a commensurate expansion in adjudicators’ knowledge.
Résumé:
Au cours des deux dernières décennies, la violence de la sorcellerie est devenue régulièrement comme un « facteur incitatif » pour les demandeurs d’asile africains qui affirment que le fait d’être accusé de sorcellerie ou d’être cibler par la sorcellerie les rend membres d’un « groupe social particulier » (GSP/PSG), soumis à la persécution et donc éligibles à la protection des réfugiés et à l’asile en vertu de la Convention des Nations Unies sur les réfugiés de 1951. Cet article examine les processus de détermination du statut de réfugié (DSR/RSD) par lesquels les régimes d’immigration au Canada et en Australie ont statué sur des allégations de violence liées à la sorcellerie et soumises par les demandeurs d’asile de l’Afrique anglophone. Il critique l’utilité d’étendre le GSP, selon des critères culturels sans accroissement proportionnelle aux connaissances des arbitres.
Resumo:
Nas duas últimas décadas, a violência em torno da feitiçaria tem progressivamente emergido como “fator impulsionador” de africanos em busca de asilo, segundo os quais o facto de serem acusados de bruxaria ou sinalizados como alvos de bruxaria lhes confere o estatuto de membros de um “grupo social particular” (GSP), sujeitos a perseguição, e como tal elegíveis para a proteção de refugiados garantida pela Convenção das Nações Unidas relativa ao Estatuto dos Refugiados, de 1951. O presente artigo analisa os processos de definição do estatuto de refugiado através dos quais os serviços de imigração no Canadá e na Austrália têm apreciado os casos em que os requerentes de asilo, provenientes da África anglófona, invocam a violência relacionada com feitiçaria. Além disso, questiona a utilidade de se alargar os GSP de acordo com critérios culturais, sem que a tal corresponda um maior conhecimento por parte dos serviços de imigração.
- Type
- Forum: African Refugee History
- Information
- Copyright
- © African Studies Association, 2020
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