Why should refugees have political rights?

Most refugees do not retain their political rights in states of origin or lack the means to exercise them effectively. Most host states do not extend refugees the rights of political participation or representation. Fundamental political freedoms, such as freedoms of expression, assembly and association, are often limited due to security and stability concerns. What, if anything, is wrong with refugees’ political disenfranchisement? In this article, I consider this question from a human rights perspective, and argue that refugees have human rights claims for securing a meaningful political standing in a global political community. In developing this argument, I bring insights from two interrelated debated that occasionally run in parallel: the normative grounds of refugeehood and human rights. I suggest that refugeehood, as a moral category, should include all those who are subject to human rights deprivations. Yet, in conceptualizing human rights, I employ a political conception of human rights. Distinct from naturalistic conceptions that ground human rights in a conception of personhood, the political conceptions maintain that human rights are justified by their function in providing a standard for the conduct of political communities. Specifically, I wish to develop a conceptualization of human rights as membership rights in a global political community. What are the standards of being a member of a global political community? Which rights should be included in a list of human rights? This question is ultimately open ended. Yet, any legitimate answer requires that all individuals have a voice in the processes that determine the content of human rights. Human rights should then necessarily include those rights that not only secure individuals’ basic needs but also a meaningful political standing in a global political community. Importantly, note that such a conception of human rights renders the conception of refugeehood a political one. Refugees should then be conceptualized as all those individuals who are deprived of a meaningful political standing in a global political community.