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314The underlying principle is that states have a duty to treat foreigners as humanely as possible This is also a requirement as stipulated in the international convention of human rights under Article 3 in regard to non discrimination However different reactions of the European states can only be explained through some underlying theories The first is Nationalism According to Riker liberal nationalism is an unthinkable devotion to a person s country and traditions In the recent past Europe has seen rise nationalism This has served to pose a threat to the refugees whose rights have in turn been disregarded In Austria nationalism has taken center stage in politics with politicians arguing that the influx of refugees into the country especially from Muslim areas is a threat to the Austrian Christian traditions This poses a threat to refugees from Muslim countries If such political pundits take power it goes without saying that refugee rights will be abused Germany has also experienced a similar wave of nationalism with politicians crying foul over the influx of refugees into Germany and the threat they cause to the German way of life The question that arises is whether refugees have rights in the countries that they enter while fleeing from their homes Traditionally the theory on human rights identified human rights as a preserve of the people residing in a country provided they are citizens of that country
This is the case with refugees in Europe This discriminatory treatment of refugees is also premised on the theory of liberties where it is believed that people have no rights outside the state in which they were citizens In spite of these shortcomings the thoughts of international human rights date back to the Turkish Empire in which protected the minority Christians were protected by the Ottoman Empire The League of Nations also played a part in the development of humanitarian law Lasson uses the Hardin s lifeboat metaphor to discuss the issue of human rights and responsibilities The life boat metaphor espouses that the developed world has no responsibility to help states in war destruction by natural disasters or generally states in poverty Hardin argued that such action only adds to the destruction It appears that this metaphor has been picked by many European nations to bar refugees from entering their territories Lifeboat in this case refers to the wealthy nations where there are numerous resources and ample room to keep people aboard alive In this context refugees home countries are examples of overcrowded lifeboats which are war torn and people are constantly attempting to jump overboard and swim towards the wealthy nations The denying of refugee rights and in that connection a host of human rights is an impediment to international liberties and international human rights because the refugees become subject to autocracy and abuse Their life is put in danger because they may be forced to go back to their home countries which are war torn This is a violation of the international Convention on refugee rights