Refugee Facts
What is a Refugee?
A person forced to flee their country because of violence or persecution.
“THAT I DIDN’T CHOOSE TO BE HERE, JUST FOR FUN”
Why do people leave their countries?
There are many reasons why it might be too difficult or dangerous for people to stay in their own countries. For example, children, woman and men flee from violence, war, hunger, extreme poverty, because of their sexual or gender orientation, or from the consequences of climate change or other natural disasters. Often people will face a combination of these difficult circumstances.
People who leave their countries are not always fleeing danger. They might believe they have a better chance of finding work in another country because they have the education or capital to seek opportunities elsewhere. Others might want to join relatives or friends who are already living abroad. Or they might seek to start or finish their education in another country. There are lots of different reasons for people to start a journey to building a life in a new country.
Definitions: What exactly is a refugee, an asylum-seeker and a migrant?
The terms “refugee”, “asylum-seeker” and “migrant” are used to describe people who are on the move, who have left their countries and have crossed borders.
The terms “migrant” and “refugee” are often used interchangeably but it is important to distinguish between them as there is a legal difference.
Who is a refugee?
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries.
Who is an internally displaced person?
An internally displaced person, or IDP, is someone who has been forced to flee their home but never cross an international border. These individuals seek safety anywhere they can find it—in nearby towns, schools, settlements, internal camps, even forests and fields. IDPs, which include people displaced by internal strife and natural disasters, are the largest group that UNHCR assists. Unlike refugees, IDPs are not protected by international law or eligible to receive many types of aid because they are legally under the protection of their own government.
Who is a stateless person?
A stateless person is someone who is not a citizen of any country. Citizenship is the legal bond between a government and an individual, and allows for certain political, economic, social and other rights of the individual, as well as the responsibilities of both government and citizen. A person can become stateless due to a variety of reasons, including sovereign, legal, technical or administrative decisions or oversights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights underlines that “Everyone has the right to a nationality.”
Who is an asylum seeker?
When people flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum – the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. An asylum seeker must demonstrate that his or her fear of persecution in his or her home country is well-founded.
What is the 1951 Refugee Convention?
The 1951 Geneva Convention is the main international instrument of refugee law. The Convention clearly spells out who a refugee is and the kind of legal protection, other assistance and social rights he or she should receive from the countries who have signed the document. The Convention also defines a refugee’s obligations to host governments and certain categories or people, such as war criminals, who do not qualify for refugee status. The Convention was limited to protecting mainly European refugees in the aftermath of World War II, but another document, the 1967 Protocol, expanded the scope of the Convention as the problem of displacement spread around the world.
https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/
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ref·u·gee
[ˌrefyo͝oˈjē]
NOUN
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a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster:
“tens of thousands of refugees fled their homes” ·
[more]“a refugee camp”synonyms:émigré · fugitive · exile · displaced person ·
[more]Refugee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaAt the end of 2014, there were 19.5 million refugees worldwide (14.4 million under UNHCR‘s mandate, plus 5.1 million Palestinian refugees under UNRWA‘s mandate). The 14.4 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate were around 2.7 million more than at the end of 2013 (+23%), the highest level since 1995. Among them, Syrian refugees became the largest refugee group in 2014 (3.9 million, 1.55 million more than the previous year), overtaking Afghan refugees (2.6 million), who had been the largest refugee group for three decades.[3] As of March 2016, Turkey has become world’s biggest refugee hosting country having 2.7 million Syrian and 300.000 Iraqi refugees and had spent more than US$7.6 billion on direct assistance to refugees.[4][5][6][7][8] Pakistan is second, hosting 1.6 million Afghan refugees.[9] According to the UNHCR there are 200,000 to 500,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and only 32,355 of them are registered.[10] More information on the world’s current and past refugee populations can be found in the list or in an external interactive graphic[11] based on UNHCR data from years 1975–2000.[12]
Research found that refugees have historically tended to flee to nearby countries with ethnic kin populations and a history of accepting other co-ethnic refugees.[13] The religious, sectarian and denominational affiliation has been an important feature of debate in refugee-hosting nations.[14]
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