The Role Of Refugees According To The 1951 Refugee Convention

Through out the world and over the centuries, societies have welcomed frightened, weary strangers, the victims of persecution and violence. This humanitarian tradition of offering sanctuary is often now played on the television screens across the globe as war and large-scale persecution produce millions of refugees and internally displaced persons. At the start of 21st century, protecting refugees means maintaining solidarity with the worlds most threatened, while finding answers tot eh challenges confronting the international system that was created to do just that.

A refugee is a person who was forced to leave their country. Whether it be from warfare or natural disaster, their homes are no longer safe to live in, so they need to relocate elsewhere. Once someone sets foot on the journey of becoming a refugee, they become vulnerable and dependent with no sense of what the future will bring. In an attempt to accommodate them, first world countries with the resources necessary to assist these refugees, are struggling to determine whether or not they should step-in and help. Some argue that taking them in could come with excessive consequences, while others believe they could be assets. Although there may be a few consequences, they are outweighed by the benefits and undeniable severity of the situation.

The most commonly accepted definition of a ‘refugee’ is set out in the United Nations 1951

The refugee crisis that plagues the world is often referred to as the Syrian refugee crisis, and Western countries are usually concerned only for the affect it has on them and their country. Yet the countries taking in the most refugees are the relatively stable nations in the Middle East that are closest to those in crisis, like Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, not the wealthy nations most capable of supporting the refugees. These countries are often small and suffering their own economic and political woes, and struggle with the masses of refugees entering the countries. Various groups are working to raise money and support for these refugees, and other poor African and Middle Eastern countries are attempting to do their best, but without the help of the wealth West, the refugee crisis is not going to go away. A question has been posed to the nations of the world; are they willing to take in any of the millions of the desperate refugees?

The United Nations approach on the treatment of refugees is as follows. the Convention relating to the status of Refugees 1967 Protocol defines who a refugee is and explains what Rights countries should afford to refugees. A refugee is a person who is outside of their own country and is unable or unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of their; race, religion, nationality, membership of a group or political

Additionally, the United Nations in 1947 established the International Refugee Organization (IRO), a specialized temporary agency aimed at handling the displacement of refugees after the conclusion World War II. A refugee was by the IRO defined as a person who was “a victim of state intolerance” or was a “genuinely motivated political dissident.” Since the IRO was established as a

According to UNHCR, 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. 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

They propose three solutions: voluntary repatriation, local integration, and resettlement (UNHCR Resettlement Handbook 28). The UNHCR adds that “The three solutions are complementary in nature and, when applied together, can form a viable and comprehensive strategy for resolving a refugee situation” (UNHCR Resettlement Handbook 28). Voluntary reparation is helping a refugee safely and proudly return to their country of origin, allowing them to resume their former lifestyle (UNHCR Resettlement Handbook 31). Local integration is attempting to grant the refugee a permanent right to stay in the host country, and possibly become a citizen (UNHCR Resettlement Handbook 34). Resettlement is transferring refugees from the original country they fled to, to another State that agreed to accept them and grant permanent settlement, and sometimes citizenship (UNHCR Resettlement Handbook 36). This book provides extensive details on policies used by the UNHCR, which will be helpful when writing the Policy

They defined a refugee as someone who ‘As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.’ ( Refugee Convention 1951 (Geneva) a 1). This definition excludes those who have left their country because of famine, environmental issues and the opportunity to have a better standard of living in another country. (Asylum seekers

The 1951 convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (The Refugees Convention) was designed for the protection of asylum seekers. It identifies their rights to seek asylum whether it be from persecution in regards to race, religion, nationality, or political opinion outside of their

A refugee is defined as “someone who has been forced to leave a country because of war or for religious or political reasons.” This definition does little to paint the picture of the horror and terror that many refugees have come from, yet even when refugees flee, they often still live in fear. 95% of all Afghan refugees flee to Iran or Pakistan (UNHCR 4), yet many are not safe there either, with the spread of heat-related diseases and the abuse against women. Thus, many must seek refuge in the United States, where although they must overcome many struggles and difficulties, many look to start a new, safe life.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, there are currently approximately 51.2 million involuntarily displaced individuals in the world (IRC, 2014). Many are displaced in some regions of the world more than others. Nearly 1 in 100 people worldwide are now displaced from their homes (Connor, 2016). Thousands of refugees have fled their home country due to the violence, disasters, and persecutions. The UN Refugee Agency defines a refugee as someone outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality due to persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. According to

Let’s start by defining what it is to be a refugee. A refugee is any citizen of a nation who is forced to flee due to persecution or unsafe living conditions.

Although in the past human rights issues were avirtually not allowed to enter the global discourse on refugees under the erroneous assumption that the refugee problem, as a humanitarian problem is quite distinct from a human rights problem, the current trend is towards integration of the human rights law and humanitarian law with refugee law. The growing realisation that given the number, size and complexity of the problem of refugees the limited approach to the problem which was devised in the context of the postsecond world war refugees and which placed greater reliance on safety and welfare, rather than solutions to the problem and virtually relieved the refugee producing countries from their responsibilities towards their nationals living

A refugee is defined as an individual who has been forced to leave their country due to political or religious reasons, or due to threat of war or violence. There were 19.5 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2014, 14.4 million under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 2.9 million more than in 2013. The other 5.1 million Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). With the displacement of so many people, it is difficult to find countries willing to accept all the refugees. There are over 125 different countries that currently host refugees, and with this commitment comes the responsibility of ensuring these refugees have access to