E-MINDFUL glossary #3: Refugee, Persecution, Non-refoulement principle, Asylum...

As the project unfolds, we will publish few terms in every issue so that this glossary can help you oriented with the project activities and outcomes. The glossary will not follow an alphabetical order but rather a conceptual one, clustering terms around key topics under discussion. In this issue, we will explore the definitions of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons.[1]

Refugee

According to the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,  a refugee is defined as “any person 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”.

In 1967, an additional Protocol gave the 1951 Convention universal coverage, by removing the geographic and temporal limits, as the Convention was originally applicable only to Europeans fleeing the events occurring during the World War II. With 149 State Parties to either the Convention or the Protocol or both, the international commitments related to the recognition of refugees, enjoy wide political support. In order to transpose suitably the commitments in the national laws, signatory States are encouraged to cooperate with the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is the ‘guardian’ of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol.

Persons who are provided the authorization to stay in the host country as refugees enjoy full social, economic and cultural rights, and are allowed to engage in salaried or free-lance employment, enroll in schools and other education paths, such as vocational trainings, access welfare and health services, including housing.

Persecution

Persecution is considered as a “threat to life or freedom on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group”. Persecution comprises human rights abuses or other serious harm often, but not always, perpetrated in a systematic or repetitive way. Discrimination does not always amount to persecution, although it may do so if it affects a fundamental right of the person concerned, or if the effect of several discriminatory measures cumulatively causes serious harm.

Non-refoulement principle

The non-refoulement principle in art. 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention stipulates: “No Contracting State shall expel or return (“refouler”) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his/her life or freedom would be threatened on account of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”. According to this principle, States cannot push back migrants who trespass their borders in violation of national norms and provisions. The reason for this restriction on the State’s prerogative to refuse the entry to those who do not possess the requirements to enter set by national laws, lies in the fact that individuals shall be given the opportunity to prove the reasons why they were compelled to leave their countries of origin and cannot return.

Asylum

According to art. 14 of the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights stating that: “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution”, States should offer asylum defined as “A form of protection given by a State on its territory, granted to a person who is unable to seek protection in his/her country of nationality and/or residence for fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”,

Asylum seeker

An asylum seeker is defined as “A person who seeks safety from persecution or serious harm in a country other than his or her own and awaits a decision on the application for refugee status under relevant international and national instruments.” Not every asylum-seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee, but every refugee is initially an asylum-seeker.

In some countries, pending the assessment of their request for asylum, asylum seekers are granted a temporary residence and work permit that allows asylum-seekers to engage in regular forms of employment, apprenticeships and vocational training. If the asylum-seeker is not granted the refugee status, he/she is then usually considered as an irregular migrant.

Forced displacement

According to humanitarian law, forced displacement or displacement, is defined as “the individual or collective movement of civilians in the interior of an occupied territory”. In a more general sense, forced displacement is the “involuntary movement, individually or collectively, of persons from their country or community, notably for reasons of armed conflict, civil unrest, or natural or man-made catastrophes”.

Humanitarian, discretionary or subsidiary forms of protection

When forced displacement takes place across international borders, States often envisage protection measures in the forms of temporary authorizations to reside and work in the hosting country based on humanitarian grounds, usually referred to as discretionary or subsidiary forms of protection. These forms of protection usually are time-bound and provide fewer rights than the refugee status - based on “humanitarian” or “compassionate” grounds.  Reasons to grant protection of this kind include serious life and health risks due to active conflicts, or risks stemming from extreme poverty in case of return, or man-made or natural disasters in the country of origin.

[1] Definitions are taken from the Glossary of Migration edited by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/iml_34_glossary.pdf