Refugee
Also called: 1951 Refugee Convention · Topic: World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Migration · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A refugee is a person who is outside their own country because of a well-founded fear of persecution, which means harsh, unfair treatment. The persecution must be because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group or political opinion. This definition comes from the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. A refugee has legal protection and cannot be sent back into danger. India has signed neither the Convention nor the Protocol.
Example
People who flee persecution in Myanmar and cross into Bangladesh, in South Asia, are refugees because they have left their own country.
Don't confuse with
- Internally displaced person: an IDP is also forced from home but stays inside their own country.
- Climate migrant: a person fleeing climate impacts has no legal refugee status.
Related concepts
- Migration
- Immigration
- Emigration
- Push and pull factors
- International migrant stock
- Internally displaced person
- Climate migration