Refugees
As defined by the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugees is someone who “ owing to a 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 to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. [1] The term “refugees” is similarly defined under Section 101(a)15P of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act, which also allows the president the authority to identify conditions where nationals may be granted refugees status within their country of origin. In addition, it narrows the term “refugees” to exclude any persons who “ordered”, incited, assisted or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.[2]
In the United States, the number of refugees admitted per year is limited by geographic area. This number is determined annually by the President in consultation with Congress.[3] An example of a refugees is someone from Somalia who fled the country into a refugees camp in neighboring countries in order to escape violence after the Somali government collapsed.
Asylee
An asylum seeker is similar to a refugees in that both must meet the legal definition of a refugees established by the 1951 Convention, but a refugees receives legal permission to resettle, while an asylum seeker seeks permission in the form of refugees or other legal status after arrival.[4] According to Section 208 0f the Immigration and Nationality Act, an alien arriving in the US may apply for asylum, but the applicant must undergo a legal procedure to show that “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion was or will be at least one central reason for persecuting the applicant” and that his or her fear of persecution is well-founded.[5] An example of an asylum seeker would be someone who fled Pakistan due to religious persecution and applies for asylum status after arriving in the United States. In order to be successful in his bid for asylum seeker must prove that he is unable to return home safely due to a serious threat of persecution.
Internally Displaced People
Internally displaced people, or IDPs, are people who have fled their homes, often for reasons such as armed conflict, violence or large-scale natural disasters, but unlike refugees and have not crossed an international border.[6] UHCR’s original mandate does not cover IDPs but once persons are displaced, they are protected by international human rights law and domestic laws.[7] IDPs are usually considered to be particularly vulnerable because they are often in transit or in hiding, sometimes in inhospitable and dangerous environments.[8] For example, many people in Libya fleeing armed conflict in cities such as Misrata during the overthrow of Gaddafi’s regime who remained within Libya’s borders became Internally Displaced Persons.
Stateless Individuals
stateless individuals are people who are not considered a national by any state. Stateless people can also be refugees, but these categories are considered to be separate by the UNHCR. Statelessness can occur for different reasons such as discrimination against minority groups by national legislation, a failure to include all residents as citizens when a state becomes independent, and conflicts to employment, education and health care and are usually unable to obtain documents such as ID cards or passports.[9] For example, the Rohinagya are stateless Muslims from northern Rakhine state in Burma. Within Burma, they are denied basic rights such as employment, education and freedom of movement. Many of the Rohingya who fled Burma are often denied refugees or asylum status in neighboring asWELL, rendering them stateless.
Resettlement
Refugees organizations usually promote three “durable solutions” for refugees: 1) voluntary repatriation, when refugees are able to return to their home countries because they are no longer at risk, 2) local integration, when refugees are integrated into the country of first asylum, and 3) resettlement in a third country, when repatriation isn’t possible and the country of first-asylum refuses local integration.[10] Refugees camps are “temporary” resettlements built to receive refugees while they await repatriation or resettlement. For example, many refugees camps have been built to house refugees along the Thai-Burma border while they wait for a “durable solution.”