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TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
1951 UN Refugee Convention: On July 28, 1951, world governments adopted the "Convention relating to the Status of Refugees." The Refugee Convention and its 1967 "Protocol" established the legal standards for refugee protection.
Asylum Seeker: Someone who claims to be a refugee. Often, an asylum seeker must undergo a legal procedure in which the host country decides if he/she qualifies for refugee status. International law recognizes the right to seek asylum, but does not oblige states to provide it.
Durable Solutions: Refugee protection and assistance organizations generally promote three "durable solutions" to refugees' plight: voluntary repatriation, local integration in the country of first asylum, or resettlement in a third country.
Internally Displased Person: Someone who has been forced from his/her home for refugee-like reasons, but remains within the borders of his/her own country. Because the person is still under the jurisdiction of a government that might not want international agencies to help him/her, an internally displaced person might still be vulnerable to persecution or violence.
There are more internally displaced people than refugees, and they are a growing concern to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
Local Integration: When it is not safe for refugees to return home after a prolonged period in exile, a host government may decide to allow refugees to integrate locally, in the first-asylum country.
Refugee: Someone who has fled his or her country because he/she fears persecution based on race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion. The definition is sometimes expanded to include people fleeing war or other armed conflict.
Third-Country Resettlement: Third-country resettlement is usually the last option of the three solutions. When repatriation would be unsafe and the first-asylum country refuses local integration, a third country must be found to accept the refugees.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Established in 1951, UNHCR is the branch of the United Nations charged with the international protection of refugees. UNHCR has increasingly been asked not only to protect refugees, but to provide assistance to them. Mrs. Sadako Ogata is the current high commissioner.
Voluntary Repatriation: When conditions in the home country have changed so much that refugees no longer believe their lives or liberty are threatened, they may return home voluntarily.