In general, a refugee claimant is someone who is outside their country of origin and is seeking protection in another country.
In 1951, the United Nations created the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention (“1951 Convention”), to define who is a refugee.
According to the 1951 Convention, a refugee claimant is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted for one or more of the following reasons or “enumerated grounds”:
- race;
- religion;
- nationality;
- membership in a particular social group; or
- political opinion.
A claimant’s well-founded fear has both subjective and objective aspects. The subjective aspect relates to the fear of being persecuted in the claimant’s own mind. The objective aspect comes from assessing the facts behind the claimant’s fear. The events and circumstances should show that the claimant has personally faced the risk of persecution.
The definition of refugee in the 1951 Convention applies universally to all refugees regardless of their country of origin or time of migration. (The Convention was initially limited to protecting European refugees from before January 1, 1951. The 1967 Protocol removed those limitations.) Some countries only joined the 1951 Convention, and other countries only joined the 1967 Protocol, which means these countries’ obligations are different.
Definition of terms
The terms “refugee,” “asylum-seeker,” and “migrant” are often used in everyday communication. However, they have different meanings in a legal context.
Refugees are defined and protected under international law. Refugees are people who are outside their country of origin and unable to return because of fear of persecution, war, violence, or conflict. As a result, they require international protection.
Hence a refugee claimant is someone who is outside their country of origin and has applied for refugee status but has not yet been granted that status.
Asylum seekers are people who are in the process of seeking protection outside of their countries. In countries that have a refugee claim process, asylum seekers are persons whose claims have not been decided.
Migrant is a term with no standard international legal definition. In general, migrants are understood to be people who are residing outside their country of origin. Migration is often seen as a voluntary process, whereas refugees may be forced to flee from their country of origin to escape persecution.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) advises against using the word “migrant” to cover both migrants and refugees.
Who is disqualified
An asylum seeker who has committed a serious crime may be disqualified from refugee status under the 1951 Convention. If a person “has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity” (Convention, article 1 F(a)) or “a serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge prior to his admission to that country as a refugee” (Convention, article 1 F(b)), or “has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations” (Convention, article 1 F(c)), then that person may fall outside the Convention definition of a refugee.
There are also acts that may disqualify claimants by undermining their credibility. See the sections of this website on how to prepare for a hearing and who qualifies for refugee status.
Other definitions
Not every country is part of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, and these countries may develop their own refugee laws. These regional conventions and agreements may define the term “refugee” differently from the 1951 Convention.
In Africa, the Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa defines the term “refugee” in two parts. The first part is identical with the 1951 Convention; the second part defines “refugee” to also include:
“every person who, owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin or nationality, is compelled to leave his place of habitual residence in order to seek refuge in another place outside his country of origin or nationality”
(Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status, p. 15)
Another example is the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, a non-binding instrument between ten Latin-American countries for refugee protections. The Cartagena Declaration defines refugees to include those
“persons who have fled their country because their lives, security or freedom have been threatened by generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violation of human rights or other circumstances which have seriously disturbed public order.”
This definition broadens the type of risks faced by refugees, which could include
“poverty, economic decline, inflation, violence, disease, food insecurity, malnourishment and displacement”
(Summary Conclusions on the interpretation of the extended refugee definition in the 1984 Cartagena Declaration, p. 3).
Disclaimer: This website does not contain legal advice. For all legal questions, it is best to consult with a qualified lawyer. The information contained on this website may not be current due to changes since the time it was written.
Religious Refugees 