What is a Refugee?

A Refugee can be defined as “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 “(UNHCR, 2002). Numerous conditions create refugees crisis. Civil wars, ethnic, tribal and religious violence, political volatility, and natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis, and famines are all part of those conditions.

Refugees leave their comfortable homes for many reasons of safety and survival. Preserving refugees is the core mandate of UNHCR. Members of the UN such as Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the USA are countries that grant annual resettlement quotas to refugees fleeing war zones. Their circumstances determine most of these refugees. A war criminal or soldier cannot be a refugee. But, a draft evader, women facing persecution because they decline to comply with social norms, and persons who fear sexual orientation persecutions could are given refugee status.