Who are the refugees?
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An asylum seeker is a person who has made an application for asylum and is waiting to hear the decision on their application. A refugee is someone who has received a positive decision on their asylum application and who is recognised as a refugee under the UN 1951 Convention on Refugees and has been given leave to remain in the country where they applied for asylum. The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (and its 1967 Protocol), defines a refugee as: Any person 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/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country. |
