Research Topic 01:Who are Refugees?

Any discussion of a project related to Refugees needs to start with some definitions:

UNHCR: office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Location: Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland
Founded: 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly
High Commissioner: António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres of Portugal, Since 2005

The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.

It is important to note that the mandate of the UNCHR extends where either a soverign government or the United Nations requests assistance.

UN CONVENTION RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES:
This document, originally ratified in 1951 in Geneva, was originally limited to protecting refugees from world war two in Europe, but was expanded in 1967 to remove geographical and time limits. The protocol defines who is a refugee, what are the responsibilities of nations, and what are the responsibilities of the

REFUGEE:
Article 1 of the Convention as amended by the 1967 Protocol provides the definition of a refugee:

"A 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 nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."

It is important to note that the UNCHR does NOT define internally displaced people as refugees. The act of crossing a political border transforms internally displaced individuals into Refugees. However UNHCR is involved with about half of all internally displaced individuals at the request of sovereign nations.

ASYLEE:
Asylum is different than "refugee" status, in that it usually refers to an individual and is reviewed on a case by case basis, while the term refugee, refers to a mass movement across international borders. Additionally refugee status is a legal designation which does not extend to all asylum seekers.
So: Not all asylum seekers are refugees, but all refugees seek asylum.

So, due to our distance from most landmasses, and relative political stability of our immediate neighbors, refugees arriving in the United States are traditionally applying for permanent resettlement in a third party country (U.S.) .
It is important to note that this is not the case for refugees who arrived via boat from Haiti starting in the 1990's, as these individuals are "Refugees" who are seeking asylum in the United States directly, having come initially to the United States from Haiti.

WHO IS NOT A REFUGEE?
Economic Migrants: Migrants who leave their home country voluntarily are not refugees, should they return home they will receive the protection of their government. Refugees, by contrast cannot safely return to their home country unless there is a fundamental shift in their situation. (Peace treaty, change in government)

Disaster victims:While tragic in nature, victims of disasters, both natural and man-made do not qualify as refugees.
War Criminals cannot be refugees
A refugee must be a civilian, active military members cannot be considered as refugees.