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MIGRATION:
Immigration |
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Refugee Status The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the UN Refugee Agency mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. The 1951 Convention and the 1969 OAU Convention provide clear refugee definitions. More than 140 countries have acceded to the 1959 Convention or its 1967 Protocol and many of these have incorporated the definition in their national legislation. Therefore the counting of refugees is fairly standardised and are based on individual registration records held by the host countries. However there can be discrepancies in accuracy due to differing opinions about the official status of, say, nationals fleeing conflict in their country of origin by various host countries. A refugee is defined as one who: "as a result of events occurring (on any date) and owing to 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." An asylum seeker is accorded refugee status once the host country determines that they can demonstrate sufficient evidence that they i) fit the above definition and ii) did not commit a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity, as defined in the international instruments drawn up to make provision in respect of such crimes nor a serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge prior to his admission to that country as a refugee. Facts and Figures UNHCR seeks to contribute to informed decision-making and public debate by providing accurate, relevant and up-to-date statistics. It provides data, trends and statistical reports on the "People of concern to UNHCR": refugees, asylum-seekers, returned refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons in more than 150 countries. Links UN Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. A comprehensive site aimed at Enabling Christians in Serving Refugees. The Churches' Refugee Network aims to provide a collective and ecumenical voice on issues of asylum and immigration.
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