Is someone who is fleeing war, or war-related conditions such as famine and homelessness, considered to be a refugee?
The main international instrument of refugee law is a 45-year-old treaty(bad link) whose only protocol(bad link) came into force nearly three decades ago. During that time, the causes of many refugee movements have shifted, and in recent years have principally featured civil wars and ethnic, tribal and religious violence. UNHCR considers that persons fleeing war and war-related conditions, and whose state is unwilling or unable to protect them, are in need of international protection and should be considered refugees. Some regional instruments reflect this: the OAU Convention in Africa(bad link), and the Cartagena Declaration(bad link) in Latin America, both explicitly define refugees in ways that cover many war victims. However, the 1951 Convention does not specifically address the issue of refugees from conflict (although many such refugees are unarguably also fleeing persecution on Convention grounds). Some countries, particularly in Western Europe, continue to argue that refugees f
