What is a refugee? What is an IDP?
A refugee is 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 to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…” –1951 Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of RefugeesInternally displaced persons (IDPs) are individuals who have been forced to flee their homes for many of the same reasons as refugees, but who have not crossed an international border.A refugee is entitled to international protection under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Moreover, enshrined in the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights is the right “to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
