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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Here are many resources provided by UNHCR for teachers to learn about refugees.
There are many other organizations dedicated to helping refugees such as World Vision, Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service, Doctors Without Borders, and International Rescue Committee. Here are links to their websites.
UNHCR Definitions
"Migrants are per definition outside of their own country. They have crossed at least one international border. Migrants can only be found outside their own country, like refugees. Migrants have moved because of other reasons than war, violence or persecution. This is where they differ fundamentally from refugees. Migrants, could in principle return to their own countries without being in immediate danger. However, they may have very good reasons to leave. Some migrants may move to work legally in another country, because they want to join family or get an education. More compelling and precarious reasons like poverty, natural disasters, food shortages or other reasons may drive many to leave as well. Most States and some regional organizations regulate movements of migrants under their own migration laws. Some countries, for example, offer opportunities for people to migrate legally to work or study or for family members or spouses to join one another in another country. These arrangements differ from the international laws protecting refugees."
"An asylum-seeker is someone whose request for sanctuary has yet to be processed. Every year, around one million people seek asylum.
National asylum systems are in place to determine who qualifies for international protection. However, during mass movements of refugees, usually as a result of conflict or violence, it is not always possible or necessary to conduct individual interviews with every asylum seeker who crosses a border. These groups are often called ‘prima facie’ refugees.
At UNHCR, we believe that everyone has a right to seek asylum from persecution, and we do our best to protect those who need it.
At the end of 2021, there were approximately 4.6 million people around the world waiting for a decision on their asylum claims. For more information and the latest statistics, read our annual Asylum Trends report."
"Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country.
They often have had to flee with little more than the clothes on their back, leaving behind homes, possessions, jobs and loved ones.
Refugees are defined and protected in international law. The 1951 Refugee Convention is a key legal document and defines a refugee as:
“someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”
By the end of 2017, there were 25.4 million refugee men, women and children registered across the world. "
"Internally displaced people (IDPs) have not crossed a border to find safety. Unlike refugees, they are on the run at home.
IDPs stay within their own country and remain under the protection of its government, even if that government is the reason for their displacement. They often move to areas where it is difficult for us to deliver humanitarian assistance and as a result, these people are among the most vulnerable in the world.
At the end of 2021, some 53.2 million people were internally displaced due to armed conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations, according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)."
"The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons establishes the legal definition for stateless persons as individuals who are not considered citizens or nationals under the operation of the laws of any country. A person’s citizenship and nationality may be determined based on the laws of a country where an individual is born or where her or his parents were born. A person can lose citizenship and nationality in a number of ways, including when a country ceases to exist or adopts nationality laws that discriminate against certain groups. The 1954 Convention was followed by the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which establishes safeguards around conferring and withdrawing citizenship to prevent statelessness."
"Today, millions of people around the world are denied a nationality. As a result, they often aren’t allowed to go to school, see a doctor, get a job, open a bank account, buy a house or even get married.
Stateless people may have difficulty accessing basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. Without these things, they can face a lifetime of obstacles and disappointment."
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