UNRIC MAGAZINE June Edition 2009

April 2009

The UNHCR publication "Protecting refugees and the role of UNHCR" provides answers to some of the most commonly asked questions, such as who are the refugees, and how are they protected.  The publication also explains the differences between refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, economic migrants and internally displaced persons.

The publication notes that understanding the differences between terms is very important in order to help refugees appropriately. Refugees, internally displaced persons and economic migrants are increasingly being confused, and being treated in the same way: with mistrust, even hatred and outright rejection. This places the body of international law designed to protect refugees under intense pressure as border controls are constantly being strengthened and made stricter. States have a right to protect their borders, but refugees may be paying a penalty too, states the publication. It emphasizes that in their case the failure to get to a safe country could lead to torture or even cost their lives. Therefore, legal distinctions between different terms are extremely important.

The "Protecting refugees and the role of UNHCR" publication's last part introduces statistical facts and numbers concerning the work of UNHCR. The "Numbers at a Glance" section is divided into five parts: general, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and stateless. For example, at the beginning of 2008, the number of people of concern to UNHCR stood at 31.7 million, according to the publications. Furthermore, the publication points out that the decline in the global refugee population witnessed since

2002 was reversed in 2006 when numbers started to go up again with 9.9 million, reaching 11.4 million in early 2008.

 

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