Appendix C. CPL and Displaced Persons
I. TREATMENT OF DISPLACED PERSONS (REFUGEES).
A. Generally, nations must provide refugees with same treatment provided to aliens
and in many instances to a nation's own nationals. The most basic of these
protections is the right to be shielded from danger.
- REFUGEE DEFINED. Any Person:
a. Who has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race,
religion, nationality, social group, religion, or political association;
b. Who is outside the nation of his nationality; and
c. Is without the protection of his own nation, either because:
(1)That nation is unable to provide protection, or
(2)The person is unable to seek the protection, due to the well-founded
fear described above.
** Harsh conditions, general strife, or adverse economic conditions are not
considered "persecution." Individuals fleeing such conditions do not fall
within the category of refugee.
** The UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining
Refugee Status is an excellent source of information on this subject. However,
practitioners must recognize that the standards established by the UNHCR do
not always correspond with U.S. policy.
- MIGRANT DEFINED: Those who do not necessarily qualify for refi~gee
status and the accompanying rights. The 1967 Protocol is not self-executing
and therefore does not bestow any rights upon a person claiming
refugeelrefugelpolitical asylum status. Nation states are free to apply the
definitional elements found with the Protocol.
B. MAIN SOURCES OF LAW:
- 195 1 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (RC). The RC bestows
refugee statuslprotection on pre-1951 refugees.
