Refugee or Migrant?

Of all the things I have imagined I would come to write, this is one I never expected to be necessary.

With more than 70 million people forcibly displaced globally and lethal boat crossings still daily headlines, the terms 'refugee' and 'migrant' are far too frequently used interchangeably in the media and public discourse. The lack of distinction can be dangerous for both populations.

When we devalue people's struggles for survival, we devalue them and what they deserve.

Refugees are people fleeing armed conflict or persecution. There were 21.3 million of them worldwide at the end of 2015. Their situations are so perilous and intolerable that they cross national borders to seek trepidatious safety in nearby countries, and thus become internationally recognized as "refugees" with access to assistance from various states and organizations.

They are recognized as such because it is too dangerous for them to return home, and they need sanctuary elsewhere in order to survive. These are people for whom denial of asylum and closure of borders has deadly consequences.

The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, as well as further legal texts such as the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, remain the cornerstone of modern refugee protection under international law. The legal principles they enshrine have permeated into other regional and national laws and practices.

The 1951 Convention defines who a refugee is and outlines the basic rights which states should afford to refugees. One of the most fundamental principles laid down in international law is that refugees should not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom would be under threat.

Protection of refugees have many aspects:

• Safety from being returned to the dangers they have fled
• Access to asylum procedures that are fair and efficient
• Measures to ensure that their basic human rights are respected to allow them to live in dignity and safety while helping them find a longer-term solution

Migrants do not choose to move because of a direct threat of persecution or death, but rather to improve their lives by finding work, or in other cases, improved educational opportunities or family reunions. Unlike refugees who can't return home safely, there are no such hindrances for migrants. If they wish to return home, they will receive the same protections provided to them by their government as before.

The migrant/refugee distinction is most important for individual governments, because each country deals with migrants under their own laws and processes foremost. When it comes to refugees, countries have specific responsibilities towards anyone seeking asylum on their territories or at their borders. There are established norms of refugee protection and asylum that are defined in both national legislation and international laws which countries must follow.

Politics has a way of getting mixed into the conversation far too often, wherein conflating refugees and migrants can result in serious consequences for the lives and safety of refugees.

Blurring the terms not only takes attention away from the specific legal protections that refugees require, but can undermine the public support for refugees and the institutionally of asylum at a time when more refugees need such protection than ever before.

We need to treat these, and all, human beings with the respect and dignity these deserve. We need to ensure that the human rights of migrants and refugees are respected. At the same time, the specificity of a refugee's predicament should not be depreciated, and an appropriate legal response is the most significant aspect of what refugees need.