UN defines a refugee as follows:
“A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so.”

The government of the nation of a refugee is either the one inflicting these atrocities or is unable to protect him from the same. A person seeks asylum after being forced to flee i.e. he becomes an asylum seeker. Once granted the status, he becomes a refugee. The statistics on refugees is heart wrenching. At the end of 2020, there were over 26.4 million refugees worldwide. Out of these, two-thirds come from just 5 countries, namely, Syria (6.7 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), South Sudan (2.3 million), Myanmar (1.1 million), and Somalia (0.9 million). Over half of these are children and deprived of schooling.

Almost all refugees flee with bare minimum necessities and are faced with continued struggle for food, shelter and basic health facilities. During the course of events, they leave behind a normal life, future prospects and even loved ones. Even after getting into refugee camps, their life remains daunting. Usually, countries are not welcoming towards refugees as they’re seen as liabilities. Leaving one’s own country behind and adjusting in a new one involves umpteen issues like affordable housing, employment, linguistic barriers, racism, discrimination and mental health.

Basically, there are two agencies that cover refugees under their mandate:-
1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Established in 1950 by the UN General Assembly with a three-year mandate to complete its work and then disband. It was to cater to the needs of Europeans displaced during World War II.
2. United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA): It was mandated by UNGA in 1949 for registered Palestinian refugees.

As of 14 November 2021, the UNHCR identifies 15 emergencies worldwide including the Afghanistan emergency, Rohingya emergency, Syria emergency, Yemen emergency and Venezuela situation.
Refugees are protected by international law. The basic statute governing the management of refugees is The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. It is a multilateral treaty-based upon Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 which grants the right to seek asylum from persecution in other states. The 1951 Convention was initially meant for persons fleeing events within Europe before 1951. The 1967 Protocol removed territorial and temporal limits. Article 33 of the convention talks about an indispensable provision in refugee protection laws called ‘Prohibition of Expulsion or Return (Refoulement)’. It clearly states that no country shall return a refugee back to the country where he faces persecution. As of 20 January 2020, there were 146 parties to the Convention, and 147 to the Protocol. India, however, is not a party to this convention.

The convention has indeed been helpful in the protection of refugees but hasn’t kept up with time. Not all countries are a party to it and there’s no convincing reason for them to do so. The absence of an overseeing mechanism makes the parties lax in the enforcement of the treaty. It fails to impose any kind of restrictions on the countries persecuting their citizens, nor does it provide any solution other than seeking asylum. The ambit of reasons for seeking refuge is also very narrowed down and does not include modern problems like environmental crises.

It’s high time that the Convention along with its enforcement is revamped.