Features
UNHCR sheds light on who is a migrant, refugee, asylum seeker
The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR has made clarifications on who is a migrant, refugee and asylum seeker.
It noted that many people including the media sometimes use the terms interchangeably or without clear distinctions.
The UNHCR said: “All people who move between countries deserve full respect for their human rights and dignity. There are, however, different reasons and motivations for people to leave their homes and, consequently, different international legal obligations that arise and apply to those whose lives were, are, or may be at risk should they return.
Refugees are specifically defined and protected in international law. These are individuals who have fled their homes to escape persecution, conflict, violence, serious human rights violations or other events seriously disturbing public order, and who seek safety in another country. As a result, they require “international protection” from another country, where their own country of origin is unable or willing to protect them. They are exercising a fundamental, universal human right – the right to seek and enjoy asylum. According to international refugee law, a person is a refugee – and should be treated as such – as soon as they meet this definition, even if they are still waiting for formal recognition by States or UNHCR.
States have specific obligations towards refugees under international law, including:
Ensuring refugees can access their territory and seek asylum.
Not penalizing refugees for crossing borders irregularly (without authorization or required documents) to reach safety. There is nothing illegal about seeking asylum.
Ensuring the basic human rights of refugees are respected, protected and fulfilled.
Ensuring that refugees are not expelled or returned (“refouled”) to situations of danger, where their lives or freedom are at risk.
In some countries, refugees may have access to other forms of legal stay, including free movement agreements, work permits or student visas, so may choose not to apply for asylum. However, these other forms of residence do not affect their need for or right to international protection.
Asylum-seekers are individuals who intend to seek, or are awaiting a decision on their request for, international protection. States have an obligation to ensure anyone approaching their borders in need of asylum can access their territory, present their case and have it examined fairly and efficiently. While not every asylum-seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee, any individual who presents a claim to asylum must have it examined fairly and efficiently.
Migrants are not as specifically defined under international law, but the term has been used to refer to people who choose to move across borders, not because of any direct threats of persecution, serious harm, or death, but exclusively for other reasons, including for work, education or family reunification. Other complex factors may also be at play, such as escaping hardships due to environmental disasters, famine, or extreme poverty.
Those who leave their countries for these reasons would not ordinarily be in need of international protection, as they – unlike refugees – would continue, in principle, to enjoy the protection of their own country when they are abroad and when they return.
While not fulfilling the criteria of the refugee definition, it may be that migrants require assistance, help and protection of their rights at various points during their journeys. But they would be protected by international human rights law and, in some circumstances, they may also be entitled to protection from return to their country of origin or removal from the host country based on human rights grounds.
Increasingly around the world, “mixed movements” occur where refugees and migrants travel along the same routes across land and sea borders. While their legal status and motivations differ, they may face similar dangers along the way – including violence, abuse and exploitation at the hands of human traffickers, smugglers, criminals, armed elements, other rogue actors, and even border guards or other officials.
While such incidents and experiences taking place on journeys outside countries of origin will not automatically transform a “migrant” into a “refugee” (because refugee status depends on an individual being unable to return home owing to the danger, violence or harm from which they fled), all States must take a humane, rights-based approach when receiving people at their borders. They must ensure people in need of international protection (refugees) can swiftly access asylum, and that victims of human trafficking or human rights abuses – whether refugees or migrants – are rapidly identified and supported.
The international community has long acknowledged the distinction between refugees and migrants – from the codified body of laws developed last century specific to refugees (the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol as well as other legal texts, such as the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention), to the more recent New York Declaration for Refugees and MigrantsLink is external, and the two distinct frameworks it spurred – the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for MigrationLink is external.
Conflation has consequences
There is an increasing and troubling trend in public discourse, the media and statistical reporting to use “migrant” as an umbrella term for both migrants and refugees. This conflation is not only inaccurate but can have serious consequences for people who need international protection. Incorrectly referring to refugees and asylum-seekers as migrants (or as “illegal”, “unauthorized” or “undocumented” arrivals):
Mischaracterizes their specific legal status.
Hinders their access to specific legal protections – including the right to cross borders to seek and enjoy asylum.
Diminishes State responsibility – by downplaying the specific obligations States owe them to respect their right to seek asylum without distinction, and regardless of mode of arrival.
Places their lives and safety at risk – by not identifying them in mixed movements and providing the protection they need, exposing them to renewed harm.
Dismisses their lived experience and the dangers and risks they have faced from war, conflict and persecution.
Fuels support for anti-asylum/refugee policies – from denial of access to territory and asylum, pushbacks on land and at sea, violence and ill-treatment at borders, returns to situations of danger (refoulement), and attempts to deflect or “export” asylum-seekers abroad (externalization).
For accuracy, clarity, and to avoid the consequences of conflation, the correct way to acknowledge the specific, critical needs of people in mixed movement situations is to refer to both “refugees and migrants”. This allows for proper identification and responses for those involved, ensuring refugees get access to asylum and vulnerable migrants get the tailored support they need. More broadly, refugees and migrants should collectively be referred to as “individuals”, “people”, or “people on the move”.
The United Nations has announced a new set of senior appointments to the leadership of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), with Secretary-General António Guterres naming Tressa Rae Finerty as Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, Antón Leis García as Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, and Edem Wosornu as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.
The appointments, announced on Saturday, are expected to take effect in the coming weeks.
The three officials will occupy the most senior positions within UNHCR, supporting the High Commissioner in leading the agency’s global response to the protection and assistance of refugees, stateless persons and other people forced to flee their homes.
Welcoming the appointments, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih expressed confidence that the incoming officials would strengthen the agency’s response to the growing global displacement crisis.
“I warmly welcome these appointments and look forward to working closely with Tressa, Anton and Edem,” Salih said.
“Their leadership, experience and commitment will be invaluable as UNHCR responds to displacement challenges around the world. Together, we will work to continue strengthening protection, expanding opportunities for self-reliance and pursuing lasting solutions that help refugees rebuild their lives with dignity.”
Finerty, a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva. She previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Geneva and Deputy Executive Secretary in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of State. Her diplomatic career has also included postings at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York and embassies in Malaysia, Iraq, Armenia and Thailand. In addition, she has taught refugee policy at New York University and Georgetown University.
Leis García currently heads the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Spain’s development and humanitarian agency. He has previously held senior positions at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Office of the President of the Spanish Government, and international financial institutions including the African Development Bank and the World Bank Group.
Wosornu currently serves as Director of the Crisis Response Division at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and chairs the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Emergency Directors Group. She has held several senior headquarters and field positions within OCHA and began her United Nations career as an intern at UNHCR before working in the private legal sector in the United Kingdom.
The newly appointed officials will replace Kelly T. Clements, Deputy High Commissioner; Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations; and Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, whose terms are coming to an end.
Paying tribute to the outgoing leaders, Salih praised their contributions to the agency’s humanitarian mission.
“The organization owes a profound debt of gratitude to Kelly, Raouf and Ruven for their exceptional service and dedication,” he said. “Their leadership has strengthened UNHCR’s ability to protect and assist millions of displaced and stateless people around the world.”
The final batch of 40 stranded Nigerians evacuated from South Africa has arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, bringing to a close the Federal Government’s evacuation exercise that returned a total of 1,174 citizens.
The returnees landed on Friday night aboard a chartered Air Peace flight, marking the sixth and final phase of the evacuation programme.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said the exercise was carried out through six flights operated by Air Peace and ValueJet.
According to the commission, the first five batches brought home 258, 266, 262, 282 and 66 Nigerians, while the final chartered Air Peace flight evacuated the remaining 40 stranded citizens.
Balogun said the returnees expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for approving the evacuation from South Africa. They also thanked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Acting Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, Temitope Alexander-Ajayi, and NiDCOM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, for facilitating their safe return.
The evacuees were received at the airport by NiDCOM officials, who also announced a series of support packages from government agencies, corporate organisations and individuals.
According to the statement, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State approved a grant of N1 million for each returnee from the state. Telecommunications company MTN also donated free SIM packs with N50,000 worth of data and pledged to credit each returnee’s bank account with N100,000.
Officials from the Edo and Delta State governments similarly announced assistance for their indigenes among the evacuees.
The commission added that the JAAL Foundation pledged empowerment support for 50 female returnees, while the General Overseer of Omega Power Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Dr Chibuzor Gift Chinwe, was commended for providing free accommodation for about 52 returnees, skills acquisition opportunities for their families and free education for their children up to university level.
The returnees also acknowledged Pastor Bolaji Idowu of Harvesters Church for donating N100,000 each to 66 evacuees, while real estate firm Cruxstone provided financial support to the first batch of returnees.
Balogun said officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other security agencies were present at the airport to receive and document the returnees.
“The returnees were full of gratitude for the donations, support and warm welcome received,” the statement said.
The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and the UN Migration Agency, IOM have welcomed the entry into force today of the European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum as an opportunity to move beyond crisis-driven responses and implement a more predictable, fair and effective approach to the issues across Europe.
EU Member States should seize this moment to strengthen migration management and refugee protection while advancing solidarity and responsibility-sharing in line with European values and international obligations, the agencies’ chiefs said.
“The Pact’s entry into full effect today is an important step toward a more predictable and coherent European migration system. What matters now is steady implementation over time that is effective, humane, sustainably resourced and grounded in cooperation,” said Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration. “The priority is turning the reforms into practical results for States, communities, and people on the move.”
The Pact aims to make EU asylum systems more efficient and consistent, offering a structured framework for Member State cooperation. This can reduce backlogs while maintaining the quality of assessments, provide greater certainty for asylum-seekers, and enable refugees to begin rebuilding their lives and contributing to their communities sooner.
“This Pact is an important step in the right direction, advancing shared responsibility and more predictable, sustainable approaches across the European Union,” said Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “UNHCR stands ready to support all Member States in strengthening asylum systems – ensuring access to protection for those in need, upholding human rights and dignity, and enabling safe, lawful and dignified returns for those not in need of international protection.”
IOM and UNHCR welcome the EU’s renewed focus on partnerships with all affected countries. Reducing irregular movements means addressing root causes, ensuring access to protection, tackling smuggling networks, and enabling safe, regular pathways. The organizations will continue to support route-based approaches that ensure policies deliver on protection, dignity and shared responsibility, while contributing to sustainable solutions that benefit both countries and communities along migration routes.
UNHCR and IOM welcome several key elements of the Pact, including earlier identification of people with specific needs, strengthened legal assistance, and new independent monitoring mechanisms at external borders. Returns of those with no legal right to stay must be both effective and humane. Alongside enforcement, they should ensure access to informed voluntary return, early case management, and reintegration support, working with countries of origin, transit and first asylum as part of a balanced approach that upholds dignity and fundamental rights.
These measures can help ensure that asylum processing and return procedures are faster and fairer, reducing uncertainty for asylum-seekers while strengthening public confidence in the migration and asylum system.
UNHCR and IOM stress that implementation will be the decisive test. Procedures must be carried out with adequate safeguards to ensure that no one is returned or transferred to a situation where they may face persecution, conflict or other forms of serious harm.
ICC confirmation of 17 charges against El-Hishri draws praise from rights groups
Expert raises questions over UNHCR’s strategic direction after new leadership appointments
UN appoints new senior leadership for UNHCR
Migrant advocate laments death of asylum seeker, condemns Libya abuses
50 die as boat carrying about 60 people capsizes
-
News2 weeks agoFavour Henshaw appointed administrator of Platform for Cooperation on Mixed Migration
-
News2 weeks agoLampedusa: built to accommodate 400 people, now holds thousands of migrants
-
News Extra2 weeks agoPope urges European leaders to make greater investment in developing migrants’ countries of origin
-
News2 weeks agoIYAMIDR commends Okpebholo for ₦1m support to South Africa returnees
-
News2 weeks agoWorld silent as drone strikes, extreme hunger ravage El Obeid families
-
Features2 weeks ago
Lampedusa: Pope’s visit powerful reaffirmation migrants, refugees must remain at centre of global efforts
-
Features2 weeks agoIOM, UNDP, UNHCR, welcome growing investment in long-term solutions to internal displacement
-
News Extra2 weeks agoJune 2025-26: Arrivals in Italy by sea decreases by 30 percent