1.2.4 Forced migrations - detailed examples

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UNHCR - The sea route to Europe: The Mediterranean passage in the age of refugees [1 July 2015]

Key terms

• Economic migrant

  • A person who leaves their country of origin purely for economic reasons that are not in any way related to the refugee definition, in order to seek material improvements in their livelihood.

• Environmental push factors

  • Environmental (relating to the natural world and the impact of human activity on its condition) factors which initiate and influence the decision to migrate by impelling or stimulating emigration

• Forced migrant

  • A person subject to a migratory movement in which an element of coercion exists, including threats to life and livelihood, whether arising from natural or man-made causes (e.g. movements of refugees and internally displaced persons as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine or development projects).

• Internally displaced person

  • A person or groups of persons who has been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognised State border.

• Political push factors

  • Political (relating to the government or public affairs of a country) factors which initiate and influence the decision to migrate by impelling or stimulating emigration

• Refugee

  • In the global context , either a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, is outside the country of nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country, or a stateless person, who, being outside of the country of former habitual residence for the same reasons as mentioned before, is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to it.