Glossary - UNHCR

1 Glossary4 RsRepatriation, Reintegration,Rehabilitation and Reconstruction-In post-conflict situations in countriesof origin, UNHCR proposes the 4 Rsconcept, bringing togetherhumanitarian and development actorsand funds. It aims to ensure linkagesbetween all four processes so as toprevent the recurrence of massoutflows, facilitate sustainablerepatriation and help create goodlocal in the EU context to refer to the acquired or agreed set ofinstruments relating to cooperation onasylum forProtectionA declaration of States Parties and aprogramme of action comprising sixgoals to improve the protection ofrefugees and asylum-seekers aroundthe world, agreed by UNHCR andStates as part of the GlobalConsultations process, endorsed bythe Executive Committee in October2002, and welcomed by the grant, by a State, of protection onits territory to persons from anotherState who are fleeing persecution orserious danger.

2 Asylum encompassesa variety of elements, includingnon-refoulement, permission toremain on the territory of the asylumcountry and humane standards individual who is seekinginternational protection. In countrieswith individualized procedures, anasylum-seeker is someone whoseclaim has not yet been finally decidedon by the country in which the claimis submitted. Not everyasylum-seeker will ultimately berecognized as a refugee, but everyrefugee was initially onRefugeesA Declaration adopted by acolloquium of experts from theAmericas in November 1984. TheDeclaration enlarges the 1951 Convention definition of refugee toinclude persons who have fled theircountry because their lives, safety orfreedom have been threatened bygeneralized violence, foreignaggression, internal conflicts, massiveviolation of human rights or othercircumstances which have seriouslydisturbed public order. While theDeclaration is not a treaty, itsprovisions are respected acrossCentral America.

3 Its refugee definitionhas been incorporated in thelegislation of all bar one of the CentralAmerican and Caribbean countriesand several Latin American provisions that set out theconditions in which refugee statuscomes to an end because it is nolonger needed or justified. Cessationclauses are found in Article 1 (C) ofthe 1951 Convention and in Article 1(4) of the 1969 OAU who are below the legal ageof majority and are therefore notlegally independent. This termincludes adolescents. Under theConvention on the Rights of the Child,a child is a person who is below theage of eighteen, unless the applicablelaw sets a lower ,ClusterApproachThe cluster approach is part of theoverall UN-led humanitarian reformprocess initiated in 2005 aimed atimproving the effectiveness ofhumanitarian response throughimproving the predictability andaccountability of humanitarianactions. The cluster approach wasadopted by the Inter-Agency StandingCommittee as a mechanism thatwould address identified gaps inresponse and improve the quality ofhumanitarian actions by strengtheningpartnerships between UN agencies,the Red Cross movement,international organizations and NGOsand through enhanced coordination ofresponse in the areas where this Global Report 2005441A cluster is a group comprisingorganizations and other stakeholders,with a designated lead, working in aparticular sector in which gaps in thehumanitarian response have beenidentified during the humanitarianresponse review process.

4 These sectorsare: water and sanitation; nutrition;health; emergency shelter; emergencytelecommunications; logistics; campcoordination and camp management;early recovery, and protection. Clustersare organised at both field and globallevel. UNHCR has takenresponsibilities as cluster lead foremergency shelter, camp coordinationand management and protection insituations of conflict-related approachAn inclusive partnership strategy thatrecognizes and builds on thecapacities and resources of people ofconcern, enabling their participationthroughout the programme cycle toensure their protection andsustainable items provided by UNHCR inaddition to the basic food rationsupplied by permission, under nationallaw or practice, to reside in a countryextended by that country to personswho are in need of internationalprotection even though they do notqualify for 1951 Convention onthe ReductionofStatelessnessA treaty that provides for theacquisition of nationality by those whowould otherwise be stateless and whohave an appropriate link with the Statethrough birth on the territory orthrough descent from a national.

5 TheConvention also provides for theretention of nationality by those whowould become stateless if they were tolose the State s nationality. UNHCRhas been mandated with specificfunctions under Article 11 of initiative presented by HighCommissioner Ruud Lubbers in 2002to improve refugee protectionworldwide and to facilitate theresolution of refugee problems byresponsibility- and burden-sharingthrough multilateral specialagreements on issues such assecondary movement, resettlementand the link between assistance recognized as refugees byStates under the eligibility criteria inArticle 1 of the 1951 Convention, andentitled to the enjoyment of a varietyof rights under that to theStatus ofRefugees (1951 Convention)This treaty establishes the mostwidely applicable framework for theprotection of refugees. TheConvention was adopted in July 1951and entered into force in April 1 of the Convention limits itsscope to events occurring before 1 January 1951 but this restrictionwas removed by the 1967 Protocolrelating to the Status of Refugees.

6 Asof 1 March 2006, there are 146 States Parties to the 1951 Conventionand/or the 1967 to theStatus ofStatelessPersonsA Convention that provides thedefinition of a stateless person andestablishes a framework by which astateless person who is lawfullyresident in a State can have legalstatus. The Convention was adoptedin September 1954 and entered intoforce in June forRefugees (DAR)Additional development assistance forimproved burden-sharing for countrieshosting large numbers of refugees;promoting better quality of life andself-reliance for refugees pendingdifferent durable solutions; and abetter quality of life for LocalIntegration(DLI)Where local integration of refugees incountries of asylum is a viable option, UNHCR proposes a DLI strategy tosolicit additional developmentassistance aimed at attaining durablesolutions for refugees through IIEffective from 1 September 2003,this European Council regulationprovides the legal basis forestablishing the criteria andmechanism for determining the Stateresponsible for examining an asylumapplication by a third country nationalin one of the Member States of theEU (excluding Denmark), as well as inIceland and Global Report 2005 GlossaryDurablesolutionsAny means by which the situation ofrefugees can be satisfactorily andpermanently resolved to enable themto live normal lives.

7 UNHCR traditionally pursues the three durablesolutions of voluntary repatriation,local integration and provisions that deny thebenefits of international protection tothose who would otherwise satisfy thecriteria for refugee status. In the1951 Convention, the exclusionclauses are found in Articles 1D, 1 Eand 1F. These clauses apply to thefollowing categories: persons who arereceiving protection or assistance fromUnited Nations agencies other thanUNHCR; persons who possess therights and obligations attached to thepossession of nationality of theircountry of residence; and persons inrespect of whom there are seriousreasons for considering that they havecommitted a crime against peace, awar crime, a crime against humanity,a serious non-political crime, or actscontrary to the purposes andprinciples of the United ofthe HighCommissioner sProgramme(ExCom)The Committee charged withapproving UNHCR s assistanceprogrammes, advising the HighCommissioner on the exercise ofher/his functions and overseeing theOffice s finances and is composed of representativesof 68 States with a demonstratedinterest in refugee issues.

8 Other Statesmay attend, along with IGOs andNGOs, as when conditions in the countryof origin are too difficult or dangerousfor the majority of refugees to return, UNHCR can assist ( facilitate ) therepatriation of any refugees who makean informed and voluntary decision toreturn and request such that targets ordisproportionately affects a particulargender. Under certain circumstances,gender-related persecution may comewithin the refugee initiative launched by donors in2003 with the aim of improving theirresponse to humanitarian whereby the protectionand assistance needs of refugees aremet without previously determiningtheir status on an individual where asylum-seekersarriveen masseand individualizedprocedures are neither feasible nornecessary (the cause of flight oftenbeing self-evident). The two mainapproaches are recognition of refugeestatus on aprima faciebasis andtemporary withspecific needsIndividuals, families or groupsrequiring additional support to enablethem to overcome the challenges theyface in accessing and enjoying (IDP)An individual who has been forced orobliged to flee from their home orplace of habitual residence.

9 Inparticular as a result of or in order toavoid the effects of armed conflicts,situations of generalized violence,violations of human rights or naturalor human-made disasters, and whohave not crossed an internationallyrecognized State border (according totheGuiding Principles on InternalDisplacement).Internal flightalternative orrelocationprincipleA factual determination that anasylum-seeker could have avoidedpersecution in their country of originby relocating to another part of thesame country. The idea that refugeesshould first try to find a place withinthe country of origin where theywould be safe, before seeking asylumoutside the country, rests onunderstandings which are basically atodds with fundamental refugeeprotection principles. This term is notfavoured by UNHCR as it is oftenused to limit access to statusdetermination procedures or to denyrefugee status. UNHCR s position isthat the possibility of internalrelocation is relevant to statusdetermination only in certain limitedcases and, even then, its applicationwill depend on a full consideration ofall aspects of the refugee actions by the internationalcommunity on the basis ofinternational law, aimed at protectingthe fundamental rights of a specificcategory of persons outside theircountries of origin, who lack theUNHCR Global Report 2005443 Glossarynational protection of their owncountries.

10 See also Protection (JPO)Government-sponsored youngprofessional working for durable solution to the plight ofrefugees that involves their permanentsettlement in the country in whichthey sought who are recognized asrefugees by UNHCR acting under theauthority of its Statute and relevantUN General Assembly status is especiallysignificant in States that are notparties to the 1951 RefugeeConvention or its 1967 Plan ofActionThe Mexico Plan of Action, launchedin 2004, aims to enhanceinternational refugee protection inLatin America by further developinginternational refugee law,consolidating protection networks andimproving the ability of States toprovide effective protection to allpersons in need of it. It focuses ondurable solutions for urban refugees,in particular self-reliance, and thespecial needs of refugee women, theColombian conflict and its impact,and solutions at border areas, as wellas the use of resettlementopportunities in the (Economic)Persons who leave their countriespurely for economic reasons unrelatedto the refugee definition, or in order toseek material improvements in theirlivelihood.