The Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees updated this definition, which had previously only included refugees within Europe who were displaced before In there were just over 2 million refugees around the world.
As the refugee population has changed, so too has the need for a more encapsulating definition of what defines a refugee. With a growing global population, combined with human conflict and environmental change, people are becoming refugees for more reasons than ever before. Global Citizen is bringing you five of the biggest ones:. The most common reason people become refugees is persecution — which can take on many forms: religious, national, social, racial, or political.
When it comes to religious refugees in the United States, the split between Christians and Muslims is quite even. Around the world, religious refugees are everywhere: from Muslims persecuted in Myanmar to Christians in the Central African Republic to Hindus in Pakistan.
Many famous individuals have been, at one point or another, a political refugee. Currently, the largest group of refugees in the world are fleeing civil conflict in Syria , which has been raging since and has killed , Syrians and displaced 6.
Another 5 million have left the country entirely. In the poll, politics, not faith, seems to make the biggest difference in people's opinions.
White evangelical Protestants, the most Republican major American religious group, were the least likely to agree that the government should offer services and support to unaccompanied minors while their cases are being reviewed—only 56 percent agreed. But it's also true that for most people, the colloquial sense "refugee" carries a greater moral weight than "immigrant. The use of that word may help to put U. Skip to content Site Navigation The Atlantic.
Popular Latest. Get the facts. Who is a refugee? These concerns have led to more extended legal definitions of refugee, including under the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees which also includes: persons who have fled their country because their lives, safety or freedom have been threatened by generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violation of human rights or other circumstances which have seriously disturbed public order.
Print this. Continue: Who is an asylum seeker? Those challenges can persist beyond political asylum and resettlement. All rights reserved. A Syrian refugee in southern Jordan takes a break from picking tomatoes to play.
Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars.
India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country.
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