Refugee

Under international law, a refugee is defined as a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution. They are distinguished from economic migrants which have voluntarily left their country of origin for economic reasons and will not be persecuted if returned.

Under the 1951 Convention on Refugees and 1967 Protocol, a nation must grant asylum to refugees and cannot forcibly return a refugee to their nation of origin. Refugees are also the subject of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Many nations routinely ignore this treaty.

The United Nations created a second definition of the term "refugee" in regards to Palestinian Arabs. For this group only, an Arab is officially considered a Palestinian refugee even if that person had recently immigrated to the British mandate of Palestine in the last two years before 1948.