Evolution of the Refugee Concept

Abstract

At the end of World War II, almost one million uprooted people sought refuge across Europe. At the same time, as the Cold War quickly became global and independence processes were triggered, the frightening figure for refugees of concern to UNHCR stood at approximately 13 million people. However, the refugee problem has no single solution. On the one hand, in some cases, they seek temporary protection in neighboring countries. On the other hand, there is a need to combine other protection policies for conflict prevention, development aid for democratization, and maintenance of peace. The complexity of today's conflicts and the overlap of different types of population movements (immigration or asylum), have led to confusing terminology and politics. Determining who should be recognized as a refugee has become a complex matter. With a view to encoding, regularizing, and creating general frameworks, the international community has created a legal framework for refugees, through the Geneva Convention and its Protocol and, more than thirty years later, through the Cartagena Declaration, which together define the refugee concept.