Refugees: Introduction

Sudanese refugees. Image credit CCTV Africa

• Refugee– is a person who cannot return to his/her own country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reason of race, religion, nationality, political association or social grouping
• A refugee is therefore a forced emigrant
• Based on this definition, African countries under the auspices of the Organisation of African Unity officially agreed to accept refugees in search of safety and security
• The following groups of emigrants qualify for refugee status:
• Freedom fighters
• Those fleeing from conflict in their own countries as a result of territorial claims for example Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Libya, Congo
• Those fleeing from ethnic and cultural conflicts for example Rwanda and Burundi
• Those fleeing from civil wars and any forms of disorder, for example those in Afghanistan and Democratic of Congo
• Those evading violation of their human rights for example Uganda under Idi Amin, South Africa under Apartheid, Yazidis in Syria
• Those fleeing from natural disasters for drought, floods and famine

To access more topics go to the O Level Geography Notes page