Migrant or Refugee? That Shouldn't Be a Life or Death Question

Are the Syrians flooding Europe's shores migrants or refugees? The answer is not just semantic; it can be a matter of life and death. States are required not to send refugees back to persecution. Migrants can legally be shipped back to the horrors they fled.

What is a refugee?

Under international law, a refugee is a person who has fled her country based on a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. States—even those who are not parties to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees—may not send refugees back to danger. Parties to the treaty are required to give refugees other basic rights like access to courts and to education, which can be expensive.

International law thus protects a very narrow group of people....

Continue reading (log in may be required): http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/09/03/migrant-or-refugee-that-shouldnt-be-a-life-or-death-question/