Understanding Migration and Displacement

Introduction[edit | edit source]

There have been displaced persons spread throughout history, as long as there has been natural disaster, climate change, conflict, war, persecution, and political instability. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the end of 2020 there were 82.4 Million people worldwide who have forcibly had to flee their home including 26.4 Million Refugees, 48 Million Internally Displaced Persons and over 4.1 million Asylum Seekers. Currently there are more refugees world-wide than there have been at any time since the end of World War 2.

"It is important to understand the background of the displaced person, because each one has been through different circumstances, have different backgrounds and different beliefs. The therapist need to know how to communicate with the displaced person and what they have been through, to overcome this" Anonymous Refugee

Terminology[edit | edit source]

There is a wide range of terminology focused around the movement of people, with terms often mixed together and sometimes used interchangeably.Although breaking down terminology might not seem important, it is increasingly recognised that language shapes our perception of reality, so the words we use to talk about migration have an effect on how we think, talk and act about migration. Having a good understanding of these various terms are important to have a greater understanding of displacement and the impact on the individual, family and community.

Migrants[edit | edit source]

There is no legally accepted definition of the term “migrants” at an international level, and as a result there is significant debate and dispute around who a migrant is. There are two main views in relation to migrant as a term; the inclusivist view recognises migrants as people who have moved from their usual place of residence, regardless of their legal status and their motivations for moving, while the residualist view sees migrants as those who have moved from their usual place of residence for every reason other than those fleeing war or persecution. [1]

Figure.1 The Meaning of Migrants [2]
The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) uses an inclusivist view that sees migrant as an umbrella term for any person who has resided away from their usual place of residence, whether within a country or across an international border, regardless of the person’s legal status; whether the movement is involuntary or voluntary; whatever the reason for the movement are; or, what the length of the stay is. [3]


While the United Nations Convention International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the United Nations Refugee Agency use a residualist view, where the term 'migrants' refers only to situations where the decision to migrate is taken freely by the individual concerned, for reasons of 'personal convenience' to improve their lives and standard of living through: finding work, seeking better education and reuniting with family and without intervention of an external compelling factor due to direct threat or persecution.


Migration has always existed, and will continue long in to the future but the term migrants has become more politically loaded over the years, and remains a contentious point of discussion. Consistent public debate is challenging when multiple definitions exist. Every migrant is a unique person protected by human rights, while some migrants may have specific vulnerabilities and as a result have particular rights because of who they are or what they have experienced for example children, people with a disability, survivors of trafficking, and refugees. The use of ‘migrants’ as a label for all should always go hand in hand with recognizing and protecting the rights of specific groups.

Internally Displaced Person[edit | edit source]

According to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, an Internally Displaced Person (IDP), are "persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognised state border." [6] There are two important elements in the IDP definition: the movement is involuntary and takes place within national borders. Prevention of forced displacement and the protection of IDPs is the primary responsibility of the national authority.  

While often referred to as refugees, IDP's do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee as they remain entitled to all the rights and guarantees as citizens and other habitual residents of their home country and remain under the protection of its government. In many cases the displacement occurs as a result of the government, which can make IDP's more vulnerable to further displacement and other protection risks, such as lack of access to basic services, family separation, sexual and gender based violence, trafficking, discrimination and harassment.[7]   [8]

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) at the end of 2021 there were 59.1 million IDP's; 53.2million as a result of conflict, violence or human rights violations and 5.9 million as a result of disaster. Syria (6,662,000), Afghanistan (5,704,000), Democratic Republic of the Congo (5,540,000), Colombia (5,236,400), Yemen (4,300,000) and Ethiopia (4,168,000) are countries with some of the largest internally displaced populations.  [9]

Asylum Seeker[edit | edit source]

When people flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum or the right to be recognised as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. An asylum seeker must demonstrate that their fear of persecution in their home country is well-founded. 

An asylum seeker is someone who claims to be a refugee but whose claim has not yet been fully evaluated. This person would have applied for asylum on the grounds that returning to their home country would lead to persecution on account of race, religion, nationality or political beliefs. Someone is an asylum seeker for so long as their application is pending. So not every asylum seeker will be recognised as a refugee, but every refugee is initially an asylum seeker. 

Refugee[edit | edit source]

A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee their country and crossed an international border to find safety in another country as a result of persecution, war or violence. Refugees are defined by the 1951 Refugee Convention as: “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” The leading causes of refugees fleeing their home country include war, ethnic, tribal and religious violence, with their situation so perilous that they cross national borders to seek safety in nearby countries and seek to gain access to assistance from other states and aid organisations.

A vital part of being recognised as a refugee is Refugee Status Determination (RSD), a legal process that governments or UNHCR use to determine whether a person seeking international protection is considered a refugee under International, National or Regional Law.The process can be lengthy, complicated and is certainly imperfect. There is still no single uniting model for RSD. States do have the primary responsibility for determining the status of asylum seekers but UNHCR will step in where states are unable or unwilling.

Currently just five countries; Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar, account for 68% of all those displaced across borders.

Stateless Person[edit | edit source]

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a stateless person is someone who is not a citizen of any country, which can occur due to a variety of reasons, including sovereign, legal, technical or administrative decisions or oversights. Citizenship is the legal bond between a government and an individual, and allows for certain political, economic, social and other rights of the individual, as well as the responsibilities of both government and citizen.

Resources[edit | edit source]

Migrants[edit | edit source]

Internally Displaced Persons[edit | edit source]

Asylum Seekers[edit | edit source]

Refugees[edit | edit source]

Stateless Person[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. meaningofmigrants.org. What Is The Meaning of Migrants?. Available from: https://meaningofmigrants.org/(accessed 2 May 2022).
  2. meaningofmigrants.org. One Page Overview. Available from: https://meaningofmigrants.org/ (accessed 2 May 2022).
  3. International Organization for Migration. Key Migration Terms. Available from: https://www.iom.int/key-migration-terms (accessed 2 May 2022).
  4. Melissa Siegel.Who Is A Migrant?. Available from:https://youtu.be/oAOvJdoHR8M[last accessed 11/02/2022]
  5. World 101. What's the Difference Between a Migrant and a Refugee? Migration Explained | World101. Available from: https://youtu.be/vwSOds50Afk[last accessed 11/02/2022]
  6. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. 2004. Available from: https://cms.emergency.unhcr.org/documents/11982/44794/UN%2C+Guiding+Principles+on+Internal+Displacement%2C+1998/47806967-dd92-4d67-ad47-578aa8b5d11f [Accessed 27th June 2020].
  7. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Emergency Handbook - IDP Definition. Available from: https://emergency.unhcr.org/entry/67716/idp-definition (Accessed 2nd June 2020).
  8. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ireland. Internally Displaced People. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/en-ie/internally-displaced-people.html (Accessed 27th July 2020).
  9. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Global Internal Displacement Database. Available from: https://www.internal-displacement.org/database/displacement-data (accessed 15 May 2022).
  10. UNHCR Teaching About Refugees. Who is an Internally Displaced Person?. Available from: https://youtu.be/DCzpVQkencw[last accessed 11/02/22]
  11. Melissa Siegel. Internal Displacement: Global Report on Internal Displacement 2021. Available from: https://youtu.be/L7EEWeZV3Yc[last accessed 11/02/22]
  12. UNHCR. Who Is An Asylum Seeker? Available from: https://youtu.be/E1E_tiagn8Q[last accessed 11/02/2022]
  13. The Guardian. Limbo: A virtual experience of waiting for asylum - Guardian VR - 360 video. Available from: https://youtu.be/AyWLvrWBKHA[last accessed 11/02/2022]
  14. UNHCR Teaching About Refugees. Who Is A Refugee. Available from: https://youtu.be/GvzZGplGbL8[last accessed 30/10/17]
  15. TED-Ed. What does it mean to be a refugee? - Benedetta Berti and Evelien Borgman. Available from: https://youtu.be/25bwiSikRsI[last accessed 30/10/17]
  16. UNHCR Teaching About Refugees. Who Is A Stateless Person? Available from: https://youtu.be/NJVU-fjPrzY[last accessed 30/10/17]
  17. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. #IBelong – What it feels like to be Stateless. Available from: https://youtu.be/MuDzR8d63zg[last accessed 11/02/2022]