What is an 'Asylum Seeker'?

An 'asylum seeker' is a person who requests refugee status in another state, usually on the grounds that he or she has a well founded fear of persecution in their home country or that they feel their life or liberty is threatened by armed conflict or violence. 

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants gives the world total as 62,000,000 refugees and estimates there are over 34,000,000 displaced by war, including internally displaced persons, who remain within the same national borders.

With the era of open immigration in the post World War II years now a distant memory, inevitably, such large numbers of refugee movements has caused a backlash amongst traditional receiving states and continents.

Background to Asylum

The concept of asylum is not new. It has been in existence for almost 3,500 years and can be found in different interpretations in many ancient societies. A Hittite King in the second millennium BC declared "Concerning a refugee, I affirm an oath the following: when a refugee comes from your land into mine he will not be returned to you. To return a refugee from the land of the Hittites is not right."


The Geneva Convention

The cornerstone of international refugee protection is the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1967 Protocol. The Geneva Convention was designed as a response to the mass migration flows Europe witnessed in the immediate aftermath of World War II. With European displacement firmly in its mind, the Geneva Convention originally contained a geographical and historical clause, which automatically banned people from certain countries from claiming asylum. The 1967 Protocol removed these restrictions and allowed people from any country to claim asylum. The Convention provides protection to those who have:

"a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion…"

It is important to recognise that the Convention does not make the claim of asylum a right of the individual. The granting of asylum has always been (and remains) the right of a state. However the universal recognition of asylum by states can be viewed as an implicit right of an individual to claim asylum.

The 1951 Geneva Convention has a far wider social impact than merely defining a refugee. The convention also covers the social and economic circumstances of refugees in countries of exile. Whilst stating that all refugees should adhere to the laws and regulations of their host country, the convention also states that refugees should receive benefit of equal measure to other 'aliens' residing in the country. These benefits extend to personal status, artistic rights and industrial property, right of association and access to courts. Additionally, non-discrimination and a minimum standard of religious freedom are also to be allowed. With reference to employment status- the convention stipulates that refugees should be given the same rights as other foreigners in the country. In terms of welfare rights- the convention states that refugees should be allowed equal access to rationing, elementary education, public relief and assistance and social security.