While journalists covering migration and forced displacement should be aware of many terms and definitions, distinguishing between migrants and refugees is particularly crucial for responsible reporting, though it is not an easy undertaking. From a legal perspective, refugees enjoy specific protections under international law, whereas the rights of migrants are not as far-reaching.
As a basic distinction, refugees have been forcedto leave their homes, as they face persecution for reasons such as race, religion, nationality, or political opinion. They may flee from war or armed conflict. Their freedom or life is threatened, and they cannot assume that their national government will respect their human rights and ensure their physical safety. However, they can expect the international community to grant that protection, as outlined by international law in the United Nations Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Refugees may not be deported back to the country where their lives or freedoms are threatened (non-refoulement).
The term migrant, by contrast, is not as clearly defined. Simply put, international migrants decide to leave their home country voluntarily. They may assume that their national government guarantees their human rights and safety. Yet, this does not imply that they do not have sound reasons to depart. Migrants might be fleeing from natural disasters or economic crises, and might face various vulnerabilities, too. At any rate, the reasons for migrants to leave are heterogeneous, including the wish to improve one’s economic situation, or to follow one’s family abroad. While the rights of refugees are precisely stated in international law, there are no clear-cut international regulations on how to treat migrants. Nation states have the right to determine their national migration and border policies. They may freely decide on which migrants they allow to enter based on national laws. In general, migrants have the chance to properly plan and prepare to leave home, whereas refugees must often flee unprepared and with only personal belongings.
Another distinction journalists should be aware of is that between refugees and asylum seekers: the latter are individuals who have applied for formal international protection under the status of refugees, but whose cases have not yet been decided. While asylum seekers are often subsumed into the group of refugees, legally speaking they have not yet been granted this status. Asylum seekers are among the so-called persons of concern that the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, is responsible for. These also include internally displaced people (IDPs), understood as persons who have been forced to leave their homes but have not crossed an international border. Another group is so-called stateless people, persons who are not considered as nationals by any state.
Other terms journalists should be sensitized to are irregular migrants, meaning those who cross borders without valid documents such as a visa, and overstayers, i.e. migrants who stay in a country after their visa has expired. Such persons are often called irregular migrants (in contrast to illegal migrants, a term that is deemed to undermine their dignity and respect for human rights).
