UNHCR master glossary of terms

The protection that is accorded by the international community to individuals or groups who are outside their own country, who are unable to return because they would be at risk there, and whose own country is unable or unwilling to protect them. Risks that give rise to a need for international protection classically include those of persecution or other threats to life, freedom or physical integrity arising from armed conflict, serious public disorder, or different situations of violence. Other risks may stem from famine linked to situations of armed conflict; disasters; as well as being stateless. Frequently, these elements are interlinked and are manifested in forced displacement.

Note: The concept of international protection, which is closely associated with refugee protection and asylum, is related to but distinct from the broader concept of protection which applies to all humanitarian action including outside refugee contexts.

Note: The international community provides international protection, on the one hand, through States, notably via the institution of asylum, and through international organizations in accordance with their mandates to individuals and groups.

Note: International protection includes measures to ensure that the human rights, security and welfare of affected people are recognized and safeguarded in accordance with relevant standards, notably under international refugee law, incorporating, inter alia, protection from refoulement, adequate standards of reception and treatment, and access to solutions.

See Eligibility Guidelines.

A person outside their country of origin or habitual residence and who is unable to return because they would be at risk there, and their country is unable or unwilling to protect them. This includes refugees, who benefit from the protections of international, regional and national refugee law. It may also include those who do not qualify as refugees under such law but who are unable to return, e.g. persons displaced across an international border in the context of disasters or climate change, but who are not refugees. Host countries may accordingly offer protection on a humanitarian basis through a variety of means, including temporary protection or stay arrangements. Stateless persons who do not enjoy full national protection of their country of habitual residence may also be in need of international protection.