Refugees: Overview

The United Nations’ 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees attempted to define and, ultimately, protect refugees after World War II. However, government efforts to regulate the entry and reception of refugees and asylum seekers have throughout history been challenged by a variety of political, religious, and cultural pressures. The essays in this chapter reveal, through sometimes personal accounts of individual experiences, the plight of refugees in a number of countries around the globe in obtaining human rights protection and social justice.