Refugee - International Situation

A refugee is defined by the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees as:

"... owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable to avail himself of the protection of that country .... "

A person becomes a refugee as soon as he or she is in the situation defined in the UN convention, not simply when another state has formally recognised his or her refugee status.