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GLOSSARY

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Refugee status

     IRC site

CRC Article = 22(1)
Note:
The 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees define a refugee regardless of age, and make no special provision for the status of refugee children. They obligate States Parties to apply the criterion of well-founded fear of persecution for granting refugee status. Applying this criterion to children does not normally give rise to any problem when, as in the majority of cases, they are accompanied by their parent(s). Determining the refugee status of unaccompanied children is more difficult and requires special consideration. Depending on the law of the State, a child seeking asylum may be granted: refugee status for having a well-founded fear of being persecuted, as defined in the aforementioned 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol; refugee status as defined in the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (1969); or refugee status as defined in the Cartagena Declaration (1984). If the refugee claim is denied, the child might be permitted to stay with an immigration status granted for another humanitarian reason, or receive a rejection or deportation order. Important to note is that Article 22 of the CRC accords protection not only to children who have been granted refugee status in host States Parties, but also to children who are seeking refugee status.

See also:
Accompanied refugee children   Refugee children   Refugee protection   Unaccompanied refugee children