The 1951 Convention: The Criteria For The Fear Of Persecutance
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Various criteria, when fulfilled, resulting in the claimant's recognition as a refugee. Many of these criteria have been internationally acknowledged and form the basis for determining refugee status. The 1951 Convention is clear in its definition of who constitutes a refugee. The various terms used in the Convention have been broadly interpreted and are briefly discussed below.
Well-Founded Fear of Persecution
An asylum-seeker has to demonstrate that he has fled his country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of persecution. The applicant must, therefore, furnish sound reasons for fearing individual persecution. It may be assumed that a person's fear is well-founded if he has already been a victim of persecution on one of the grounds enumerated in the 1951 Convention. The word “fear" does not limits to persons who have actually been persecuted but also to those who wish to avoid a situation entailing the risk of persecution. The fear must be well-founded; the first criteria for determining what is “well-founded" is a subjective element relating to the perceptions, emotions and experiences of the refugee claimant, and the second is an objective element, which may be assessed from the general situation in the country of origin.…show more content… Serious human rights violations are indicative of persecution. Discrimination of a serious nature on grounds of race, nationality, religion, and membership of a particular social group can also amount to persecution; discrimination, however, is not sufficient on its own to constitute persecution. Bona fide prosecution in the country of origin is generally not considered as persecution except when the punishment for a prosecutable offence is excessive and against international human rights