Migrants

Farahat A (2021)


Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Book chapter / Article in edited volumes

Publication year: 2021

Publisher: Edgar Elgar

Edited Volumes: Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights

Series: Encyclopedia Chapter

Pages Range: online Version

DOI: 10.4337/9781789903621.migrants

Abstract

Despite the fact that human rights apply to all human beings and are not reserved for the citizens of a state, migrants’ rights are not a traditional topic of international human rights law. There does not even exist a universally accepted definition of ‘migrant’ in international law. Some juxtapose migrants and → refugees, referring to migrants only to denote persons who have not been forced to leave their country. However, voluntary and coerced forms of migration often cannot be neatly separated. The strict distinction between the two categories also obscures the fact that people may be forced to leave their country even under circumstances that do not qualify for recognition as a refugee. Therefore, ‘migrants’ is increasingly and convincingly used as a superordinate concept for different forms of mobility of persons across state borders. In 2020, the → United Nations (UN) estimated an overall number of 281 million international migrants (UN DESA [2020] at 15).

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How to cite

APA:

Farahat, A. (2021). Migrants. In Binder C; Nowak M; Hofbauer J.A.; Janig P. (Eds.), Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights. (pp. online Version). Edgar Elgar.

MLA:

Farahat, Anuscheh. "Migrants." Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Ed. Binder C; Nowak M; Hofbauer J.A.; Janig P., Edgar Elgar, 2021. online Version.

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