Global Apartheid? Controlling Immigration in the Global Villiage

A 'refugee' under the UN Convention definition is someone who is outside their country of nationality, and who has a 'well-founded fear of persecution' for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. The person must be 'unwilling or unable" to seek the protection of their country of nationality. States who have ratified the Convention and subsequent Protocol are obliged to consider the applications of persons within their territory who seek asylum. If applicants fit this definition, then the State must permit them to stay in its territory and accord them the civil and social rights enjoyed by its citizens. The many ambiguities of the Convention definition are manipulated by States, who adjust their concept of 'refugee' to ideological, geopolitical or domestic imperatives. Victims of non-state persecution, wars of aggression by foreign states or complete state collapse can fall outside a particular state's interpretation of the Convention. One state's deserving refugee is another's 'bogus asylum seeker'. The very states that drafted the Convention are endeavouring to minimise their protection obligations. A United Nations report notes the contradiction between tough rhetoric and draconian measures against 'illegals', and the continued dependence of industrialised countries on their labour