A refugee is defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights and Status of Refugees, passed in 1951, as someone who is fleeing a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, or membership of a social group. Arguably the most important principle of the Convention is that of non-refoulement, which means that no person should be returned to a country where he or she is at risk of persecution. This Convention has been ratified by 145 countries across the world placing them under legal obligation to implement laws for the definition and protection of refugees in line with the [Page 1356]Convention. In recent years the broad category of “membership of a social group” has included those persecuted on the basis ...