The Refugee Convention was thought to be a beacon of hope to emerge from the horrifi c aftermath of the two World Wars, which left millions of people displaced from their home countries and unable to return. Born of this historical moment, the Convention defi ned a ‘refugee’ as a person who:

owing to [a] well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that cou ntry; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.2