  The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees defines a refugee as someone 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 to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” (Article 1A[2]) Critics like Andrew Shacknove (1985) have questioned this definition on at least three grounds. First, why focus exclusively on victims of group-based persecution? And even if we do think in terms of groups, why restrict ourselves to these particular groups? What if someone is persecuted qua woman or qua homosexual, for instance? Second, given the variety of threats to living a minimally decent human life, why insist that only those vulnerable to persecution can qualify as refugees? What about so-called “economic refugees” or people fleeing a civil war, for instance? Third, why stipulate that someone who is not “outside the country of his nationality” cannot be a refugee? What if an individual is being detained at the border or simply lacks the means to migrate without assistance, for example?