It required the signatory countries to allow refugees who reached their territory to stay there, without discrimination or penalty for breaching immigration laws. Refugees were defined as those unable or unwilling to return to their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution on the grounds of “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”
但归根结底，需要重新思考在许多人看来神圣、不可改变的文字：联合国 有关难民地位的公约和协议。这项1951年签署的公约原本仅对欧洲范围内于该日期前出逃者适用。它要求缔约国允许抵达其领土的难民留在那里，不加以歧视或因违反移民法而施行惩罚措施。难民指那些有充分理由担心因“种族、宗教、国籍、加入特定社会团体或政治观点”而遭受迫害而不能或不愿回国的人。