Economic migrants or refugees?

International protection of people fleeing poverty and extreme poverty and extreme poverty in contexts of large-scale displacement

Abstract

Migrating should be an option. This is the main difference between those who are simply referred to as migrants and those who flee their states, whether due to well-founded fears or contexts of mass violations of rights (armed conflicts, organized violence, etc.). The latter situation has recognized at the international law as a special protection, granting the status of refugees, which implies special assistance from receiving States, such as non-refoulement or the provision of minimum material conditions their subsistence. However, the situation is not entirely clear with respect to people who are forced to flee their states in order to safeguard their lives, due to the deprivation of their human rights as a result of the conditions of poverty and extreme poverty.