Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
9
Whether within or outside their countries of origin, most forced migrants are unevenly
distributed around the world. Just ten countries provided protection to 60 percent of the
world’s refugees (excluding Palestinians) as of mid-2015, half of which were in Africa.2 As a
region, Africa was host to the largest refugee population worldwide at over 4 million in 2015.
Most refugees (86 percent) were hosted in developing countries as of the end of 2015.3
Similarly, three quarters of internally displaced persons (IDPs) were hosted by the ten top
countries; three of the top five (Syria, Iraq, and Yemen) are located in the Middle East.4
Forced migrants leave their homes for numerous reasons. Some major drivers -including
human rights violations, ethnic violence or persecution, forced conscription, and political
persecution- fall under the definition of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees,5 and people fleeing these situations are generally accorded refugee status in the
countries where they seek asylum. Other circumstances such as economic collapse, natural
2 The top ten refugee and asylum seeker hosting countries in 2015 were Turkey, Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, Iran,
Ethiopia, Germany, Jordan, Kenya, and the United States of America. UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2015.
3 UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2015
4 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), GRID 2016: Global Report on Internal Displacement (Internal
Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), 2016)
5 See Section II for a full definition of refugee status under the 1951 Convention.
Box 1. Defining a "forced migrant"
The following terms and definitions will be used in this report:
Forced migrant is a broad term used to include any person compelled by external factors to
leave her home in search of safety. “Forced migrant” is not a legal term nor does it
correspond to any specific set of rights in international or national law. Forced migrant is
used inclusively to refer to refugees, IDPs, and asylum seekers, as well as those forced to
move but whose grounds for flight are not recognized under international law.
Refugee is an individual who is outside his or her country of origin and meets the refugee
definition laid out in the 1951 Convention, whether or not her status has been officially
recognized. In this report, refugee is also used inclusively to refer to Palestinians outside the
historical territory of Palestine and persons who fall under UNHCR's mandate because they
are in "refugee-like situations."
Asylum seeker refers to an individual who has submitted a claim for international
protection either to UNHCR or to a national authority, but who has not yet been granted
protected status by that authority as a refugee or received another form of protection under
national law.
Beneficiary of international protection is used inclusively to refer to individuals who have
been granted either refugee status or another form of legal protection from refoulement by
national authorities (such as subsidiary protection in the European Union).
Internally Displaced Person (IDP) is an individual who has been compelled to leave her
home for any reason (including conflict, persecution, or environmental degradation, to
name just a few possible reasons) and has sought safety elsewhere within her country of
origin.