Definition of refugees

There is no definitive consensus among researchers about where the boundaries of refugee and forced migration studies should be drawn, and the 52 chapters in this volume clearly demonstrate this, offering 52 different perspectives on this field of studies. However, they also vividly illustrate the vibrant and engaging debates that characterize what is a rapidly expanding field. 

Table 10.1 shows the latest data available on settlement forms from UNHCR s published statistics. The figures clearly show that the policy of encampment is one that is adopted almost exclusively in the poorer regions of the world. Second, they suggest that in all continents the number of refugees outside formal camps and settlements exceeds those within. Given that almost by definition self-settled refugees tend to remain outside the formal system, it is likely that official statistics overstate the proportion of refugees in camps. 

Under either the El-Ali or the Bolbol decision, the vast majority of Palestinians who would be considered Palestine refugees under the Res. 194(111) definition would not be considered Palestinian refugees under Article ID. Nor would they be recognized as refugees under the narrow definition of Article 1A(2). Following the El-Ali case, in the October 2012 decision of Said v Sec y of State for the Home Dept. (26 October 2012) UKUT 00413 (lAC), the UK court stated that Bolbol overrules El-Ali however, neither the UK nor any other jurisdiction has yet adapted domestic law to the broader mling of El Kott, so its impact on Palestinian refugee claims remains to be seen. 

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