While the notion of "protection" forms part of the refugee definition, any clear definition of this term has yet to emerge. With a view to remedying that, this article reexamines certain basic assumptions often made about protection within the refugee definition so as to clarify its meaning. It first delves into the very notion of protection as possessing both a negative content (absence of persecution) and a positive content (consisting of a securement of basic human rights). In order to give effect to this positive content, the article identifies five qualities that protection must have, while discussing as well the requirements relating to internal relocation/protection. The article then tackles the glaring failure of refugee law to move beyond vague utterances about States having a basic duty to protect their citizens and seeks to clarify the appropriate concept of the State to be applied by drawing on international law insights. It also examines what entities can provide protection other than the State and how, taking the example of clans and women's shelters, civil society actors can play a role in state protection. © Author(s) (2016).

Actors of protection State protection protection Refugee definition

refugee state role human rights immigration policy