South Asia State of Minorities Report 2019 refugees, these are countries that have seen people leave in search of a more secure life. Migrants, Refugees, and the Stateless: Definitions and Numbers The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) defines a migrant as: a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons.5 According to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is: ...someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.6 There are overlaps between the two definitions but with the crucial distinction, as in the words of the former Director General of IOM, William L. Swing: ‘All refugees are migrants, but not every migrant is a refugee’.7 International movements of people occur in ‘search of new economic opportunities and horizons’, ‘to escape armed conflict, poverty, food insecurity, persecution, terrorism, or human rights violations and abuses’, and still others ‘in response to the adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters, or other environmental factors’.8 In most cases, a combination of these reasons apply. 5 ‘Key Migration Terms,’ Migration, International Organisation for Migration, accessed February 20, 2020, https://www.iom.int/key-migration-terms. 6 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, (Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 1951) https://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10. 7 ‘What is the meaning of “migrants”?’ Meaning of Migrants, accessed February 20, 2020, https://meaningofmigrants.org. 8 United Nations General Assembly, New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants: Draft resolution referred to the high-level plenary meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants by the General Assembly at its seventieth xxvi