Success: ‘Foreign Policy’ Clarifies Status of Sudanese in Israel

 

On December 10, Foreign Policy published a piece about Sudanese in Israel that gave the inaccurate impression that all members of this cohort are refugees:

HonestReporting contacted Foreign Policy to point out that while the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention guarantees that refugees not be sent back to their countries of origin if doing so would put them in harm’s way, the intergovernmental organization also clearly differentiates between what constitutes a “refugee” as opposed to a “migrant.” HR noted that most experts agree that the latter applies to those who leave their states in search of economic opportunity and an overall better life.

As such, not everyone from Sudan presently residing in Israel is, by definition, a refugee. Accordingly, the title of the Foreign Policy article is misleading.

Asylum Seekers Are Not the Same as Refugees

Notably, the piece repeatedly uses the term “asylum seeker” interchangeably with “refugee.” The former applies to individuals whose claim to refugee status has not yet been determined. By contrast, a refugee is someone who has been recognized as such under the 1951 Convention.

Indeed, not all asylum seekers are ultimately recognized as refugees and, even then, only about one percent of them are, on average, resettled every year.

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FP Piece Lacked Critical Context, HR Filled in the Gaps

With such crucial details having been conveyed somewhat ambiguously in the Foreign Policy article, HR pushed for a correction to be made. In response, the outlet accepted our suggestion to insert the United Nations’ definition of refugee into the body of the piece.

The American news site also added the link to the UNHCR status definition page provided by HonestReporting.

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