What exactly is a ‘refugee’?

A refugee is someone who has a “well- founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, reli-gion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country” [Article 1A of the 1951 Geneva Convention concerning the status of refugees].