Main Debates

• Must the persecution be carried out by groups for which the state is accountable or does a showing of the inability to protect suffice?
• Does the lack of state protection constitute persecution?
• To what extent must the threat be individualized (singled out)?

Flight from general civil war or generalised violence

Widespread repressive practices

Main Points

Persecution by non-state actors

• Domestic violence
• Pressure from the community
• Organized groups

The threshold for persecution

• Discrimination
• Prosecution under laws of general application

Editor’s Note

The debate between the accountability theory v. the protection theory centers upon whether refugee status is limited to those who fear persecution by groups for whom the state is accountable or whether it is available to those who need protection from all sources of persecution on account of the five enumerated grounds. Under the 1951 Convention, however, a showing that the state is either unable or unwilling to provide protection against the persecutory harm would suffice.