A global survey of the world refugee situation suggests that people displaced from their countries are having an increasingly difficult time finding nations willing to accept them.
The report, published today by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, says the attitudes of many governments are hardening.
Asylum seekers, it says, are portrayed not as refugees fleeing persecution and entitled to sanctuary, but rather as illegal migrants, potential terrorists and criminals - or at a minimum, as 'bogus'.
'Increasingly, asylum policies are being driven by security concerns and the need for enhanced migration management,' the report says.
The UNHCR says rich and poor countries alike were using a host of methods to dodge due process in their handling of refugees.
The agency says some developed states were obstructing or deterring the arrival of asylum seekers, by demanding documentation, or stopping them at sea before they set foot in their destination country.
There were about 175 million international migrants in 2005, of whom asylum seekers and refugees were only a small proportion.
But the distinction between illegal immigration and refugee and asylum issues has been blurred, leading to intolerance, the report says.
The research suggests that the return of millions of people to countries such as Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Liberia and Sierra Leone has contributed to a 'sharp decline' over the last five years.
However, the agency warns that the situation remains unstable in many countries, and could lead to further waves of forced emigration.
The report says the plight of an estimated 25 million people displaced within their own countries was often overlooked.
