In the EU context, international protection encompasses the refugee and subsidiary protection status as defined in Article 2 (d) and (f) of Council Directive 2004/83/EC.
In a global context, international protection refers to actions by the international community on the basis of international law, aimed at protecting the fundamental rights of a specific category of persons outside their countries, who lack the national protection of their own countries (EMN Asylum and Migration Glossary, p.121)