The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, is a United Nationsmultilateral treaty originally designed to establish the legal status of displaced persons in post-World War IIEurope. The convention defines the criteria for refugee status and outlines specific rights for individuals after they have been lawfully granted asylum by a host state.
The Refugee Convention builds on Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries. A refugee may enjoy rights and benefits in a state in addition to those provided for in the convention.
History
Prior to the 1951 convention, the League of Nations' Convention relating to the International Status of Refugees, of 28 October 1933, dealt with administrative measures such as the issuance of Nansen certificates, refoulement, legal questions, labour conditions, industrial accidents, welfare and relief, education, fiscal regime and exemption from reciprocity, and provided for the creation of committees for refugees. However, the League of Nations' convention was primarily designed for the relief of refugees from the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and from the Russian Revolution, and was only ratified by nine countries, limiting its scope.
The 1951 Convention was adopted by a United Nations Conference on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons, convened in Geneva in 1951. The convention was approved on 28 July 1951, and entered into force on 22 April 1954. It was initially limited to providing protection for European refugees from before 1 January 1951 (that is, those displaced by World War II), but states could make a declaration that the provisions would apply to refugees from other places.
The 1967 Protocol removed the time limits and applied to refugees "without any geographic limitation" but declarations previously made by parties to the convention on geographic scope were grandfathered.
Definition of refugee
Article 1(A) of the convention "grandfathers" in those accepted under previous conventions:
... the Arrangements of 12 May 1926 and 30 June 1928 or under the Conventions of 28 October 1933 and 10 February 1938, the Protocol of 14 September 1939 or the Constitution of the International Refugee Organization ...
without excluding anyone falling under subsection 2 who was ruled not a refugee under previous systems.
Article 1(A)(2) of the convention defines a refugee as a person who:
As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, 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; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.
With the passage of time and the emergence of new refugee situations, the need was increasingly felt to make the date specific provisions of the 1951 Convention applicable to later refugees. As a result, a Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees was prepared, and entered into force on 4 October 1967. The UNHCR is called upon to provide international protection for refugees falling within its competence. The protocol defined refugee to mean any person within the 1951 Convention definition as if the words "As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and ..." were omitted.
Some scholars have started to consider this definition unsuitable for contemporary society, as, for example, environmental refugees are not captured in the definition. Researchers from Policy Exchange contend that courts and NGOs have "misunderstood" and "truncated" the 1951 Convention to create a permissive obligation that forces countries to accept claims they do not legally have to accept.
Rights and responsibilities of parties
In the general principle of international law, treaties in force are binding upon the parties to it and must be performed in good faith. Countries that have ratified the Refugee Convention are obliged to protect refugees that are on their territory in accordance with its terms. There are a number of provisions to which parties to the Refugee Convention must adhere.
Refugees shall:
abide by the national laws of the contracting states (Article 2)
The contracting states shall:
exempt refugees from reciprocity after 3 years (Article 7): That means that the granting of a right to a refugee should not be subject to the granting of similar treatment by the refugee's country of nationality, because refugees do not enjoy the protection of their home state.
be able to take provisional measures against a refugee if needed in the interest of essential national security (Article 9)
respect a refugee's personal status and the rights that come with it, particularly rights related to marriage (Article 12)
provide free access to courts for refugees (Article 16)
provide administrative assistance for refugees (Article 25)
cooperate with the UNHCR (Article 35) in the exercise of its functions and help the UNHCR to supervise the implementation of the provisions in the convention.
provide information on any national legislation they may adopt to ensure the application of the convention (Article 36).
settle disputes they may have with other contracting states at the International Court of Justice if not otherwise possible (Article 38)
forcibly return or "refoul" refugees to the country they have fled from (Article 33). It is widely accepted that the prohibition of forcible return is part of customary international law. This means that even states that are not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention must respect the principle of non-refoulement. Therefore, states are obligated under the convention and under customary international law to respect the principle of non-refoulement. If this principle is threatened, UNHCR can respond by intervening with relevant authorities and, if it deems necessary, will inform the public.
Refugees shall be treated at least like nationals in relation to:
There is no body that monitors compliance. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has supervisory responsibilities but cannot enforce the convention, and there is no formal mechanism for individuals to file complaints. The Convention specifies that complaints should be referred to the International Court of Justice. It appears that no nation has ever done this.[citation needed]
At present, the only real consequences of violation are 1) public shaming in the press, and 2) verbal condemnation of the violator by the UN and by other nations. To date, those have not proven to be significant deterrents.
1951 Refugee Convention at Wikisource
