Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

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  parties to only the 1951 Convention
  parties to only the 1967 Protocol
  parties to both
  non-members
Signed 28 July 1951
Location Geneva
Effective 22 April 1954
Signatories 144
Parties Convention: 145[1]
Protocol: 146[1]
Depositary Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages English and French
(Chinese, Russian and Spanish)
1951 Refugee Convention at Wikisource

The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who is a refugee, and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum. The Convention also sets out which people do not qualify as refugees, such as war criminals. The Convention also provides for some visa-free travel for holders of travel documents issued under the convention. Although the Refugee Convention was agreed in Geneva, it is considered incorrect to refer to it as "the Geneva Convention" because that term is more widely understood as referring to any of four treaties regulating armed conflict.

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.[2]

History

The Convention was approved at a special United Nations conference on 28 July 1951. Denmark was the first state to ratify the treaty on 4 December 1952, which entered into force on 22 April 1954. It was initially limited to protecting European refugees from before 1 January 1951 (after World War II), though 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.[3]

As at 1 July 2013, there were 145 parties to the Convention, and 146 to the Protocol.[1][4][5] Most recently, the President of Nauru, Marcus Stephen, signed both the Convention and the Protocol on 17 June 2011[6][7] and acceded on 28 June 2011. Madagascar and Saint Kitts and Nevis are parties only to the Convention, while Cape Verde, the United States of America and Venezuela are parties only to the Protocol. Since the US ratified the Protocol in 1968, it undertook a majority of the obligations spelled out in the original 1951 document (Articles 2-34), and Article 1 as amended in the Protocol, as "supreme Law of the Land".[8]

The rights promulgated by the Convention generally still stand today. Some have argued that the complex nature of 21st century refugee relationships calls for a new treaty that recognizes the evolving nature of the nation-state, population displacement, and modern warfare.[9] [10] Nevertheless, ideas like the principle of non-refoulement (Article 33) are still applied today, with the 1951 Convention being the hallmark of such rights.

Definition of refugee

Article 1 of the Convention, as amended by the 1967 Protocol, defines a refugee as this:

"A person who owing to a 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.."[11]

Several groups have built upon the 1951 Convention to create a more objective definition. While their terms differ from those of the 1951 Convention, the Convention has significantly shaped the new, more objective definitions. They include the 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa by the Organisation of African Unity (since 2002 African Union) and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration, while nonbinding, also sets out regional standards for refugees in Central America, Mexico and Panama.

Rights and responsibilities of parties to the Refugee Convention

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.[12] There are a number of provisions that States parties to the Refugee Convention must adhere to.

Refugees shall

The contracting states shall

The contracting states shall not

Refugees shall be treated at least like nationals in relation to

Refugees shall be treated at least like other non-nationals in relation to

Noncompliance

Although the Convention is “legally binding” there is no monitoring body that oversees compliance. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has some supervisory responsibilities but it is not empowered to enforce the Convention, and there is no formal mechanism for complaints. The Convention specifies that complaints should be referred to the International Court of Justice,[13] but no nation has ever done this.

An individual may lodge a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, or with the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, but no one has ever done so in regard to violations of the Convention. Nations may levy international sanctions against violators, but no nation has ever done this.

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 these have not proven to be significant deterrents.[14]

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Chapter V – Refugees and Stateless Persons". United Nations Treaty Series. 22 July 2013. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Article 5.
  3. ↑ "Treaty Series - Treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat of the United Nations" (PDF). 606 (8791). United Nations. 1970: 268. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  4. ↑ "Chapter V – Refugees and Stateless Persons". United Nations Treaty Series. 22 July 2013. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  5. ↑ UNHCR: States Parties to the Convention and Protocol, retrieved 15 July 2010
  6. ↑ "Nauru signs UN refugee convention". Radio New Zealand International. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  7. ↑ "Nauru's UN move on refugee convention adds to pressure on Labor", The Australian, 17 June 2011
  8. ↑ Joan Fitzpatrick, "The International Dimension of U.S. Refugee Law", 15 Berkeley J. Int'l. Law 1, Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository, 1997
  9. ↑ http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2768162
  10. ↑ http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2617336
  11. ↑ United Nations High Commission for Refugees. (2012). Text of Convention. Retrieved 5 May 2012. Archived 7 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 UNHCR: Refugee protection: A Guide to International Refugee Law, 2001, ISBN 92-9142-101-4, retrieved 19 August 2015
  13. ↑ Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Article 38.
  14. ↑ Rose Moloney, "Does Australia's refugee policy breach UN rules?" Crikey Clarifier, Nov 29, 2012.
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