International refugee law protects people who seek asylum from persecution, and those who have been recognized as refugees. It comprises several international legal instruments – the most important being the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol – as well as customary law. (UNHCR, Retrieved Feb 20, 2014 from http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/en/resources/legal-documents/international-refugee-law.html)
“International Refugee law is a set of rules and procedures that aims to protect, first, persons seeking asylum from persecution, and second those recognized as refugees under the relevant instruments. Its legal framework provides a distinct set of guarantees for these specific groups of persons, although, inevitably, this legal protection overlaps to a certain extent with international human rights law as well as the legal regime applicable to armed conflicts under international humanitarian law.
The main sources of refugee law are treaty law, notably the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees (1951 Refugee Convention) and its 1967 Protocol, and customary international law. Customary international law applies to all states irrespective of whether they are a party to relevant treaties or not. Regional instruments represent a further set of protections, particularly the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention (for Africa) and, although it is not formally legally binding, the 1984 Cartagena Declaration (for Latin America)” (“International Refugee Law”. Retrieved Feb 20, 2014 from http://www.geneva-academy.ch/RULAC/international_refugee_law.php
“Refugee Law is an aspect of human rights law which is designed to set out in which circumstances states will extend protection to persons in fear of persecution” (Rikhof, J. (2006). Complicity in International Criminal Law and Canadian Refugee Law: A comparison. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 4(4), 702-722.)
“The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is the foundation of international refugee law. The Refugee Convention defines the term “refugee” and sets minimum standards for the treatment of persons who are found to qualify for refugee status. Because the Convention was drafted in the wake of World War II, its definition of a refugee focuses on persons who are outside their country of origin and are refugees as a result of events occurring in Europe or elsewhere before 1 January 1951. As new refugee crises emerged during the late 1950s and early 1960s, it became necessary to widen both the temporal and geographical scope of the Refugee Convention. Thus, a Protocol to the Convention was drafted and adopted. UN High commissioner for Refugees (2013). (Refugee Protection: A Guide to International Refugee Law. Retrieved Feb 20, 2014 from http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendocPDFViewer.html?docid=3d4aba564&query=refugee%20law)
“Refugee Law seems primarily, although not exclusively, a matter of public international law, and is considered a component of international human rights law or humanitarian law generally. Initiated with a series of relatively ad hoc interwar procedures, modern refugee law came into its own after the Second World War with the establishment of the U.N.H.C.R., and the drafting of the Statue of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (“Statute”), and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (“Convention”), These documents define “refugee,” provide for certain rights relating to juridical status, non-expulsion, freedom of movement, employment, travel documents, participation in national welfare, education and rationing programs, and give the U.N.H.C.R. a role in administering and protecting these rights at the international level.” (Kennedy, D. (1986). International Refugee Protection. Human Rights Quarterly, 8(1), 1-69.)
“Human rights law offers a promising starting point for understanding refugee law. Refugee law could be seen as a subsidiary system of human rights protection. The theory runs as follows: even though international law provides for the protection of an individual in the International Bill of Rights, the international human rights system is notoriously ineffective in many ways. The purpose of refugee law could be to serve as a backup system. Individuals, whose human rights cannot be guaranteed in their country of origin, benefit from protection abroad, granted through refugee law. Thus, it is arguable that refugee law should become operative only on the premise that a human rights violation has taken place. Thus, when the 1951 Refugee Convention speaks of persecution, it essentially means human rights violation.” (Nathwani, N. (2004). The Purpose of Refugee Law. Canadian Issues, 29-32.)
“ Canadian Refugee Law consists of both national and international law. At a basic level, the constitutional provisions of the BNA provide the authority upon which Parliament has legislated. Similarly, the Charter sets limits within which refugee-related statuses must operate. The constitutional divisions of power and the Charter define the domestic legal limits of Refugee Law.” (Jones, M., & Baglay, S. (2007). Refugee Law. Toronto: Irwin Law Inc.)
The 1951 Refugee Convention: convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
The 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.
UNHCR Canada: Branch office of the UN Refugee Agency, which monitors practices, and policies of the Canadian government to ensure that rights of refugees and asylum seekers are protected. Retrieved Feb 21, 2014 from http://www.unhcr.ca
Canadian Council for Refugees: A national non-profit umbrella organization committed to the rights and protections of refugees and other vulnerable migrants in Canada and around the world. Retrieved Feb 21, 2014 from www.ccrweb.ca
Case Law
Singh v. Minister of Employment and Immigration, [1985], 1 S.C.R. 177.
Suresh v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2002], 1 S.C.R. 3, 2002 SCC 1.
Related terms
- Refugee
http://rfmsot.apps01.yorku.ca/glossary-of-terms/refugee/
- Responsibility to Protect
http://rfmsot.apps01.yorku.ca/glossary-of-terms/responsibility-to-protect/
1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 189 U.N.T.S. 150, entered into force April 22, 1954. Retrieved Feb 21, 2014 from http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html
1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, 606 U.N.T.S. 267, entered into force October 1967. Retrieved Feb 21, 2014 from http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/pdf/resources/legal-documents/international-refugee-law/1967-protocol-relating-to-the-status-of-refugees.html
Goodwin-Gill, G.S., & McAdam, J. (2007). The Refugee in International Law. Oxford University Press.
Hathaway, J. C. (1991). The Law of Refugee status. Toronto: Butterworths.
Hathaway, J. C. (2007). Why Refugee Law Still Matters. Melbourne Journal of International Law, 8(1), 89-103.
Jones, M., & Baglay, S. (2007). Refugee Law. Toronto: Irwin Law Inc.
Kennedy, D. (1986). International Refugee Protection. Human Rights Quarterly, 8(1), 1-69.
Nathwani, N. (2004). The Purpose of Refugee Law. Canadian Issues, 29-32.
Rikhof, J. (2006). Complicity in International Criminal Law and Canadian Refugee Law: A comparison. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 4(4), 702-722.
Singh v. Minister of Employment and Immigration, [1985], 1 S.C.R. 177. Retrieved Feb 21, 2014 from the Department of Justice Canada website: http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/39/index.do?r=AAAAAQAJc2luZ2ggdi4gAAAAAAE
Suresh v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2002], 1 S.C.R. 3, 2002 SCC 1. Retrieved Feb 21, 2014 from Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada website: http://reports.fja-cmf.gc.ca/eng/2000/2000fc25810.html
Sweeney, J. A. (2009). Credibility, Proof and Refugee Law. International Journal of Refugee Law, 21(4), 700-726.
UN High commissioner for Refugees (2013). “Refugee Protection: A Guide to International Refugee Law”. Retrieved Feb 20, 2014 from http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendocPDFViewer.html?docid=3d4aba564&query=refugee%20law
UNHCR, Retrieved Feb 20, 2014 from http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/en/resources/legal-documents/international-refugee-law.html)