Refugee Protection in International Law

Millions of people are today forced to flee their homes as a result of conflict, systematic discrimination, or other forms of persecution. The core instruments on which they must rely to secure international protection are the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. This book examines key challenges that the Convention faces, including the scope of the principle of non-refoulement and the proper application of the elements of the refugee definition. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) commissioned papers on these issues from some of the world's pre-eminent international refugee lawyers, discussed at a series of expert roundtable meetings during 2001 as part of UNHCR's Global Consultations on International Protection. The papers and roundtable conclusions are published here, together with an introduction and the landmark declaration of the 2001 Ministerial Meeting of States Parties to the Convention and/or Protocol.

List of maps; List of tables; List of annexes; Notes on contributors and editors; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgments; Table of cases; Table of treaties and other international instruments; List of abbreviations; Part 1 Introduction; 1.1 Refugee protection today: an overall perspective Volker Türk and Frances Nicholson; 1.2 Age and gender dimensions in international refugee law Alice Edwards; 1.3 Declaration of the Ministerial Meeting of States Parties to the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees; Part 2 Non-refoulement (Article 33 of the 1951 Convention); 2.1 The scope and content of the principle of non-refoulement: Opinion Sir Eli Lauterpacht and Daniel Bethlehem; 2.2 Summary Conclusions: The principle of non-refoulement; 2.3 List of participants; Part 3 Illegal Entry (Article 31); 3.1 Article 31 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees: non-penalization, detention, and protection Guy S. Goodwin-Gill; 3.2 Summary Conclusions: Article 31 of the 1951 Convention; 3.3 List of participants; Part 4 Membership of a Particular Social Group (Article 1A(2)); 4.1 Protected characteristics and social perceptions: an analysis of the meaning of 'membership of a particular social group' T. Alexander Aleinikoff; 4.2 Summary Conclusions: membership of a particular social group; 4.3 List of participants; Part 5 Gender-related Persecution (Article 1A(2)); 5.1 Gender-Related Persecution Rodger Haines QC; 5.2 Summary Conclusions: gender-related persecution; 5.3 List of participants; Part 6 Internal Protection/Relocation/Flight Alternative; 6.1 Internal protection/relocation/flight alternative as an aspect of refugee status determination James Hathaway and Michelle Foster; 6.2 Summary Conclusions: internal protection/relocation/flight alternative; 6.3 List of participants; Part 7 Exclusion (Article 1F); 7.1 Current issues in the application of the exclusion clauses Geoff Gilbert; 7.2 Summary Conclusions: exclusion from refugee status; 7.3 List of participants; Part 8 Cessation (Article 1C); 8.1 Cessation of refugee protection Joan Fitzpatrick and Rafael Bonoan; 8.2 Summary Conclusions: cessation of refugee status; 8.3 List of participants; Part 9 Family unity (Final Act, 1951 UN Conference); 9.1 Family unity and refugee protection Kate Jastram and Kathleen Newland; 9.2 Summary Conclusions: family unity; 9.3 List of participants; Part 10 Supervisory Responsibility (Article 35); 10.1 Supervising the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees: Article 35 and beyond Walter Kälin; 10.2 Summary conclusions: supervisory responsibility; 10.3 List of participants; Index.