Who is a refugee convention 1951

Importantly, a number of other regional agreements already exist that supplement the Refugee Convention to better accommodate their modern contexts, including the Cartagena Declaration among Central American states, Mexico and Panama and the OAU Convention among African states. While regional agreements do not guarantee state participation, they are often widely integrated into national refugee laws and policies, providing greater leverage for legal and advocacy efforts in support of refugee rights.

The Refugee Convention has served as a critical guidepost for many countries over the last several decades.

However, much more must be done to ensure people of forced displacement can meaningfully rebuild their lives wherever they find themselves. Asylum Access advocates for a response to forced displacement that recognizes, restores and amplifies the power of those who have been forced from their home countries. Learn more about our work here.

Donate Now. It shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This Convention shall be open from 28 July for accession by the States referred to in paragraph 2 of this article. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, declare that this Convention shall extend to all or any of the territories for the international relations of which it is responsible. Such a declaration shall take effect when the Convention enters into force for the State concerned. At any time thereafter any such extension shall be made by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and shall take effect as from the ninetieth day after the day of receipt by the Secretary-General of the United Nations of this notification, or as from the date of entry into force of the Convention for the State concerned, whichever is the later.

With respect to those territories to which this Convention is not extended at the time of signature, ratification or accession, each State concerned shall consider the possibility of taking the necessary steps in order to extend the application of this Convention to such territories, subject, where necessary for constitutional reasons, to the consent of the Governments of such territories.

At the time of signature, ratification or accession, any State may make reservations to articles of the Convention other than to articles 1, 3, 4, 16 1 , 33, inclusive. Any State making a reservation in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article may at any time withdraw the reservation by a communication to that effect addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This Convention shall come into force on the ninetieth day following the day of deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession.

For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date of deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession.

Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention at any time by a notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Such denunciation shall take effect for the Contracting State concerned one year from the date upon which it is received by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Any State which has made a declaration or notification under article 40 may, at any time thereafter, by a notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, declare that the Convention shall cease to extend to such territory one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

Any Contracting State may request revision of this Convention at any time by a notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The General Assembly of the United Nations shall recommend the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such request.

In faith whereof the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Convention on behalf of their respective Governments. Done at Geneva, this twenty-eighth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-one, in a single copy, of which the English and French texts are equally authentic and which shall remain deposited in the archives of the United Nations, and certified true copies of which shall be delivered to all Members of the United Nations and to the non-member States referred to in article The core international human rights instruments.

Universal human rights instruments. The International Bill of Human Rights. Turn on more accessible mode. Turn off more accessible mode. The provisions of this Convention shall not apply to any person with respect to whom there are serious reasons for considering that: a He has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity, as defined in the international instruments drawn up to make provision in respect of such crimes; b He has committed a serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge prior to his admission to that country as a refugee; c He has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 2 - General obligations Every refugee has duties to the country in which he finds himself, which require in particular that he conform to its laws and regulations as well as to measures taken for the maintenance of public order.

Article 3 - Non-discrimination The Contracting States shall apply the provisions of this Convention to refugees without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin.

Article 4 - Religion The Contracting States shall accord to refugees within their territories treatment at least as favourable as that accorded to their nationals with respect to freedom to practise their religion and freedom as regards the religious education of their children.

Article 5 - Rights granted apart from this Convention Nothing in this Convention shall be deemed to impair any rights and benefits granted by a Contracting State to refugees apart from this Convention. Article 6 - The term "in the same circumstances" For the purposes of this Convention, the term "in the same circumstances" implies that any requirements including requirements as to length and conditions of sojourn or residence which the particular individual would have to fulfil for the enjoyment of the right in question, if he were not a refugee, must be fulfilled by him, with the exception of requirements which by their nature a refugee is incapable of fulfilling.

Article 7 - Exemption from reciprocity 1. Article 8 - Exemption from exceptional measures With regard to exceptional measures which may be taken against the person, property or interests of nationals of a foreign State, the Contracting States shall not apply such measures to a refugee who is formally a national of the said State solely on account of such nationality. Article 9 - Provisional measures Nothing in this Convention shall prevent a Contracting State, in time of war or other grave and exceptional circumstances, from taking provisionally measures which it considers to be essential to the national security in the case of a particular person, pending a determination by the Contracting State that that person is in fact a refugee and that the continuance of such measures is necessary in his case in the interests of national security.

Article 10 - Continuity of residence 1. Article 11 - Refugee seamen In the case of refugees regularly serving as crew members on board a ship flying the flag of a Contracting State, that State shall give sympathetic consideration to their establishment on its territory and the issue of travel documents to them or their temporary admission to its territory particularly with a view to facilitating their establishment in another country.

Article 13 - Movable and immovable property The Contracting States shall accord to a refugee treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances, as regards the acquisition of movable and immovable property and other rights pertaining thereto, and to leases and other contracts relating to movable and immovable property. Article 14 - Artistic rights and industrial property In respect of the protection of industrial property, such as inventions, designs or models, trade marks, trade names, and of rights in literary, artistic and scientific works, a refugee shall be accorded in the country in which he has his habitual residence the same protection as is accorded to nationals of that country.

Article 15 - Right of association As regards non-political and non-profit-making associations and trade unions the Contracting States shall accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory the most favourable treatment accorded to nationals of a foreign country, in the same circumstances. Article 16 - Access to courts 1. In any case, restrictive measures imposed on aliens or the employment of aliens for the protection of the national labour market shall not be applied to a refugee who was already exempt from them at the date of entry into force of this Convention for the Contracting State concerned, or who fulfils one of the following conditions: a He has completed three years' residence in the country; b He has a spouse possessing the nationality of the country of residence.

A refugee may not invoke the benefit of this provision if he has abandoned his spouse; c He has one or more children possessing the nationality of the country of residence.

Article 18 - Self-employment The Contracting States shall accord to a refugee lawfully in their territory treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances, as regards the right to engage on his own account in agriculture, industry, handicrafts and commerce and to establish commercial and industrial companies.

Article 19 - Liberal professions 1. Chapter IV WELFARE Article 20 - Rationing Where a rationing system exists, which applies to the population at large and regulates the general distribution of products in short supply, refugees shall be accorded the same treatment as nationals. Article 21 - Housing As regards housing, the Contracting States, in so far as the matter is regulated by laws or regulations or is subject to the control of public authorities, shall accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances.

Article 22 - Public education 1. Article 23 - Public relief The Contracting States shall accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory the same treatment with respect to public relief and assistance as is accorded to their nationals.

Article 24 - Labour legislation and social security 1. The provisions of this article shall be without prejudice to articles 27 and Article 26 - Freedom of movement Each Contracting State shall accord to refugees lawfully in its territory the right to choose their place of residence and to move freely within its territory subject to any regulations applicable to aliens generally in the same circumstances.

Article 27 - Identity papers The Contracting States shall issue identity papers to any refugee in their territory who does not possess a valid travel document. Article 28 - Travel documents 1. Article 29 - Fiscal charges 1. Article 30 - Transfer of assets 1. Seventy years since it was drawn up, it is crucial that the international community defends its principles.

He expressed alarm at recent attempts by some governments to disregard or circumvent the Convention's principles, from expulsions and pushbacks of refugees and asylum seekers at land and sea borders, to the proposals to forcibly transfer them to third states for processing without proper protection safeguards. Speaking 70 years to the day after the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees was presented to states for signing, Grandi said the treaty was a crucial component of international human rights law and remained as relevant now as it was when it was drafted and agreed.

Both the Refugee Convention and the more recent Global Compact on Refugees call for international cooperation to find a range of solutions for refugees. Grandi stressed the need for the international community to uphold the key principles of refugee protection as laid out in the Convention, including the right of someone fleeing persecution not to be sent back into the path of harm or danger.