UNIT 21 INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE

LAW
Structure

21.1 Introduction
21.2 Objectives
21.3 Origins and Development of International Refugee Law
21.4 Determination of Refugee Status
21.5 The Concept of Asylum
21.6 International Humanitarian Law and Refugees
21.7 Refugee Protection in India
21.8 Internally Displaced Persons
21.9 Summary
21.10 Terminal Questions
21.11 Answers and Hints
I

21.12 Glossary
21.13 References and Suggested Readings

21.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit is intended to provide an overview of the operation of international refugee
recognition and protection in both international and domestic frameworks and an
examination of the refugee determination and protection machinery of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In examining various aspects
of the body of refugee law, mention will be made to some of the issues and limitations
surrounding the current regime, and specific regard will be given to the situation of
specific regard will be given to the situation of India in relation to international law
and domestic practice.

In any discussion on refugee law, care must be taken with terms. The word 'refugee'
has an ordinary or general meaning, being a person who been forced to leave his or
her country or home for reasons beyond his or her own control or personal choice.
The term also has a specific legal meaning in the context of international law. Under
the most widely accepted definition of the 1951 Convention, it -encompasses a
person who is forced to leave his or her home owing to well-founded fear of
persecution 'for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular
social group or political opinion', and who is outside the country of his or her origin
and does not have its protection.

Further, a distinction must be made between refugees recognized under the mandate
of UNHCR, which contains essentially the same definition as that of the 1951
Convention, and refugees recognized by domestic legal regimes, although not
necessarily by UNHCR. In this chapter, reference may be. made to 'UNHCR- .
recognized refugee' and 'officially recognized refugee' where appropriate in order to
indicate these distinct categories.
21
Relationship of IHL with Until the early twentieth century, the body oflaw now known as international refugee
other Branches of Law
law was non-existent. Laws regulating the granting of asylum and protection for
displaced persons individual states and wide variation existed in state practice. Although
there have been migrations, both voluntary and forced, throughout human history, the
legal category of 'refugee' is a relatively recent invention.

A number of contentious issues surround refugee law, but disagreement over the
definition of 'refugee' is the most important as well as the most controversial. The
questions of who is to be considered a refugee and what rights should be available
to persons recognized as refugees are still subjects for extensive debate. Since the
adoption of the 1951 Convention, containing the most widely accepted definitionof
'refugee', the definition has been expanded, in some cases controversially, by various
regional instruments.

21.2 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you shall be able to:

• explain the origin and development of International Refugee Law;

• discuss the relevance ofIHL and Refugee Law; and

• explain the position of Indian with reference to Refugee Protection.

21.3 ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF

INTERNATIONAL jlEFUGEE LAW
The first sketches of the contemporary international law regime relating to refugees
can be traced back to the various treaties and agreements adopted under the auspices
of the League of Nations. The League generally took a category or group approach
in defining who was to be considered a refugee; by which all that was required was
that a person was (1) outside of his country of origin and (2) without the protection
of that country.

Accordirigly, a Russian refugee was defmed in 1929 as 'any person of Russian origin
who does not enjoy or who no longer enjoys the protection of the Government of
the Union of Soviet Republics and who has not acquired another nationality.' Similarly,
in 1936, persons coming from Germany were considered refugees if they were:

a) Persons possessing or having possessed German nationality and not possessing

any other nationality who proved not to enjoy, in law or fact, the protection of the
German Government;

b) Stateless persons not covered by previous Conventions or Agreements who have

left German territory after being established therein and who are proved not to
enjoy, in law or in fact, the protection of the German Government.

Although the League of Nations' role in refugee issues was fundamentally a

humanitarian one, the post- WWI era was characterized by political, economic, and
social factors demanding some form of central control. It therefore demonstrated the
need for an international authority on refugee issues to coordinate the efforts of
government and non-governmental organizations, negotiate with each, and balance
22 the diverse economic and social interests of different countries.
 In 1946, the International Refugee Organization (IRO) was established and was International Refugee Law
mandated to deal with the displacement of millions of people following the Second
World War. Under the statute of the IRO, a 'refugee' was defined as follows:

... (T) he term 'refugee' applies to a person who has left, or who is outside of, his
country of nationality or former habitual residence, and who, whether or not he had
retained his nationality, belongs to one of the following categories:

a) Victims ,?fthe Nazi or fascist regimes or of regimes which took part on their side in
_ ~e second world war ... , .

b) Spanish Republicans and other victims of the Falangist regime in Spain..;

c) Persons who were considered refugees before the outbreak of the Second World
War, for reasons of race, religion, nationality or political opinion.

With references to contemporary government regimes, the IRO definition was aimed
~<'

at addressing the needs of the post-WWII situation at the time. The definition continues
in the same vein as the earlier definitions of 'refugee', but added a requirement that
persons may only be refugees for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or political
opinion. The IRO was soon replaced by the new office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which was established by the General
Assembly on 14 December 1950 to provide 'international protection' and to seek
'permanent solutions for the problem of refugees'. Refugees included in the mandate
ofUNHCR include: ,

A. 0 Any person who has been considered a refugee under (previous arrangements
and agreements) .... ;

ii) Any person who, as result of events occurring before I January 1951 and
owing to well- founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is
unable or, owing to such fear or for reasons other than personal convenience, is
unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country;

B. Any other person who is outside the country of his nationality or, ifhe has no
nationality, the country of his former habitual residence, because he has or had
well-founded fear of persecution by reason of his race, religion,nationality or political
opinion and is unable or, because of such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the
pro:ection ofthe government ofthe countryo[his nationality.

The UNHCR definition differed from previous definitions and set the standard for the
question of who would be entitled to UN protection by the inclusion of two significant
features. Firstly, a refugee is someone who lacks the protection of his or her state
of origin or nationality. Secondly, the categories of reasons for persecution, taken-
fromthe IRO definition, place significant restrictions on the scope of who could be
considered a refugee for UNHCR purposes.

On 28 July 1951, the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries adopted the

final draft of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the' 1951 Convention').
Its definition of refugees broadly replicates that of the UNHCR statute, aside from ,
one addition, which will be discussed in the following section. The 1951 Convention
. contains the most widely accepted definition of the term 'refugee', although it is also,
to an extent, a limited and controversial one. In view of the history of its inception, 23
Relationship of IHL with some commentators, such as refugee law scholar James Hathaway, claim the definition
other Branches of Law
was the result of Cold War politicking and reflective of a priority to protect those
persons 'whose flight was motivated by pro-Western political values'.

Self Assessment Question

1) Discuss about the status of Refugees under the 19SlConvention on Refugees .

............................................. '\ .

21.4 DETERMINATION OF REFUGEE STATUS

Definition of 'Refugee'
The 1951 Convention Definition

The 1951 Convention definition differs from the earlier UNHCR statute definition in
that it includes 'membership of a particular social group' in addition to race, religion,
nationality, or political opinion as reasons for persecution. The Convention originally
limited application of the definition to persecution arising out of events occurring
before 1 January 1951. However, this restriction was removed by the 1967 Protocol
Relating to the Status of Refugees (the '1967 Protocol').

The 1951 Convention definition contains five main elements to be established in the
determination of refugee status. A refugee is a person who:

1) is outside the country of his or her nationality;

2) has a well-founded fear of persecution;

3) is genuinely at risk of persecution in his country of origin, which is unwilling to offer

protection;

1) The persecution is an account ofthat person's race, religion, nationality,membership

of a particular social group, or political opinion; and

5) Has a legitimate claim and need for protection.

Requirement of Well-founded Fear of Persecution'

The 1951 Convention definition states that the person seeking refugee status must
have 'well-founded fear of persecution'. The arialysis requires an examination of both
the objective ('well-foundt:;d') and subjective ('fear') elements of the classification.
The examiner must look at the psychological state of the applicant and also the
nature of the situation from which the applicant is fleeing. Some commentators have
suggested tharthe analysis should be an entirely objective one, in which the standard
used is whether a reasonable person would have had a well-founded fear in the
situation of the person seeking refugee status.

The extent of the role to be played by the requirement of subjective fear is unclear.
24 If the statements of the applicant relating to his or her fear are consistent and
 credible, this should be sufficient in terms of proof. It would be odd if an applicant International Refugee Law
for refugee status were to deny the subjective element of the requirement of well-
founded fear. With respect to the objective 'well-founded'element; different standards
of proof have been adopted by various states in the application of the definition. For
example, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has approved 'a reasonable chance
--that persecution would take place were the applicant returned to his country' as the
test;" the Australian High Court has laid down the notion of a 'real chance' of
persecutionoccurring, which can include a less than 50 percent possibility; the British
House of Lords has described the test as 'reasonable degree of likelihood of
... persecution ... ', and the United States Supreme Court has suggested that as little
as a one-in-ten chance of persecution amounts to a well-founded, fear.

Furthermore, the concept of persecution remains undefined in legal instruments because

of a lack of consensus on what is encompassed'--- by term. The UNHCR Handbook
suggests that the meaning of persecution may be 'inferred' from Article 33 of the '
Convention to mean 'a threat to life or freedom', on grounds of race, religion, '-,
nationality, political opinion, or particular social group. If that is correct, mere
discrimination in the absence of a threat to life or freedom is not sufficient to satisfy
the persecution requirement. Other human rights-violations or prejudicial or
discriminatory actions that fall short of threats to life or freedom may also amount to
persecution for the purposes of determination ofUNHCR or state refugee status.
Further, it is not necessary that actual persecution has taken place as long as there
is a 'well-founded fear' of future persecution on account of one of the protected
grounds.

Reasons for Persecution: Causation

Along with the 'well-founded fear' criterion, the 1951 Convention definition includes
the requirement that the persecution be on account of membership of one of the
enumerated categories: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group. To
qualify for refugee status, an applicant must therefore demonstrate membership of
one of these categories, as well as satisfying the causation element by showing that
the persecution was or would be on account of his or her membership in that
category.

Race
The category of race encompasses all groups of common descent, including those
forming a minority within the larger population. In many instances, ethnicity is treated
as if it were a racial classification for purposes of refugee status. Discrimination based
upon race (or the perception of 'race') is universally condemned and is perhaps the
most recognized and frequently encountered form of discrimination. Article 1 of the
1965 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
may be helpful as a basis for the interpretation of this category.

Religion,
The rights-to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion are included in the Universal
Declaration ofHurrlail Rights, 1948 (UDHR, Article 18) and the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 (ICCPR, Article 18). These include the right to
practice and express religious beliefs in public or private and the freedom to teach,
worship, or observe religious beliefs. Violation of the right to religious freedom under
.the Universal Declaration or the ICCPR may constitute persecution under the 1951
Convention definition.The UNGeneralAssembly's 1981Declaration on the Elimination
25
Relationship of IHL with of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.reiterated
other Branches of Law
the rights to be protected, and the infringement of the rights listed in that Declaration
may be indicative of persecution for the purposes of the 1951 Convention definition.

Nationality -
Persecution for reason of nationality can be interpreted as persecution against nationals
or citizens of a certain state, or against members of a particular social, linguistic, or
racial group. It is intended to protect persons such as those who become refugees
due to conflicts stemming from the disputed boundaries within or between states. The
category is slightly incongruous as a state would not usually be persecuting its own
nationals for reasons of nationality would not fall under the Convention's definition
. of a refugee. It has been interpreted quite broadly to encompass 'particular ethnic, .
religious, cultural and linguistic communities', and when interpreted in that broad
sense, the concept of 'nationality' tends to blend into that of 'race' .

21.5 THE CONCEPT 'OF ASYLUM

The principle of Non-refoulement
The principle ofNon-refoulement is the principle that 'no refugee should be returned
to arty country where he or she is likely to face persecution or torture'. The term
'non-refoulement' has its roots in the French refouler, meaning to drive back or repel.
Refoulement should be distinguished from the processes of expulsion and deportation,
which refer to the legal means by which a person may be (at times forcibly) removed
from a state. Most states have accepted Article 33,_(1) of the 1951 Convention,
which officially recognizes the right of non-refoulement,

1) No Contracting State shall expel or return (,refouler ') a refugee in any manner
whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be
threatened on account of his race, religion.nationality, membership of a particular
social group or political opinion.

The concept of non-refoulement is of fairly recent origin. It was not until early in the
twentieth century, following the First World War, that the principle began to have a
hold on tl1e international consciousness. Whereas before 1951, states interpreted
non-refoulernent narrowly, since 1951, there has been an expansion of the doctrine
-to grant the right of non-refoulement to persons who are at the border of a state as
well as those who have crossed the border.
s"

The principle of non-refoulement has been included in riumerous treaties and

international legal documents, including the UN Convention Against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1984 (CAT), the UN
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the
UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary
and Summary Executions, all of which prohibit the refoulement or extradition of
persons where there are 'substantial grounds' to believe that the person would be
in danger. Additionally, non-refoulement is widely accepted _~shaving attained the
status of jus cogens or a peremptory norm of customary iriternational law.

It should be noted that while CAT and other international instruments state the
principle of non-refoulement as an absolute prohibition, it is qualified in the 1951
Convention:
26
 The benefit of the ... provision may not. .. be claimed by a refugee whom there are International Refugee Law
reasonable grounds for regarding as a danger to the security of the country in which
he is, or who, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious
crime, constitutes a danger to the community of that country.

The right of non-refoulement under customary international law, however, extends

beyond refugees recognized under the 1951 Convention definition and is enforceable
against all states, whether signatories to the 1951 Convention ornot, by virtue of its
status as a peremptory norm.

Practices in developing states have allowed for an expanded scope of non-refoulement

but recently some states have tended towards using a third tactic to prevent refugees
from even reaching their borders. The Principle of non-refoulement is increasingly
being by passed by policies of 'non-entree'. These policies are directed not at
refugees at the border, but are made to keep possible immigrants at bay using
instruments such as strict visa requirements, the refusal to accept applications made
from 'international zones', safe country of origin, and third-country rules.

Right of Asylum
In contrast to the principle of non-refoulement, which focuses on a prohibition against
forcible return, the concept of asylum or of a right of asylum refers to a right to
protection by the state in which person has been admitted and recognized as a
refugee. Another way to conceptualize asylum is as the protection offered by a state
to a foreign national 'against the exercise of jurisdiction by another State'.

Despite the long history of recognition in the practice of states, in terms of modem
application, the concept of asylum remains largely vague and undefined. Various
international human rights instruments recognize a right to leave any country, including
one's own, and a right to freedom of movement: DDHR, article 13; CERD, article
5; ICCPR, article 121; and the European Human Rights Convention, Article 2.

A 'right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution' is expressed in UDHR, article
14. The UN Declaration on Territorial Asylum, 1967, reiterates the right contained
in the UDHR and makes the recommendation that states base their asylum practices
on the principles expressed; at the same time it stresses the sovereign competence
of each state to determine the grounds and means by which it will exercise the right
of a state to grant asylum. During the 1970s, various efforts were made to codify
the Declaration into an international convention, including an obligation on states to
grant asylum, but these attempts were unsuccessful. The OAD Convention, in addition
to broadening the definition of 'refugee', also widened the scope of the concept of
- asylum by requiring member states to 'use their best endeavours ... to receive refugees
and to secure the settlement ofthose ... unable or unwilling to return to their country
of origin or nationality.

Despite the existence of a 'right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution' in
international instruments-and even an obligation on states under the OAD Convention-
there is no evidence that states have accepted an international obligation to grant
asylum. The principle of non-refoulement has developed to include promoting
admission, but there is no corresponding .developrnent of the right to asylum in the
sense of a duty placed on states to ensure a lasting solution. The essential problem
with recognition of a right to asylum remains the perception of the resultant restrictions
on sovereignty and political decision making, once asylum becomes an individually
enforceable right. ' 27
Relationship of IHL with
The accepted position is that states have a right to grant asylum, but it takes the form
other Branches of Law
of a discretionary power-meaning that the state has discretion as to how it will
exercise its right, whom it will favour, and the form and content of the right to be
granted, in line with its obligations under intemationallaw. There is no right of asylum
inherent to the individual. In terms of imposing a duty on states, the obligation is that
of recognizing the right of another state to grant asylum as a peaceful and humanitarian
act.

21.6 INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

AND REFUGEES
The International Humanitarian Laws are very much concerned about the interests of
the life and well being of the Refugees who flee from country to another in search
of protection. In the International arena, one of the biggest challenges before the
many nations is handling the Refuges.Especially during an InternationalArmed Conflict
many innocent civilians are forced to leave there hometowns and belongings. The
problems happening in the African region is an apt example of the challenges faced
by the Refugees during an aimed conflict. The Geneva Conventions IV of 1949
Article 45 very clearly enunciates the importance it has given to the refugees, where
the provision states that the protected persons will not be transferred to a''state
having power which is not a party to the Convention. Further the provision says that
the in no circumstances shall a protected person be transferred toa country where
he or she may have reason to fear persecution for his or her political opinions or
religious beliefs. Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of
protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power
or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their
motive which has been mentioned under Article 49(1) (2), where even in situations
were evacuations are necessary for military reasons, Persons thus evacuated shall be
transferred back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have
ceased. The Law further insists the occupying states undertaking such transfers or
evacuations shall ensure, to the greatest practicable extent, that proper accommodation
is provided to receive the protected persons, that the removals are effected in
satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that members of
the same family are not separated and The Occupying Power shall not detain protected
persons in an area particularly exposed to the dangers of war unless the security of '
the population or imperative military reasons so demand.

Article 47 states that the Protected persons who are in occupied territory shall not
be deprived, in any case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the present
Convention by any change introduced, as the result of the occupation of a territory,
into the institutions or government of the said territory,nor by any agreement concluded
between the authorities of the occupied territories and the Occupying Power, nor by
any annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory. Similarly
Art. 70. clarifies that the Protected persons shall not be arrested, prosecuted or
convicted by the Occupying Power for acts committed or for opinions expressed
before the occupation, or during a temporary interruption thereof, with the exception
of breaches of the laws and customs of war. This clearly envisages the importance
given to the people during and after an armed conflict.

The additional Protocols I and II specifies the various other protection available to
the protected persons that is the Civilians shall not be 'compelled to leave their own
28 territory for reasons connected with the conflict. According to Art. 85 (4) (a) of
 International Refugee Law
, __ -> Additional protocol I that the following shall be regarded as grave breaches of this
Protocol, when committed willfully and in violation of the Conventions or the Protocol:

a) the transfer by the occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the
territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population
of the occupied territory within or outside this territory, in violation of Article 49 of
the Fourth Convention;

Self Assessment Question

2) Explain the International Humanitarian laws dealing with Refugees.

~21.7 REFUGEE PROTECTION IN INDIA

India has been host to some of the largest influxes of refugees in history since gaining
independence. Despite this, India is not party to the 1951 Convention or to the 1967
Protocol. Nor is there any national law relating to the recognition and treatment of
refugees in India. Further, there is no binding regional agreement relating to refugees
in South Asia as exists in Africa (the OUA Convention), nor is there an accepted
declaration as in the Americas (the Cartagena Declaration). In the context of the legal
vacuum, refugees are often dealt with on an ad hoc basis and are vulnerable to the
shifting objectives of the Indian government's foreign policy and
c.
political expediency.

Long after the partition of India and the independence of Bangladesh, India continues
to host influxes of refugees. There are currently in India over 500, 000 refugees and
asylum seekers from such diverse countries as Nepal, China, Iran, Iraq, Srilanka,
Burma, Bangladesh, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Bhutan. A combination of
geographical, social, and political factors makes India attractive to many asylum
seekers. These include more or less open-border policies.with countries where harsh
regimes and ethnic tensions have forced many to flee. Another factor is the multicultural
and secular nature 0 f Indian government and society. In addition, during certain
situations in the past, India has exercised a tolerant and liberal attitude towards
hosting specific groups of refugees, although this attitude has not been consistently
applied to persons of all nationalities equally.

The UNHCR is operative in India and functions primarily out 0 f its office in New
Delhi and, to a limited extent, Chennai in Tamil N adu. Despite the absence of official
recognition by the Indian government or a legal basis for its aid programmes, the
UNHCR in India enjoys some independence in carrying out programmes under the
mandate contained in its statute, including making determinations of refugee status
~ through its New Delhi office. However, the relationship between the UNHCR in
India and the Government of India is problematic and is discussed in greater detail
below.

21.8 INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

The definition in the 1951 Convention specifies that a 'refugee' must be 'outside the 29
Relationship of mL with
other Branches of Law countryofhis nationality'; it does not include persons who are fleeing persecution
-and as a result have been displaced from their homes but remain within their country
of nationality. These persons are commonly known as 'internally displaced persons'
(IDPs). As a formal matter, the 1951 Convention does not apply to IDPs, and
UNHCIthas no automatic mandate to protect them. Furthermore, although various
protection principles contained in both international human-rights law are applicable
to IDPs, there is no binding international humanitarian law are applicable to IDPs,
there is no binding international instrument specific to the protection ofIDPs.

To address the lack of a cohesive legal framework, the UN Guiding Principles on

Internal Displacement were presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights in
1998. The Guiding principle is a set of international standards, which identify the
rights of IDPs and the obligations of governments and insurgent groups towards
them. They do not have the status of an international convention and therefore are
not in themselves binding on states; however, each of the principles draws upon
existing international human rights and international humanitarian law rules, extending
their application to the newly recognized legal category ofIDPs.

The Guiding principles in some respects reflect a new model in restating principles
of international law. They recognize state sovereignty but restate it in terms of .
responsibility towards the state's most vulnerable. The principles envision a strong
role for the international community when the government of a state does not have
"the capacity or willingness to meet its protective duties towards IDPs. The primary
responsibility for protection lies with states, but where a state fails to fulfill its
responsibilities,the Principles allow the international community to step in. The Guiding
principles therefore attempt to balance state sovereignty with humanitarian imperatives.

Internally.displaced persons are defined in the principles as:

... persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave
their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order
to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of
human rights or natural or human - made disasters, and who have crossed an
internationally recognized State border.

Underthe definition, the effects of armed conflict include the broader effects of war
as well as the direct consequences of fighting. Causes of internal displacement are
not limited to violence and abuse that has already taken place but caninclude a threat
of violence or abuse that may occur in the future. The definition also includes situations
in which people are forced to flee natural disasters or harsh conditions and people
displaced by 'a large scale development project not justifies by compelling and
overriding public interest,

21.9 SUMMARY
• In this unit, we have discussed about the origin and development of International
Refugee Law and the definition of Refugee under the Refugee convention 1951.
The UNHCR definition set the standard for the question of who would be entitled
to UN protection by the inclusion oftwo significant features. Firstly, a refugee is
someone who lacks the protection of his or her state of origin or nationality. Secondly,
the categories of reasons for persecution, taken from the IRO definition, place
significantrestrictionson the scope of who could be considered a refugee for UNHCR
30 purposes. On 28 July 1951, the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries
 adopted the final draft of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the International Refugee Law
'1951 Convention'). Its definition of refugees broadly replicates that ofthe UNHCR
statute .

• We have then discussed about Asylum. The principle ofNon-refoulement is the

principle that 'no refugee should be returned to any country where he or she is likely
to face persecution or torture.

• We have also discussed about Refugee Protection in India. The UNH CR is operative
in India and functions primarily out 0 fits office in New
, Delhi and, to a limited extent,
Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Despite the absence of official recognition by the Indian
government or a legal basis for its aid programmes.21.11 Terminal Questions

21.10 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1) Explain briefly the concept of Asylum

2) Discuss about Refugee Protection in India.

·21.11 ANSWERS AND HINTS

Self Assessment Questions
1) Refer to Section 21.3

2) Refer to Section 21.6

Terminal Questions
1) Refer to Section 21.5

2) Refer to Section 21.7

21.12 GLOSSARY
ICCPR International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (1966).

Asylum Legal shelter or Protection given to a person in another country.

Convention International Agreement signed by countries

21.13 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED

READINGS
1) 1951 Convention on Refugee.

2) Fourth Geneva Convention of1949 ,Articles. 45(4), 49 (1, 2) and Art. 44, 70

3) 1stAdditionalProtocol,Art. 85 (4)(a)

4) 2ndAdditionaIProtocol,Art.17

31