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Refugee Law Presentation

The presentation discusses how states without national refugee protection laws, such as India and Lebanon, still accommodate refugees through international legal frameworks, regional agreements, and ad hoc measures. It highlights the role of international conventions, like the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the UNHCR in providing protections, as well as regional instruments like the OAU Convention and the Cartagena Declaration. Additionally, it addresses the significance of international customary law and temporary national measures in addressing refugee crises.

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9 views5 pages

Refugee Law Presentation

The presentation discusses how states without national refugee protection laws, such as India and Lebanon, still accommodate refugees through international legal frameworks, regional agreements, and ad hoc measures. It highlights the role of international conventions, like the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the UNHCR in providing protections, as well as regional instruments like the OAU Convention and the Cartagena Declaration. Additionally, it addresses the significance of international customary law and temporary national measures in addressing refugee crises.

Uploaded by

aishachikho780
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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During this presentation I’ll discuss how states that don’t have national

refugee protection laws protect refugees. States that have not implemented
refugee laws still find themselves in a position where they have to
accommodate refugees fleeing to their countries. In this case some states
usually rely on international legal framework, regional agreements,
international customary laws, ad hoc national measures to protect refugees.

Some states that haven’t implemented refugee protection laws include India,
most Asian countries, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

1. International Legal Framework

States that have not implemented specific refugee laws are still bound by
international obligations, particularly through international conventions. This
applies to states that are signatories to international treaties like the 1951
Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol. This convention
sets out basic principles regarding the treatment and protection of refugees
such as the principle of:

-non-refoulement under Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which


prohibits the returning of refugees to their country of origin where they may
face persecution upon return

-Non penalisation under Article 31, where it prohibits countries from holding
refugees accountable for entering their countries without proper
documentation

-Non discrimination under Article 3 prohibiting countries from discriminating


refugees based on their race, nationality religion and more specified under
this Article.
The 1967 Protocol removed the temporal and geographical limitations of the
1951 Refugee Convention, expanding its applicability to refugee situations
globally, rather than just those occurring in Europe after World War II.

China ratified the 1951 Convention and the 1967 protocol in September
1982. The domestic law on refugees and asylum in China is still under
development. Currently the only relevant legal provisions are article 32 of
the Chinese Constitution and article 46 of the Exit and Entry law.

The 2002 Shenyang Consulate Incident

In May 2002, five North Korean defectors attempted to seek asylum by


entering the Japanese consulate in Shenyang China. These individuals were
trying to escape the persecution and severe hardships they faced in North
Korea. Chinese forces entered the Japanese consulate, apprehended the
defectors and removed them by force. This was a direct violation of Article
33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention prohibiting non-refoulement.

International pressure from Japan, South Korea and other states led China to
eventually release the defectors and allow them to be resettled in South
Korea.

The Role of the UNHCR

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) often plays a
key role in identifying and protecting refugees. The UNHCR may conduct
Refugee Status Determining (RSD) and advocate for the protection of
refugees in line with international standards.

In China refugee registration and refugee status determinations for non


indochinese refugees are generally conducted by the UNHCR Beijing Office.
This is because there are no legal provisions specifically regulating the
admission of refugees and handling refugee claims under Chinese law. Nor is
there an explicit competent authority in charge of refugee affairs.

2. Regional Legal Framework


In the absence of domestic refugee laws, regional instruments often play a
role in refugee protection.

OAU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugees in Africa 1969

This provides broader refugee protections than the 1951 Refugee


Convention, including a more expansive definition of who a refugee is under
Article 1. African states that have not adopted domestic refugee paws may
still be bound by this Convention.

In the Middle East the Arab Charter on Human Rights sits as part its regional
Legal framework to protect refugees as this is an adoption of the UN
Charter, the UDHR as well as the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.

Cartagena Declaration on Refugees 1984

In Latin America states that have not Implemented national refugee laws
might still adhere to this Declaration it is a non binding regional instrument
that offers expanded protections for Refugees including protection from
generalized violence and mass human rights violations.

3. International Customary Law

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) though not legally


binding in itself has widely become widely recognized as a source of
international customary law. This means that many of its principles are
considered binding on all states, regardless of whether they have signed
specific treaties due to the near universal acceptance and consistent state
practice of those principles.

For states that have not Implemented refugee laws the UDHR serves as a
critical source of international customary law that compels them to protect
refugees basic human rights. Where a state violets these principles other
states and international Organisation’s may hold them accountable.

Some of the key rights under the UDHR that have become international
customary law include:

 The right to seek asylum (Article 14)


 The right to life (Article 3)
 The prohibition of torture (Article 5)
 The prohibition of Discrimination (Article 2)
Malaysia is a signatory to the UDHR and it lacks formal national legislation to
protect refugees. Despite this Malaysia has taken steps to offer limited
protection to refugees often in reliance on international frameworks like the
UDHR such as reference Article 14 of the UDHR to host refugees because it
encourages states to welcome asylum seekers. Article 14 was referred to in
the case of Attorney-General v Tamil to establish Malaysia’s obligations
under international customary law.

4. Ad Hoc National Measures

This refers to temporary or case specific actions that governments take to


address refugee situations in the absence of formal, codified refugee laws or
policies. These measures are not part of a comprehensive legal framework
but are instead a response to specific refugee crises often influenced by
political, humanitarian or practical considerations.

Comprehensive Plan of Action

This is an example of an ad Hoc national measure. The Comprehensive Plan


of Action (CPA) adopted in Geneva 1989, aimed at resolving the long
standing problem of the Vietnamese Boat People(VBP) in South East Asia.

It instituted individual status determination of asylum seekers in the


countries and territories concerned changing the position which previous
recognised all arriving VBP as refugees. Southeast Asian countries that were
pushing back boats agreed to grant temporary asylum on the condition that
all Boat People would undergo individualized screening to determine if they
were genuine refugees.

Countries of first asylum such as Philippines and Malaysia agreed to give


temporary protection to Vietnamese Laotians arriving in their territory so
long as states from outside the region committed to resettle large numbers
of these refugees

Further the CPA also revitalized a separate Orderly Departure Program the
pre emptied the flow of boat people by providing a legal avenue through
which over 400,000 Vietnamese people were resettled in the US directly from
Vietnam.
The CPA ended the indochinese boat people crisis effectively. Only four years
after the CPA came I to effect there were no more boat people arriving on
Southeast Asia shores.

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