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Special Problems in International Law
UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Protocol
WHO IS A REFUGEE?
A. The term “refugee” shall apply to any person who:
1. Has been considered a refugee under:
 the Arrangements of 12 May 19261 and 30
June 1928 or
 under the Conventions2 of 28 October 1933
and 10 February 1938,
 the Protocol 3of 14 September 1939 or
 the Constitution4 of the International Refugee
Organization;
Decisions of non-eligibility taken by the International
Refugee Organization during the period of its activities shall not
prevent the status of refugee being accorded to persons who
fulfil the conditions of paragraph 2 of this section;
2. As a result of events occurring before 1 January
19515
 and owing to well-founded fear of being
persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular
social group or political opinion,
 is outside the country of his nationality
and
 is unable or, owing to such fear, is
unwilling to avail himself of the protection
of that country; or
 who, not having a nationality and being
outside the country of his former
1 (a) victims of the nazi or fascist regimes or of regimes which took part on
"2. The Conference adopts the following definitions of the term
"refugees":
"Russian: Any person of Russian origin who does not enjoy or who no
longer enjoys the protection of the Government of the Union of Socialist
Soviet Republics and who has not acquired another nationality.
"Armenian: Any person of Armenian origin formerly a subject of the
Ottoman Empire who does not enjoy or who no longer enjoys the
protection of the Government of the Turkish Republic and who has not
acquired another nationality.
2 2. Subject to the provisions of sections С and D and of Part II of this
The present Convention is applicable to Russian, Armenian and
assimilated refugees, a s defined by the Arrangements of May 12th,
1926, and June 30th, 1928, subject to such modifications or
amplifications as each Contracting Party may introduce in this definition
at the moment of signature or accession
3
Article 1:
1. The expression refugees "coming from Germany" in Article 1 of the
Agreement and in Article 1 of the Convention covers;
(a) persons, having possessed Austrian nationality and not
possessing any nationality other than German nationality, who are
proved not to enjoy, in law or in fact, the protection of the Germany
Government, and
(b) stateless persons, not covered by any previous convention or
Arrangement and having left the territory which formerly constituted
Austria after being established therein, who are proved not to enjoy, in
law of in fact, the protection of the Germany Government.
2. Persons who leave the territories which formerly constituted
Austria for reasons of purely personal convenience are not included in
this definition.
4
Refugees and displaced persons within the meaning of the
resolution adopted by the Economic and Social Council of the
United Nations on 16 February 1946.
habitual residence as a result of such
events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is
unwilling to return to it.
In the case of a person who has more than one nationality, the
term “the country of his nationality” shall mean each of the
countries of which he is a national, and a person shall not
be deemed to be lacking the protection of the country of his
nationality if, without any valid reason based on well-founded
fear, he has not availed himself of the protection of one of the
countries of which he is a national.
WHO ARE NOT COVERED?
C. This Convention shall cease to apply to any person
falling under the terms of section A if:
(1) He has voluntarily re-availed himself of the protection of
the country of his nationality; or
(2) Having lost his nationality, he has voluntarily re-acquired
it; or
(3) He has acquired a new nationality, and enjoys the
protection of the country of his new nationality; or
SECTION A—DEFINITION OF REFUGEES
1. Subject to the provisions of sections С and D and of Part II of this
Annex, the term "refugee" applies to a person who has left, or who is
outside of, his country of nationality or of former habitual
residence, and who, whether or not he had retained his nationality,
belongs to one of the following categories:
their side in the second world war, or of the quisling or similar regimes
which assisted them against the United Nations, whether enjoying
international status as refugees or not;
(b) Spanish Republicans and other victims of the Falangist regime in
Spain, whether enjoying international status as refugees or not;
(c) persons who were considered refugees before the outbreak of the
second world war, for reasons of race, religion, nationality or political
opinion.
Annex regarding the exclusion of certain categories of persons,
including war criminals, quislings and traitors, from the benefits of
the Organization, the term "refugee" also applies to a person, other
than a displaced person as defined in Section В of this Annex, who is
outside of his country of nationality or former habitual residence, and
who, as a result of events subsequent to the outbreak of the
second world war, is unable or unwilling to avail himself of the
protection of the Government of his country of nationality or
former nationality.
3. Subject to the provisions of section D and of Part II of this Annex, the
term "refugee" also applies to persons who, having resided in Germany
or Austria, and being of Jewish origin or foreigners or stateless
persons, were victims of nazi persecution and were detained in, or were
obliged to flee from, and were subsequently returned to, one of those
countries as a result of enemy action, or of war circumstances, and have
not yet been firmly resettled therein.
4. The term "refugee" also applies to unaccompanied children who
are war orphans or whose parents have disappeared, and who are
outside their countries of origin. Such children, 16 years of age or under,
shall be given all possible priority assistance, including, normally,
assistance in repatriation in the case of those whose nationality can be
determined
5
(a) “events occurring in Europe before 1 January 1951”; or (b) “events
occurring in Europe or elsewhere before 1 January 1951”, and each
Contracting State shall make a declaration at the time of signature,
ratification or accession, specifying which of these meanings it applies
for the purpose of its obligations under this Convention.
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Special Problems in International Law
(4) He has voluntarily re-established himself in the country particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the
which he left or outside which he remained owing to fear of community of that country.
persecution; or
(5) He can no longer, because the circumstances in The principle of non-refoulement is so fundamental that no
connection with which he has been recognized as a refugee reservations or derogations may be made to it.
have ceased to exist, continue to refuse to avail himself of  It provides that no one shall expel or return
the protection of the country of his nationality; (“refouler”) a refugee against his or her will, in any
manner whatsoever, to a territory where he or she
 Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a fears threats to life or freedom.
refugee falling under section A(1) of this article
who is able to invoke compelling reasons arising out UN GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT
of previous persecution for refusing to avail himself
of the protection of the country of nationality; WHO IS AN INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON?
 An internally displaced persons are persons or
(6) Being a person who has no nationality he is, because of
groups of persons who have been forced or obliged
the circumstances in connexion with which he has been
to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual
recognized as a refugee has ceased to exist, able to return to
residence, in particular as a result of or in order to
the country of his former habitual residence;
avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of
generalized violence, violations of human rights or
 Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a natural or human-made disasters, and who have not
refugee falling under section A (1) of this article who crossed an internationally recognized State border.
is able to invoke compelling reasons arising out of
previous persecution for refusing to return to the
country of his former habitual residence.

D. This Convention shall not apply to persons who are at

present receiving from organs or agencies of the United
Nations other than the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees protection or assistance.

 When such protection or assistance has ceased for

any reason, without the position of such persons
being definitively settled in accordance with the
relevant resolutions adopted by the General
Assembly of the United Nations, these persons shall
ipso facto be entitled to the benefits of this
Convention.

E. This Convention shall not apply to a person who is

recognized by the competent authorities of the country in which
he has taken residence as having the rights and obligations
which are attached to the possession of the nationality of
that country.

F. 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.

WHAT IS NON-REFOULEMENT?

Article 33  Prohibition of expulsion or return (“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.

2. The benefit of the present provision may not, however, be

claimed by a refugee whom there are 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

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