Refugee Protection in International Law: UNHCR’s Global Consultations on International Protection

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.