THE CONVENTION

• The 1951 Convention was essentially limited to protecting European refugees in the aftermath of the Second World War
• • The 1967 Protocol, adopted 4 October 1967, removes these geographic and time-based limitations, expanding the Convention to apply universally and protect all persons fleeing conflict and persecution.
• To date, 146 countries are party to the 1951 Convention, and 147 to the 1967 Protocol
• ENFORCEMENT

  Article 35: The Contracting States undertake to cooperate with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or any other agency of the United Nations…in the exercise of its functions
• The UN High Commission for Refugees in the body mandated the protection and assisting of refugees. Signatories are required to participate with the UNHRC which is in turn charged with coordinating international efforts to deal with issues of this nature. 

  • ‘UNHRC serves as the ‘guardian’ of these documents’
• TEMPORARY PROTECTION


  Nations at times offer temporary protection when faced with sudden mass influxes of people, allowing for refugees to be admitted timely to safe countries, but without any guarantee of personal asylum. It can, therefore, work to the advantage of both government and asylum seekers in specific circumstances.
• UN REFUGEE AGENCY


  leads international action to protect people forced to flee conflict and persecution and those denied nationality. UNHRC works with countries to improve and monitor refugee and asylum law policies in order to ensure that human rights are upheld.
• Roles of the UNHRC

  1. Responding to Emergencies
  2. Safeguarding Human Rights
  3. Building Better Futures
• Responding to Emergencies 


  Ensures refugees and displaced people can settle in a safe place far from conflict, rapidly delivering life saving supplies such as shelter, food, water and medical care within 72 hours and deploying up to 600,000 people.
• Safeguarding Human Rights

  The UNHRC works with governments to advise on and strengthen laws and national systems to help provide services.
• Building Better Futures

  UNHRC helps refugees find employment so they can support themselves and their families with dignity, giving them a sense of normalcy and safeguarding their future. Over the last decade, UNHRC has helped close to one million refugees rebuild their lives in new countries. 
• LIMITATIONS

  • The convention excluded people who have been listed as a refugee outside of the five reasons (poverty and climate change have been excluded).
  • Migrants are not included which goes against being a cosmopolitan: every person has the same right and people should be able to move where they like. 
  • The convention was not designed to tackle the root causes of refugees or grounds for mass exodus - rather, it was created to alleviate their consequences by offering victims a degree of international law protection. 
• • There is also no enforcement mechanism or body to ensure compliance - although the convention is legally binding, there is no mechanism for individuals to file their complaints. 
• At the end of 2023, an estimated 31.6 million refugees are found across the globe. Moreover, the UNHRC reports how these numbers are ever increasing in scale.

  • The proportion or scale of the refugee crisis that is having to be tackled by the UNHRC, with seemingly limited cooperation by states, acts as a challenge to the effectiveness of their endeavours. 
• CLIMATE CHANGE

  • At the end of 2023, almost 3 in 4 forcibly displaced people were living in countries with high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards.