Refugees

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Geneva, 28 July 1951)

(Signatories: 144; Parties - Convention: 145; Parties - Protocol: 146)

  • The treaty is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who is a refugee, and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum.
  • The Convention also sets out which people do not qualify as refugees, such as war criminals. The Convention also provides for some visa-free travel for holders of travel documents issued under the convention.

Definition of Refugee Article 1 of the Convention)

“A person who owing to a 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 habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”

Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (New York, 28 September 1954)

(Signatories: 23; Parties: 91)

  • The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees was promulgated on 28 July 1951. Despite an original intention, it did not include any content about the status of stateless persons and there was no protocol regarding measures to effect the reduction of statelessness.
  • On 26 April 1954, ECOSOC adopted a Resolution to convene a Conference of Plenipotentiaries to “regulate and improve the status of stateless persons by an international agreement”.

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