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Refugees

Guide to International Refugee Law Resources on the Web

By Elisa Mason
August 2011*
(updated Feb. 2024)

Introduction
The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees turned 70 in 2021; its 1967 Protocol celebrated 50 years in 2017. What impact have these longstanding instruments had on resolving refugee problems and how effective have they been as the principal standards for the international protection of refugees? The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) currently assists some 29.4 million refugees, a number that has been significantly rising after declining in the early 1990s and 2000s. Debates continue regarding the nature of the protection that these refugees should be granted, the role of the international community, and the obligations of receiving countries towards refugees.
This guide directs readers to some of the key texts and resources available on the Web that can help shed light on, and provide a context for, many of the issues currently being deliberated in the refugee law arena.
1. International Instruments
Universal
Two principal conventions govern international refugee law matters: the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and its 1967 Protocol. The Convention sets out the rights of refugees and the standards for their treatment in the countries that receive them. It defines a "refugee" in Article 1A(2) as,
…[A]ny person who…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 [or her] nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself [or herself] of the protection of that country… .
Because the definition requires that a person be outside his or her country, it effectively excludes internally displaced people from receiving international protection. Moreover, because it focuses on individualized persecution, it does not recognize situations of generalized violence (such as wars), natural disasters, and large-scale development projects as legitimate causes of flight.
The Protocol was drafted to remove the geographic and time limitations of the earlier instrument, the incorporation of which reflected the post-World War 2 context in which the Convention was framed. Otherwise, it retains the same language as that used in the Convention.
It is important to note that neither instrument makes any direct reference to the concept of asylum; lawful admission, and the conditions under which it is granted, remains the discretion of States. Instead, the Convention provides for the principle of non-refoulement, found in Article 33, which stipulates that "No Contracting State shall expel or return ('refouler') a refugee in any manner whatsoever to…territories where his (or her) life or freedom would be threatened… ."
To review commentaries on, and the Travaux Préparatoires for, the 1951 Convention, see:
Regional
Two regional instruments, the 1969 Organization for African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, reaffirmed the basic principles of the Convention and Protocol, but expanded the definition of refugee to more realistically account for contemporary root causes of flight, i.e., war, internal conflict, massive human rights abuses, etc.
For further discussion of the role these instruments have played in the development of international refugee law, see:
Other
The plight of refugees is fundamentally a human rights issue. Human rights treaties are therefore effective tools to use in the international protection of refugees, particularly the 1984 Convention against Torture, which provides for the principle of non-refoulement in Article 3. Similarly, prohibitions against torture in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 5) and the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Article 3) have been invoked to protect refugees from being refouled. Elsewhere, the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights promotes the right to seek and be granted asylum in Article 22(7).
For more discussion of these and other protections, see:
The scope of humanitarian law as set out in the Geneva Conventions also extends to refugees. For a more thorough overview, see this article in the International Review of the Red Cross. Also refer to MSF's Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law (2013) for a user-friendly introduction to "the rules of humanitarian law applicable to the protection and assistance of victims of conflicts and crisis... ." 

 Selected International Law Collections

2. International Bodies
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
UNHCR is the principal UN agency mandated to provide assistance and international protection to refugees and other persons of concern, and to find durable solutions to their plight. Traditionally, these solutions have taken the form of local integration in a country of asylum, resettlement to a third country, and voluntary repatriation to the home country. UNHCR's Statute includes a very similar definition of "refugee" as the 1951 Convention. However, over time, UNHCR's mandate has been expanded by the UN General Assembly and Economic and Social Council to cover other groups in "refugee-like" situations that normally would not fall within the office's competence (including some internally displaced persons).
UNHCR's Department of International Protection publishes a variety of materials that provide guidance on and analysis of legal issues relating to refugees and asylum. A few key resources are highlighted below:
  • Legal and Protection Policy Research Series (includes discussion papers and background papers from expert meetings produced by various legal advisers)
  • UNHCR Protection Manual (serves as a comprehensive and up-to-date repository of UNHCR's protection policy and guidance)
  • UNHCR RSD Handbook and Accompanying Guidelines (select "Policy Documents" to access, inter alia, 1) the Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status, originally produced by UNHCR in 1979 and re-issued in 2011, and widely cited by courts and decision-making bodies;  2) analyses of specific provisions within the 1951 Convention presented as “Guidelines on International Protection”); and 3) other UNHCR guidance and notes
Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (EXCOM)
Gaps in refugee protection have been addressed largely through the Executive Committee of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (EXCOM), a body comprised of 106 governments that meets annually in Geneva. Each year, members discuss a variety of issues relating to international protection and adopt conclusions. While these conclusions lack the force of law, they carry some weight because they represent a consensus reached in an international forum. Key documents that emanate from EXCOM meetings include the Conclusions on International Protection, annual Notes on International Protection, and background papers prepared by the Executive Committee’s Standing Committee.

 United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
The 1951 Convention includes a clause stipulating that its provisions do not extend to persons already being assisted by other UN organs. Therefore, a separate legal machinery has evolved to address the situation of Palestinian refugees who fall under the mandate of UNRWA. For more information, visit UNRWA's Web site. 
3. National Legislation
States parties to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol implement the treaties' provisions in their national laws. Usually, these texts are supplemented by more detailed administrative procedures that spell out the process for seeking asylum, i.e., interviewing, providing evidence, appealing a negative decision, etc. The main resource for relevant national legislation and regulations on asylum and refugees is UNHCR’s legislation database (select from the drop-down list). Alternatively, researchers can go directly to government immigration Web sites, which usually include links to legislation and a description of asylum procedures. Other resources that link to or report on the asylum and refugee policy practices of different host countries include:

4. Case Law
The five enumerated grounds of the refugee definition as set out in the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol are often the subject of great debate; this in turn has led to different interpretations across jurisdictions. Legal researchers can access relevant case law via the following resources:

5. Periodicals
Oxford University Press' quarterly International Journal of Refugee Law is the foremost journal in this subject area. Other titles that carry relevant articles include:
Articles that focus on refugee and asylum issues are also published in generalist legal journals. Follow this link to access the most recent listing of legal references posted on the Forced Migration Current Awareness blog; the "related post" at the bottom of the entry will lead to earlier listings.


6. Experts/Networking
The following resources may assist asylum seekers who require legal representation and/or general information about the asylum process:
  • PILnet (coordinates a forced displacement legal assistance matching mechanism)
  • Rights in Exile Programme (serves as a network and resource for both legal aid providers and the refugees who require their services)
  • UNHCR (provides instructions for contacting UNHCR field offices)
A variety of organizations promote networking among refugee/immigration law experts and/or offer opportunities to serve as pro bono attorneys. Examples include:

7. Further Study
The following resources can be consulted for further study of international refugee law principles and practice:
Courses/Self-Study
  • Audiovisual Library of International Law, Lecture Series on “International Migration Law” (video lectures by various legal experts)
  • Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) (regularly holds short courses on international refugee law and other protection issues)
  • European Legal Network on Asylum (ELENA) (offers courses for legal practitioners in refugee and asylum law)
  • International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) (offers courses in refugee, human rights and humanitarian law)
  • Odysseus Network (offers courses in EU immigration and asylum law)
  • Refugee Law Initiative (offers an MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies that is undertaken by distance study & other short courses)
  • Refugee Law Observatory (provides access to practice-oriented videos by refugee law experts)
  • The Refugee Law Reader: Cases, Documents and Materials, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 7th ed., 2015 ("comprehensive on-line model curriculum for the study of the complex and rapidly evolving field of international refugee law")
  • RELATE Manual for Teachers of International Refugee Law, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 2023 (manual designed "to guide teachers of law to teach a survey course on international refugee law")
  • UNHCR Training Materials (includes self-study modules for human rights and refugee protection, refugee status determination, and an introduction to international protection)
Key Texts

For World Refugee Day in 2018, Oxford University Press compiled a bibliography of book chapters, journal articles and other content related to international refugee law that shed light on who a refugee is, refugee rights, obligations of transit states, and obligations of receiving states. (Note: Access to the complete texts is no longer available.)

 Other important titles include:
Many other legal volumes are highlighted on the author's book blog.


*This is an update of a guide originally published by LLRX.