Refugees

Article 1 of the 1951 UN Convention Relating to Status of Refugees

"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 [their] nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail [themself] of the protection of that country 

non-refoulement

Once someone has made a claim for asylum, they cannot be expelled to their home state unless they are found not to have genuine refugee status.

the three views on who counts as a refugee

Persecution view, Basic needs view, membership view

Persecution view

anyone facing persecution for a protected characteristic or political reasons

Basic needs view

anyone whose basic needs are unmet in their home state

Membership view

anyone who lacks protection from their home state because this state has lost standing to act as the ongoing guarantor of their human rights

principle of beneficence

if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening at little cost to ourselves we should do it

challenge to the persecution view

not only those facing persecution need protections from other states. Focusing only on persecution is inadequate

challenge to the basic needs view

collapse of distinction between refugees and others with needs

what about those protected in safe havens do they need to be moved to a safe haven

challenge to membership view

when does a state lose its standing as acting as a guarantor of rights

is this view too demanding