Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and Protocol 1967

Summary

The foundational international instrument on refugee protection. Defines who is a refugee, establishes the principle of non-refoulement (Art. 33 — no return to persecution), and sets out the rights of refugees in host countries. The 1967 Protocol removed temporal and geographic limitations. Sri Lanka, the UK, Canada, Australia, and most host states of the Tamil diaspora are parties.

Relevance to the diaspora

The 1951 Convention is the primary legal basis for Tamil refugee claims worldwide; the nexus to persecution on grounds of race/nationality/political opinion is well-established for Sri Lankan Tamil claims; the material support exclusion clauses (Art. 1F) have been applied to LTTE members, creating tension with non-refoulement.

Key provisions

• Art. 1A(2) — definition of refugee (well-founded fear of persecution)
• Art. 1F — exclusion clauses (crimes against humanity, serious non-political crimes, UN purposes contrary acts)
• Art. 33 — principle of non-refoulement
• Art. 31 — non-penalisation of irregular entry by refugees

Primary source

Related entries

• → Refugee Act 1980 (US) (US)
• → Immigration and Refugee Protection Act — s.34 (Security Inadmissibility) (CA)
• → Human Rights Act 1998 (UK)
• → ECHR Article 3 — Prohibition of Torture (Non-Refoulement) (ECHR)