The Supervision (or Not) of the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 261-289
Author(s):  
Marina Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The Status ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
Principal Elements ◽  
African Commission

Abstract This article covers the supervision of the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (1969 Convention). It begins by defining treaty supervision and describing key understandings of it in the international refugee law literature. These are then harnessed to create a model of supervision (the Supervisory Model) to frame the ensuing discussion. How the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is supervised is presented within this Supervisory Model, by way of background. The article then moves on to its principal focus, beginning with an overview of the calls for, and claims regarding, supervision of the 1969 Convention. The need for supervision is then established based on two principal elements. First, the 1969 Convention’s incomplete implementation in States parties to the treaty, in both refugee status determination and in relation to rights guaranteed by the instrument. Secondly, existing bodies with quasi-supervisory or supervisory mandates – the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – are not effectively redressing such implementation deficiencies. With the need for supervision established, a new supervisory mechanism is proposed and the procedural options to create it are outlined.

The Drafting of the 1969 Convention

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
Historical Record ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
The Status ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
History Of ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
Refugee Issues

Chapter 2 begins with overviews of the Organization of African Unity and its 1969 Convention. The majority of the chapter is then devoted to sketching a drafting history of the 1969 Convention, which makes an important contribution to the historical record since the 1969 Convention has no official travaux préparatoires. The drafting history reveals that the initial impetus for a regional refugee instrument was to render international refugee law applicable in Africa and to address the issue of subversion. When the former was achieved in 1967 with the entry into force of the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, addressing refugee issues particular to Africa became the focus of the drafting initiative.

Canadian Exclusion Jurisprudence post-Febles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Joeck
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Status ◽  
International Refugee Law

Abstract This article examines the state of Canadian refugee law since the decision of the Supreme Court in Febles v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) [2014] 3 SCR 431. Drawing upon an analysis of a set of decisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board, the administrative tribunal tasked with refugee status determination in Canada, the article seeks to determine whether administrative decision makers are heeding the guidance of Febles when excluding asylum seekers from refugee protection on the basis of serious criminality pursuant to article 1F(b) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In doing so, it examines the controversy around article 1F(b) since its inception across various jurisdictions and amongst academic commentators, situating Febles within that controversy in order to demonstrate that the Supreme Court’s reluctance to clearly set out the purpose underlying article 1F(b) is in step with a longstanding tendency to understand the provision as serving a gatekeeping function, that prevents criminalized non-citizens from obtaining membership in our society. It argues that by omitting to set out a clear and principled standard by which asylum seekers can be excluded from refugee protection pursuant to article 1F(b), the Supreme Court failed to live up to a thick understanding of the rule of law. It concludes by calling for a reassertion of the rule of law into exclusion decision making, both nationally and internationally, in order to ensure that the legitimacy of the international refugee law regime is maintained.

Part II Sources, Ch.10 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milner James ◽  
Ramasubramanyam Jay
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Voluntary Contributions ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
United Nations High Commissioner ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
Over Time

This chapter addresses the role played by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the making and implementation of international refugee law. It begins by considering UNHCR’s mandate responsibilities and operational functions to better understand the structures that condition the scope of UNHCR’s engagement with the functioning of international law. While UNHCR’s 1950 Statute and the Refugee Convention both mandate UNHCR to serve particular functions, such as its supervisory responsibility relating to the Refugee Convention, its Statute also places particular constraints on UNHCR, especially in terms of the scope of its activities and its reliance on voluntary contributions from States to perform its mandated functions. The chapter then looks at how the roles UNHCR has played in the making and implementation of refugee law at the global, regional, and national levels, through its operations, and how these functions have evolved over time. By illustrating the various instances where UNHCR has demonstrated power, along with those instances where UNHCR has exhibited pathologies and has been constrained by the interests of States, the chapter points to the importance of understanding international refugee law within the political environment in which it functions.

scholarly journals Resisting Criminal Organizations: Reconceptualizing the “Political” in International Refugee Law

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amar Khoday
Keyword(s):  
Central American ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Political Opinion ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
The Status ◽  
Drug Cartels ◽  
Political Crime ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
Text Context

This article examines and reconstructs the term “political” in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Individuals may be eligible for refugee status if they can prove that they have a well-founded fear of persecution for, amongst other reasons, their political opinion. At the same time, individuals are excluded from obtaining refugee status where there are serious reasons for considering that they have committed a serious non-political crime. For those resisting persons or entities wielding oppressive power, the meaning of the term “political” in these provisions has particular importance. Where the targets of resistance are criminal organizations, however, courts and tribunals have been, for the most part, reluctant to recognize such resistance as manifesting a political opinion. Given the demonstrated power of criminal organizations, this article contends that opposition to these entities should be viewed as being “political”. Through an examination of the text, context, and purpose of the Refugee Convention, it argues that a broader understanding of the term “political” is reasonable if not compelling. The article examines the conflicting jurisprudence and discourse surrounding “political opinion” and “political crimes”. Despite some strong voices in support of a more traditional state-centric interpretation, others have advanced more robust articulations that account for the dynamic nature and diversity of power transactions between citizens and powerful non-state actors. Finally, the article examines the substantial power of drug cartels and youth gangs in particular Central American states to illustrate that they exercise de facto control in substantial geographic spaces. As such, resistance to such entities should properly be viewed as “political” within the meaning of the Refugee Convention.

scholarly journals Refugee Participation Revisited: The Contributions of Refugees to Early International Refugee Law and Policy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan Harley
Keyword(s):  
Primary Source ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The Status ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
Laws And Policies ◽  
Refugee Experience ◽  
International Status

Abstract This article challenges the assumption that until relatively recently refugees or persons with lived refugee experience have not been involved in the development of international refugee law and policy. By drawing on primary source material – including the preparatory work for international legal instruments such as the 1933 Convention relating to the International Status of Refugees and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, along with the operational work of the League of Nations, the International Refugee Organization and the early years of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – this article argues that refugees and persons with lived refugee experience exercised significant influence and thought-leadership in the development of international refugee law and policymaking during the foundational years between 1921 and 1955. These contributions to the development of international refugee law and policy are significant because they not only reorient our understanding of the ways in which international law and policy pertaining to refugees has been developed and negotiated to date, but also because they provide a practical example of how refugees can more meaningfully be included in the creation of laws and policies that affect them going forward.

The Regional Law of Refugee Protection in Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Original Analysis ◽  
The Status ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
African Charter ◽  
African Refugee ◽  
Institutional Architecture

This book analyses the legal framework for refugee protection in Africa, including both refugee and human rights law as well as treaty and institutional elements. The regime is addressed in two parts. Part I analyses the relevant treaties: the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, and the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The latter two regional instruments are examined in depth. This includes the first fulsome account of the African Refugee Convention’s drafting, an interpretation of its unique refugee definition, and original analysis of the relationships between the three treaties. Significant attention is devoted to the systemic relationship between the international and the regional refugee treaties and to the discrete relationships of conflict and relationships of interpretation between the two refugee instruments, as well as to the relationships of conflict and of interpretation between the African Refugee Convention and African Charter. Part II focuses on the institutional architecture supporting the treaty framework. The Organization of African Unity is addressed in a historical sense, and the contemporary roles of the African Union, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the current and contemplated African human rights courts are examined. This book is the first devoted to the legal framework for refugee protection in Africa.

IDPs and refugees in the OSCE area

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
Volker Türk
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
United Nations ◽  
North Africa ◽  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
60Th Anniversary ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
United Nations High Commissioner ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The Status

AbstractThis year marks the 60th anniversary of the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 50th anniversary of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. And yet there are almost 5 million refugees and internally displaced persons in the OSCE area. The crisis in North Africa and the Middle East is creating a vast new displacement challenge, including for OSCE participating States. What are the legal and policy gaps in terms of protection? And what steps are the OSCE and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) taking to tackle the problem of IDPs, refugees and statelessness in the OSCE?

scholarly journals The door behind the bamboo curtain - Chinese law and policy on refugee status

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lili Song
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Chinese Law ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The Status ◽  
Definition Of

<p>This thesis systematically considers the law and policy on refugee status in the People’s Republic of China. It considers relevant Chinese legal provisions, applicable bilateral and multinational treaties, as well as China’s refugee policy and practice. It also presents and analyses first-hand information collected through interviews with refugees and aid workers.  China is an emerging destination of refugees and other displaced foreigners. Although China is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, Chinese law contains no provisions governing the definition of a refugee or the determination of refugee status. Further, there is a gap between the criteria for asylum in the 1982 Chinese Constitution and the criteria for refugee status in the 1951 Convention.  In practice, although the Chinese government has generally allowed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to process individual applications for refugee status, the Chinese government has practically performed the function of refugee status determination in large-scale influx situations through policy decisions. In these situations, the security, political, and strategic interests of China have often overshadowed China’s commitment under the 1951 Convention.  China has been cautious about recognising refugees on its territory. However, the Chinese government has clearly demonstrated a growing interest in addressing the issue of refugee recognition within a more formalised framework.  In conclusion, this thesis recommends that China adopt a legal refugee definition in line with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and develop a predictable and fair national RSD mechanism.</p>

scholarly journals The door behind the bamboo curtain - Chinese law and policy on refugee status

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lili Song
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Chinese Law ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The Status ◽  
Definition Of

<p>This thesis systematically considers the law and policy on refugee status in the People’s Republic of China. It considers relevant Chinese legal provisions, applicable bilateral and multinational treaties, as well as China’s refugee policy and practice. It also presents and analyses first-hand information collected through interviews with refugees and aid workers.  China is an emerging destination of refugees and other displaced foreigners. Although China is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, Chinese law contains no provisions governing the definition of a refugee or the determination of refugee status. Further, there is a gap between the criteria for asylum in the 1982 Chinese Constitution and the criteria for refugee status in the 1951 Convention.  In practice, although the Chinese government has generally allowed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to process individual applications for refugee status, the Chinese government has practically performed the function of refugee status determination in large-scale influx situations through policy decisions. In these situations, the security, political, and strategic interests of China have often overshadowed China’s commitment under the 1951 Convention.  China has been cautious about recognising refugees on its territory. However, the Chinese government has clearly demonstrated a growing interest in addressing the issue of refugee recognition within a more formalised framework.  In conclusion, this thesis recommends that China adopt a legal refugee definition in line with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and develop a predictable and fair national RSD mechanism.</p>

Haile Selassie's Imperial Modernity: Expatriate Architects and the Shaping of Addis Ababa

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayala Levin
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
African Unity ◽  
United Nations Economic Commission ◽  
The Past ◽  
Economic Commission ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The City

In the 1960s, Addis Ababa experienced a construction boom, spurred by its new international stature as the seat of both the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Organization of African Unity. Working closely with Emperor Haile Selassie, expatriate architects played a major role in shaping the Ethiopian capital as a symbol of an African modernity in continuity with tradition. Haile Selassie's Imperial Modernity: Expatriate Architects and the Shaping of Addis Ababa examines how a distinct Ethiopian modernity was negotiated through various borrowings from the past, including Italian colonial planning, both at the scale of the individual building and at the scale of the city. Focusing on public buildings designed by Italian Eritrean Arturo Mezzedimi, French Henri Chomette, and the partnership of Israeli Zalman Enav and Ethiopian Michael Tedros, Ayala Levin critically explores how international architects confronted the challenges of mediating Haile Selassie's vision of an imperial modernity.

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