The 1951 Refugee Convention: International Protection Of Refugees

legal regime for the protection of refugees. In the year 1950, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established by the General Assembly with the mandate of providing international protection to refugees and to seek permanent solution to their problems. The 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of refugees are the other principal legal instruments established for the protection of refugees.

The above international instruments are the cornerstone of international protection of refugees and the strongest expressions of international concern for the plight of refugees. The most cherished right with respect to refugees which is conferred by the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights is the right to seek and enjoy asylum. The international protection of refugees through the operation of the 1951 Refugee Convention is based on the grant of asylum, the recognition of refugee status and the principle of non refoulement. The term non-refoulement or non- return provides the most kind form of protection for a refugee and assures respite to an asylum seeker with a well founded fear of persecution from being forcibly returned to countries where they have genuine fear of being persecuted. This principle is considered as a principle of customary

The 1951 Refugee Convention elevates the status of refugee protection as a matter of international concern, sets minimum standards for the treatment of refugees and contains most widely accepted refugee definition. It defines refugee as 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 his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that