Non-refoulement

Non-refoulement (/rəˈfuːlmɒ̃/) is a fundamental principle of international law that forbids a country receiving asylum seekers from returning them to a country in which they would be in probable danger of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion" ("refoulement").^[1] Unlike political asylum, which applies to those who can prove a well-grounded fear of persecution based on certain category of persons, non-refoulement refers to the generic repatriation of people, including refugees into war zones and other disaster locales. It is a principle of customary international law, as it applies even to states that are not parties to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol.^[2]

It is debatable whether non-refoulement is a jus cogens of international law.^[3]^[4] If so, international law would permit no abridgments for any purpose or under any circumstances. The debate over this matter was rekindled following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States as well as other terrorist attacks in Europe.^[5]

^ Trevisanut, Dr. Seline (September 1, 2014). "International Law and Practice: The Principle of Non-Refoulement And the De-Territorialization of Border Control at Sea". Leiden Journal of International Law. 27 (3): 661. doi:10.1017/S0922156514000259. S2CID 145445428.
^ Vang, Jerry (Summer 2014). "Limitations of the Customary International Principle of Non-refoulement on Non-party States: Thailand Repatriates the Remaining Hmong-Lao Regardless of International Norms". Wisconsin International Law Journal. 32 (2): 355–383.
^ Jean Allain, 2001, "The jus cogens Nature of non‐refoulement", International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol. 13, Issue 4, pp. 533-558.
^ Kalin et al. (2011). "Article 33, para. 1". In Zimmermann (ed.). The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol: a Commentary. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. pp. 1345–1346. ISBN 978-0-19-954251-2.
^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Trevisanut-1] Trevisanut, Dr. Seline (September 1, 2014). "International Law and Practice: The Principle of Non-Refoulement And the De-Territorialization of Border Control at Sea". Leiden Journal of International Law. 27 (3): 661. doi:10.1017/S0922156514000259. S2CID 145445428.

[2] Vang, Jerry (Summer 2014). "Limitations of the Customary International Principle of Non-refoulement on Non-party States: Thailand Repatriates the Remaining Hmong-Lao Regardless of International Norms". Wisconsin International Law Journal. 32 (2): 355–383.

[3] Jean Allain, 2001, "The jus cogens Nature of non‐refoulement", International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol. 13, Issue 4, pp. 533-558.

[4] Kalin et al. (2011). "Article 33, para. 1". In Zimmermann (ed.). The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol: a Commentary. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. pp. 1345–1346. ISBN 978-0-19-954251-2.

[:2-5] Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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