Description The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees adopted on July 28, 1951 in Geneva provides the most comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees yet attempted. Consolidating previous international instruments relating to refugees, the 1951 Convention with its 1967 Protocol marks a cornerstone in the development of international refugee law. At present, there are 144 States Parties to one or both of these instruments, expressing a worldwide consensus on the definition of the term refugee and the fundamental rights to be granted to refugees. These facts demonstrate and underline the extraordinary significance of these instruments as the indispensable legal basis of international refugee law. This Commentary provides for a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol on an article-by-article basis, exposing the interrelationship between the different articles and discussing the latest developments in international refugee law. In addition, several thematic contributions analyse questions of international refugee law which are of general significance, such as regional developments and the relationship between refugee law and the law of the sea.
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One of the characteristics of today's practice of refugee law is the flourishing of policies and practices designed to deflect claimants towards alternative places of protection. In this contribution, I address one dimension of the "protection elsewhere" dynamic: the application of the "internal protection alternative" (IPA) to deny refugee status to persons whose risk of persecution is present in only part of a country. The IPA, also referred to as "internal relocation" or the "internal flight alternative", permits removal of refugee claimants to their home state even if they cannot safely return to their former residence. The consequence for the claimant is usually return to internal displacement. An Afghan family targeted by the Taliban in Kunduz, for example, might be referred to Kabul for protection. A decision-maker may similarly determine that a woman who escaped forced marriage in her home village could live undetected by her husband and family in a larger city.Despite widespread acceptance among state parties to the Refugee Convention of an IPA limit, debate persists regarding the treaty basis for IPA practice and, as a consequence, its operational parameters. The focus of UNHCR guidance, and most academic commentary, has been on establishing safeguards rather than contesting the legality of IPA practice itself. This contribution, in contrast, critically considers how the IPA relates to the requirements for refugee status contained in the 1951 Refugee Convention (Convention) and its 1967 Protocol. After briefly reviewing the development of IPA practice in Part I, I analyze dominant theories concerning its legal basis (Part II). In Part III I consider how IPA practice may be reconciled with the Convention's refugee concept. The operational parameters that follow from either alternative confirm-in contrast to current trends in state practice-a narrow scope for IPA application.
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