The Principle of Non-Refoulement in the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention and Contemporary Asylum Practice

In international law, the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention guarantees a number of rights to refu­gees, like the right of non-discrimination and freedom of religion (Articles 3 and 4). A considerable number of articles deals with the judicial and personal status, the rights that a refugee has at the level of property, access to the courts, employment and welfare (Artic­les 17 to 24) and administrative status (Articles 25 to 34). The rationale behind the Refugee Convention is to offer protection to persons who do not benefit from the protection of their home country any longer. If the State of which they have citizenship does not protect them any more and they are unable or unwilling to return there for reason of a well-founded fear of persecution, then they benefit this substitute protection of the Geneva Convention.