the refugee convention

The 1951 Refugee Convention, or Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, is the foundational legal instrument for international refugee protection. The Convention was adopted by the United Nations in 1951 and entered into force in 1954. It was supplemented by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1967 which removed some limitations in the original text. 

The Convention defines who is a ‘refugee’ according to international law (see our Explainer on the refugee definition) as well as the grounds for exclusion from refugee status. The cornerstone principle of the Convention is the principle of non-refoulement, found in Article 33, which prohibits the return of a person to a territory where there is a risk that they would face persecution, torture or other serious harm.

The Convention also provides for other fundamental rights for refugees, including, but not limited to:

  • the right to non-discrimination (Article 3);

  • freedom of religion (Article 4);

  • the right to property (Article 13);

  • access to courts (Article 16)

  • the right to work (Article 17);

  • the right to housing (Article 21);

  • the right not to be penalised for illegal entry (Article 31); and,

  • the right not to be expelled from a country unless the refugee poses a threat to national security or public order (Article 32).

These rights are supplemented by international human rights law. 

The Convention does not provide for a corresponding court or committee to oversee its implementation, unlike other human rights instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Committee on the Rights of the Child. Instead, the Refugee Convention established the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with a mandate to monitor and supervise the Convention.

The Convention was initially limited so it applied only to Europe and to people displaced as a result of events occurring before 1951. In 1967, states adopted the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees which removed these geographic and temporal limitations.

Global relevance of the 1951 Refugee Convention

As of 2026, there are 149 state parties to the Convention or its 1967 Protocol, or both, making it one of the most widely supported international legal frameworks. Australia has ratified both the Convention and its 1967 Protocol.

Many of the countries hosting the greatest numbers of refugees are not signatories to the Refugee Convention, for example Lebanon, Pakistan and Jordan. In the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh, are not signatories to the Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol. However, commentators have highlighted the significant contributions of non-signatory states to refugee protection and to the evolution and interpretation of international refugee law.

The Convention has also been supplemented by regional refugee protection frameworks and systems, such as the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees (the Americas), and the Common European Asylum System. These regional frameworks and systems extend the refugee definition, in the case of Africa and the Americas, and seek to harmonise procedures for granting international protection, in Europe.

In addition, the Global Compact on Refugees, a non-binding instrument which builds on the 1951 Convention, was adopted in 2018 by the United Nations General Assembly. The Global Compact aims to ensure more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing.

Commentary

There are lively debates regarding the continued relevance and salience of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Convention is often lamented as outdated or unable to respond to the contemporary challenges, including record displacement of 117.8 million people at the end of December 2025, and new drivers of displacement, such as climate change and disasters. More recently, the United States government attacked the Convention and its core principles, and has reportedly considered cutting ties with the UNHCR, historically its larger donor.

In response to these challenges, McAdam argues that ‘the treaty provides a principled framework for common action’ which is needed now more than ever. The UNHCR advocates for its interpretation as a ‘living instrument’ which has the capacity to respond to contemporary challenges.

While there are important critiques of international refugee law to be made, the 1951 Convention remains a solid and essential foundation for refugee protection.

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Last updated 29 July 2026