Qualifying for Protection
In ordinary conversation a refugee is someone fleeing a range of human rights abuses or other problems. In legal terms, however, the definition of a refugee is much narrower. Under the 1951 Geneva Convention a refugee is a person who is outside his/her own country and has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. The Geneva Convention also requires that no signatory state expels or returns a refugee to any country where they face persecution (the principle of non refoulement). Even where a person does not qualify under the refugee definition, states still have a duty not to return individuals in breach of their other international obligations such as the European Convention on Human Rights, for example if a person would be at risk of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment if returned. This is often called subsidiary or complementary protection. In 2004 the EU introduced the Qualification Directive. The Directive is intended to help harmonise the way in which Member States interpret the definition of both refugee and subsidiary protection status and the rights that are given to beneficiaries on employment, education and family reunification. However, sometimes these minimum rights are not sufficient to enable people to properly re-build their lives. ECRE is also concerned that too many states still apply the rules in different ways, which makes it a lottery for people seeking protection in Europe. Refugee status and subsidiary protection are different from temporary protection, which can be applied by Member States in situations of mass influx of persons as regulated by the Temporary Protection Directive. |
Position Papers Position on interpretation of Article 1 of the Refugee Convention (Sept 2000) Position on Complementary Protection Position on Temporary Protection Position on Refugee Family Reunification Position on Exclusion from Refugee Status Responses & Recommendations ECRE Information Note on the Qualification Directive Recommendations to the Asylum Working Party on Qualification – Complementary forms of protection ECRE Information Note on the Temporary Protection Directive (July 2001) Research Papers |