Refugee Status Determination
Refworld documents related to the refugee status determination process, including legal, policy and background information. This "Special Feature" on refugee status determination is regularly maintained and contains legal, policy and operational material.
Legal Documents Related to RSD
- Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 28 July 1951 (in French)
- Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 30 January 1967 (in French)
- Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 14 December 1950 (in French)
- Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa ("OAU Convention"), 10 September 1969 (in French)
- Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, 22 November 1984,(in Spanish)
- Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted (recast), European Union: Council of the European Union, OJ L 337; December 2011, pp 9-26, 20 December 2011 (in French)
UNHCR RSD Handbook and Accompanying Guidelines
- Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/1P/4/ENG/REV. 3, December 2011 (Compilation) (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 1: Gender-Related Persecution Within the Context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/02/01, 7 May 2002 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 2: "Membership of a Particular Social Group" Within the Context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/02/02, 7 May 2002 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 3: Cessation of Refugee Status under Article 1C(5) and (6) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the "Ceased Circumstances" Clauses), HCR/GIP/03/03, 10 February 2003 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 4: "Internal Flight or Relocation Alternative" Within the Context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/03/04, 23 July 2003 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 5: Application of the Exclusion Clauses: Article 1F of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/03/05, 4 September 2003 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 6: Religion-Based Refugee Claims under Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/04/06, 28 April 2004 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 7: The Application of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees to Victims of Trafficking and Persons At Risk of Being Trafficked, HCR/GIP/06/07, 7 April 2006 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 8: Child Asylum Claims under Articles 1(A)2 and 1(F) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/09/08, December 2009 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 9: Claims to Refugee Status based on Sexual Orientation and/or Gender Identity within the context of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/12/01, 23 October 2012 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 10: Claims to Refugee Status related to Military Service within the context of Article 1A (2) of the 1951 Convention and/or the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/GIP/13/10, 3 December 2013 (in French)
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 11: Prima Facie Recognition of Refugee Status, HCR/GIP/15/11, 24 June 2015
- Guidelines on International Protection No. 12: Claims for refugee status related to situations of armed conflict and violence under Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and the regional refugee definitions, HCR/GIP/16/12, 2 December 2016
UNHCR Policy Documents Related to RSD
- Guidelines on Exemption Procedures in respect of Cessation Declarations, December 2011 (in French)
- Note on Suspension of "General Cessation" Declarations in respect of particular persons or groups based on acquired rights to family unity, December 2011 (in French)
- Guidance Note on Refugee Claims Relating to Victims of Organized Gangs, March 2010 (in Spanish)
- Revised Note on the Applicability of Article 1D of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees to Palestinian Refugees, October 2009
- Guidance Note on Refugee Claims relating to Female Genital Mutilation, May 2009 (in French)
- UNHCR Note on the Interpretation of Article 1E of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, March 2009
- Guidance Note on Extradition and International Refugee Protection, April 2008 (in French)
- UNHCR Position on Claims for Refugee Status Under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees Based on a Fear of Persecution Due to an Individual's Membership of a Family or Clan Engaged in a Blood Feud, 17 March 2006 (in French)
- UNHCR Guidelines on the Application in Mass Influx Situations of the Exclusion Clauses of Article 1F of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 7 February 2006 (in French)
- UNHCR Note on Refugee Claims Based on Coercive Family Planning Laws or Policies, August 2005 (in French)
- Note on the Cancellation of Refugee Status, 22 November 2004 (in French)
- Procedural Standards for Refugee Status Determination Under UNHCR's Mandate, 20 November 2003 (in French, Spanish & Russian )
- Background Note on the Application of the Exclusion Clauses: Article 1F of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 4 September 2003 (in French)
- Asylum Processes (Fair and Efficient Asylum Procedures), 31 May 2001 (in French)
- Interpreting Article 1 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1 April 2001 (in French)
- The Cessation Clauses: Guidelines on Their Application, 26 April 1999
- Note on Burden and Standard of Proof in Refugee Claims, 16 December 1998
- Agents of Persecution - UNHCR Position, 14 March 1995
UNHCR ExCom and Standing Committee
Refugee status determination procedures have long been a topic under discussion both within UNHCR's Executive Committee and in the Standing Committee. Below are some references to key documents.
- Refugee Status Determination, EC/67/SC/CRP.12, 31 May 2016
- Executive Committee Conclusion No. 94 (LIII) - 2002, Conclusion on the Civilian and Humanitarian Character of Asylum, 8 October 2002 (in French)
- Background Note on the Safe Country Concept and Refugee Status, EC/SCP/68, 26 July 1991 (in French)
- Executive Committee Conclusion No. 30 (XXXIV) - 1983, The Problem of Manifestly Unfounded or Abusive Applications for Refugee Status or Asylums, 20 October 1983 (in French)
- Executive Committee Conclusion No. 12 (XXIX) - 1978, Extraterritorial Effect of the Determination of Refugee Status, 17 October 1978 (in French)
- Note on the Extraterritorial Effect of the Determination of Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, EC/SCP/9, 24 August 1978 (in French)
- Executive Committee Conclusion No. 8 (XXVIII) - 1977, Determination of Refugee Status, 12 October 1977 (in French)
- Note on Determination of Refugee Status under International Instruments, EC/SCP/5, 24 August 1977
Documents Related to RSD
Quality Assurance
International protection for refugees hinges on high quality refugee status determination procedures. UNHCR assists asylum authorities to develop mechanisms to regularly monitor and review asylum decisions and related processes. Such cooperation takes the form of dedicated ‘quality assurance projects’.RSD Procedural Standards
In 2003, UNHCR published the Procedural Standards for RSD under UNHCR’s Mandate (RSD Procedural Standards) which set out core standards and best practices to ensure harmonised, efficient and quality UNHCR RSD procedures, including for reception and registration.
Tools and other Useful Documents
- Guide on Establishing a Refugee Law Clinic, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 7 March 2014 (external link)
- Researching Country of Origin Information: Training Manual, Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD), October 2013
- Credibility Assessment in Asylum Procedures - A Multidisciplinary Training Manual, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 2013
- Credibility Assessment in Asylum Procedures - A Multidisciplinary Training Manual, Volume 2, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 2015
- Beyond Proof, Credibility Assessment in EU Asylum Systems : Full Report UNHCR, May 2013
- Guide to International Refugee Law Resources on the Web, By Elisa Mason, Forced Migration Current Awareness, updated April 2013 (external link)
- The Refugee Law Reader. Cases, Documents and Materials Sixth Edition, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, November 2011(in French)(external link)
- Self-Study Module 2: Refugee Status Determination. Identifying Who is a Refugee (in French), UNHCR, 1 September 2005
- Commentary of the Refugee Convention 1951 (Articles 2-11, 13-37), Professor Atle Grahl-Madsen, UNHCR, 1963 (re-published by the Department of International Protection, October 1997)
- OHCHR Jurisprudence (UN Treaty Bodies case law database)
Related UNHCR Links
- Refugee Status Determination and UNHCR
- Promoting Refugee Protection
- The 1951 Refugee Convention (including List of States Parties, Reservations and Declarations, Map of States Parties, and Travaux préparatoires)
Related Internet Links
- European Union: Common European Asylum System (external link)
- International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ) (external link)
- Inter-Governmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugee and Migration Policies (IGC) (external link)
- UN Audiovisual Library of International Law: Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (external link)
COI Forum
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The COI Forum is a free online tool for all COI researchers and users of COI working in refugee status determination to share publications and ideas on COI research and sources, as well as to develop shared resources. It is part of the ecoi.net community platform, and moderated by Asylum Research (ARC) and the Dutch Council for Refugees with support from Still Human Still Here. The COI Forum is open to all organisations and individuals, subject to approval by the COI Forum moderators, but is a confidential private discussion group only for the use of its members. To find out more about the governance of the COI Forum and to register please follow the simple steps explained here. Registration is free.
