Refugee Protection and International Migration

Refworld documents relating to the intersection between refugee protection and international migration, including legal, policy and background information. This "Special Feature" on asylum and migration is regularly maintained and includes materials on a range of migration issues as they relate to refugee protection and forced displacement, such as "mixed movements", maritime protection, and UNHCR's 10-Point Plan of Action.

Legal Documents Related to Migration

Universal Declaration of Human Rights , adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination , adopted by General Assembly resolution 2106 (XX) of 21 December 1965, entry into force on 4 January 1969
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966, entry into force 23 March 1976
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A(XXI) of 16 December 1966, entry into force 3 January 1976
Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989, entry into force 2 September 1990
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 15 November 2000
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 15 November 2000
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, A/RES/45/158, adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/158 of 18 December 1990, entry into force on 1 July 2003
Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers, PRNo.15A, adopted by ILO Conference on 16 June 2011 (not yet in force)
Declaration on the Human Rights of Individuals who are not Nationals of the Country in which They Live , adopted by General Assembly resolution 40/144 of 13 December 1985
CCPR General Comment No. 15: The Position of Aliens Under the Covenant, Adopted at the Twenty-seventh session of the Human Rights Committee, on 11 April 1986
CRC General Comment No. 6 (2005): Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside their Country of Origin,CRC/GC/2005/6, adopted during the 39th session - on 3 June 2005

Selected Case Law

Plaintiff M70/2011 v. Minister for Immigration and Citizenship; and Plaintiff M106 of 2011 v. Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Australia: High Court, [2011] HCA 32, 31 August 2011
Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy, European Court of Human Rights, Application no. 27765/09, 23 February 2012
N. S. (C 411/10) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department and M. E. (C 493/10) and others v. Refugee Applications Commissioner, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, European Court of Justice, AC-411/10 and C-493/10, 21 December 2011
M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece, European Court of Human Rights, AC-411/10 and C-493/10, 21 December 2011

Refugee Protection and International Migration

Refugee Protection and International Migration - Trends August 2013-July 2014, UNHCR, November 2014
Summary Report - UNHCR Field Consultations on Refugee Protection and International Migration, 20 November 2013 (go to the Protection Manual internal - C.1. Asylum-general)
UNHCR Report on UN GA High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development 2013, UNHCR, 4 October 2013 (go to the Protection Manual internal - C.3. Asylum / Migration nexus)
UNHCR Update on Refugee Protection and International Migration (September 2011 - September 2012), UNHCR, 3 October 2012 (go to the Protection Manual internal - C.3. Asylum / Migration nexus)