The Non-Signatory Blog

The story of one woman, Rahil Azizi, highlights the impossible situation of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers seeking safety in Pakistan. Azizi’s long fight to claim asylum through the Islamabad High Court suggests there is an ever-widening gap in Pakistan between the letter and the spirit of the law. Arjumand Bano Kazmi believes Azizi’s victory could be a timely aid to hundreds of other Afghan refugees who are subjected to arbitrary arrests, detentions, trials and deportation.

I am listening to the countless voices, talking to me, telling me their stories. In the memos, letters, official and confidential reports, meeting minutes, press cuttings, telex, incoming and outgoing cables, fax messages, photographs, and the yellowish Action Sheets – reside stories, voices of concern, of hope and despair.

Maja Janmyr argues that, in the current policy landscape, a distinction between those in need of protection and those who potentially are not is difficult, if not impossible, to make.

When people cross borders to seek international protection, they become subject to the laws and regulations of their host state. Yet many states across the world, including several of the world’s most important refugee host states, are not signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention that guarantees refugee rights, nor do they have any laws pertaining to asylum seekers and refugees. What comes in place of a recognized legal framework? Increasingly, it is confidential agreements negotiated between UNHCR and the host state.

In the early morning hours of 6 February 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria. Its epicentre was near Gaziantep, Turkey. It will be a while before we know how many lives are lost but the current figure of around 40,000 is sure to rise immensely. Thousands have lost their family members, friends, livelihoods, homes…

Despite Bangladesh being an important host state, few studies have examined its relation to international refugee law. In this blogpost, I explore Bangladesh’s position as a non-signatory state to the 1951 Convention.

In 2003 the Supreme Court of Mauritius concluded that, upon its independence from Great Britain in 1968, Mauritius had succeeded to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Yet Mauritius is not among the formal list of States Parties to the Convention and UNHCR regularly encourages it to accede to the Convention. Why then does the Supreme Court consider Mauritius a State Party while the International Community continues to see it as a non-signatory State?

Although UNHCR has a mandatory duty to promote accession to the 1951 Refugee Convention, UNHCR appears to increasingly take the back seat when it comes to petitioning for state accession. Universal accession to the Convention has proven almost impossible to achieve and new states parties are rare.

What are the risks associated with misuse of research findings in the fields of refugee- and migration studies? And how can these be mitigated in ERC projects?

With a slightly delayed start due to the global pandemic, we are finally kicking off our five-year project BEYOND! Much hard work awaits in the years to come, but the project will be off to a flying start with lots on our to-do list for 2021.