International Agreements for the Transfer of Refugees and Asylum-seekers

This guidance provides globally relevant advice and considerations to inform cooperative arrangements among States on asylum and ensure their consistency with international refugee and human rights law. In particular, it aims to inform the development and implementation of arrangements for State cooperation in relation to the transfer of refugees and asylum-seekers to a third country, when States are considering such arrangements. This guidance outlines the legal basis for such arrangements as well as their scope and content and should be read together with UNHCR’s existing positions and guidance on related issues, on which it is based. It also underscores the importance of responsibility-sharing and international cooperation as essential elements for the legality and practical viability of these arrangements. This guidance further describes the potential role of UNHCR in the development, conclusion, implementation and monitoring of transfer agreements pursuant to its mandate for the international protection of refugees and its supervisory responsibility for the application of refugee law instruments.