Complementary Forms of Protection

A number of asylum countries have in place administrative or legislative mechanisms for regularising the stay of persons who are not recognised as refugees, but for whom return is not possible. While UNHCR welcomes these mechanisms, lack of harmonizarion has led to a proliferation of statuses granted to a wide range of persons for a variety of reasons with varying standards of treatment. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion by: i) identifying the appropriate beneficiaries; ii) sketching the applicable legal framework and the nature of protection provided by States; and iii) suggesting standards of treatment and procedural mechanisms which, from UNHCR’s perspective, would be most appropriate.