UNHCR Protection Manual

This annex to UNHCR’s note on the “externalization” of international protection (the ‘Note’) examines various policies and practices which effectively serve to “externalize” international protection obligations. It explains that measures designed, or effectively serving, to avoid responsibility or to shift, rather than share, burdens are contrary to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (‘1951 Refugee Convention’) and widely-accepted principles of international cooperation and solidarity. It further explains that such externalization measures are distinct from policies and practices adopted in accordance with international law, aimed at sharing international protection responsibilities in the spirit of international cooperation and solidarity.

This Note summarizes applicable legal standards and UNHCR’s positions regarding policies and practices which effectively serve to “externalize” international protection obligations.