UNHCR Protection Manual

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.

On the application of Article 33 of the 1951 Convention and its relationship with Article 3(1) of the Convention against Torture; restriction of Article 33(2) of the 1951 Convention by the prohibition of refoulement to torture in Article 3(1) of the Convention against Torture; the test for applying the "danger to the security of the country" exception in Article 33(2) of the 1951 Convention.

On the interpretation of Articles 33 and 40 and customary law obligation of non-return; scope of principle of non-refoulement; persons intercepted on the high seas; state responsibility for actions taken outside its territory or territorial waters.