Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International Law

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of...

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Main Authors:	Joseph Rikhof, Ashley Geerts
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	MDPI AG 2019-10-01
Series:	Laws
Subjects:	persecution protected groups social group international human rights law international humanitarian law international criminal law transnational criminal law comparative international law analysis refugee law jurisprudence international criminal law jurisprudence
Online Access:	https://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/8/4/25

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spelling	doaj-63b85ddd1ba04b3782ceeb53b4bff1d42020-11-25T01:31:34ZengMDPI AGLaws2075-471X2019-10-01842510.3390/laws8040025laws8040025Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International LawJoseph Rikhof0Ashley Geerts1Adjunct Professor, International Criminal Law, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa, Fauteux Hall, 57 Louis-Pasteur Private, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, CanadaArticling Student, Department of Justice, 284 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0H8, CanadaThe <i>1951</i><i> </i><i>Convention</i><i> </i><i>Relating</i><i> </i><i>to</i><i> </i><i>the</i><i> </i><i>Status</i><i> </i><i>of</i><i> </i><i>Refugees</i> (“<i>Refugee</i><i> </i><i>Convention</i>”) defines ‘persecution’ based on five enumerated grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, and political opinion. This list of protected groups has not changed in the nearly 70 years since its inception, although the political and social context that gave rise to the <i>Refugee</i><i> </i><i>Convention</i> has changed. This article examines how ‘membership in a particular social group’ (“MPSG”) has been interpreted, then surveys international human rights law, transnational criminal law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law instruments to determine whether MPSG can encompass the broader protections afforded under other international law regimes. It concludes that the enumerated grounds are largely consistent with other instruments and protects, or at least has the potential to protect, many of the other categories through MPSG. However, as this ground is subject to domestic judicial interpretation and various analytical approaches taken in different countries, protection could be enhanced by amending the <i>Refugee</i><i> </i><i>Convention</i> to explicitly include additional protected groups from these other areas of international law, specifically international human rights law and international criminal law.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/8/4/25persecutionprotected groupssocial groupinternational human rights lawinternational humanitarian lawinternational criminal lawtransnational criminal lawcomparative international law analysisrefugee law jurisprudenceinternational criminal law jurisprudence
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Joseph Rikhof Ashley Geerts
spellingShingle	Joseph Rikhof Ashley Geerts Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International Law Laws persecution protected groups social group international human rights law international humanitarian law international criminal law transnational criminal law comparative international law analysis refugee law jurisprudence international criminal law jurisprudence
author_facet	Joseph Rikhof Ashley Geerts
author_sort	Joseph Rikhof
title	Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International Law
title_short	Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International Law
title_full	Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International Law
title_fullStr	Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International Law
title_full_unstemmed	Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International Law
title_sort	protected groups in refugee law and international law
publisher	MDPI AG
series	Laws
issn	2075-471X
publishDate	2019-10-01
description	The <i>1951</i><i> </i><i>Convention</i><i> </i><i>Relating</i><i> </i><i>to</i><i> </i><i>the</i><i> </i><i>Status</i><i> </i><i>of</i><i> </i><i>Refugees</i> (“<i>Refugee</i><i> </i><i>Convention</i>”) defines ‘persecution’ based on five enumerated grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, and political opinion. This list of protected groups has not changed in the nearly 70 years since its inception, although the political and social context that gave rise to the <i>Refugee</i><i> </i><i>Convention</i> has changed. This article examines how ‘membership in a particular social group’ (“MPSG”) has been interpreted, then surveys international human rights law, transnational criminal law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law instruments to determine whether MPSG can encompass the broader protections afforded under other international law regimes. It concludes that the enumerated grounds are largely consistent with other instruments and protects, or at least has the potential to protect, many of the other categories through MPSG. However, as this ground is subject to domestic judicial interpretation and various analytical approaches taken in different countries, protection could be enhanced by amending the <i>Refugee</i><i> </i><i>Convention</i> to explicitly include additional protected groups from these other areas of international law, specifically international human rights law and international criminal law.
topic	persecution protected groups social group international human rights law international humanitarian law international criminal law transnational criminal law comparative international law analysis refugee law jurisprudence international criminal law jurisprudence
url	https://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/8/4/25
work_keys_str_mv	AT josephrikhof protectedgroupsinrefugeelawandinternationallaw AT ashleygeerts protectedgroupsinrefugeelawandinternationallaw
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Protected Groups in Refugee Law and International Law

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