Refugee Policy

The United Nations (UN) refugee policy is based on the key legal document, The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the Refugee Convention. This convention relates to the assistance and protection of refugees who are fleeing “owing to well founded fear of persecution.”

However, subsequent attempts to apply the convention highlighted gaps in relation to the needs of specific potential refugees. The convention related almost exclusively to World War II and Europe. Thus, in 1967, a protocol was added to ensure wider application to all forms of refugees. These two agreements, with two further additions by the Organization of African Unity Convention and Latin American states, form the basis on which refugee policy is based.