temporary identity document and allows the holder to travel to the AID. This model of temporary certificate is approved by order of the Minister of Internal Affairs and is considered state property; therefore the applicant is to return it to AID for documentation with another type of document issued by the competent authority. During the investigation period, no cases of documentation with such a certificate were certified, the asylum seekers being taken over from the border and accompanied to the BMA headquarters by the employees of this institution. Asylum seekers have the following rights:          not to be returned or expelled until his / her asylum application has been resolved; to stay in the Republic of Moldova until the expiration of a period of 15 days from the date of the irrevocability of the decision on the rejection of the application; to be informed in writing of his / her rights and obligations during the asylum procedure; to benefit from legal assistance at any stage of the asylum procedure, in accordance with the law; to be issued a free temporary identity document; to work; to be accommodated in the accommodation centre during the procedure; to receive primary and emergency medical assistance; to have access to compulsory general education (in the case of the minor applicant) In accordance with Article 9 of Law 270/2008 on asylum in the Republic of Moldova, asylum seekers must not be sanctioned for illegal entry or stay in the territory of the Republic of Moldova. These people are to be treated in accordance with international human rights standards. 2.1. Principle „non-refoulement” In the field of refugee protection, the key element is the principle of "non-refoulement" or the principle of non-return. This means that, in principle, refugees should not be returned to a country where they have reason to fear persecution. The 1951 Geneva Convention expressly stipulates, in Article 33, that: ”…No Contracting State shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” The principle of non-refoulement applies both to returns to the country of origin, to the country where the refugee would face persecution, but also to the country from which the refugee would have returned to such territories. 24