that asylum-seekers that have planned, facilitated or participated in the commission of terrorist acts are not granted refugee status (para. 3 (f)), and that refugee status is not abused by perpetrators, organizers or facilitators of terrorist acts (para. 3 (g)). It should be noted that, with regard to refugee status and asylum, the resolution did not introduce new obligations into international refugee law. The 1951 Convention already has provisions to ensure that international refugee protection is not extended to those who have induced, facilitated or perpetrated terrorist acts. The position of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is that those responsible for committing terrorist acts must not be permitted to manipulate refugee mechanisms in order to find a safe haven or achieve impunity.26 The framework of international refugee law contains provisions aimed at guarding against abuse and is thus able to respond to possible exploitation of refugee mechanisms by those responsible for terrorist acts. Firstly, refugee status may be granted only to those who fulfil the criteria of the refugee definition contained in article 1A of the 1951 Convention, i.e., those who have a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” In many cases, persons responsible for terrorist acts may not fear persecution for a reason set out in the 1951 Convention, but may rather be fleeing legitimate prosecution for criminal acts they have committed. Secondly, according to article 1F of the 1951 Convention, persons who would otherwise meet the refugee criteria of article 1A shall be excluded from international refugee protection if there are serious reasons for considering that they have committed a war crime, a crime against humanity, a serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge prior to admission to that country as a refugee, or have been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Particularly relevant is article 1F (b), which relates to the commission of a serious non-political crime by an asylum-seeker prior to the person’s admission to the country of refuge. Acts which bear the characteristics of terrorism will almost invariably amount to serious non-political crimes. UNHCR has issued guidelines27 on the application of exclusion clauses under the 1951 Convention, noting, in particular, their exceptional nature and the need for their scrupulous application. 16

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents