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Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

Adopted on 28 July 1951 by the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons convened under General Assembly resolution 429 (V) of 14 December 1950

Entry into force: 22 April 1954, in accordance with article 43

Preamble

The High Contracting Parties ,

Considering that the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approved on 10 December 1948 by the General Assembly have affirmed the principle that human beings shall enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms without discrimination,

Considering that the United Nations has, on various occasions, manifested its profound concern for refugees and endeavoured to assure refugees the widest possible exercise of these fundamental rights and freedoms,

Considering that it is desirable to revise and consolidate previous international agreements relating to the status of refugees and to extend the scope of and the protection accorded by such instruments by means of a new agreement,

Considering that the grant of asylum may place unduly heavy burdens on certain countries, and that a satisfactory solution of a problem of which the United Nations has recognized the international scope and nature cannot therefore be achieved without international co-operation,

Expressing the wish that all States, recognizing the social and humanitarian nature of the problem of refugees, will do everything within their power to prevent this problem from becoming a cause of tension between States,

Noting that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is charged with the task of supervising international conventions providing for the protection of refugees, and recognizing that the effective co-ordination of measures taken to deal with this problem will depend upon the co-operation of States with the High Commissioner,

Have agreed as follows :

Chapter I: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1
Definition of the term "refugee"

Article 2
General obligations

Article 3
Non-discrimination

Article 4
Religion

Article 5
Rights granted apart from this Convention

Article 6
The term "in the same circumstances"

Article 7
Exemption from reciprocity

Article 8
Exemption from exceptional measures

Article 9
Provisional measures

Article 10
Continuity of residence

Article 11
Refugee seamen

Chapter II: JURIDICAL STATUS

Article 12
Personal status

Article 13
Movable and immovable property

Article 14
Artistic rights and industrial property

Article 15
Right of association

Article 16
Access to courts

Chapter III: GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT

Article 17
Wage-earning employment

Article 18
Self-employment

Article 19
Liberal professions

Chapter IV: WELFARE

Article 20
Rationing

Article 21
Housing

Article 22
Public education

Article 23
Public relief

Article 24
Labour legislation and social security

Chapter V: ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES

Article 25
Administrative assistance

Article 26
Freedom of movement

Article 27
Identity papers

Article 28
Travel documents

Article 29
Fiscal charges

Article 30
Transfer of assets

Article 31
Refugees unlawfully in the country of refuge

Article 32
Expulsion

Article 33
Prohibition of expulsion or return ("refoulement")

Article 34
Naturalization

Chapter VI: EXECUTORY AND TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Article 35
Co-operation of the national authorities with the United Nations

Article 36
Information on national legislation

Article 37
Relation to previous conventions

Chapter VII: FINAL CLAUSES

Article 38
Settlement of disputes

Article 39
Signature, ratification and accession

Article 40
Territorial application clause

Article 41
Federal clause

Article 42
Reservations

Article 43
Entry into force

Article 44
Denunciation

Article 45
Revision

Article 46
Notifications by the Secretary-General of the United Nations

In faith whereof the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Convention on behalf of their respective Governments.

Done at Geneva, this twenty-eighth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-one, in a single copy, of which the English and French texts are equally authentic and which shall remain deposited in the archives of the United Nations, and certified true copies of which shall be delivered to all Members of the United Nations and to the non-member States referred to in article 39.


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SOURCE: . Website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (http://www.ohchr.org), section on International Law.

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