A critical analysis of the implementation of the 1951 Geneva convention on refugees: a case study of Kenya

Abstract

Not so long ago, the status that the refugee problem has acquired in international politics today was unimaginable. What was viewed as a passing cloud by the international protection regimes until last midcentury has buttressed itself amongst us - needing attention. In order to explore the way ahead for refugee protection it is important to situate the various conventions and the refugee protection regime in their present context. What are they and what are their relevance as instruments of protecting refugees? Many states having realized the urgency and the international nature of the refugee problem have acceded to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees. This is because the existence of the refugee concept and the institution of asylum must depend not only on the will to protect and to abide by international legal obligations but also on issues still considered sovereign. It is difficult to reconcile the recent and abundant evidence of the failure of state responsibility, the increased incidence of violations of the most fundamental of refugee protection, the acknowledged tension between the assistance and protection agenda of UNHCR and the challenge by some government of the authority of treaty bodies deciding on refugee rights with the view that supervision as it now stands - using diplomacy and institutionalized dialogue - is sufficient. It is true that state parties to the 1951 Convention continue to flout obligations under refugee law.