Part VII The End of Refugeehood—Cessation and Durable Solutions, Ch.57 Cessation

Subject(s):

Asylum — Non-refoulement — Responsibility of non-state actors

This chapter focuses on the cessation of refugee status. Questions about when, how, and why refugee status ends remain critical for academics, States, UNHCR, and refugees alike. If States are uncertain about when their responsibilities towards refugees will end, the result may be ever-stricter policies concerning borders, refugee status determination procedures, and individuals, even once they have been granted some form of protection. The changes wrought by this restrictionism would likely be to the long-term detriment of the laws, norms, and institutions of the refugee regime. Article 1C of the Refugee Convention provides an exhaustive list of ways in which refugee status can end. Due to the significant consequences of the cessation of refugee status for individuals and States, however, legal experts and UNHCR promote a strict, but contested, interpretation of article 1C.