Abstract:As a central norm of the international refugee protection system, the principle of non-refoulement was formalized in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which expressly prohibits the expulsion of a refugee to 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. With the development of international human rights law, the principle of non-refoulement has been incorporated into international human rights treaties, deeply integrated with the protection of basic rights of individuals, and has had its status and effectiveness confirmed and strengthened. At the level of normative law, international refugee treaties and international human rights treaties have constructed a dual system genealogy through institutional synergy and functional complementarity, which provides not only special protection to individuals who meet refugee status under the framework of the refugee system but also universal protection for all individuals who may be at risk of specific human rights violations under the framework of the human rights system. In terms of practice, the principle of non-refoulement shows the characteristics of multi-level and multi-dimensional dynamic development. Relevant agencies within the United Nations system and regional jurisdictions have continuously deepened the interpretation framework of this principle and extended its scope of application from traditional risks such as persecution, torture, or enforced disappearance to areas such as arbitrary deprivation of the right to life, various types of discrimination, and even to include new human rights risks caused by climate change. Although this extended interpretation enhances the adaptability to the new challenges, it also leads to the problem of fragmentation of the application of the principle in practice. Some interpretations have a tendency to unrealistically expand State obligations, which undoubtedly places an additional burden on States, thereby weakening their willingness to comply with the principle. To truly realize the institutional value of the principle of non-refoulement, the original intention of empirical norms should be followed by strengthening the coordination mechanism of treaty bodies and establishing supervisory mechanisms for enforcement, ensuring that all countries fulfill their treaty obligations under a unified normative framework.

Keywords: The Principle of Non-Refoulement, Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Torture, Safe Third Countries

 

Author:Hao Luyi, research fellow, CASS Institute of International Law;

Source: 5 (2025) Chinese Review of International Law.