Crossing Legal Borders: The Interface between Refugee Law, Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law in the 'International Protection' of Refugees

Abstract

International refugee law (IRL), international human rights law (IHRL), and international humanitarian law (IHL) are each discreet as well as inter-connected areas of international law. The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is commonly viewed by scholars, practitioners, and governments alike as the centerpiece of refugee protection, although it is increasingly accepted that it is supplemented by these other bodies of law. This article seeks to clarify the inter-relationship between IRL and these other branches of international law in attempting to understand their role in the “international protection” of refugees. It asks: What is “international protection” and where do refugee law, human rights law, and humanitarian law fit, if at all, within this legal concept? Divided into three parts, this article starts with an overview of the interface between IRL and IHRL, followed by IRL and IHL, while the third part takes a non-exhaustive look at the concept of “international protection” as it has been applied in a range of contexts and the role played by these three distinct areas of law in giving meaning to it.

Keywords: international protection, refugees, human rights, humanitarian law, 1951 Refugee Convention