The international legal definition of the concept of refugee is contained. Legal status of refugees in international law. According to the statutes of international military tribunals, crimes against humanity include: crimes against peace, war crimes,

13. Protection of refugees and displaced persons

Goals and objectives of the module:

Determine how refugee status differs from displaced person status; give an idea of ​​international refugee law, which international organizations provide assistance to refugees and displaced persons, find out what provisions of IHL relate to the protection of refugees and displaced persons.

Module plan:

1) Refugee status and displaced persons status;

2) International refugee law, its main documents;

3) International organizations providing assistance to refugees and displaced persons, interaction of these organizations;

4)Protection of refugees and displaced persons by IHL;

5) Activities of the ICRC and other organizations of the International Red Cross to protect refugees and displaced persons.

Both refugees and displaced persons are people who were forced to leave their homes as a result of some emergency circumstances (wars, situations of violence, political persecution, etc.). But refugees are people who left their country to seek asylum abroad, and displaced persons are those who remained within their country. The fate of these people is similar, but legal protection is usually provided to them in accordance with different documents. And providing protection and assistance to these categories of the population is an extremely pressing issue, given that there are currently over ten million refugees in the world and five times as many people displaced within their own countries.

Displaced persons are generally subject to the provisions of international humanitarian law and, accordingly, these people fall under the mandate of the International Committee of the Red Cross - after all, it is this organization that states have entrusted with monitoring the strict application of IHL and providing protection and assistance to victims of armed conflicts. And the movement of people within the country is usually carried out as a result of armed conflicts, most often of a non-international nature. There is no need to reiterate the guarantees that international humanitarian law provides to civilians in times of international and internal armed conflict (and displaced persons are part of the civilian population), nor the numerous activities of the ICRC. Although states have the right to refuse the services of the ICRC during internal armed conflicts, in practice, fortunately, this rarely happens. In Rwanda, for example, the ICRC assisted more than a million civilians, most of whom were displaced. In Chechnya, the ICRC's work helped hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom were displaced. In these two specific cases, as in general, the ICRC's activities were not limited to providing assistance only to this category of people, but represented a whole range of measures taken in the interests of the civilian population and other victims of the conflict.

Refugees, as a rule, are protected by international refugee law(another branch of international law along with IHL, human rights law, etc.).

Sources of refugee law are, in particular, the following international legal documents:

1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees;

1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees;

Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention 1969;

1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees;

Various resolutions, in particular those adopted by the UN General Assembly.

According to Article 1 of the 1951 Convention, the term “refugee” applies to any person who “... owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality.” ... or, being of no nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or unwilling to return to it owing to such fear.” The OAU Convention and the Cartagena Declaration expanded the scope of this definition to include persons fleeing events causing serious disruption to public order, such as armed conflicts and riots.

The responsibility to provide protection and assistance to refugees rests primarily with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). However, in some cases, refugees are subject to international humanitarian law and are then provided with protection and assistance by the ICRC.

If the provisions of refugee law have a clear definition of a refugee, then humanitarian law contains very vague formulations and, in general, the term “refugee” itself is used only in rare cases. However, this does not mean that humanitarian law ignores refugees: on the contrary, its protection extends to refugees who find themselves in the hands of one of the parties during the conflict.

During an international armed conflict, citizens of one of the states fleeing the consequences of hostilities and find themselves on the territory of an enemy state are protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention as “aliens on the territory of a party to the conflict.” The First Additional Protocol of 1977 reinforced this provision by also mentioning the protection of stateless persons. Refugees who are citizens of a neutral state enjoy the protection of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the absence of diplomatic relations between their state and the state involved in the conflict. Article 73 of Protocol I provides for the continuation of this protection even in cases where diplomatic relations have been established.

In addition, the Fourth Geneva Convention states that “in no case shall a protected person be transferred to a country in which he would fear persecution on account of his political or religious opinions.”

Citizens of a state who, fleeing an armed conflict, find themselves on the territory of a state not involved in an international conflict are not subject to the protection of IHL unless that state in turn becomes a victim of an internal armed conflict.

The ICRC believes that it must deal with the fate of refugees who, as civilians, are victims of armed conflicts or disturbances, situations that fall within the scope of its mandate. The ICRC's actions to assist refugees are determined, in part, by whether they are protected by international humanitarian law.

When it comes to refugees protected by international humanitarian law , The ICRC's role is to ensure that parties to the conflict comply with the relevant provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Additional Protocols of 1977. Operationally, the ICRC seeks to gain access to these refugees and provide them with the necessary assistance.

As already mentioned, there are often situations where refugees do not enjoy the protection of humanitarian law (for example, when the country that granted them asylum is not involved in any armed conflict). In such situations, these people fall under refugee law only and find themselves within the scope of UNHCR activities. The ICRC can only perform some support functions in these situations.

At the same time, the ICRC cannot ignore cases where refugees are exposed to serious danger in countries providing asylum, especially when their camps located in border areas are the target of violence or even armed attacks. In such cases, the ICRC's status as a neutral and independent intermediary comes in handy, and its powers are then exercised in parallel with those of the UNHCR. It is clear that providing effective assistance to victims in this situation is only possible with concerted and coordinated actions by the ICRC and UNHCR.

It should also be noted that many National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies operate, often with support from the ICRC and the International Federation, extensive programs to assist refugees and displaced persons.

According to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the most important and primary task in solving the problem of refugees and displaced persons is the adoption by states of preventive measures and, in the event of war, strict compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law. After all, IHL rules prohibit the forcible transfer of a population except in cases where it is necessary for their own safety or dictated by considerations of urgent military necessity. Moreover, the protection afforded by humanitarian law to civilians must lead to restrictions on movement. The situation of people forced to leave their home is, as a rule, very difficult, even if they are provided with food, medical and other assistance. Therefore, in the ICRC's view, the most important thing is to ensure that civilians are able to live in their own homes.

Resume.

Refugees are people who have left their country to seek asylum abroad, while displaced persons are those who remain within their country. The fate of these people is similar, but legal protection is usually provided to them in accordance with different documents.

Displaced persons are generally subject to international humanitarian law and are therefore subject to the ICRC's mandate.

Refugees are generally protected by international refugee law. The responsibility to provide protection and assistance to refugees rests primarily with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). However, in some cases, refugees are subject to international humanitarian law and are then provided with protection and assistance by the ICRC.

Many National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies operate, often with support from the ICRC and the International Federation, extensive programs to assist refugees and displaced persons.

Introduction.

Chapter 1. Main features and peculiarities of the legal regime of refugees.

1. 
   The concept of “refugees” in international law.................................. .......6
2. 
   Principles for granting refugee regime...................................................................... ....14
3. 
   General rights and obligations of refugees.............................. ........…...21

Chapter 2. International legal regulation of refugee status.

2.1 International – legal norms, establishing legal

situation of refugees................................................... ...........................….…….........25

2.2 Cooperation of states with the UN and other international

Refugee organizations.............................................................. ...….……….29

Chapter 3. Current issues of Kazakhstan's integration into the international

cooperation on refugee issues.

3.1 Features legal regulation refugee regime in the Republic of Kazakhstan........35

3.2 Legal aspects of the participation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in international

cooperation between states on refugee problems..........................45

List of sources used………………………………………………………...54

Introduction.

Relevance of the topic.

For several decades now, the refugee problem has been considered one of the important problems of our time. The circumstances and reasons causing the movement of refugees are different. Some are generated by situations that form within the framework of human relationships or are the result of them; others are caused by situations whose occurrence does not depend on the will of people, such as natural disasters. The bulk of refugees are, of course, generated by situations of the first type, namely: armed conflicts, racial and religious strife.

In the works of Western researchers, the position of refugees in international law is defined as status. While accepting the possibility of using this term in a broad sense, one should, however, question the validity of its use from the point of view of legal qualification.

Legal status- This established by standards international law, the position of subjects of international law, individual territories, various international and state bodies, certain categories of persons and property. For example, when we talk about the legal status of certain categories of persons, it means, first of all, legal status diplomatic staff and international employees, that is, those categories individuals, whose activities are, with some reservations, international in nature and are not determined by the specifics of their temporary stay in the territory of another state. The situation of refugees, despite all the difficulties and contradictions inherent in it, is temporary. Therefore, speaking about the position of refugees in international law, it would be correct to call it not a status, but a regime . This emphasizes not only the temporary nature of the problem (by analogy with the regime of prisoners of war and wounded), but also determines the main difference between the position of refugees and the position of other categories of persons in international law. 1

The refugee problem is one of the pressing problems around which there has been an intense and ongoing struggle for many years, related to the political, economic, national and other interests of states. When solving the problem of refugees, establishing legal means of protection, states are, first of all, guided by the need to respect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.

The principle of respect for human rights is one of the basic principles of international law. Human rights are determined by the economic, political, social, civil and cultural rights and freedoms provided for by the laws of the country in which he lives. The nature of these rights and freedoms, as well as their scope, is determined by the socio-political and socio-economic system of a given state and its legislation.

The most significant changes in the field of human rights protection occurred after the Second World War. The UN Charter, adopted at the San Francisco Conference in 1945, stated that the purpose of the United Nations is “to pursue international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian character and in promoting and developing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.” This provision is directly related to the problems of refugees. The phenomenon of refugees today is of an objective nature, because... is caused by many cataclysms existing in the world. Increasing frequency of wars, natural disasters, difficult economic conditions of existence and many other phenomena create a situation in which flows of refugees arise - people seeking a safe place of residence that meets universal human needs and living conditions.

The existence of such a category of people as refugees not only entails legal consequences for states, but also the right and responsibility to protect them. Currently, this responsibility rests with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is the representative of the international community, but states can also perform functions to protect refugees, although this is not always related to their material interests and, as a rule, They are reluctant to deal with this problem.

When examining the law relating to refugees, attention should be paid not only to the obligations of states associated with the reception of refugees and their treatment after entry, but also to the potential international legal responsibility of the state whose actions or inactions cause the outflow of population. State responsibility, in in turn, follows from the fact of his control over the territory and inhabitants. Individuals and groups must be able to freely exercise human rights in a territory to which they are bound by a social fact or affiliation of international significance; it is self-evident that such a situation is most likely not when it is imposed from without, but where national democratic and representative government prevails, civil society and law and order.

While the right to seek refuge from persecution and the threat of torture and other similar harm is essential to a person's preservation of life and liberty, it is not a substitute for demanding the fullest possible protection of human rights in one's homeland. The demographic phenomenon is also associated with rural-to-urban migration, military and social conflict, underdevelopment, insufficient or inconsistent democratization, and people's perceived inability or loss of ability to influence their life prospects. However, it is equally clear that the response of the relatively developed world (the countries to which refugees flock) is often limited to the adoption of restrictive measures. All this creates a far from rosy backdrop for the range of norms and principles that make up the international legal system for the protection of refugees.

In this sense, the Republic of Kazakhstan takes an active part in global integration on refugee issues. An example of this is the events that occurred on September 11, 2001 in the United States, as a result of which America declared war on Afghanistan, because of which Kazakhstan pledged to the world community to accept and accommodate a certain number of refugees from Afghanistan and Tajikistan. 1 It seems that in such situations the behavior of countries providing humanitarian assistance in the form of accepting refugees should be similar.

If in the recent totalitarian past the Union, including Kazakhstan, observed an outflow of people fleeing the administrative command system, today, building democracy and the market, the countries of the post-Soviet space have become potential hosts of refugees. The solution to this problem should be facilitated by legislative framework, meeting international standards and principles in this area. In addition, to be involved in global integration, ratification of existing international documents is necessary. A clear example of this is the accession of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the two main sources of international law regulating refugee problems - the 1951 UN Convention and the 1967 Protocol.

The purpose of this thesis is to study international legal issues of refugees. To achieve this goal, the author of this thesis, poses a number of tasks, in particular:

Definition of the concept of “refugees” in international law;

Consideration of principles for granting refugee treatment;

Study of the basic rights and responsibilities of refugees;

Consideration of international legal norms establishing the legal status of refugees;

Consideration of issues of cooperation between states and the UN and other international organizations on refugee issues;

Study of the features of the legal regulation of the refugee regime in the Republic of Kazakhstan;

Consideration of the legal aspects of the participation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in international cooperation of states on refugee problems.
Methodological basis This thesis was based on general scientific and special scientific methods of cognition of state-legal reality, among which historical, comparative, logical and functional methods were used to a greater extent.
Theoretical basis of the study.

The theoretical basis of the study was made up of monographic publications by Russian, Kazakh and foreign authors - specialists in the field of international law, such as Sarsembayev M.A., Gai S. and Goodwin - Gill, Potapov V.I. etc. The theoretical material was supplemented by international legal acts, as well as the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan regulating the legal aspects of refugees.

This thesis consists of three chapters; seven paragraphs; introduction, conclusion; list of sources used. The first chapter is devoted general issues legal regime for refugees. Here we consider such issues as: the concept of “refugees” in the international; a principled approach to the provision of refugee regime developed by international law; general rights of refugees.

The second chapter talks about provisions ensuring the application of international instruments on the legal status of refugees, as well as cooperation of states with the UN and other international organizations on refugee issues.

The third chapter provides an overview of the analysis of the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan regulating the refugee regime; the main current legislative material on refugee issues was collected, and current legal problems of refugees in the Republic of Kazakhstan were identified and analyzed.

The total volume of the thesis is sheets of typewritten text.

Chapter 1. Main features and peculiarities of the legal regime of refugees.

1.1 The concept of “refugees” in international law.
As the authors of a large monographic scientific work emphasize, Guy S., Goodwin-Gill 1, the term “refugee” is a strict term, i.e. its content is determined in accordance with the principles of general international law. In ordinary usage it is broader and less limited, denoting anyone who flees, who seeks to escape from circumstances of a natural or personal nature which he considered intolerable. Where a person runs does not matter: we are talking about escaping from unfreedom and from danger. There can also be many reasons for fleeing: oppression, a threat to life or freedom, persecution, deprivation, terrible poverty, war or civil conflict, natural disasters, earthquakes, floods, drought, famine. The general meaning of the word "refugee" implies that interested person it is possible and should provide assistance and, if necessary, protection from the reasons that caused the flight and from its consequences. Therefore, “fugitives” from justice are often excluded from the category of refugees - persons fleeing criminal prosecution for violating a general law that does not have a political aspect. 2

The sectoral (international legal) content of the concept of “refugee” is even more limited. For example, it does not include “economic refugees” (the term itself is not commonly used). The solution to their problems may fall within the sphere of international assistance and development and is not related to the institution of asylum, which means protection for an unlimited time on the territory of another state.

Defining the boundaries of the concept of “refugee” may seem like an undignified exercise in casuistry and semantics, making it difficult to quickly meet the needs of people in difficult situations. However, states insist on rather restrictive criteria when identifying who can benefit from refugee status and asylum or protection in place. For victims of natural disasters, the mere fact of having special needs may be sufficient, but for victims of human-caused situations or disasters, additional factors are required. Thus, the purpose of creating any definition or description of the category of refugees is to justify and facilitate the provision of assistance and protection; Moreover, if the person's situation meets the necessary criteria, this indicates that he can qualify for the corresponding rights or benefits. Therefore, when determining the characteristics of the category of refugees in accordance with international law, it is necessary to analyze the traditionally allocated sources - treaties and state practice, taking into account also the practice and procedures of various bodies established by the international community to solve refugee problems.

The definition of the concept of “refugee” in international law is contained in two main documents: the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1 and its 1967 Protocol 2 relating to the Status of Refugees.

There are some discrepancies between these acts, in particular, the 1951 UN Convention provides for temporary and geographical restrictions, i.e. it applies to countries located in Europe and to those refugees who became such as a result of events that occurred before 1 January 1951. As for the 1967 Protocol, it eliminates the above restrictions and applies without them to States and to any events, both past and future, as a result of which a refugee problem has arisen or will arise.

In this regard, it is necessary to take into account the participation of the state in the above documents. Since the Republic of Kazakhstan is a party to both documents, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, these acts have direct effect on the territory of the republic, and if domestic legislation contradicts them, the norms of international treaties, not domestic laws, apply.

Attempts to define “refugees” in international documents predate the creation of the United Nations, particularly in treaties and agreements concluded under the auspices of the League of Nations. They used the so-called “group approach”. The necessary conditions were the following:

a) the person must have been outside his country of origin and

b) did not enjoy the protection of the government of that state. For example, “Russian refugees” in 1926 were defined as “any persons of Russian origin who do not or no longer enjoy the protection of the government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics and have not acquired another citizenship.” The content of the concept “Armenian refugee” was similar. This definition was contained in the Agreement of May 12, 1926, concerning the issuance of identity cards to Russian and Armenian refugees. In this case, the person's presence outside the country of origin was not expressly required, but it was implied since the purpose of the agreement was to issue identity documents to facilitate travel and resettlement. The certificates became invalid if their holders returned to their country of origin. A similar approach was subsequently used in the 1936 agreements regarding persons fleeing Germany. 1

After the Second World War, clearer criteria for defining the concept of “refugee” were formulated. This is clearly demonstrated by the Charter of the International Refugee Organization (IRO) and the later adopted Charter of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 2 and the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

The MOB Charter reproduced the provisions of previous documents, indicating the categories of persons who should be provided with assistance. Thus, the number of “refugees” included victims of the Nazi, fascist or Quisling 3 regimes; some people of Jewish origin; foreigners or stateless persons who were victims of Nazi persecution; as well as persons who were recognized as refugees before the outbreak of the Second World War on the basis of race, religion, nationality or political opinion. In addition, the IRB Charter included among the refugees those who could not or did not want to take advantage of the protection of the state of which they were citizens and in which they previously lived.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has replaced the IRP as the main agency dealing with refugees. From that moment on, the foundations of the international legal approach to the concept of “refugee” began to be consolidated in UN documents, the UNHCR Charter and interstate treaties.

For the first time, the Statute brings refugees under the purview of UNHCR who were subject to various previously concluded treaties and agreements. In addition, it refers to refugees who became such as a result of events that occurred before January 1, 1951, were outside their country of origin (the country of which the refugee is a citizen, and in the case of statelessness, the country of his former permanent residence) and not may or may not have been willing to take advantage of her protection “due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted.” They also include persons who, due to past persecution, are unable to return, although the circumstances that gave them refugee status no longer exist. Finally, the Charter shall apply to all other persons who are outside the country of their nationality or, if they are not nationalized, outside the country of their former habitual residence, owing to the existence or experience of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political convictions or are unable or unwilling, due to these fears, to avail themselves of the protection of the government of the country of their nationality, and if they do not have a certain citizenship, to return to the country of their former permanent residence.

This definition is universal in scope, since it does not contain any time or geographical restrictions. It is a critical starting point in determining who is entitled to United Nations protection and assistance, since it is the lack of protection from one's own State that distinguishes refugees from ordinary foreigners.

As can be seen from the above, the Charter assumes a dual approach to the definition of the concept of “refugee”. On the one hand, it applies to groups and categories of refugees (the so-called “group approach” mentioned above), on the other hand, to individuals (individualistic approach), when it is necessary to assess subjective and objective aspects in each specific case.

This definition was almost completely reproduced in the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.

Article 1 of the Convention provides a general definition of the term “refugee”: this is a person who “as a result of events that occurred before January 1, 1951, and owing to a well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or, being of no nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or unwilling, owing to such fear, to return to it.”

The provisions of the Convention could only be used by persons who became refugees as a result of events that took place before January 1, 1951. However, it later turned out that refugee flows were not only the result of the Second World War and its consequences.

In this regard, it became necessary to adopt additional document, which would eliminate this limitation. The 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees became such a document. The Protocol extended the scope of the Convention to “new refugees”, i.e. persons who, falling within the definition contained in the Convention, have become refugees as a result of events occurring after 1 January 1951.

Refugees who fall under UNHCR's mandate and are therefore entitled to the protection and assistance of the international community include not only those who can be individually determined to have a well-founded fear of persecution for specific reasons (so-called “statutory refugees”) "), but also other, often large groups of persons who may be identified or presumed to be deprived of the protection of their State of origin (now often referred to as “displaced” persons or persons “who are within the mandate” of UNHCR). In each case, it is essential that the persons in question have already crossed international borders and that the reasons for the group's flight can be linked to conflicts or radical political, social or economic changes in its country. When fundamental human rights are at risk, violence, or the risk or threat of violence, remains a key factor, but only in certain cases; those who move for purely economic reasons, solely for reasons of personal gain or with criminal intent do not fall under the protection of UNHCR's mandate.

In addition, UNHCR can assist persons displaced within their own countries and promote the rehabilitation and reintegration of returning refugees and “internationally displaced persons.” Recent practice shows that, in some circumstances, UNHCR can protect internally displaced persons, but the legal basis for such activities is less clearly defined. Previously, the provision of protection and assistance to internally displaced persons was an exception, but such operations are now being carried out more frequently. Such actions are important for defining UNHCR's role and responsibilities and for allocating resources, but they are of limited value in accurately answering the question of the international legal status of refugees.

The practice of states and international organizations in this area fills and enriches the content of the concept of “refugee” in general international law. However, there are gaps here. The situation of persons falling into the category of “not having or being unable to benefit from the protection of their State of origin” leaves many questions.

Moreover, the vague content of the term “refugee” can similarly lead to divergent legal consequences, making states' obligations in matters such as non-refoulement, border entry, provision of temporary asylum and treatment of applicants after entry, will depend on the exact status of a particular category. In many States, UNHCR's responsibilities under the Statute will be supplemented by States' obligations under the 1951 Convention or 1967 Protocol, or regional agreements. However, this mechanism does not work effectively because there is a lack of consistency between the obligations of States and the responsibilities of UNHCR. 1

The definition of “refugee” also contains the Decision of the CIS Economic Court of September 11, 1996 N C-1/14-96 2 , according to which a person can be recognized as a refugee if he meets the following criteria:

1) the person is not a citizen of the state that granted asylum (state of entry);

2) the person is forced to leave his place of permanent residence located in the territory of another state (state of departure);

3) the reason why a person is forced to leave the state is committed violence or persecution in other forms, or a real danger of being persecuted not only in relation to the person himself, but also members of his family on the grounds of race or nationality, religion, language, political beliefs , as well as belonging to a particular social group;

4) there is a connection between the commission of violence or persecution, or a real risk of being persecuted with armed and ethnic conflicts.

A person who has committed a crime against peace, humanity or another intentional criminal offense cannot be recognized as a refugee.

Thus, summarizing international regulations, we point out that refugees should be understood as persons who left their country for the following reasons:

a) external aggression, occupation, other forms of foreign domination;

b) natural disasters that undermined the material foundations of their existence;

c) a reasonable risk of being subjected to reprisals due to belonging to a particular social group, political and religious beliefs.

Refugees have the same rights as foreigners permanently residing in the country. In addition, refugees have the right to expect to receive equal remuneration for their work as citizens of the host state. Refugees may be issued documents allowing them to cross state borders.

The international documents under consideration, the 1951 UN Convention and the 1967 Protocol, state that foreigners apply for asylum to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The decision to refuse is final and cannot be appealed, but you can submit another application, attaching relevant documents that eliminate the obstacles that served as the basis for the refusal of the initial application. In addition to these documents, there is a regional Convention regarding the specific aspects of the refugee problem in Africa, adopted in 1969 within the framework of the Organization of African Unity. 1

It should be noted that in the Republic of Kazakhstan there is no special law, such as in the Russian Federation 2. In accordance with the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the concept and legal status of refugees is defined in the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 13, 1997 “On Population Migration”. 3 According to the said Law (Article 1), refugees - foreigners who, due to well-founded fears, may become a victim of persecution based on political opinions, race, religion, citizenship, nationality, membership of a certain social group, are forced to stay outside the country of their citizenship and not are able to benefit from the protection of their country or are unwilling to benefit from the protection owing to such fear, or stateless persons who are outside the country of their former habitual residence and who are unable or unwilling to return to it owing to such fear.

The institution of asylum law corresponds to the refugee regime . The right of asylum is that every person has the right to seek asylum in other countries if he is forced to flee persecution for political views or social activities in his own state. Such a right, as a rule, is written down in Constitutions and other laws of the country.

Providing asylum to a person, being a humane act, cannot be considered an unfriendly act. The right of asylum is also the right of a state to allow entry and residence on its territory to a foreign citizen persecuted in his country for political activities, and not to extradite this citizen to the state persecuting him.

There are two forms of asylum: territorial - this is the provision of asylum to a citizen in another territory; diplomatic - providing asylum to individuals on the territory of a diplomatic or consular mission of a foreign state.

On territorial asylum in 1967, the UN General Assembly adopted a Declaration 1, which states: “Everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution in other countries and to enjoy this asylum. This right cannot be exercised in the event of a prosecution actually based on the commission of a non-political crime or an act contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Every person has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his own country, recognizing that the grant by a State of asylum to persons who have a basis invoking Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a peaceful and humane act and therefore cannot be considered by any other State as an unfriendly act."

Diplomatic asylum is common in Latin American countries. In 1976, at the XXII session of the UN General Assembly, the Declaration on Territorial Asylum was adopted, according to which states themselves decide who to grant asylum. According to Article 1 of the Declaration, the right to asylum should also be enjoyed by fighters against colonialism.

Looking ahead, we point out that in the Republic of Kazakhstan the institution of the law of diplomatic asylum is not used, i.e. the right of asylum can only be exercised in a general manner. Thus, in particular, in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Migration of the Population” (Article 25), “the satisfaction or rejection of an application for political asylum by the Republic of Kazakhstan to foreigners and stateless persons in each specific case is carried out by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan” 2 . Asylum is provided in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 15, 1996 and the Instructions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated February 3, 1997 3

To define the concept of “refugee” as defined in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1966 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees to which Russian Federation became in November 1992, it is necessary to analyze Art. 1 of the 1951 Convention. The Convention enshrines the concept of “refugee” spatial, temporal, subjective and content side. The spatial aspect of the definition of the concept of “refugee” is enshrined in paragraph 1 of section. In Art. 1 of the Convention, which provides that “events occurring before 1 January 1951” mean either: a) “events that occurred in Europe before January 1, 1951”; or b) “events occurring in Europe or elsewhere before 1 January 1951.” Moreover, when ratifying or acceding to the Convention, states must clearly define for themselves the spatial scope of the provisions of the Convention.

The temporal aspect of the definition of the concept of “refugee” is enshrined in paragraph 2 of section. A Art. 1 of the Convention. It states that the provisions of the 1951 Convention apply to refugees recognized as such as a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951.

This provision of the Convention currently renders its provisions useless. In this regard, it became necessary to adopt the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (1966), which in addition states that for the purposes of this Protocol, the term “refugee” means any person falling within the definition of Art. 1 of the Refugee Convention (1951), with the words “As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951” being omitted. Thus, the 1966 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees is now an integral part of the 1951 Convention, supplementing it.

The subjective side of the definition of the concept of “refugee” in the Convention is interpreted mainly in paragraph 1 of section. A Art. 1, where the following types of subjects belonging to the category “refugee” can be distinguished:

6) persons recognized as refugees by virtue of the statute of the International Organization for Refugees;

8) persons recognized as refugees after January 1, 1951 in accordance with the Protocol relating to the status of

refugees (1966).

Analysis of the above acts makes it possible to identify the national composition of those subject to regulation.

implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention. These include Russian and Armenian refugees under the Agreement of May 12, 1926, refugees from Germany under the Convention of February 10, 1938 and the Protocol of September 14, 1939. In accordance with paragraph 2 of the Agreement on the issuance of identity cards to Armenian and other refugees from On May 12, 1926, a refugee was defined as any person of appropriate origin who does not, or who no longer enjoys, the protection of his government and has not acquired another nationality. In accordance with this definition, the refugee regime was established according to three criteria:

1) national or ethnic origin;

2) lack of protection from the government of the country of origin;

3) not acquiring another citizenship.

Thus, when determining the subjective side of the concept of “refugee”, the national (ethnic) character is also taken into account.

1) presence of persecution or reasonable fear of becoming a victim of persecution;

2) persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion;

3) the refugee is outside the country of his citizenship or usual place of residence;

4) the refugee’s failure to use the protection of this country or unwillingness to use such protection;

5) the refugee’s reluctance to return to the country of his citizenship or usual residence.

It is necessary to characterize the substantive criteria of the concept of “refugee”. “Persecution” is understood in a broad and narrow sense. In a narrow sense, “persecution” means the deprivation of a person’s life or physical liberty. In a broad sense, persecution also includes additional serious economic harm, categorical denial of employment, profession, education, or other restrictions on rights and freedoms traditionally guaranteed in a democratic society. A “well-founded fear” of becoming a victim of persecution refers to a combination of subjective and objective components. The subjective property of this category lies in the individual’s mental assessment of fear as really existing. The objective property means that when recognizing a person as a refugee, not only the mental state of the person must be taken into account, but also the objective situation in his country of origin.

Race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is important for recognizing a person as a refugee. Race is understood within the meaning of the Manual of Refugee Status Determination Procedures and Criteria to include all types of ethnic groups referred to as "races". Discrimination on the basis of “religion” means any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on religion or belief, and having as its purpose or effect the derogation or prejudice of the recognition, enjoyment or enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms on an equal basis. The concept of "particular social group" usually means a group of people with the same origin, habits and social status. “Political opinions” are understood as any views regarding the activities of the state, government and the policies pursued by them in all areas of policy, critical in nature. Moreover, prosecution for “political beliefs” should be carried out publicly, and not for actions that are illegal.

Introduction

refugee legislation

One of the global problems that worries the whole world is the problem of refugees. According to the United Nations, there are currently over 21 million refugees in the world. Compared to 2000, the number of refugees has increased by 15 million.

Among the refugees were such scientific, political and cultural figures as Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, Marlene Dietrich and Bertolt Brecht, Richard Wagner and Victor Hugo, Vladimir Nabokov and Mstislav Rostropovich, Sun Yat-Sen and Henry Kissenger.

The situation of refugees is a classic example of the interdependence of the international community. The duty of states is to cooperate in accordance with the UN Charter.

The term “refugee”, from the point of view of modern international law, is strict and specific in nature, since its legal content is clearly defined in accordance with the principles and norms of international law. The reasons why a person leaves his home in search of asylum are of no small importance when recognizing a person's refugee status in accordance with international law.

However, today, the norms of international law do not yet fully ensure legal protection. Displacement may include persons in need of international protection who do not qualify as refugees under international law. These displaced persons may still be denied even temporary asylum or temporary protection, safe return, or compensation.

The main reasons for mass forced migration, in addition to armed conflicts, occurring on an inter-national, inter-ethnic basis, forcing civilians to leave their permanent place of residence, are also the policy of discrimination, foreign interference, persecution for political, national, religious and other reasons, which result in a threat to life or freedom of a person in his country of residence. The problem of forced displacement of persons is closely related to the issue of human rights violations. Human rights violations are one of the main reasons for forced mass migration of the population. Respect for human rights is a necessary condition, both to prevent refugee flows and to solve problems associated with them.

But, perhaps, in no other region of the world has the development of migration processes occurred in such specific and severe forms as in the territory of the former USSR. Major geopolitical changes, the socio-economic crisis, violations of the rights of non-indigenous nationalities and ethnic conflicts have become the causes of massive migration flows.

The collapse of the USSR transferred the problems of forced migrants from the internal affairs of one country to the sphere of interstate and international relations.

This problem has become especially acute for the states of the European Union, whose high socio-economic level of development has become an attractive force for millions of refugees from Third World countries. Since the late 1980s, the strong influx of refugees into the countries of the European Union has raised a number of pressing social and political issues, many of which have not yet been resolved.

Helping to eliminate the causes of forced migration of people and resolving the issue of refugees on a global scale continue to be priorities in the activities of the UN. Under its auspices, in 1951 and 1967, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol were adopted with the aim of uniformly regulating the legal regime of refugees and protecting their rights and freedoms, which were ratified by 146 states. Since their entry into force, these two documents have been the foundation in the field of refugee protection. Within the UN system, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in 1950 and is working to address this problem by providing practical assistance in crisis areas. States can also perform functions to protect refugees, although this is not always in their material interests. Measures to strengthen cooperation and coordination of the activities of agencies involved in providing emergency assistance and improving international rule-making are today the top priorities facing subjects of international law in the field of refugee protection.

Historically, the problems of refugees as victims of armed conflict are dealt with by the International Committee of the Red Cross, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and their Federations. The legal mechanism for the protection of refugees, established under the auspices of the ICRC, is that the norms of international humanitarian law applied during armed conflicts are auxiliary in relation to refugee law, expressed in the provision of additional protection. The existence of both institutions (together with UNHCR) is necessary to provide more rapid assistance and protection to refugees.

General global processes have also affected the Republic of Belarus. Since the collapse of the USSR, ongoing armed conflicts, both international and non-international, the number of refugees continues to increase regularly. The internal affairs bodies of the Republic of Belarus note an increase in the number of applications from foreign citizens for refugee status. The increase in asylum applications is due to various factors. For example, recently the bulk of applications have come from citizens of Syria due to the ongoing armed conflict in this country. Some refugees try to stay where there are already established diasporas. The republic has formed stable diasporas from Afghanistan (70.6% of the total), Georgia (16.3%), Tajikistan (4%), Azerbaijan (3.5%), Ethiopia (2.8%).

As of February 1, 2014, 872 foreigners from 15 countries with refugee status and 22 with subsidiary protection lived in Belarus. In total, about 5 thousand people have applied to Belarus to be granted refugee status since 1997.

To resolve the current situation in the Republic of Belarus, on the basis of international law and taking into account internal features, national legislation on refugees was developed. Today, the practice of its application makes it possible to timely identify shortcomings in existing regulatory legal acts on refugees and make the necessary changes and additions to them.

The problem of refugees and asylum seekers is multifaceted and global in nature, so any approach to its analysis and any solution must be comprehensive and take into account all its aspects, namely, from the reasons for forced displacement of people to the development of necessary responses in the most different situations ensuring respect for the rights of refugees.

All of the above determined the relevance and predetermined the choice of the topic of the thesis.

The purpose of the work is to study the rights of refugees in international law and legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Achieving this goal involves solving the following tasks:

define the concept of “refugee” in international law and legislation of the Republic of Belarus;

show the correspondence of concepts in international law and the legislation of the Republic of Belarus;

characterize the consolidation of refugee rights in international law and legislation of the Republic of Belarus;

explore the practical implementation of international norms and legislation of the Republic of Belarus on refugees.

The object of the study is public relations in the field of the legal status of refugees, determined by international acts of a general nature, as well as legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus.

The subject of the study is the norms of international law and national legislation of the Republic of Belarus regulating the status of refugees in accordance with the norms of international law and emerging legal relations in connection with the provision and protection of the rights of refugees in the Republic of Belarus.

The hypothesis of the study is the assumption that the legislation of the Republic of Belarus regulating the legal status of refugees complies with the norms of international law.

The methodological basis of the study is the dialectical method of cognition of social processes and socio-legal phenomena. In the process of research, general scientific, private and special methods of cognition were used: logical, formal legal, comparative legal, structural and functional, statistical analysis; systemic, integrated approach, an analysis of Belarusian legislation and international legal acts was carried out.

The theoretical basis of the diploma was the work of both domestic and foreign authors devoted to general scientific problems of international legal protection of human rights. Issues of the international legal regime of refugees have found some reflection in the legal literature and special studies.

The monograph by V.I. is also devoted to these issues. Potapov “Refugees and International Law” (Moscow, 1986), scientific articles by D.V. Ivanova, N.N. Totsky, R.A. Tuzmukhamedova, A.Yu. Yastrebova and others.

In foreign literature, the refugee regime in international law has been subjected to a voluminous, but often politicized and biased analysis. It was the subject of research in the works of J. Vernant, L. Gordenker, A. Grahl-Madsen, G.S. Goodwin-Gilla, Y.A. McDonald, G. Melander, P. Nobel, G. Stenberg, H. Hakovirta, L. Holborn and others.

1.The concept of refugee rights

.1 The concept of “refugee” in international law

From the point of view of modern international law, the term “refugee” is strict and specific in nature, since its legal content is clearly defined in accordance with the principles and norms of general international law. Its content is compared to the word "refugee" which we use in our everyday life, much narrower. In everyday life, a refugee is any person who is fleeing circumstances that threaten his personal safety and the safety of his family members. For what reason he is forced to do this, for us, in fact, it does not matter.

But for international law, the reasons why a person leaves his home to seek asylum, and the categories of people seeking it, play a large role in recognizing a person's refugee status under international law. But before we examine in detail the boundaries of the concept of “refugee” from a legal point of view, it is necessary to trace the history of its formation.

For the first time in international agreements, the concept of “refugee” was formulated at a conference held in Geneva in 1926, the participants of which developed and signed an Agreement on the issuance of identity cards to Russian and Armenian refugees. According to paragraph 2 of the Agreement, a refugee is any person of relevant origin who does not, or who no longer enjoys, the protection of his government and has not acquired another nationality.

A similar approach to defining the concept of “refugee” was used in the development of the Agreement relating to the Status of Refugees from Germany of July 4, 1936 and the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees from Germany of February 10, 1938. According to Article 1 of the 1938 Convention, the following were covered: “a) persons who possess or have held German nationality and who do not possess any other nationality and who are shown not to enjoy, in law or in fact, the protection of the German Government; b) stateless persons not covered by previous conventions or agreements, who have left German territory after settling there and in respect of whom it has been proven that they do not enjoy, in law or in fact, the protection of the German Government.” For the first time in international law, this document legally enshrined the provision that persons who left German territory for reasons of personal convenience were excluded from the definition of the concept of “refugee”. Subsequently, this rule was used in developing the definition of the concept of “refugee”, enshrined in the Charter of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

It should be noted that the agreements concluded under the auspices of the League of Nations used a group, or categorical, approach, which consisted in the fact that a person being outside his country of origin and not benefiting from the protection of the government of that country were quite sufficient conditions for recognition of such a person as a refugee . However, these definitions did not indicate “the reasons for refugees leaving the country of their previous place of residence, and obtaining refugee status was not due to any motives.”

Therefore, along with the official development of the definition of the concept of “refugee”, which was carried out within the framework of the League of Nations, informal work was carried out to include in the concept of “refugee” the reasons why the refugee left his country of origin. In April 1936, in Brussels, the Institute of International Law adopted a resolution entitled “The Legal Status of Stateless Persons and Refugees,” which defined a refugee as an individual “who, by reason of sudden political events in the territory of the State of his nationality, has left that territory voluntarily or involuntarily... and has not acquired a new nationality, and does not enjoy the diplomatic protection of any other state."

In 1938, an international conference was held in Evian (France), which established the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees. The mandate of this organization included: a) “persons who have not yet left their country of origin, but who are forced to emigrate because of their political opinions, religion and race”; b) “persons who have already left their country of origin or have not yet settled permanently in other places.”

The tendency of that period was the desire of states to politicize the concept of “refugee” as much as possible. It was clearly manifested during the development of the Charter of the International Organization for Refugees, created on August 20, 1948. Its Charter used the provisions of all previous international agreements and documents in determining the categories of persons to whom the organization provided assistance. The Charter included the following categories of persons as refugees: “a) victims of the Nazi or fascist regime, or regimes that took part in the Second World War on the side of fascist regimes, or victims of Quisling or similar regimes helping fascist regimes in their struggle against the United Nations , regardless of whether they enjoy international status as refugees or not; b) Spanish Republicans and other victims of the Falangist regime in Spain; (c) persons who were considered refugees before the outbreak of the Second World War for reasons of racial, religious or national character or as a result of their political opinions.” A distinctive feature of the definition of “refugee” under the IRO Statute was that it combined the group approach used in previous agreements in defining the concept of “refugee”, and the political aspect of the refugee problem, which was progressive in nature at that time.

In 1949, the UN began preparatory work to create a new organization that would replace the IOB. Accordingly, it was necessary to develop a new definition of the concept of “refugee”, which was associated with recent events and changes in the international relations of UN member states.

This new organization was the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the document that redefined the concept of “refugee” was the Charter of this institution.

The Charter combines elements of the definitions of the concept of “refugee” contained in previous agreements. In accordance with paragraph 6 of Chapter II of the Charter, the competence of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees extends to “all those persons who, as a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951, and owing to a well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution for reasons of race, religion or nationality or political opinion are outside the country of their nationality and are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of the Government of that country, either owing to such fear or for reasons other than considerations of personal convenience; or, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence, are unable or unwilling to return to it owing to such fears or for reasons other than considerations of personal convenience.”

In addition, refugees whose legal status is regulated by previously concluded international treaties and agreements fall under the UNHCR mandate.

The definition of the concept of “refugee” contained in the UNHCR Statute is universal in scope, since it does not contain any geographical or time restrictions.

However, according to the English international lawyer G.S. Goodwin-Gilla, “The UNHCR Charter contains an obvious contradiction,” which lies in the fact that, on the one hand, the activities of the Office extend to groups and categories of refugees, and on the other hand, the definition of the concept of “refugee” contained in it requires an assessment of the circumstances of how a person became a refugee in each specific case. Subsequent events have forced UNHCR to apply its mandate quite flexibly in practice, resulting in a significant change in the concept of “refugee”. Refugees have become the focus of international attention.

The main UN bodies - the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council - played an important role in expanding the concept of “refugee”. They were later joined by the Executive Committee for the High Commissioner's Programme, created in 1957.

In 1957, the UN General Assembly authorized UNHCR, through UNGA Resolution 1167 of 26 November 1957, to provide assistance to refugees who did not fall within the definition contained in the UNHCR Statute. It was about Chinese refugees housed in Hong Kong. The situation was further complicated by the fact that at that time two Chinas coexisted simultaneously, each of which claimed to be a state of nationality.

In 1959, the UNGA, in its resolution 1388 (XIV) of 20 November, authorized the High Commissioner to exercise "good offices" on refugees "who are not under the care of the United Nations." UNGA Resolution 1959 (XVIII) of 1963 requests the High Commissioner to continue to provide international protection to refugees and to make efforts in the interests of refugees under his care, as well as refugees to whom he provides his “good offices”, and to pay particular attention to new refugee groups in accordance with relevant UNGA resolutions and Executive Committee directives. These and subsequent UNGA resolutions indicated that the UN began to take a pragmatic approach when defining individuals as refugees. It must be added that in the 1960s, the increasing scale of refugee flows, especially in African states, forced UNHCR to apply the so-called “team approach”. In this case, not individuals, but a whole group of people were recognized as refugees. Although this was contrary to the provisions of the UNHCR Charter, it was a necessary measure in the event of sudden massive flows of refugees, when saving people’s lives and their safety justified bypassing the existing legal norms.

A little later, UNHCR began to provide assistance to internally displaced persons. Thus, in 1972, ECOSOC decided to extend assistance not only to refugees from Sudan, but also to “internally displaced persons.” In 1976, ECOSOC recognized the importance of UNHCR's activities "in addition to its original functions in relation to man-made disasters". The Council expressed its gratitude to the High Commissioner on behalf of "refugees and displaced persons and victims of man-made disasters".

Despite the ever-expanding range of people UNHCR worked with, official documents at the time indicate a reluctance to use the term “refugee” to refer to those whom UNHCR assisted. Instead, the terms “displaced persons”, “internally displaced persons”, etc. were used. However, there was a process of adjustment and development of new terms. In 1976, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Program used the term "asylum seekers".

In 1977, obligations to provide assistance to refugees and displaced persons were clearly formulated in UNGA documents. Later, other categories of persons in need of assistance were recognized, including repatriates, women, children, and asylum seekers.

This trend of expanding the circle of persons to whom UNHCR provides assistance suggests that when identifying such categories of persons it is necessary to apply a more general criterion - lack of protection.

So, currently UNHCR provides assistance and protection to the following categories of persons: refugees as defined by the UNHCR Statute, returned refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and other categories of persons within the scope of UNHCR activities.

Despite the protests of some states, the international community does not officially object to the UNHCR carrying out its functions in relation to such various categories of persons, since the provision of such assistance does not affect the sovereign right of states to recognize their refugee status with all the ensuing consequences. In addition, the legal basis for providing protection to these categories of persons is the resolutions of UN bodies, which are advisory in nature. Moreover, all of the above categories of persons are not legally included in the concept of “refugee” and exist independently of it, which means the following: the use of international protection and assistance is fully provided only to refugees as defined in the UNHCR Statute.

In addition to the definition of the concept of “refugee” as set out in the UNHCR Statute, there is a definition of this concept contained in section A of Article 1 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The definition was the result of lengthy and heated discussions between states that took place in the Special Committee on Refugees and Stateless Persons.

Some States believed that a definition that was too vague would create friction among States over its interpretation and application and would impose disproportionate and difficult obligations on them. In this regard, the United States proposed a definition that included four categories of refugees who are outside their country due to “persecution or fear of persecution.” These categories included World War I refugees, interwar refugees, new refugees, displaced persons and unaccompanied minors. The UK proposed its own version of a definition of a general nature and applied to a person who, having left the country of his usual residence because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution, does not return or is unable to return to that country for good and sufficient reasons, or is prevented from returning there by the authorities of this country, and who is not a citizen of any other country.

To develop a definition that would satisfy all states, a working group was created in the Special Committee, which took as a model the definition contained in the Charter of the International Organization for Refugees. In the course of long work, the parties came to a version of the definition of “refugee” that satisfied everyone.

The States Parties to the 1951 Convention agreed that the term "refugee" should apply to persons recognized as refugees in accordance with previously adopted international agreements, as well as to any person satisfying the provisions of paragraph 2 of section A of Article 1 of the Convention, which states that a refugee is recognized any person who, “as a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and cannot to benefit from the protection of that country or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail itself of such protection; or, being of no nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or unwilling to return to it owing to such fear.”

However, the definition of the concept of “refugee” of the 1951 Convention had two limitations: the first (temporal) was that, according to the Convention, the right to be considered a refugee did not extend to persons who became such as a result of events that occurred after January 1, 1951, the second (geographic) consisted is that the above events mean either "events occurring in Europe before 1 January 1951" or "events occurring in Europe or elsewhere before 1 January 1951". The presence of two restrictions made it very difficult to solve the refugee problem, excluding millions of refugees and other categories of forced migrants from the scope of the Convention.

To solve the problems that arose, the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees was adopted in 1967. The Protocol excluded from the definition of refugees the provisions relating to geographical and time limits, which gave the Convention a universal character. The Protocol removed the provision of the 1951 Convention on the limitation of the term of 1951, which made the Convention truly universal agreement. The protocol is independent legal document, to which any state may accede without being a party to the 1951 Convention. Any State acceding to the Protocol undertakes to apply the provisions of the 1951 Convention to refugees falling within its definition, but without the 1951 date. If a State accedes only to the Protocol, it cannot introduce a geographical reservation.

Moreover, since the signing of the 1951 Convention, states have recognized that not all refugees are included in the scope of the Convention. Therefore, in the Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries at which the 1951 Convention was signed, States were recommended to apply its provisions to other categories of refugees not then falling within the scope of its application.

The existence of three simultaneously universal documents- The UNHCR Statute, the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, which contain similar definitions of the concept of “refugee,” have led to the emergence of another legal problem. Its essence is that currently there are two main categories of refugees among those already recognized as such on the basis of the above international documents.

The first category is “mandate refugees”. These are persons who are considered refugees by UNHCR on the basis of the provisions of the Statute and who are independent of the State of asylum that is a party to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. Mandate refugees can receive assistance directly from UNHCR. However, they cannot enjoy the rights and benefits provided to “convention refugees” unless they are recognized as refugees by a state party to the 1951 Convention. The term refers to refugees whose situation falls within the broader competence of the High Commissioner, which was subsequently confirmed by the UN General Assembly.

The second category is “convention refugees”. These are persons who have been recognized as refugees by a State of asylum that is party to the 1951 Convention and/or the 1967 Protocol. Only in this capacity do they enjoy all the rights and benefits that states have pledged to provide to refugees on the basis of international law.

So, for a person to be recognized as a refugee under international law, he must meet the following conditions:

) must be located outside its country of origin;

) must have a well-founded fear of persecution;

signs:

citizenship;

belonging to a particular social group;

political beliefs;

) the person is unable or unwilling to avail himself of the protection of his country of origin or to return to that country for reasons of fear of persecution.

International agreements contain provisions regarding circumstances when a person does not fall within the scope of their application.

According to the 1951 Convention, its provisions do not apply to persons “who are currently receiving the protection or assistance of other organs or agencies” of the UN other than UNHCR. Under this exclusion clause, an entire category of refugees—Palestinian refugees—are treated as separate category. International assistance in this category is provided through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, established by the UN General Assembly in December 1949.

.2 The concept of “refugee” in the legislation of the Republic of Belarus

In the early 1990s. The collapse of the USSR led to significant flows of refugees and displaced persons.

In the late 80s - first half of the 90s. XX century hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes due to interethnic and separatist conflicts in Transcaucasia. As is known, the aggravation of the situation in this region was noted even before the collapse Soviet Union, when armed clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh forced about 300 thousand Armenians and 340 thousand Azerbaijanis to leave their homes. The flight of Armenians from Azerbaijan and, accordingly, Azerbaijanis from Armenia gave rise to the first wave of refugees.

Armenia's declaration of independence and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union less than two months later led to an escalation of the armed conflict and caused further mass displacement of the population. By August 1993, the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia controlled about 1/5 of Azerbaijani territory and created two “corridors” connecting this enclave with Armenia. Only in May 1994 was an agreement reached on a ceasefire. More than half a million Azerbaijanis were forcibly expelled from large areas of Azerbaijan by detachments of the Armenian armed forces of Karabakh. The ceasefire agreements were respected, but a political settlement could not be reached. Most of those forced from their homes remained hostage to the conflict.

Another outbreak of interethnic violence occurred in June 1989 in the Uzbek part of the most conflict-prone region of Central Asia - the Fergana Valley, from where the local population expelled about 60 thousand Meskhetian Turks, who were resettled there by the Stalin regime.

The dramatic events of inter-ethnic clashes intensified fears in the Soviet Union and beyond that the collapse of the country would give rise to even greater violence and bloodshed, giving rise to massive flows of refugees and migrants. The cause of mass forced migration to the territory of the USSR was armed conflicts in the Abkhaz and South Ossetian autonomies of Georgia. For example, the residents of South Ossetia wanted greater autonomy and unification with North Ossetia. The Georgian leadership, taking into account this fact, as well as the pro-Russian Abkhaz and South Ossetian positions, had a negative attitude towards such prospects.

In 1989, armed clashes began between Ossetians and local Georgians in South Ossetia. Despite the presence of Soviet and then Georgian troops, a stable ceasefire could not be achieved until May 1992. During this period of time, about 50 thousand Ossetians fled to North Ossetia, while at the same time 23 thousand Georgians were expelled from South Ossetia into Georgia. In mid-1992, when Abkhazia declared its independence, armed clashes began in the republic and 2 thousand Georgian soldiers were sent there to restore order. Over the next year and a half, this conflict led to the displacement and expulsion of approximately 250 thousand Georgians from Abkhazia.

In May 1998, armed clashes broke out again between Georgian partisans and Abkhaz police in the Gali region. Almost 40 thousand people out of the original 50 thousand who returned again left their places of residence, and many restored houses and schools were looted and burned.

The North Caucasus has become the scene of large-scale forced relocation of people. In 1992, tens of thousands of Ingush were expelled from North Ossetia to neighboring Ingushetia. In 1994-1995, and then starting in September 1999, there were massive population movements in the Chechen Republic and its neighboring areas.

A significant portion of the population became refugees and displaced persons as a result of civil war in Tajikistan, which began in May 1992. The conflict arose due to political, ethnic and clan differences. Under the current conditions, over several months of hostilities, approximately 600 thousand people were forced to leave their homes. Of these, about 60 thousand Tajiks fled to Afghanistan, while many ethnic Russians, Uzbeks and Tajiks fled to other areas of the CIS and beyond.

Throughout this decade, large numbers of people, especially ethnic Russians living outside the Russian Federation, became "foreigners" in various parts of the former Soviet Union. Many of them moved to places where they felt safer, hoping for a better future. The Republic of Belarus became one of these places.

Thus, the collapse of the Soviet Union, accompanied by the aggravation of interethnic relations, armed confrontations, the adoption by the former republics of the USSR - now sovereign states - of a number of legislative acts that infringed civil rights non-indigenous people, caused massive population movements.

The so-called Russian-speaking population, including military families, appeared for the first time in this flow. This was followed by flows of refugees of other nationalities from a number of republics of the Soviet Union.

As the Belarusian researcher S. Tkachenko notes, already in the first quarter of 1991 there were more than 670 thousand refugees in the USSR, including 36 thousand Russian-speaking - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, as well as people of other nationalities, mainly residents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, who consider Russian their native language. Refugees from the remaining republics (Central Asian, Baltic, Moldova, etc.) were not registered, since no government decisions were made, in particular, refugee status was not determined. According to other estimates, already at that time there were over 300 thousand Russian-speaking refugees.

At the same time, at the beginning of 1992, UNHCR sent delegations to study the situation in most of the newly independent states formed after the collapse of the USSR (including Belarus), beginning to establish contacts with them.

To solve the problems of refugees in Belarus, since December 1993, the UNHCR regional office in Moscow, together with the UN Office in Belarus, began to implement a program to support the most needy categories of refugees and asylum seekers. Under this program, 300 refugees and asylum seekers received financial assistance; 27 refugees from Ethiopia were provided with housing. The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, together with the Belarusian Red Cross Society, began to assist refugees in obtaining medical care.

Migration processes in general have significantly affected the Republic of Belarus. According to the Republican Migration Service, only for 1992-1996. 543,970 people arrived in the country. Belarus, like other newly independent states, is faced with such a category of migrants, forgotten for half a century, as refugees. Data from the Republican Migration Authority of Belarus indicates that for 1992-1998. to the State migration service/Migration Committee 32,200 people from member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic republics applied for asylum, with the peak of applications occurring in 1992-1994.

The number of refugees in the Republic of Belarus did not remain constant and was closely dependent on the socio-political situation, mainly on the territory of the republics of the former USSR. Some of them left the country as tensions eased in the regions of their permanent residence. The escalation of conflicts and the intensification of armed confrontation caused a new wave of refugees, as evidenced by data from the Republican Migration Service.

However, it should be noted that these data are to a certain extent conditional due to the lack of an officially accepted definition of the concept of “refugee” both in the Soviet Union and before 1995 in the Republic of Belarus. Therefore, it can be assumed that the registration of persons arriving in the republic as refugees was carried out quite arbitrarily.

According to the Republican Migration Service, by the end of 1999, there were more than 3,000 citizens of non-CIS countries in Belarus who did not want to return to their country and applied for asylum. 1827 people of them were registered by the UN Office in the Republic of Belarus (as of January 1, 1995). In September 1995, a UNHCR Representative Office was opened in the Republic of Belarus. By the beginning of 1999, it had registered 2,785 asylum seekers from non-CIS countries.

As a result of the adoption of the Law “On Refugees” in 1995, the legal status of this category of persons in the Republic of Belarus was determined, the procedure for its acquisition and loss was regulated, legal, economic and social guarantees protection of such persons within the country. The procedure for granting refugee status in full and throughout the country began to be used only in June 1998.

By January 1, 2000, 269 people received refugee status in the Republic of Belarus. The main country of origin of refugees was Afghanistan (76%), 11.5% came from Georgia, about 7% from Ethiopia, 4.5% from Tajikistan. The remaining 1% comes from arrivals from Azerbaijan and India. As of December 1, 2007, 799 people had already received refugee status, 562 of whom were from Afghanistan (70%). In addition, 16.5% came from Georgia, 4% from Tajikistan, 3.6% from Azerbaijan, 2.9% from Ethiopia, the rest from Armenia, India, Iraq, Iran, Cameroon, Liberia, Palestine, Rwanda.

The geography of the flow of refugees to Belarus from outside the former USSR was formed in the late 1980s - early 1990s, when citizens of Afghanistan arrived in the country to receive education in higher and secondary specialized educational institutions of the former Soviet Union. Then, due to a change of power in their country, they found themselves persecuted in their homeland and became “refugees on the spot” in Belarus. Citizens of African countries - Liberia, Rwanda, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Somalia - also came to Belarus for the purpose of studying, who then filed applications for refugee status. However, another stream is already emerging - for the purpose of family reunification, as well as seeking refuge in connection with hostilities and political persecution.

It should be noted that by the end of the 20th century. disintegration processes on the territory of the countries of the former USSR and its allies led to the escalation of interethnic and interreligious conflicts, as a result of which increased pressure on European states, including Belarus.

An analysis of the available data confirms that the number of refugees and displaced persons directly in the Republic of Belarus was not constant and depended mainly on the socio-political situation in the post-Soviet space and in neighboring countries.

Thus, the Belarusian state needed to respond to such events in a timely and adequate manner. And this was and is currently being promoted by both the migration policy of the state as a whole and the established national system for the protection of refugees.

Characterizing the process of establishing a refugee protection system and the formation of the concept of “refugee” in the Republic of Belarus, several stages can be distinguished.

At the first stage (1992 - 1995), the initial formation of the structure of the migration service and the preparation of legislation on refugees took place in our country. There is no doubt about the desire of the Belarusian state to solve the refugee problem. However, given the lack of experience in solving it, it is necessary to recognize that in this process important role UNHCR played a role, even despite the fact that it was not directly represented in our country. The logical result was the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Belarus of February 22, 1995 No. 3605-XII “On Refugees” in 1995 and the opening of the UNHCR Representative Office in the Republic of Belarus. The law gave following definition refugee, a refugee is a person who is not a citizen of the Republic of Belarus and has arrived on its territory, is forced to leave the state of his citizenship or his previous usual place of residence (for stateless persons) due to a well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution on grounds of race, religion, citizenship, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and who is unable or unwilling, owing to such fear, to enjoy the protection of the State of his nationality or his former habitual residence.

Highlighting the second stage (1995 - 2001), we note that during this period, the priority areas for the effective operation of the refugee protection system were the implementation of the procedure for determining refugee status, as well as the further improvement of state migration authorities and the legislation of the republic on refugees.

The adoption of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Refugees” in 1995 was an important step towards the formation of forced migration processes. However, until mid-1998, the 1995 Law was not implemented in many respects. One of the reasons for the current situation, as scientists determine, is the fact that “the very status of a refugee in the republic is not supported by the corresponding economic capabilities of the state.”

Law of the Republic of Belarus dated June 16, 1999 No. 268-Z “On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Refugees”” introduced significant changes to the Law on Refugees, including the new wording of the concept of a refugee: “Refugee” - a person who is not a citizen of the Republic of Belarus and is on its territory due to a well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution in the state of his citizenship on the basis of race, religion, citizenship, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion and who cannot either does not wish, due to such fears, to enjoy the protection of that state; or a person who, not having a specific citizenship and being on the territory of the Republic of Belarus due to similar circumstances, is unable or unwilling to return to the state of his former usual residence due to such fears."

Also, in the period from 1995 to 2001, the result of international cooperation of the Republic of Belarus was the state’s accession to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol.

The result of the third stage (2001 - 2003) can be considered the bringing of national legislation, as well as procedures in the field of granting refugee status, in accordance with international standards, as well as the creation of conditions for the adaptation of refugees in Belarusian society and a favorable attitude towards them. The beginning of a new process of international cooperation of the Republic of Belarus (Söder-Köping process) is also important in this context.

The fourth stage (2004 - 2009) began with the reorganization of the state migration service and its transfer to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. The main task at this stage was to strengthen the national refugee protection system through clarifying legislative issues, based on the practice of its functioning, and strengthening its material and technical base. UNHCR, as the central structure of the international refugee protection system, took on a coordinating role at this stage. The result of this stage can be considered the beginning of the functioning of the new law on refugees in July 2009 (adopted in 2008), in which, in addition to the concept of “refugee status,” two new concepts “complementary protection” and “temporary protection” appeared. Also at this stage, through the UNHCR Office, the implementation of new projects has begun, where the main donor is the European Commission (for example, “Strengthening the national asylum system in the Republic of Belarus”, “Increasing the efficiency of separation and work with migration flows at the State Border of the Republic of Belarus”).

On modern stage(since 2009) the national refugee protection system must continue its development, and the harmonization of legislation and its results within the framework of a single regional policy must continue in order to bring it closer to similar systems in both European countries and CIS member states. Important elements of this were the Law of the Republic of Belarus of June 23, 2008 No. 354-Z “On granting foreign citizens and stateless persons refugee status, additional and temporary protection in the Republic of Belarus” (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Refugee Status).

The Law on Refugee Status determines the grounds and procedure for granting foreign citizens and stateless persons refugee status, additional and temporary protection in the Republic of Belarus, grounds for loss, cancellation of refugee status, additional protection, and also establishes legal, economic and social guarantees for the protection of rights and legitimate interests foreign citizens and stateless persons applying for refugee status or additional protection in the Republic of Belarus, and foreign citizens and stateless persons who have been granted refugee status or additional or temporary protection, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, including international treaties of the Republic Belarus, generally accepted principles and norms of international law.

The concept of a refugee is revealed in Art. 18 of the Law on Refugee Status. Thus, according to this article, refugee status is granted to a foreign citizen who is on the territory of the Republic of Belarus due to a well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution in the state of citizenship on the basis of race, religion, citizenship, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, who cannot or does not wish, due to such fears, to enjoy the protection of this state, or a stateless person located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus due to these fears, who cannot or does not want to return to the state of his previous usual place of residence due to such fears. Moreover, in 2009 it was established a mandatory rule for suspending the deportation of a foreigner if he applies in accordance with the established procedure with a request for protection or with an application for asylum in the Republic of Belarus, which entails more favorable conditions for obtaining asylum. The national asylum system has been highly praised by international experts. This is confirmed by the fact-finding and study visits that delegations from a number of CIS countries visited our country: the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and the Russian Federation. Active promotion of the results of the functioning of the national asylum system in the Republic of Belarus in the international arena contributed to the fact that the CSTO member states recognized the legislation of the Republic of Belarus in the field of forced migration and practical mechanisms for its implementation as the most progressive in the field of asylum. The Law of the Republic of Belarus “On granting foreign citizens and stateless persons refugee status, additional and temporary protection in the Republic of Belarus” is used as a model when reforming legislation in the field of forced migration in the Russian Federation.

Let us note that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees A. Guterres, who visited Belarus in July 2009, highly appreciated public policy of the Republic of Belarus regarding refugees. During the visit, on July 28, an Agreement was signed between the Republic of Belarus and UNHCR on cooperation and the legal status of the UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus, which should give additional impetus to cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and UNHCR in strengthening the national refugee protection system.

As noted earlier, the refugee protection system in the Republic of Belarus has been generally built. It, according to UNHCR experts, is one of the best among the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and its further improvement is aimed at the adaptation of refugees.

1.3 Problems of correspondence of concepts in international law and in the legislation of the Republic of Belarus

In general terms, the right to asylum is enshrined in Art. 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus “The Republic of Belarus may grant the right of asylum to persons persecuted in other states for political, religious beliefs or nationality.

The Republic of Belarus adopted the practice of adopting a national law with subsequent ratification of the 1951 Convention. Thus, on February 22, 1995, the Republic of Belarus adopted a national Law on Refugees. And in May 2001, it joined the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees on July 28, 1951 by adopting Law of the Republic of Belarus dated May 4, 2001 No. 10-Z “On the accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.”

After the Republic of Belarus joined these documents, new regulations were adopted, as well as amendments and additions were made to the existing regulations. Thus, the third edition of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Refugees” was developed and adopted on February 22, 1995, which came into force in July 2003. Also, the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated January 4, 2003 No. 178-Z amended Article 4 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Republic of Belarus” dated June 3, 1993.

In 2006, the development of a new bill began, due to the need to make changes and additions to the legislation on forced migration, in particular, the introduction of the institution of additional protection, clarification of the concepts and procedures of temporary protection and family reunification and taking into account other shortcomings of the legislation in force at that time. As a result, the Law on Granting Refugee Status was adopted.

The main provisions of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, primarily concerning the definition of the concept of “refugee”, the grounds for granting and depriving refugee status, as well as the provisions regulating the rights and obligations of persons who have been granted refugee status, are reflected in the Law. For example, the provision of Article 1, paragraph A, paragraph 2) of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which contains the definition of the concept of “refugee”, is incorporated in Article 18 of the Law. The Convention in this article also regulates the procedure for resolving issues that arise when determining the “country of citizenship” of a person who has dual or multiple citizenship. However, this aspect is not reflected in the said Law of the Republic of Belarus.

The provisions of Article 1, paragraph C of the Convention, defining cases in which the provisions of the Convention no longer apply to a person falling under the definition of “refugee”, are incorporated in Article 48 “Loss of refugee status” of the Law on Refugee Status, which supplemented the list of grounds presented in the Convention loss of refugee status in the case where a person voluntarily renounces refugee status. Paragraphs D, E, F of Article 1 of the Convention are incorporated in Article 3 “Limitation of the operation of this Law” of the Law on Refugee Status. Of particular importance is the incorporation of Article 33 of the Convention, which prohibits the expulsion of refugees or their forced return to the countries from which they arrived in Article 5 “Guarantees of non-refoulement of foreigners” of the Law. In addition, in paragraph 23 of the Regulations on the procedure for the expulsion of foreign citizens and persons without citizenship from the Republic of Belarus, grounds for termination of deportation have been introduced. Such legislative recognition of the impossibility of returning a certain category of foreigners is fully consistent with the internationally recognized concept of non-refoulement.

Thus, today the current legislation of the Republic of Belarus complies with the provisions of the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Reforming and improving the legislation of the Republic of Belarus on refugees indicates the relevance of this problem for our country. In particular, the adoption and implementation of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On granting foreign citizens and stateless persons the status of refugee, additional and temporary protection in the Republic of Belarus” is the next step towards creating an effective national asylum system for people in need of international protection that meets modern realities. This helps strengthen the image of Belarus as a state that consistently pursues progressive policies in the humanitarian sphere.

2. Consolidation of the rights of refugees in international law and legislation of the Republic of Belarus

.1 Enshrining the rights of refugees in international law

The origins of the development of international human law on refugees go back to the League of Nations. Events such as the First World War, collapse of the Ottoman Empire, October socialist revolution and decay Russian Empire led to the emergence of a huge number of refugees in Europe. In order to somehow organize the remaining refugees, the governments - members of the League of Nations - adopted a series of agreements: July 5, 1922, May 31, 1924, May 12, 1926, June 30, 1928, which dealt with such issues as how to streamline the identity card system for Russian and Armenian refugees; but, as can be seen, these agreements were specific and temporary in nature, establishing the status of refugees only within the framework of certain conditions for the development of the world community.

After World War II, the UN was involved in the development of refugee rights. On February 16, 1946, a resolution was adopted by the Economic and Social Council. Similar to agreements concluded under the auspices of the League of Nations, the new definition was targeted at a specific category of refugees and tied to specific political events. A significant step forward was the Charter of the International Refugee Organization (1946), which stipulated the creation of a temporary body (the International Refugee Organization) to control the actions of states in relation to refugees.

The rights of refugees were enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Thus, one of the fundamental human rights, enshrined in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), is the right to seek asylum.

The specifics of this right, in contrast to the right to emigrate, are as follows:

An individual has the right only to ask (seek) asylum, and not to demand its provision.

This right is not universal, but is limited to those individuals who are being persecuted in other countries. Article 14, paragraph 2, expressly states that this right cannot be exercised in the case of “prosecution actually based on the commission of a non-political crime or an act contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”

If the interpretation of the right to emigrate allows us to consider the individual and the state as equal participants in the legal relationship (the human right corresponds to the state’s obligation to implement it), then in the human right to seek asylum, the priority role of the state is obvious, on whose will and discretion the applicant’s receipt of asylum depends.

Thus, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights formulated the basic principles of asylum, establishing the decisive role of the state, which had an undoubted influence on the content of subsequent international legal documents adopted within the UN.

Today, five UN documents form the basis for the protection of refugee rights in international law: the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol; Charter of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 1950; Declaration of Territorial Asylum 1967; Guide to Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status.

Charter of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (hereinafter referred to as UNHCR). The Charter defines those persons to whom the mandate of the High Commissioner extends. The concept of "refugee" is similar to that contained in the 1951 Convention, with the exception that UNHCR's mandate is not limited to the date and place of origin of the situations giving rise to refugee flows.

Since the creation of the UN (the Charter was signed on June 26, 1945), under its auspices the necessary international legal framework has been developed and a mechanism has been established to resolve the most pressing problems of refugees. The goals of the UN affirmed the humanistic orientation of its activities, proclaimed in the preamble: “We, the peoples of the United Nations, are determined ... to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and in the equality of great and small nations..." The main goals and principles of the UN are named in Part 1 of Art. 2 of the Charter: “...to carry out international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian nature and in promoting and developing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”

July 1951, in furtherance of the provisions of the UN Charter, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which was based on all previous experience in the development of refugee rights. Its significant difference from the agreements adopted within the framework of the work of the League of Nations and from the IOB Charter was its universality. The Convention has become a mechanism for equating the rights of refugees with fundamental human rights; it has become the basis for the international development of refugee rights. However, in the provisions of this document there is a tendency to somewhat limit the rights of refugees. The fact is that the states that adopted this document were European and focused only on this region, and the temporary boundaries (refugee status could only be received by those persons whose fate met the conditions of the Convention due to events before January 1, 1951) established in The conventions could not make it fully universal. Therefore, due to the emergence of new situations in the international arena (the Cold War and the process of decolonization) and the emergence of new category refugees - political refugees - in December 1966, UN member states, in addition to the Convention, adopted the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, which entered into force on January 31, 1967. According to this document, any person falling under the definition of a refugee as given in the Convention refugee status, receives all the rights and freedoms enshrined in it, regardless of the specified date - January 1, 1951.

In accordance with the spirit of the 1951 Convention, all asylum seekers must have access to fair and effective procedures for the examination of their asylum claims. In any case, competent government bodies must accept applications from such persons to determine whether their applications for refugee status can be considered on the merits, and also provide the necessary assistance to the applicant, including providing an interpreter and transferring his case for consideration. According to UNHCR Opinion No. 8 “Determination of Refugee Status” (1977), if the applicant is not recognized as a refugee, he should be given a reasonable period of time to file an appeal with a request to review the decision before the same or another authority, administrative or judicial, in accordance with the current system .

In this case, the refugee must obtain permission to stay in the country for the duration of the consideration of his application, including the time required for the consideration of his appeal. The only exception is where the original application is determined to “clearly constitute an abuse of the right in question.”

However, asylum seekers should not be detained or imprisoned while their applications are being processed. Seeking asylum is not a criminal offense, and freedom from arbitrary detention is a fundamental human right and freedom. If placed in detention, asylum seekers have the right to know on what grounds they were detained; at the same time, they have the right to challenge the decision made on their detention.

One of the most important rights of a refugee is the possibility of free access to the courts in the territory of all countries party to the 1951 Convention. Moreover, in the territory of the country of the refugee’s usual place of residence, when applying to the court, he enjoys the same position as citizens of that country. In other countries, a refugee is given the same status as citizens of the country of his usual place of residence.

Social care is the subject of national legislation and therefore its standards cannot be regulated by international agreements. However, in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination, refugees legally residing in the territory of the state have the right to social care in the amounts generally provided for citizens of the country of residence. In particular, Chapter IV of the 1951 Convention determines that refugees have the right:

to apply the ration system on an equal basis with citizens of a country where there is a system for distributing scarce products;

to resolve the housing issue in a situation no less favorable than that usually enjoyed by foreigners under the same circumstances;

to primary education on an equal basis with citizens of the host country and a position no less favorable than that generally enjoyed by foreigners in relation to other types of education;

recognition of foreign certificates, diplomas and degrees; exemption from tuition fees and fees, as well as in relation to the provision of scholarships;

to the same position as citizens of the country of residence with regard to remuneration for labor and working conditions (amount of payment, length of the working day, age of employees, etc.), social security, taking into account national legislation (for example, with a combination of joint and several funded pension systems, in which refugees will receive smaller pensions).

Refugees, according to Article 15 of the Convention, have the right, on an equal basis with other foreigners, to create associations that are not political in nature and do not pursue profit-making purposes (non-profit associations), as well as trade unions.

An important point in solving the problems of refugees is the issue of their self-sufficiency, i.e. the question of their search for occupations that bring them income - hired work, or the creation of their own enterprises.

Refugees have the right to self-employment agriculture, industry, crafts and trade, and the right to establish commercial and industrial partnerships under conditions no less favorable than those generally enjoyed by foreigners under the same circumstances.

It is obvious that the legal status of refugees and asylum seekers implies the existence of not only rights, but also obligations in relation to their host state. They are succinctly defined in Article 2 of the Refugee Convention.

Violation of these norms, in particular the commission of a criminal act, may entail not only criminal liability, but also the possibility of deportation.

Providing political asylum is the sovereign right of the state. By its internal act, it determines the motives for granting asylum, the status of the persons to whom it is granted, the procedure for granting it and cases of loss of the right to asylum.

Political asylum is granted to persons who seek protection from persecution or a real threat of becoming a victim of persecution in the country of their citizenship or in the country of their usual place of residence for socio-political activities and beliefs that do not contradict democratic principles recognized by the international community, international law, it is taken into account that the persecution is directed directly against the person who applied for political asylum.

A person who has been granted political asylum enjoys both rights and freedoms in the territory and bears responsibilities on an equal basis with other citizens, except in cases established by law for foreign citizens and stateless persons.

International standards relating to refugees and asylum seekers must be applied equally regardless of the nationality of the asylum seeker or refugee. Conditions in refugee centers and detention conditions for undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers must meet international standards. States must ensure that people in an irregular situation, such as asylum seekers who are in the country illegally and whose claims the authorities consider invalid, are not treated as criminals.

The Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants (2003) focused particular attention on the detention of migrants and the conditions of their detention. Concerns have been raised in particular about the detention of asylum seekers; long periods of detention; the arbitrary nature of detention decisions; detention based on vague allegations related to terrorism and national security; detention of victims of human trafficking; detention of migrant children; lack of legal assistance and judicial appeal procedure; detention in cells together with ordinary criminals; detention in solitary confinement; the use of special means that jeopardize physical integrity; detention in improper premises; overpopulation and bad sanitary conditions; lack of medical care; lack of conditions for the education of minor detainees and other problems.

The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol provide that refugees must be entitled to at least the same favorable treatment as nationals.

Persons recognized as refugees should not be denied employment, housing or social assistance, especially on the basis of their ethnicity. States should ensure stricter control over the implementation of measures aimed at facilitating the integration of refugees, especially at the local level. Some states have taken a number of steps to create a comprehensive integration plan for new arrivals.

The 1951 Convention is universal. As of the beginning of 2014, 145 states are parties to the 1951 Convention and (or) the 1967 Protocol. Another 8 countries have assumed obligations under at least one of these specified documents.

Conventions and agreements that are direct sources of refugee law can be classified depending on their territorial scope into universal and regional.

Thus, the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol contain three main types of provisions: provisions that provide fundamental definitions of who is (or is not) a refugee; provisions defining the legal status of a refugee, his rights and obligations in the country of asylum; provisions related to the implementation of the provisions of these acts in national legislation.

The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol are universal agreements; regional agreements are international treaties concluded within the framework of regional international organizations, the scope of which extends to states belonging to the same geographical region. These are the Convention on the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (1969), the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees (1959), the European Agreement on the Transfer of Responsibility for Refugees (1980), the Council of Europe Agreement concerning Refugee Seafarers (1957) and the Protocol to it (1973), the Agreement of the Commonwealth of Independent States for Assistance to Refugees and Migrants (1993) and its Protocol (1993), the Dublin Convention (1990), which determines the state responsible for considering applications for asylum made in one of the member states of the European Community, European Union Convention (1990) on the Application of the Schengen Agreement (1985). It should be noted that all regional treaties, although based on the provisions of the 1951 Convention, either have features in the interpretation of the concept of “refugee” (1969 OAU Convention, 1993 CIS Agreement), or specify issues related to the provision of asylum and crossing borders (Council of Europe Agreement and European Union Convention).

The second category of international treaties that make up legal framework Institute of Refugee Law are conventions of a universal and regional nature relating to fundamental human rights applicable to refugees, or containing special provisions regulating their status. Such agreements establishing fundamental human rights include the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), the Human Rights Covenants (1966), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984) and regional treaties, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950), European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1987), African Charter of Fundamental Rights (1981), CIS Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1995), American Convention on Human Rights (1969).

Regional agreements on human rights, coinciding with universal ones in the interpretation of rights and freedoms, have a more effective judicial system for monitoring their compliance by states, in contrast to the mechanism for monitoring compliance with universal conventions carried out by quasi-judicial bodies - committees, the conclusions of which are not legally binding for states .

In addition, a number of international treaties in the field of human rights (Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, IV Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights 2000) contain special norms regarding the rights of refugees. Thus, the Convention on the Rights of the Child regulates the issue of the correlation of the rights of a refugee child with the general rights of children and establishes the duty of the state “to ensure that a child who seeks refugee status or is considered a refugee, in accordance with applicable international or domestic law and procedures, accompanied by his parents or any other person, adequate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of the applicable rights set out in this Convention and other international human rights instruments or humanitarian documents States shall cooperate with the efforts of the United Nations to protect and assist such child and to locate the parents or other family members of any refugee child in order to obtain the information necessary to reunite him with his family. In cases where the parents or other members of the family cannot be found, that child shall be accorded the same protection as any other child who is for any reason permanently or temporarily deprived of his family environment as provided for in this Convention."

Traditionally, resolutions of international organizations are advisory in nature, with the exception of legally binding resolutions adopted on the establishment of new bodies, budget, membership of states related to the internal law of an international organization. In this regard, resolutions of the UN General Assembly, which occupies a central place among international organizations, can be divided into two categories: resolutions mandatory, aimed at structuring the mechanism for the international protection of refugee rights, and resolution-recommendations concerning various issues of refugee status. Examples of the first category of resolutions are UN General Assembly resolutions 319(IV) of 1949 and 428(V) of 1950, which established the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and approved its Statute. UN General Assembly Resolution 1166(XII) 1957, which established the UNHCR Executive Committee, series of General Assembly resolutions authorizing UNHCR activities to assist non-convention refugees (3143 (XXIII) 1973, 3755 (XXX) 1975, 3541( XXXV) 1980), UN General Assembly resolution 212(III) 1948, which established the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Another category of resolutions of the UN General Assembly is of a recommendatory nature and is adopted in the form of either declarations (Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, Declaration on Territorial Asylum 1967, Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice 1978, Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuses of Power 1985, Declaration for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 1992), or minimum standards, principles, rules for the administration of justice, treatment of detainees and imprisoned persons (Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners 1955, Code principles for the protection of all persons under any form of detention or imprisonment 1988, UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice 1985, etc.) Although resolutions and recommendations are auxiliary tools in the process of rule-making in international law , if applied in the practice of states, they contribute to the formation of international custom.

The conclusions of its Executive Committee play a major role in the interpretation of the 1951 Convention and in the development of uniform criteria for determining the position of UNHCR on refugee issues. The following conclusions can serve as an illustration: No. 8 (XXVII) - 1997 “Determination of the status of refugees”, No. 32 (XXXII) - 1981 “Protection of asylum seekers in situations of mass influx”, No. 39 (XXXVI) - 1985 "Refugee women and international protection", No. 84 (XLVIII) - 1997 "Opinion on refugee children and adolescents", No. 85 (XLIX) - 1997 "Opinion on international protection". In addition, the conclusions of the Executive Committee, if endorsed by the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council, may contribute to the expansion of UNHCR's competence (for example, in relation to assistance to refugees not covered by the criteria of the 1951 Convention).

At the same time, it must be taken into account that conclusions do not have the status normative act, but their focus on assisting States in developing national instruments regarding the procedure for granting refugee status may lead to the emergence of a customary rule of international law if the recommendations contained in the opinion are included in the legislation of States.

The practice of adopting resolutions and recommendations is typical for regional international organizations. The activities of the Council of Europe are indicative in this regard, where recommendations of the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly on refugee issues prevail among other normative acts (for example, recommendation 773 (1976) on de facto refugees, recommendation No. R (1981) 16 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on harmonization of national asylum procedures, Recommendation No. R (1981) 12 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the protection of persons not formally recognized as refugees).

In the Latin American region, at a colloquium organized jointly by the University of Cartagena, the Regional Center for Third World Studies and UNHCR in 1984, the Cartagena Declaration was adopted, which was approved by a resolution of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in 1991 and gave a broad interpretation of the concept of “refugee” ".

The documents adopted by the highest body of the European Union - the Council of Ministers - differ in their specificity. Its acts in the form of regulations (decrees) and directives are mandatory not only for EU member states, but have a direct effect on the population of these countries, which allows them to be considered as a direct source of refugee law operating within the European Union (for example, a directive defining the minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers (2003); the Council of Ministers Regulation establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for asylum (2003)).

Decisions of international courts refer to auxiliary means of rule-making in international law, since they are law enforcement bodies. In the context of refugee law, the role of the court is limited to the regional level: it is provided as a supervisory body only in regional human rights conventions - the European 1950 and the American 1969. However, the European Court of Human Rights, which has interpretative powers, is most effective in terms of shaping refugee law. function.

Thus, the European Court of Human Rights has considered several cases under Article 3 of the 1950 European Convention, which prohibits the infliction of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on any person. It found that Article 3 applies to situations where a person is at risk of being subjected to torture as a result of expulsion or refoulement.

The European Court has found that the removal of a person suspected of having committed a criminal offense to be brought before a court constitutes a violation of Article 3 if the likely result trial there would be capital punishment (Söring v. United Kingdom). In doing so, the court reasoned as follows: “The question remains whether the extradition of a fugitive to another State, where he may be subjected to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, itself affects the obligation of a Contracting State under Article 3.” The illegality of such an act is recognized in Article 3 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984. The fact that a special treaty sets out in detail specific obligations relating to the prohibition of torture does not mean that the obligations are substantially similar are no longer present in general provisions Article 3 of the European Convention. Moreover, the Court pointed out that the European Convention does not expressly prohibit the extradition or expulsion of individuals who are likely to be subjected to ill-treatment in the receiving country.

In subsequent decisions, the Court has found that the principle established in the Söring case concerning extradition applies even more so to the removal of an asylum seeker who has been tortured in his country of origin and who has sought to stop his removal from the State - party to the European Convention (CruzVaras v. Sweden).

Interpretations European Court contributed to the unification of state practices in refugee situations.

Thus, the rights of refugees are enshrined in a variety of universal, regional, subregional and bilateral international agreements, the presence of which, on the one hand, indicates the desire of the international community to create an effective legal framework that will ensure an appropriate legal status for refugees, but on the other hand, confirms the imperfection of international legal tools in this area, and also leads to contradictions between legal documents different levels. In our opinion, the solution to the problem will be the development and signing of a comprehensive international agreement of a universal nature, because existing agreements do not cover all aspects of regulating the legal status of refugees.

.2 Consolidation of the rights of refugees in the legislation of the Republic of Belarus

The basis of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus on refugee status, supplementary and temporary protection is the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. In conjunction with the Constitution, Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 105-Z of January 4, 2010 “On the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Republic of Belarus”, Law on refugee status, Regulations on granting foreign citizens and stateless persons asylum in the Republic of Belarus, its loss and deprivation and other issues of stay in the republic of foreign citizens and stateless persons, approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of April 5, 2006 No. 204, other regulatory legal acts and international treaties of the Republic of Belarus regulate the status of refugee, the procedure and conditions for the provision of additional and temporary protection.

In the Republic of Belarus, refugee status is granted to a foreign citizen who is on the territory of the Republic of Belarus due to a well-founded fear of becoming a victim of persecution in the state of nationality on the basis of race, religion, citizenship, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, who cannot or does not wishes, due to such fears, to enjoy the protection of this state, or a stateless person who is on the territory of the Republic of Belarus due to these fears, who cannot or does not want to return to the state of his former usual place of residence due to such fears.

Refugee status is granted to a foreigner for the period of retention in the state of citizenship or previous usual place of residence of the grounds on which he was granted refugee status.

In the Republic of Belarus, refugee status, subsidiary and temporary protection cannot be granted to foreigners:

in respect of whom there are objective grounds to believe that they have committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity as defined by these acts in international legal instruments adopted to implement measures in relation to such crimes;

in respect of whom there are objective grounds to believe that they committed a serious crime of a non-political nature outside the Republic of Belarus before arriving on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;

in respect of whom there are objective grounds to believe that they are guilty of committing acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations;

for whom the competent authorities of the state of their permanent residence, which is not the state of their nationality, recognize the rights and obligations associated with the citizenship of this state;

who receive the protection or assistance of organs or agencies of the United Nations other than the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Art. 10 of the Law stipulates that the body pursuing a unified state policy in the field of forced migration is the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and its subordinate units for citizenship and migration (structural units for citizenship and migration of the main department of internal affairs of the Minsk City Executive Committee, departments of internal affairs of regional executive committees, directorates, divisions, departments of internal affairs in the regions , cities, districts within cities) play a key role in the implementation of the procedure for recognizing foreigners as refugees.

A foreigner who has been granted refugee status has the right to:

obtaining a refugee certificate;

obtaining a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Belarus for a period of no more than one year in order to obtain a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Belarus;

independent settlement in the family of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus or a foreigner permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus in the manner established by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, if upon settlement of a foreigner who has been granted refugee status and members of his family, the size of the living space will be at least six square meters for each resident;

residence in a place of temporary settlement in the absence of the possibility of independent settlement for the period until the issuance of a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Belarus, but not more than one year;

receiving financial assistance in the manner and amount determined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus;

family reunion;

enjoyment of other rights on an equal basis with foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus, unless otherwise determined by legislative acts and international treaties of the Republic of Belarus;

A minor foreigner who has been granted refugee status, in addition to the specified rights, also has the right to study in institutions providing pre-school and general secondary education, and medical care on an equal basis with minor citizens of the Republic of Belarus (Article 19).

A foreigner who has been granted refugee status is obliged to:

inform the citizenship and migration unit within seven days about the change of surname, own name, patronymic, family composition, marital status, acquisition of citizenship of another state;

inform the citizenship and migration department of your intention to leave for permanent residence outside the Republic of Belarus;

register with the citizenship and migration department when changing place of residence or temporary residence in the Republic of Belarus within three working days from the date of registration at the new place of residence or temporary residence in the Republic of Belarus;

perform other duties on an equal basis with foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus, unless otherwise determined by legislative acts and international treaties of the Republic of Belarus (Article 20).

In the Republic of Belarus, additional protection is provided to a foreign citizen located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, who has no grounds for granting him refugee status, but there is a well-founded fear of facing a threat when returning to the state of citizenship death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or a threat to life arising from violence in an armed conflict of an international or non-international character, and who is unable or unwilling, due to such fear, to enjoy the protection of that State, or a stateless person located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, who has no grounds for granting him refugee status, but there are these fears and who cannot or does not want to return to the state of his former usual place of residence due to such fears.

Additional protection is provided to a foreigner for a period of up to one year. If the foreigner’s citizenship or previous usual place of residence remains in the state on the basis of which he was granted additional protection, the period for granting it may be extended to one year.

An alien who has been granted subsidiary protection has the right to:

receiving information about your rights and obligations, including applying for an extension of subsidiary protection;

obtaining a certificate of subsidiary protection;

obtaining a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Belarus for the period of provision of additional protection;

residence in a place of temporary settlement in the absence of the possibility of independent settlement for the period of provision of additional protection, but not more than one year;

medical care and employment on an equal basis with foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus;

contacting the Citizenship and Migration Unit with an application to extend additional protection;

applying to the Citizenship and Migration Unit with a new application for protection if grounds arise for granting refugee status;

assistance of the Department in obtaining information about close relatives living in the state of citizenship or previous usual place of residence;

voluntary return to the state of nationality or previous usual place of residence;

leaving for permanent residence in another state;

family reunion;

contacting the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;

judicial protection on an equal basis with citizens of the Republic of Belarus;

enjoyment of other rights on an equal basis with foreigners temporarily residing in the Republic of Belarus, unless otherwise determined by legislative acts and international treaties of the Republic of Belarus;

A minor foreigner who has been granted additional protection, in addition to the above rights, also has the right to study in institutions providing pre-school and general secondary education, and medical care on an equal basis with minor citizens of the Republic of Belarus.

An alien who has been granted subsidiary protection has the same responsibilities as an alien who has been granted refugee status.

In the Republic of Belarus, temporary protection is provided to a group of foreigners, individual consideration of whose applications for protection is impossible due to their simultaneous mass arrival and, in this regard, the need to resolve the issue of their admission and stay in the Republic of Belarus on the grounds provided for granting refugee status or additional protection.

The period for providing temporary protection is determined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, but cannot exceed one year. If, after the expiration of the period for granting temporary protection, foreigners who have been granted temporary protection have not returned to the states of their citizenship or former usual place of residence or have not been resettled to states that have agreed to accept them, individual consideration of applications for protection is carried out in relation to these foreigners.

A foreigner who has been granted temporary protection has the right to:

obtaining information about your rights and obligations;

free ambulance (emergency) medical care in public health institutions;

settlement in places determined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, and movement throughout the territory of the Republic of Belarus in the manner determined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus;

voluntary return to the state of nationality or previous usual place of residence;

contacting the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;

enjoyment of other rights on an equal basis with foreigners temporarily staying in the Republic of Belarus, unless otherwise determined by legislative acts and international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

A foreigner who has been granted temporary protection is obliged to:

comply with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, this Law, other acts of legislation of the Republic of Belarus and respect the national traditions of the Belarusian people;

submit documents for traveling abroad;

undergo personal identification in the absence of a document for traveling abroad or in the case of presenting a false or forged document for traveling abroad;

undergo mandatory state fingerprint registration and mandatory medical examination;

perform other duties on an equal basis with foreigners temporarily staying in the Republic of Belarus, unless otherwise determined by legislative acts and international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

A foreigner who has expressed a desire to apply for refugee status or additional protection in the Republic of Belarus, as well as members of his family who have reached the age of eighteen years, are obliged to personally or through an authorized representative apply for protection:

to the citizenship and migration unit;

to the border service body of the Republic of Belarus or the internal affairs body of the Republic of Belarus - if they are detained by the border service bodies of the Republic of Belarus for illegally crossing the State Border of the Republic of Belarus or by the internal affairs bodies for illegal stay on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

Consideration of a request for protection includes:

) identification of the identity of a foreigner applying for protection who does not have a document to travel abroad or has presented a forged or counterfeit document to travel abroad;

) registration of foreigners applying for protection;

) distribution of foreigners applying for protection across the territory of the Republic of Belarus;

) conducting an interview, registering a petition for protection and issuing a certificate of registration of the petition;

) a foreigner applying for protection undergoes mandatory state fingerprint registration and mandatory medical examination;

) consideration of an application for protection in the citizenship and migration department and preparation of a conclusion;

) consideration of the application for protection in the Department and making a decision.

Establishing the grounds for granting subsidiary protection is not carried out if, during the consideration of the application for protection, a decision is made to grant refugee status.

A new petition for protection is not accepted for consideration until the consideration of a previously filed petition for protection or appeal by a foreigner is completed decision taken(in case of exercising the right to appeal) and the foreigner’s departure from the Republic of Belarus, unless otherwise provided by law.

A new application for protection is accepted for consideration when grounds arise for granting a foreigner refugee status or additional protection after a decision has been made to refuse to grant him refugee status and (or) additional protection under a previously submitted application for protection.

Consideration of an application for extension of subsidiary protection includes:

) conducting an interview;

) consideration of an application for extension of supplementary protection in the citizenship and migration department and preparation of a conclusion;

) consideration of an application for extension of supplementary protection by the Department and making a decision.

The application for protection is registered by the citizenship and migration department at the place of stay of the foreigner in the Republic of Belarus after an interview with him.

On the day of registration of an application for protection, a foreigner who has reached the age of 16 is issued a certificate of registration of the application for the period of its consideration; information about a foreigner under the age of 16 who arrived together with foreigners applying for protection is entered in the certificate of registration of the application of both parents, and in the absence of parents - in the certificate of registration of the application of his legal representatives.

When registering an application for protection, documents for traveling abroad are confiscated from a foreigner, which are stored in the citizenship and migration department during the period of consideration of his application for protection.

A foreigner after registering an application for protection:

receives a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Belarus for the period of consideration of the application for protection;

is subject to mandatory state fingerprint registration and mandatory medical examination in the manner established by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Consideration of an application for protection is carried out within six months from the date of its registration, unless otherwise provided by law. If difficulties arise in establishing the grounds for granting a foreigner refugee status or additional protection, the period for consideration of an application for protection may be extended by the Department to one year.

Consideration of an application for extension of additional protection is carried out within two months from the date of its registration.

A foreigner loses refugee status or subsidiary protection if:

acquired citizenship of the Republic of Belarus;

voluntarily again availed himself of the protection of his state of nationality;

having lost his previous citizenship, he voluntarily acquired it again;

acquired the citizenship of another state and enjoys the protection of the state of the new citizenship.

A foreigner loses refugee status, except for the above cases, if:

cannot refuse to benefit from the protection of the state of nationality because the grounds on which he was granted refugee status no longer exist;

is a stateless person and can return to the state of his former usual place of residence, since the grounds on which he was granted refugee status no longer exist;

voluntarily renounced refugee status.

A foreigner loses additional protection in addition to those specified above if:

he was granted refugee status;

voluntarily re-settled in a state that he had previously left or was outside of on the grounds provided for the provision of additional protection;

the grounds on which subsidiary protection was granted no longer exist;

voluntarily refused additional protection (Article 48 of the Law).

Refugee status or subsidiary protection will be revoked if:

the foreigner knowingly provided false information, presented forged or forged documents and materials that served as the basis for granting him refugee status or additional protection;

the grounds provided for in Article 3 of the Law have been established;

the foreigner did not appear for registration at the citizenship and migration department within three months from the date a copy of the relevant decision was sent to him (Article 49 of the Law).

The decision on loss or cancellation of refugee status or subsidiary protection is made by the Department independently or at the proposal of the authorities state security of the Republic of Belarus, border service authorities of the Republic of Belarus or citizenship and migration units.

Thus, the legislator of the Republic of Belarus fairly fully regulated the rights of refugees. Belarusian legislation on the legal status of refugees is aimed at creating optimal conditions stay, medical care, classes labor activity, implementation of other rights for foreign citizens, taking into account their status differentiation.

2.3 Problems of compliance of refugee rights in international law and the Republic of Belarus

Currently, the legal institution of refugees in the Republic of Belarus is undergoing a profound reform associated with the consolidation in the legislation of the Republic of Belarus of legal mechanisms that ensure the implementation of the socio-economic rights of refugees and their naturalization.

As noted above, the starting point in the formation of domestic legislation on the status of refugees was the accession of Belarus to the Convention and the Protocol. Like the UN, the Convention and Protocol are the basis of the international legal regime regarding refugees. The ranks of countries participating in one or both of these documents continue to grow. In countries that have acceded to these documents, work is underway to bring the norms of national legislation regulating the provision of protection to refugees in accordance with the norms of international “refugee” law, which is an integral part of international humanitarian law. Such work is also being carried out in the Republic of Belarus as a state party to the Convention and the Protocol. However, it should be noted that this work is far from complete, as Belarusian refugee protection legislation remains restrictive in terms of access to refugee or asylum procedures and is largely focused on strengthening immigration controls. At the same time, the need for strict compliance on the territory of Belarus with the provisions of the above-mentioned Convention and Protocol requires that domestic legal norms regulating the legal status of refugees be as close as possible to international standards.

In this regard, the question of the relationship between the norms of international and Belarusian law regulating the legal status of refugees acquires acute significance.

The legal literature supports the view that an analysis of the content of the norms of the current Belarusian legislation regulating the legal status of refugees shows that, in general, the legislation of the Republic of Belarus in this area complies with international legal standards.

Indeed, the content of the definition of “refugee”, the procedure for obtaining refugee status, the basic rights and obligations enshrined in the provisions of the Law on Refugee Status, for the most part correspond to the provisions of the Convention and the Protocol.

However, to this day there are some discrepancies. The list of grounds on which a person cannot apply for refugee status in the Republic of Belarus, contained in the Law on Refugee Status, is significantly expanded compared to the list of so-called “terminating” provisions enshrined in the Convention. This circumstance narrows the scope of the Law on Refugee Status and makes the Republic of Belarus an object of criticism in the dialogue between the states parties to the Convention and the Protocol on the fair distribution of the burden of receiving and settling refugees on their territory.

Yes, Art. 43 of the Law on Refugee Status provides grounds for denial of refugee status if the fear of persecution is based on circumstances arising from the voluntary actions of the foreigner after he left the state of nationality or previous usual place of residence, i.e. if the foreigner himself “provokes” persecution in hopes of obtaining refugee status. Such a ground for refusal is not provided for by the 1951 Convention. As stated in the UNHCR Manual of Refugee Determination Procedures and Criteria (paragraphs 83, 94-96), a person who was not a refugee at the time of departure from the country, but who becomes a refugee at a later date , is called a “refugee in place.” A person becomes a “refugee in situ” because of circumstances arising in his country of origin during his absence or as a result of his own actions. Whether such actions are sufficient to establish a well-founded fear of persecution must be determined after careful consideration of all the circumstances. Consequently, new circumstances that arise after the completion of the refugee recognition procedure give the foreigner the right to apply for refugee status again.

Also, the Refugee Convention does not contain rules regarding manifestly unfounded or abusive applications. In particular, filing an application is not included in the list of circumstances preventing the receipt of refugee status, although, in essence, filing such an application means that the applicant does not meet the refugee criteria. Therefore, it is proposed to exclude from the grounds for refusal of refugee recognition the filing of an application that is in the nature of an abuse or a clearly unfounded application and to consider such applications for compliance with their refugee criteria.

Reporting knowingly false information is also not in itself a circumstance that prevents obtaining refugee status. However, non-cooperation, misrepresentation, etc. may indicate a lack of fear of persecution and may amount to failure to qualify as a refugee.

Therefore, it is proposed to exclude from the grounds for refusal of refugee recognition the filing of a clearly unfounded application, an application that is in the nature of abuse, the reporting of knowingly false information, the emergence of circumstances due to the voluntary actions of a foreigner.

According to Article 3 of the Refugee Convention, “The Contracting States shall apply the provisions of this Convention to refugees without any discrimination on account of their race, religion or country of origin.” In accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, “everyone is equal before the law and has the right, without any discrimination, to equal protection of rights and legitimate interests.”

It is proposed to implement the provisions of the 1951 Convention and the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus on the inadmissibility of discrimination against refugees and develop this principle in the Law.

The need to introduce such a norm is dictated by the need to enshrine in legislation the principle of non-discrimination of refugees based on any of the possible criteria, including race, religion, citizenship, nationality, membership of a particular social group, political beliefs, gender, property status or social origin.

For example, Article 4 of the Law of the Republic of Moldova on the status of refugees states:

“The provisions of this law apply to asylum seekers, refugees and persons enjoying humanitarian or temporary protection, without any discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, gender, opinion, political affiliation, property status or social origin."

Also, it is necessary to clarify cases of detention of asylum seekers in order to comply with the standards proposed by the Executive Committee of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR Guidelines on Applicable Criteria and Standards for the Apprehension and Detention of Asylum Seekers, Executive Committee Opinion No. 44 (XXXVII) - 1986: Detention of refugees and asylum seekers).

The issue of detention of asylum seekers requires systematic regulation in accordance with international standards.

It is proposed to supplement the Law on Refugee Status with the following provisions:

“Detention of a foreigner applying for refugee status or a foreigner applying for additional protection during the consideration of such an application is not allowed, except for the following cases, unless otherwise provided by the legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus:

for identity verification for the period necessary for identity verification, but not more than one month;

to determine the circumstances on which the application for recognition as a refugee or for subsidiary protection is based for the period necessary for the interview, but not more than one month;

in cases where these foreigners have destroyed their travel documents or identification documents, or used false documents in order to mislead the state authorities of the Republic of Belarus; to protect national security and public order.

Detention measures are not applied to foreigners:

under 18 years of age or 60 years of age;

having obvious signs disability;

who were subjected to torture;

pregnant women.

Measures to detain foreigners applying for refugee status or foreigners applying for subsidiary protection are applied only in cases where it is impossible to use other control methods.

The procedure and conditions for the detention of foreigners applying for refugee status or foreigners applying for additional protection are established by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus."

In order for the rights of refugees enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and detailed in other legal acts to actually operate, it is necessary to create an effective mechanism for their implementation, otherwise they will remain only formally.

Persons recognized as refugees in the Republic of Belarus have difficulties in realizing fundamental rights and freedoms: the right to a decent standard of living, work, free choice of work, education, medical care and social services.

For example, refugees, like the local population, have two ways to find work: get a job with a government or private employer or open their own business. However, unlike the local population, refugees face a number of serious problems.

Thus, employment is difficult for refugees for the following reasons:

the lack of experience of many of them in their specialty, since many of the refugees graduated from educational institutions in the Republic of Belarus or in the CIS countries, but since at that time they were not recognized refugees, they could not officially get a job;

Most of them do not have a residence permit, which is especially necessary when finding employment in large cities;

Some refugees lack educational documents that were lost during hostilities,

Despite the fact that most refugees understand and speak Russian well (albeit with a strong accent), not everyone can write in Russian, and almost no one can write correctly.

In addition, there are subjective reasons of a different kind: the vacancies available on the labor market for refugees for the most part do not suit them, since the proposed salary level is significantly lower than the required subsistence level for refugees. This level is higher than in an ordinary Belarusian family, since they do not have their own housing; no relatives in the village, no farm or summer cottage plots; As a rule, women in refugee families do not work, but look after the children; refugee families are more numerous than Belarusian ones.

As for starting your own business, for this you need to have:

a) knowledge for independent business management (knowledge on legal financial, legal issues, as well as on issues related to taxation and accounting);

b) starting capital to open your own business.

Refugees have neither one nor the other. Therefore, most refugees are forced to earn extra money in local markets. As a rule, they rent a place on the market from a Belarusian entrepreneur, and their relationship is rarely documented, i.e. in most cases, refugees work illegally, do not have sufficient income and cannot count on social security in old age.

Employment and housing issues remain widespread problems for refugees.

Despite the fact that the volume of housing put into operation in Belarus today is quite large, there is a very limited amount of free, social housing, and there are special queues for receiving it. A way out of this situation could be the resettlement of refugees with their families to rural areas where there is an acute shortage of labor. Positive experience of this type of activity already exists in the Minsk and Mogilev regions. However, there are certain problems here too.

In the case of relocation, the following options are possible:

the director of the collective or state farm where the refugees are supposed to be sent to settle agrees to accept them, but only one family. As a result, the refugees themselves no longer want to go there, since it is clear that it will be difficult for them to integrate alone into their new environment, and they will experience, especially at first, a cultural vacuum and a lack of informal communication;

the director of a collective or state farm agrees to accept several refugee families, but employees of the local passport and visa service begin to oppose this under various pretexts, refusing to provide registration;

potential employers, for various reasons, are not at all interested in the services of refugees, so sending them there is pointless.

There are many reasons why the issue of integration into rural areas is difficult to resolve. On the one hand, it is difficult to break the prejudice of farm managers about admission to the collective farm. On the other hand, refugees generally lack the professions needed in agriculture.

In the Republic of Belarus, insufficient measures are taken to provide information to refugees regarding their education and employment. It would be advisable to develop the activities of employment services in the direction of improving the situation of refugees in the labor market. It is also necessary to pay great attention to training service specialists in methods of working with employers that could increase the employability of refugees. Also important is the work to explain to refugees their rights and responsibilities regarding employment and ways to obtain existing jobs.

One of the steps to solve existing problems could be the recognition of a refugee certificate as the main document proving his identity, which will allow refugees to enjoy a greater range of rights and facilitate their employment.

Refugees face a number of difficulties in realizing their right to education. It seems that it is the education of refugee children that should be given as much attention as possible in order to ensure their speedy integration into Belarusian society. It is no secret that children get used to everything new much faster than adults, and if the educational process is correctly structured taking into account the specific needs of a refugee child, then after graduating from school he will feel quite confident in Belarusian society.

As for medical care, as practice shows, recognized refugees do not experience any particular difficulties in obtaining it. The problems in this area for refugees are the same as for the majority of the indigenous population of the republic: the gradual transition of medical services to the category of paid services.

Thus, despite the fact that the Republic of Belarus has created an integral system of legal and social protection asylum seekers, generally consistent with international norms, in practice certain difficulties are identified with their implementation. Many of the problems of refugees are similar to those experienced by citizens of the Republic of Belarus, but since the former are a more vulnerable category of the population, in our opinion, it is necessary to provide additional guarantees for the implementation of their rights.

2.4 Practice of international law, cases and the Republic of Belarus in the field of refugee rights

According to analytical data over the past few years, the UK has been considered the state to which the largest flows of refugees are directed. All this is explained by the fact that the most comfortable social conditions for this category of persons. In 2010, the English edition of The Sun published an article on its pages about a refugee from Somalia who immigrated to the United Kingdom and after some time received an apartment in central London. These apartments, located in the prestigious Edgware Off Road area, were valued at £1.8 million. Not all people who have citizenship even in the most affluent and economically developed country can boast of such housing. The home of refugee Nasra Warsame has five floors, 4 bathrooms and 6 bedrooms.

The Sun newspaper in its publication also notes that Nasra Warsame and her family were able to obtain such luxurious housing due to the fact that they arrived in England in the 90s, and at that time the flow of refugees to this state was not so large-scale. The Westminster Council assigned her those apartments that were due according to the order in force at the end of the twentieth century. Currently, taxpayers pay about £1,600 a week for the upkeep of Nasra Warsame's home.

Although the case of Nasra Warsame is inspiring, one should not think that refugees in the UK will be provided with five-storey houses upon arrival in this country. The immigrant's path is never easy. What social guarantees can refugees in the UK count on in practice?

Once a person seeking refugee status in England has applied, they will be given all contact details for immigration and Home Office staff. Further, by contacting the so-called “help supermarkets”, the refugee will be able to receive vouchers for the purchase of food, as well as find out how to get to housing allocated for him by the social service.

In principle, at first, in order to be able to purchase food and other necessary things, an expat should only use vouchers that have an expiration date marked on them. Such coupons are sent by mail. Size cash, prescribed in vouchers, is determined by social services based on whether the emigrant has young children under his care. In addition, when paying in supermarkets with such coupons, the refugee will not be able to get change, so it is in his interests to choose the number of goods to invest in one or another amount of money allocated to him.

As for medical care, refugees in the UK can get it in the same “help supermarkets” or, as they are also called, One-stop shops. In addition, they are entitled to free preventive care through the National Health Service.

By law in the United Kingdom, every child under sixteen years of age must be enrolled by their parents in school. In addition, dad and mom are obliged to take care of their child’s leisure time. Immigrant children attend public schools for free. They are also provided with free meals in educational institutions.

If refugees in the UK have already obtained a profession in their home country, but want to learn English or retrain in order to have the desired job, then in this case they are given the opportunity to take courses specially organized for immigrants in colleges, universities, training centers for adults, etc.

And finally, the last thing is a work permit. Refugees in the UK who have applied for political asylum are initially not eligible to be employed. But if they have not been granted official status within six months, then it is recommended to submit an application to the Home Office. This institution has the right to issue official permission to immigrants to take up work.

Germany is one of the most economically developed countries in the European Union. They try to provide their citizens with equal rights and opportunities, but the first and second waves of the economic crisis significantly undermined this position. In addition, the state spends a lot of effort on uniting its eastern and western lands. In this regard, it cannot be said that the issue of refugee is given great and primary attention here. However, with regard to legal regulation, refugees in Germany can receive the appropriate status if they fall under the requirements of the Asylum Act (Asylverfahrensgesetz). One of its main requirements is the passage of military operations or armed conflicts on the territory of the current host country. On this basis, it is very problematic for immigrants from the CIS to obtain refugee status, since officially there is no military action in these countries.

First of all, Germany considers those countries that are part of the EU to be “safe”. Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, etc. do not belong to them, so a rather contradictory situation arises. On the one hand, the Slavic states are not “safe”, on the other hand, there are no official military conflicts here.

Those people who were able to safely get to Germany and officially declared that they want to receive refugee status will be settled in special camps. Next, they will have an interview with competent specialists, whose main task is to find out about the objective reasons for the impossibility of living in their home country. One of the actions in this direction is to establish the identity of the citizen seeking asylum. If he is in Germany without documents, so to speak, illegally, then this will serve as a serious obstacle to the immigration service establishing the objective reasons for his refugee, but, at the same time, such a person cannot be deported from the country.

Thus, in legal practice, there is a known case of a citizen from a post-Soviet country who, having entered Germany illegally, was able to win the favor of a German citizen. The young people really wanted to get married, but Yuri (let’s call him that) was threatened with deportation from the Republic, since at that time he had several criminal cases hanging over him, and his identity, due to the lack of a passport, was not established.

As a result, although the refugee was expelled from Germany, he managed to marry a citizen of this country. Now he has every right to apply for reunification with his wife and no longer fear that he will be expelled from Germany at any time.

We would like to note that refugees in Germany are simply obliged to use their rights to the maximum if they want to achieve something and not be afraid of harsh attacks from immigration services in the future.

American laws clearly define who can be considered a refugee. This category of persons includes one who is outside his home state, or one who is stateless while staying outside the country in which his permanent place of residence is based. This may also include a person who does not have the opportunity or desire to return to his home country. In addition, refugees to the United States are those who are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of their home state because of persecution or a demonstrated fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, ethnicity, or because they belong to a particular social group. or adhere to certain political beliefs.

All persons who meet this definition may be eligible to enter the United States as a refugee and receive an immigrant visa. Every year the government of the country sets limits (quotas) for the admission of refugees, and for each state they are individual and can differ significantly from each other. In addition, quotas also change annually, depending on the political situation. For example, in connection with the democratic transitions observed in many Eastern European countries, the limits for them were significantly reduced, as residents had less reason to fear persecution.

Based on immigration law, refugees in the United States must be classified into certain categories. So, those who asked to be granted refugee status while in their home country stand separately, and the other category includes those who first crossed the American border and only then asked for asylum. By and large, both have the same rights, but they are subject to different quotas and procedures for granting status.

If America has recognized that it is ready to accept a person as a refugee on its territory, then in this case such a person will be provided with assistance in relocating and at the initial stage of establishing life in the United States. These functions are carried out by voluntary agencies, which initially undertake to provide assistance to newcomers. Refugees in the United States seeking status, regardless of where they applied (in America or while still in their home country), must have convincing evidence that they meet the above definition of “refugee” in all respects. When writing a petition, it is advisable not to refer to the fact that in your country you were persecuted for political, religious or racial reasons. It is enough to prove that you have a “reasonable fear” of such persecution. For example, if your country systematically discriminates against its citizens, then your fears of persecution will be considered valid, even if you and your family are not specifically affected.

However, if you were the victim, then you will undoubtedly have a better chance of having your asylum request approved.

After being granted the right to enter the United States, within the established quotas, refugees in the United States have the right to live here for as long as they want. However, after a year, according to the law, such persons are assigned the status of permanent resident of the United States, if by this time they have not violated the laws and the Immigration Service has not received any new evidence that refugee status was assigned erroneously.

If a refugee asked for asylum while already in the United States, and a positive decision was made on the application, then after a year such people have the right to ask for permanent resident status, but the procedure itself will be a little more complicated. Everything is complicated by the fact that for such persons there is an annual quota for issuing a green card. Since it is impossible to limit the number of applicants, in this case you sometimes have to wait more than one year. Thus, if a refugee's home country experiences global changes over time that indicate that they no longer have to fear persecution upon returning home, their refugee status may be reconsidered.

Similar cases occurred in relation to Polish citizens belonging to the Solidarity union. At one time, they asked the States for political asylum. Of course, those who did not receive a green card until the Solidarity representatives won a majority in the Polish government found themselves in a very difficult situation, since their refugee status must be renewed every year, and the reasons for this have disappeared.

In Belarus, as of January 1 of this year, 838 people, including minor children, from 14 countries were recognized as refugees.

The largest group consists of refugees from foreign countries, primarily from Afghanistan (590). Among those recognized as refugees are citizens of Georgia (135), Tajikistan (32), Azerbaijan (29), Ethiopia (23), Palestine (9), Iran (8), Pakistan (5), India (2) and one each from Armenia , Iraq, Cameroon, Liberia, Rwanda.

Since 1997 (the beginning of the refugee recognition procedure), about 3.3 thousand asylum seekers have applied to the migration authorities of the republic.

In Belarus, legislation on refugees is constantly being improved. In particular, from July 2009 came into force new law"On granting foreign citizens and stateless persons refugee status, additional and temporary protection in the Republic of Belarus." This regulatory legal act provides for the creation of an institution for additional protection of foreign citizens in our country. The country has created conditions for the reception and accommodation of this category of people. As of January 1 of this year, additional protection was provided to three foreigners from Afghanistan and Iran. Moreover, one of them (a native of Iran) has already received refugee status.

IN recent years Refugees are increasingly using the right granted to them to become citizens of the host country. According to experts, in accordance with national legislation, a foreigner has the right to obtain citizenship of the Republic of Belarus after 7 years after being recognized as a refugee.

Currently, the Migration Department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, regional and Minsk city migration services as part of the regional labor and social protection authorities are actively working in the Republic of Belarus. The Department of Migration includes the Department of Refugee Affairs and the Department of Labor Migration.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus implements, together with republican government bodies, state policy in the field of forced migration; prepares proposals for the development and improvement of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus and the conclusion of international treaties relating to refugees; in agreement with the interested republican government bodies, establishes the procedure for considering applications of foreigners for recognition as refugees in the Republic of Belarus; develops refugee integration projects; coordinates the interaction of republican government bodies on issues related to refugees.

Territorial migration authorities receive foreigners applying for recognition as refugees and register their applications; issue foreigners temporary certificates of registration of applications for refugee recognition; review registered petitions and prepare opinions on them.

The Republic of Belarus takes an active part in international efforts to protect the most vulnerable categories of migrants. During the period of the refugee recognition procedure, since July 1998, over 2,500 foreigners applied to the territorial migration authorities.

In cooperation with other government bodies, in accordance with the law, the proper quality of the procedure for recognizing foreigners as refugees was ensured, which prevented a massive influx of refugees into the Republic of Belarus and made it possible to exclude cases of abuse of the procedure by illegal migrants.

The main flow of immigration comes from Afghanistan. Second and third places are occupied by Syria and Georgia. In addition to them, the applicants include several Egyptians and one Libyan. Over the past few years, the number of people seeking asylum in Belarus has been gradually increasing. Thus, in 2012, only one hundred and six applicants were registered, and in the first five months of 2013 there were already about one hundred. An increase in the number of refugees is observed not only in Belarus, but throughout the world as a whole. This is explained by the large number of military conflicts in third world countries.

It is quite rare that refugees in Belarus are citizens of Western countries, for example from Switzerland or Poland. However, even this small group of people, after a certain time, themselves stop the procedure for considering an application for asylum, citing the fact that they have changed their minds and want to return home.

To be fair, it is worth saying that the institution of presidential asylum operates in Belarus. Foreign citizens have the right to file political asylum claims directly with the President.

There was a case when an application for asylum in Belarus was submitted by ten Palestinian citizens who had previously lived in Syria and fled from there. These immigrants included children and pregnant women. The reason for this action was the military conflict between the government and the Syrian opposition. The refugees had Russian entry visas. These people were deceived by carriers involved in illegally transporting immigrants for a fee to their desired destination. But as soon as the refugees began to have problems, the carriers disappeared without a trace. Belarusian border guards intended to send them back to their homeland, but the immigrants began to tell them about the threatening danger, after which their right to seek asylum was explained.

Refugees in Belarus, as well as throughout the world, are primarily those people whose lives are in danger in their home country. Therefore, if a Moldovan goes to work in Russia, he can hardly hope to be granted asylum there. In fulfillment of its international obligations regarding the reception of refugees and the procedure for foreign citizens wishing to obtain asylum, Belarus trains border guards. Those, in turn, are subsequently able to identify from the total number of migrants those who really need protection. Border guards carry out explanatory work among these people, telling them that they have the right to seek asylum in the country and, if someone expresses such a desire, then border guards assist in filling out the documents necessary to apply for asylum. Next, the completed papers are transferred to the Department of Citizenship and Migration. However, as a rule, immigrants immediately go to the migration service. In some cases, the police detain them and, after checking their documents, find out that the person is in Belarus illegally. In such a situation, the immigrant also has the right to seek asylum. By the way, law enforcement officials should also inform migration services about such cases.

The decision to grant refugee status is made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The processing time for an application usually lasts about 6 months, but in some cases it can take up to a year.

Refugees in Belarus are exempt from any liability for illegal border crossing and illegal residence in the country if they have applied for refugee status. This right is often used by those illegal immigrants who wanted to use Belarus as a transit country, and their real goal was Western Europe. Until they are caught, refugees do not take any action to apply for asylum, but if a policeman or border guard identifies such an illegal immigrant, then in order to avoid responsibility, he immediately begins to apply for status.

While their fate is being decided, refugees in Belarus will be settled in temporary residence centers. There are three such points in the country, and they are based in Brest, Vitebsk and Gomel. The centers were built with the assistance of the UN, and after completion of all work they were transferred to the balance of the state. The accommodation center for refugees in Gomel is combined with a regional social service center, the center in Brest is located on the territory of the border station, and in Vitebsk it is more like a hostel within the city.

During the six months while an immigrant waits for a decision on granting him asylum, he has the right to ask for a one-time cash allowance for food in the amount of up to 500 thousand Belarusian rubles and for clothing a maximum of 400 thousand. Refugees in Belarus can also count on a monthly allowance in the amount of 800 thousand Belarusian rubles per person, which is paid to them by the Office of the UN High Commissioner. They can also call an ambulance for free, and immigrant children receive free medical care.

The problem of employment of recognized refugees is acute. Many of them, due to objective reasons, are uncompetitive in the national labor market. Of the 392 refugees of working age, 53 are employed, 61 people are engaged in entrepreneurial activities, i.e. 15% of refugees have income from own business and 15% - receive registered income from employment. In the Gomel, Brest, Grodno, Mogilev, and Vitebsk regions, from 74 to 55% of refugees earn their own means of subsistence. In Minsk and the Minsk region, only 10% of refugees are employed.

To change the situation, additional efforts are required from government agencies dealing with migration issues. The most difficult problem is the settlement of asylum seekers and refugees, since the Republic of Belarus is not able, for economic reasons, to provide them with housing, therefore the corresponding assistance from UNHCR should be highly appreciated.

Migration authorities have implemented a number of projects related to the settlement of persons recognized as refugees.

In accordance with current legislation, all refugee children, depending on the wishes of their parents, receive education in secondary educational institutions and attend preschool institutions.

In the Republic of Belarus, in accordance with the legislation, the right of refugees to social protection, including social security, is realized; this right is realized to one degree or another in all regions of the republic.

During the implementation of the 1995 Law on Refugees, a number of shortcomings were revealed, primarily of a procedural nature. A clearer definition of the powers and interaction of government bodies in working with refugees was required; the task was to bring legislation on refugees closer to the provisions of the 1951 Convention.

Work began on the draft Law “On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Refugees””. In June 1999, the new version of the Law “On Refugees” came into force. In the new Law "On Refugees" the definition of the concept of "refugee" was brought into full compliance with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The principle of “non-refoulement” for persons applying for refugee status and the voluntary return of persons recognized as refugees were enshrined in law. The Law defined in detail the place, time and procedure for filing an application for refugee recognition, the procedure for admission, registration, O. consideration of the application, granting refugee status, loss and deprivation of refugee status.

However, the second edition of the Law “On Refugees” was not without its shortcomings. First of all, this concerned the right of competent state authorities to refuse asylum seekers to register their applications for recognition as refugees, which in fact was an obstacle to participation in the full procedure for considering an application for refugee status. The basis for refusal to register an application could, for example, be the fact that the foreigner (foreign woman) is married to a citizen (citizen) of the Republic of Belarus. In addition, there were a number of very strict time restrictions. For example, a foreigner, within 24 hours from the day of crossing the border, had to declare to the competent authorities his desire to be recognized as a refugee; After registering the application with the territorial migration authority, within three days he had to register with the internal affairs agency. Further, the Law established a period during which refugee status was extended to a foreigner, in other words, refugee status had temporary effect.

Initially, a foreigner could be recognized as a refugee for up to 3 years and then this period could be extended for every subsequent 5 years. There were a number of other restrictions that prevented asylum seekers from exercising their right to obtain refugee status.

In May 2001, the Republic of Belarus acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. By becoming a party to the Convention and the Protocol, Belarus has undertaken to apply the main provisions of the Convention to all refugees falling within its definition. But, as is known, for the comprehensive and complete implementation by a state that has signed an international treaty of the norms of international law, some additional legal and organizational measures are required on the part of the state itself.

Since the whole point of international legal regulation is to achieve a certain final result that participants in the international community strive for, then, as the famous Russian lawyer I. I. Lukashuk noted, “the implementation of international legal norms is, as a rule, much more complex and responsible task than their acceptance." Resolving this problem is possible only if there is an optimal implementation mechanism as a certain set of legal and organizational means used to implement the requirements of international law.

By the time the Convention was signed, the system for granting refugee status in the Republic of Belarus had proven itself to be positive. According to UNHCR estimates, it is the best in the CIS. Despite economic difficulties, the republic developed in a short period of time legal basis protection of refugees, relevant government structures have been created that efficiently carry out the procedure for refugee recognition.

After the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On the accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees" in order to ensure the fulfillment of international obligations under the Convention at the domestic level in accordance with the instructions of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus to implement Article 2 of the said Law, to bring legislation in accordance with these international acts, a draft Law of the Republic of Belarus “On amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus in connection with the accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees” was developed. To develop this bill, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection created a working group of representatives of interested ministries, other government bodies and university science.

The need to adopt the bill was due to the fact that some provisions of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Republic of Belarus” and the Law “On Refugees” did not meet the requirements of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and needed to be brought into compliance with this international act, in connection with which an addition was made to the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Republic of Belarus” and a new version of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Refugees” was proposed.

An analysis of the practice of applying the Law “On Refugees” of 1999 led to the conclusion about the need for its clearer structuring, the exclusion of some provisions that are not applied in practice, and the clarification of the powers of government bodies in matters related to resolving refugee problems. As is known, the Law “On Refugees” of 1999 consisted of 20 articles; a number of articles had more than 20 parts, which made them difficult to understand. IN latest edition The law has 46 articles, they are much smaller in volume, which is much more convenient in their application.

At the same time, the fundamental structure of this regulatory legal act has been preserved.

It clearly defines the grounds and procedure for recognizing foreign citizens and stateless persons as refugees in the Republic of Belarus, the grounds for deprivation and loss of refugee status. Legal, economic and social guarantees are also established for the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of foreigners applying for recognition as refugees and recognized as refugees, in accordance with the Constitution and legislation of the Republic of Belarus, generally recognized principles and norms of international law, as well as international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

In order to bring national legislation into conformity with the 1951 Convention, the new version of the Refugee Law includes a provision of the 1951 Convention on the mandatory admission of all foreign citizens and stateless persons applying for recognition as refugees to the refugee recognition procedure.

This provision will significantly reduce the time it takes to consider applications for recognition as refugees, which, in turn, will shorten the period of stay on the territory of the Republic of Belarus for persons who have been refused recognition as refugees. According to the previously effective Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Refugees”, a foreigner who was denied registration of an application for refugee status had the right to appeal the decision of the territorial migration authority to refuse registration of his application to the republican government agency for migration within a month. Having received a decision to reject the complaint, the foreigner had the right to appeal it to the court within a month from the date of receipt of the negative decision. In this regard, the new Law contains no grounds for refusing a foreigner to register an application for refugee recognition. The new Law significantly supplements Article 2 “Basic terms used in this Law and their definitions.” Thus, it includes definitions regarding family members of a foreigner applying for recognition as a refugee and having refugee status, and additionally includes definitions of the terms “temporary settlement point for refugees”, “territorial migration authorities”, “forced migration”, “integration of refugees”, “ distribution quotas", "registration of applications", "third safe country", stay in which provides grounds for refusing a foreigner recognition as a refugee.

In conclusion, I would like to note the following. Latest changes in refugee law are positive and almost fully consistent with the provisions of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. But, as practice shows, some problems remain.

On at the moment most topical issues that require resolution are: work with persons applying for recognition as refugees who do not have identity documents; implementation of the right to employment and other issues of integration of refugees.

Conclusion

One of the global problems that is currently troubling the whole world is the problem of refugees. Armed conflicts in various parts of the planet are forcing people to leave their homes and countries.

The definition of the term "refugee" continued throughout much of the 20th century and was stimulated by major political events. A universal definition was developed only within the framework of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. Their provisions underlie all later approaches to the definition of this term and are used in the formation of national legislation regarding refugees.

Receiving refugee status is a formal confirmation of a person's right to international protection or asylum. The formal determination of refugee status entails the legal consequences that the situation of a particular individual or group satisfies the relevant legal criteria. A person is recognized as a refugee as soon as his situation meets the definition.

Therefore, establishing refugee status does not make a person a refugee, but only declares him such. Problems arise when states avoid establishing refugee or state status

Protection of refugees does not only imply the agreement of the state to accept a foreign citizen on its territory and not deport him to a country where he is at risk of persecution. Like any formal status, the status of an asylum seeker or refugee gives rise to a sum of rights and obligations, the totality of which characterizes the legal position of the person in the state, as well as the nature of the relationship between the person and the state. As a rule, the legal connection of an individual with the state is determined by the institution of citizenship. It is the presence of citizenship that guarantees a person protection from the state, as well as the use of the amount of rights provided by this state.

The purpose of our work was to study the rights of refugees in international law and legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

We found that the current legislation of the Republic of Belarus complies with the provisions of the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

Taking into account the ongoing reforms and improvement of legislation, we concluded that the problem is relevant for our country.

In general terms, the right to asylum is enshrined in Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus “The Republic of Belarus may grant the right of asylum to persons persecuted in other states for their political, religious beliefs or nationality.” In relation to such a person, the procedure for granting him refugee status is carried out, and, accordingly, the scope of the rights and obligations of a foreigner directly depends on the stage of the procedure at which the applicant is located. In the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, there is also a category of persons (foreign citizens or stateless persons) who have no grounds for granting them refugee status, but there are well-founded fears of facing the threat of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhumane acts when returning to their state of citizenship. or degrading treatment or punishment, or a threat to life arising from violence in an armed conflict of an international or non-international character, and who, owing to such fear, are unable or unwilling to benefit from the protection of that State. This category is provided with additional protection.

However, despite the fact that the Republic of Belarus has created a comprehensive system of legal and social protection for asylum seekers, which generally complies with international standards, in practice certain difficulties are identified with their implementation. Many of the problems of refugees are similar to those experienced by citizens of the Republic of Belarus, but since the former are a more vulnerable category of the population, in our opinion, it is necessary to provide additional guarantees for the implementation of their rights.

We observe the same situation when comparing practices. The legislation of the Republic of Belarus in the field of refugee law requires improvement in such areas as work with persons applying for recognition as refugees who do not have identification documents; implementation of the right to employment and other issues of integration of refugees.

From all of the above, we can conclude that the hypothesis of our thesis research was partially confirmed. The structure of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, the regulating legal status of refugees corresponds to the norms of international law, but in practice there are problems of compliance of the rights of refugees in international law and in the law of the Republic of Belarus

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Right of asylum- this is the right of the state to allow entry into its territory and residence on it to a foreign citizen persecuted in his country for political, national liberation, religious, and scientific activities. Modern international law knows two forms of asylum: territorial and diplomatic.

The most common form of asylum is territorial.

Territorial asylum is providing a person with the opportunity to hide from persecution for political reasons on their territory.

The category of persons who may be granted territorial asylum is established by each state at its discretion. The international legal instrument regulating asylum issues is the Declaration on Territorial Asylum (1967). Its main provisions are as follows:

the state itself determines the circle of persons to whom it provides asylum;

Asylum granted in accordance with international law must be respected by other states;

An asylum seeker should not be removed to a country where he or she may be subject to persecution;

The right of asylum does not apply to persons who have committed crimes against humanity or war crimes;

The state that has granted asylum is responsible for the activities of the person who has received such asylum.

Diplomatic asylum is understood as asylum on the territory of an embassy, ​​consulate, on board military ships and aircraft, on the territory of military bases and camps. The legislation of some countries, as well as a number of bilateral treaties, do not recognize diplomatic asylum. But to say that diplomatic asylum is denied by all countries would be wrong. In relation to diplomatic asylum, all states of the world can be divided into three groups:

1) states that do not recognize or practice it (most countries, including Russia);

2) states that formally do not allow diplomatic asylum on their territory, but in practice provide it (France, USA, UK);

3) states that themselves provide diplomatic asylum and allow its provision on their territory (Latin American countries).

There is no generally accepted rule on diplomatic asylum in international law. The premises of the mission must not be used for purposes incompatible with the functions of the mission (Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Article 41, paragraph 3). Diplomatic asylum was granted by Latin American countries on the basis of the Havana Convention on Diplomatic Asylum (1928).

However, modern international law does not contain a generally accepted rule on the provision of asylum on warships and aircraft, on the territory of military bases and other military installations stationed abroad.

Thus, the right to grant asylum to individuals is an expression of the sovereign will of the state. International law establishes the obligation of states, on the one hand, to provide asylum to certain categories of individuals, and on the other hand, not to provide it to certain other categories of persons.

In international law, there is a growing number of treaty, customary rules obliging states not to provide political asylum to certain categories of persons. These include, in particular, persons accused of committing crimes against humanity, criminal offenses included in the extradition list in accordance with international treaties (for example, terrorists).

Asylum is granted only in emergency cases and only for the period of time necessary to ensure the safety of the person. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the state whose citizen is the person concerned is notified of the granting of asylum.

Asylum granted by a state to a person must be respected by all other states. A person granted asylum cannot be extradited and is entitled to protection by the state that granted asylum. A person who has received the right of asylum does not have the right to commit actions that are contrary to public safety and the legislation of the state that granted asylum. Asylum is not granted to persons accused of and convicted of ordinary crimes, as well as to persons deserting the armed forces of the state and war criminals.

In accordance with Article 63 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Russian Federation provides political asylum to foreign citizens and stateless persons in accordance with generally recognized norms of international law. In the Russian Federation, the extradition to other states of persons persecuted for political beliefs, as well as for actions (or inactions) not recognized as a crime in the Russian Federation, is not allowed. The extradition of persons accused of committing a crime, as well as the transfer of convicts to serve their sentences in other states, is carried out on the basis federal law or international treaty Russian Federation. The procedure for granting political asylum by the Russian Federation to foreign citizens and stateless persons is determined by the Regulations on the procedure for granting political asylum by the Russian Federation, approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of July 21, 1997 No. 746.

In accordance with this Regulation, political asylum is granted by the Russian Federation to foreign citizens and stateless persons, taking into account the state interests of the Russian Federation on the basis of generally recognized principles and norms of international law. The Russian Federation provides political asylum to persons seeking asylum and protection from persecution or a real threat of becoming a victim of persecution in the country of their citizenship or in the country of their usual residence for socio-political activities and beliefs that do not contradict democratic principles recognized by the world community, the norms of international rights. It is taken into account that the persecution is directed directly against the person who applied for political asylum. The provision of political asylum by the Russian Federation is carried out by decree of the President of the Russian Federation.

Refugee rights and their protection in international law.

The modern definition of the concept of “refugee” in international law is contained in two main documents: the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. There are some discrepancies between these acts. In particular, the 1951 UN Convention provides for a temporal and geographical limitation, that is, it applies to countries located in Europe and to those refugees who became such as a result of events that occurred before 1 January 1951. The 1967 Protocol eliminates these restrictions and applies to States and to any events, either past or future, which give rise to or are arising from a refugee problem. The Russian Federation signed these documents, which thus now have direct effect on the territory of our state.

In addition to these documents, more than 30 other international agreements on refugees were later adopted.

Rights and responsibilities of refugees.

Every refugee has obligations towards the country in which he is found, which include, among other things, his obedience to laws and regulations and to measures taken to maintain public order.

The rights of refugees can be divided into the following groups:

specific rights of refugees arising from the institution of international protection;

the rights that refugees enjoy on an equal basis with citizens of the country of refuge;

rights that refugees enjoy on an equal basis with others foreign citizens legally present in the host country.

The first group includes fundamental rights that provide international protection for refugees.

One of the fundamental human rights, enshrined in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), is the right to seek asylum.

Staying on the territory of a foreign state requires the acquisition of formal status, which allows you to either legally remain in a given country or legally move to a third country. Thus, asylum seekers need: 1) determination of their status based on a fair and objective procedure, 2) obtaining documents (including travel documents) valid both in the host country and in other countries.

According to the 1951 Convention, all asylum seekers must have access to fair and effective procedures for the examination of their asylum claims. In any case, the competent government authorities must accept the applications of such persons to determine whether their applications for refugee status can be considered on the merits, and also provide the necessary assistance to the applicant, including the provision of an interpreter and the transfer of his case for consideration. According to UNHCR Opinion No. 8, Determination of Refugee Status (1977), if an applicant is not recognized as a refugee, he or she must be given a reasonable period of time to appeal the decision to the same or another authority, administrative or judicial. in accordance with the current system.

In this case, the refugee must obtain permission to stay in the country for the duration of the consideration of his application, including the time necessary for the consideration of his appeal. The only exception is where the original application is determined to “clearly constitute an abuse of the right in question.”

To implement these provisions, the state must legislate and implement procedures for the fair and effective consideration of applications from persons seeking protection, including measures to ensure access to the procedure, and designate the competence of government officials responsible for implementing these procedures. Such requirements are listed in the 1995 European Union State Resolution (Article 3.III) as minimum guarantees for the effectiveness of the asylum procedure.

However, asylum seekers should not be detained or imprisoned while their applications are being processed. Seeking asylum is not a criminal offense, and freedom from arbitrary detention is a fundamental human right and freedom. If placed in detention, asylum seekers have the right to know on what grounds they were detained; at the same time, they have the right to challenge the decision made on their detention.

The position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is that the detention of asylum seekers is only possible as a last resort, where it is necessary and if such a measure is expressly prescribed by any national law consistent with the general norms and principles of international human rights law in the following situations: if there is a need to establish the identity of the person seeking asylum (provided that his identity has not yet been determined or is in doubt); if organs state power any action is taken to determine the factual circumstances on which the application for asylum is based (this means that the asylum seeker may be detained solely for the purpose of conducting preliminary interviews to obtain information about the facts regarding the reasons for seeking asylum. This wording does not applies to the procedure for determining the characteristics or any other facts given in the application for asylum); if asylum seekers have destroyed their travel documents and/or identification documents, or have used false documents in order to mislead the authorities of the country in which they seek asylum (this category does not include persons arriving without documents, since they have no opportunity to obtain them in their country of origin); if the asylum seeker poses a threat to national security or public order.

The right of refugees to obtain travel documents for travel outside their country of legal residence is enshrined in Article 28 of the 1951 Convention. And it develops in the rules set out in the commentaries to the 1951 Convention, which are its integral part. However, the position of a foreigner who does not enjoy the protection of the country of his citizenship on the territory of a foreign state puts him in an unequal position, both with citizens of this country and with foreigners legally staying on its territory. To prevent such discrimination, refugees must be provided with equal rights and freedoms, at least to the same extent as citizens of the country of asylum or, at least, with other foreigners living in the territory of the country of asylum. The non-discrimination of any form of discrimination is expressly stated in Article 3 of the 1951 Convention.

An important principle in the protection of refugees, which guides the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for humanitarian purposes, is worldwide assistance in reuniting refugee families.

One of the most important rights of a refugee is the possibility of free access to the courts in the territory of all countries party to the 1951 Convention. At the same time, in the territory of the country of the refugee’s usual place of residence, when applying to the court, he enjoys the same position as citizens of this country. In other countries, a refugee is accorded the same status as citizens of the country of his usual residence.

Social care is the subject of national legislation and therefore its standards cannot be regulated by international agreements. However, in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination, refugees legally residing in the territory of the state have the right to social care in the amounts generally provided for citizens of the country of residence. In particular, Chapter IV of the 1951 Convention determines that refugees have the right: to the use of a ration system on an equal basis with citizens of a country where there is a system for the distribution of scarce products; to resolve the housing issue in a situation no less favorable than that usually enjoyed by foreigners under the same circumstances; for primary education on an equal basis with citizens of the host country and a position no less favorable than that usually enjoyed by foreigners in relation to other types of education; recognition of foreign certificates, diplomas and degrees; exemption from tuition fees and fees, as well as in relation to the provision of scholarships; to the same position as citizens of the country of residence with regard to remuneration for labor and working conditions (amount of payment, length of working day, age of employees, etc.), social security, taking into account national legislation (for example, when combining solidary and funded pension system in which refugees will receive smaller pensions).

The Convention also guarantees refugees protection of their copyright and industrial rights (Article 14) to the extent and in the manner provided for citizens of the country where they have been granted asylum. Other countries party to the Convention provide such protection in accordance with the law of the country of habitual residence of the refugee. The equal rights of refugees with other foreigners legally residing in the territory of the state determines that the refugee has a fairly extensive amount of rights and obligations. A significant part of the 1951 Convention (chapters II - V) is devoted to their definition.

According to Article 12 of the Convention, the personal status of a refugee is determined by the laws of his country of domicile (country of legal residence) or, if there is none, by the laws of his country of residence. At the same time, the rights previously acquired by a refugee related to his personal status (in particular related to marriage) are recognized by the state of asylum, provided that they are recognized by the laws of this state in relation to non-refugees.

With regard to the property rights of refugees, both movable and real estate, including leases and other agreements, States Parties to the 1951 Convention undertake to provide refugees with rights no less favorable than those generally accorded to aliens in the same circumstances.

Refugees, according to Article 15 of the Convention, have the right, on an equal basis with other foreigners, to create associations that are not political in nature and do not pursue profit-making purposes (non-profit associations), as well as trade unions.

An important point in solving the problems of refugees is the question of their self-sufficiency, that is, the question of their search for activities that bring them income - hired work or the creation of their own enterprises.

Refugees have the right to independently engage in agriculture, industry, crafts and trade, as well as the right to establish commercial and industrial partnerships under conditions no less favorable than those generally enjoyed by foreigners under the same circumstances.

In certain cases, such as large influxes of refugees, countries of asylum may restrict certain rights, such as freedom of movement, freedom to seek employment, or the right to adequate schooling for all children. In such cases, when the government of the country of refuge or other agencies have no other resources, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provides assistance to refugees and other persons under its purview who are unable to meet their basic needs. Help provided may be in the form of financial grants, food, or equipment such as kitchen utensils, tools, hygiene products, and a roof over one's head. Assistance may also come in the form of programs to establish schools or clinics for refugees living in camps or concentrated in communities.

Administrative measures which a country of asylum can apply to refugees lawfully residing on its territory are mainly determined by the principle of non-refoulement. They primarily concern the refusal of the countries party to the Convention from the forced return and expulsion of refugees and all persons seeking asylum to a country where they are at risk of persecution, the exemption of refugees from punishment for illegal entry into the country (Articles 31-33 of the 1951 Convention), and the issuance of identity cards and travel documents (Articles 27-28 and Commentaries to the 1951 Convention).

In addition to these rights, States Parties to the Refugee Convention undertake to: provide assistance to refugees living on their territory in cases where they require assistance foreign country, to which they cannot turn; provide refugees with the right to choose their place of residence and to move freely within its territory, subject to all the rules generally applicable to foreigners in the same circumstances; not to impose taxes and fees on refugees other than and higher than those that, under similar conditions, are and can be levied on its own citizens; allow refugees to export property they brought with them to their territory to another country into which they have been granted the right of entry.

Finally, under Article 34 of the 1951 Convention, States Parties undertake to do everything in their power to speed up naturalization proceedings and possibly reduce associated fees and costs to facilitate the naturalization and assimilation of refugees.

It is obvious that the legal status of refugees and asylum seekers implies the existence of not only rights, but also obligations in relation to their host state. They are succinctly defined in Article 2 of the Refugee Convention.

Violation of these norms, in particular the commission of a criminal act, may entail not only criminal liability, but also the possibility of deportation.

International legal mechanism for protecting the rights of refugees is part of the mechanism for the international protection of human rights and functions in two directions: the development of conventions and declarations establishing international obligations in the field of refugee rights, and the monitoring activities of international bodies over states’ compliance with international human rights obligations.

The first direction is defined as law-making, which is expressed in the international legal regulation of refugee status at the universal and regional levels, the second is the organizational and legal activities of special international bodies for the protection of refugee rights. At the same time, international protection of the rights of refugees has a number of features due to the specific nature of the refugee status. Firstly, the state plays a decisive role in its recognition and scope. International documents only guide the state towards developing legislation in accordance with the convention provisions or specify the criteria and principles that states should follow (conclusions, guidelines of the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Secondly, refugees are deprived of protection from their state, which reinforces the importance of international protection of the rights of refugees and determines the breadth of the functions of international bodies that provide assistance and assistance to refugees in solving social and economic problems, in contrast to the powers of international control bodies, which are limited to monitoring compliance states' international obligations.

Structurally, the international refugee protection mechanism includes two categories of bodies: those established within the UN specifically to address refugee problems (the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) and general international human rights bodies operating based on international human rights agreements or created within the UN (Commission on Human Rights, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights).

In addition, due to the variety of assistance provided by international bodies to refugees, the structure of the mechanism for the international protection of refugee rights also includes such specialized UN agencies as UNESCO, WHO, and FAO.