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Human Rights and Refugees (I)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2010

Paul Weis*
Affiliation:
Former Director of the Legal Division of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Extract

Wherever the United Nations Charter refers to promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms, it refers to human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. Within a State one distinguishes normally between nationals and aliens. But among the aliens there is a particular group—the refugees—whose position in traditional customary international law is especially precarious. This is due to the fact that in classic international law nationality is considered as the link between the individual and international law. In later editions of Oppenheim's leading textbook on International Law it is called the principal link.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Committee of the Red Cross 1972

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Footnotes

1

Speech delivered at Geneva on 26 November 1971 on the occasion of the presentation of the Golden Nansen Ring to Mr. J. F. Thomas, Director of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration, based on an article by the speaker, published in the Israel Yearbook on Human Rights vol. 1. pp. 35–50.

References

2 6th ed. edited by Lauterpacht p. 588.

3 Statute of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sec. 6.

4 See Schwarzenberger, International Law vol. I, p. 171.Google Scholar

5 See Oppenheim, International Law (6th ed.) vol. I, p. 611.Google Scholar

6 U.N. doc. E/600 para 46.

7 A Study of Statelessness, U.N. Publications Sales No. 1949, XIV.2.

8 U.N. Treaty Series vol. 189, p. 137.Google Scholar

9 U.N. Treaty Series vol. 360, p. 130.Google Scholar

10 “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” in British Yearbook of International Law (1948) p. 374.Google Scholar

11 U.N. Doc. E/600 para 48.

12 Cf. the author's article “The U.N. Declaration on Territorial Asylum” in Canadian Yearbook of International Law 1969, pp. 92149.Google Scholar

13 I.C.J. Reports (1950), pp. 274, 275.Google Scholar

14 OAS Official Records OEA/Ser.EK/XVI/1.1.

16 U.N. doc. E/Conf.17/5/Rev.1.

16 Cf. the author's article “Recent Developments in the Law of Territorial Asylum” in Human Rights Journal (1968), pp. 378396.Google Scholar

17 Berber, F. Lehrbuch des Völkerrechts vol. I, p. 388.Google Scholar