Can the UN’s Refugee Convention survive?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that the 1951 UN Refugee Convention is reaching its 75th anniversary amid growing political pressure in wealthy Western countries over migration and asylum. The treaty was created after World War II to set out state duties toward people fleeing persecution, and a 1967 protocol expanded its scope beyond Europe. Al Jazeera says 149 countries are parties and none has formally withdrawn, while the UN currently counts more than 41 million refugees worldwide.

The report highlights the convention’s central definition of a refugee and its key safeguard against returning people to places where they may face harm. It says those principles are being tested by policies including US restrictions on asylum and protected status, Australia’s boat turnbacks and offshore detention, Denmark’s actions affecting Syrian refugees, and alleged pushbacks at some European borders. Amnesty International’s Adriana Tidona told Al Jazeera that Europe’s new Migration and Asylum Pact could make it easier to reject claims or send people to countries where they have no real ties.

Al Jazeera also notes long-standing limits in the convention: people fleeing poverty, climate-related disasters, gangs or other hardships may not qualify, and there is no dedicated enforcement court with power to punish violations. Jeff Crisp of Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre said the absence of enforcement has become more visible as refugee protection has faced a harsher political climate. Susan Fratzke of the Migration Policy Institute suggested a new protocol could address gaps without reopening core principles.

The article says reduced safe routes, shrinking resettlement and expanded third-country processing have increased reliance on smugglers, even as most refugees remain in neighbouring, often lower-income, countries. It frames the anniversary as a test of whether governments will share responsibility or continue narrowing access to protection.