International legal status of refugees in the territory of one party to armed conflict

Abstract

The international law of armed conflicts provides a legal protection to refugees if they find themselves in the territory of warring parties. Refugees are regarded as protected persons, particularly in international armed conflicts. Refugees are people forced to leave their country to find a shelter in a foreign country as a result of political events or the treat of prosecution. The legal status of refugees was regulated first by Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951. The legal status of refugees in armed conflicts was regulated by Geneva Convention relating to Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949 and by Protocol I of 1977. Both acts regulate the status of refugees who, at the moment of the beginning of hostile activities find themselves in the territory of one party to the conflict i.e., the occupied territory. So it is therefore about foreigners who have been granted a refugee status before the start of the conflict. According to the same Convention, party to the conflict, at which territory the refugees find themselves in, cannot consider them, neither treat them as foreigners nor hostile citizens, just because they belong to a hostile state. Protocol I, expended the protection of refugees in the way it is regulated, that the persons treated like refugees or stateless persons, before the start of hostilities, would be under the protection of provisions of IV Geneva Convention in all circumstances and without any adverse distinction. We should particularly emphasize the right of refugees, not to be driven out to the country where their lives or freedom could be endangered because of their belonging to a group or because of their political opinion.

Keywords

• refugees
• armed conflict
• Geneva Conventions
• occupied territory
• forced deportation