CONVENTION RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES
Geneva, July 28, 1951
The. High Contracting Parties,
PREAMBLE
Considering that the Charter of the United Nations(1) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approved on December 10, 1948,(2) by the General Assembly have affirmed the principle that human beings shall enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms without discrimination.
Considering that the United Nations has, on various occasions, manifested its profound concern for refugees and endeavoured to assure refugees the widest possible exercise of these fundamental rights and freedoms,
Considering that it is desirable to revise and consolidate previous inter- national agreements relating to the status of refugees and to extend the scope of and the protection accorded by such instruments by means of a new agreement,
Considering that the grant of asylum may place unduly heavy burdens on certain countries, and that a satisfactory solution of a problem of which the United Nations has recognised the international scope and nature cannot therefore be achieved without international co-operation,
Expressing the wish that all States, recognising the social and humani- tarian nature of the problem of refugees, will do everything within their power to prevent this problem from becoming a cause of tension between States,
Noting that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is charged with the task of supervising international conventions providing for the protection of refugees, and recognising that the effective co-ordination of measures taken to deal with this problem will depend upon the co-operation of States with the High Commissioner,
Have agreed as follows:-
Chapter I.—General Provisions
ARTICLE 1
Definition of the Term "Refugee
A. For the purposes of the present Convention, the term "refugee shall apply to any person who—
(1) Has been considered a refugee under the Arrangements of May 12, 1926, and June 30, 1928, or under the Conventions of October 28, 1933,(3) and February 10, 1938,(1) the Protocol of September 14, 1939,(") or the Constitution of the International Refugee Organisa- tion;(")
(1) "Treaty Series No. 67 (1946),” Cmd. 7015. (2) United Nations No. 2 (1949)," Cmd. 7662. (3) "Treaty Series No. 4 (1937)," Cmd. 5347. (*) "Treaty Series No. 8 (1939)," Cmd. 5929. (5) "Treaty Series No. 20 (1940),” Cmd. 6222. (")" Treaty Series No. 25 (1950),” Cmd. 7934.
า