CONFIDENTIAL
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While the term "temporary residence" is found in Article II (5) of the 1969 CAU Convenţian, it is not as satisfactory in the refugee context as the term "temporary refuge". The term "refuge" conveys the element of protection and the applicability of the principle of "non-refoulament". In contrast, the term "residence" is neutral in this respect and more appropriate to the usage of immigration law generally.
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The concept of temporary refuge appearing in the 1951 UN Convention was essentially a method for protecting refugees unlawfully in the territory against expulsion or return by providing asylum seekers the opportunity of obtaining asylum elsewhere. the instruments on territorial asylum, on the other hand, the concept of temporary refuge was seen also in relation to admission. It was recognised that the admission of all bona-fide asylum seekers who applied at the frontier might create a heavy burden for the receiving State, and that international solidarity and cooperation in burdan-sharing were essential aspects of the legal regime for an open frontier. Torporary refuge was adopted, therefore, 23 a mechanism not only for avoiding expulsion or retum but also for admitting refugees in a way which enabled an admitting State, which considered that it could not bear alone the burden of protection, to signal to the international community that international solidarity and assistance were requirai. It was essentially a method to accommodate a country's reasonable concerns and difficulties in a way which took account also of the international humanitarian concer to provide protection for all bona-fide asylum-seekers.
It can be generally agreed that it is most unlikely the international community will agree in the foreseeable future to the recognition of the right to asylumn. The unqualified acceptance of the principle of non-rejection at the frontier, which could be scen as derogating from the right to refuse asylum, will only be possible in our view if it is linked with temporary refuge, a concept developed as a category of protection different from asylum.
It is significant that at the last session of the Executive Committee, there was unanimous acceptance of the principle that at least temporary refuge should be accorded every bona-fide asylum-seeker. The acceptance of this basic humanitarian principle was only made possible, we believe, by the distinction draw between asylum and temporary refuge.
It is important that temporary refuge should not be seen as a general alterative to the grant of asylum. The optimum response to a request for protection remains the grant of asylum. We believe that temporary refuge should only be granted where national security or other overwhelming neat to safeguard the population, as in the case of large-scale influx,prevents the grant of asylum.
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