EC/SCP/16 page 4
It
sometimes been called, temporary asylum, had been practiced by States on an extensive scale at different periods and in different countries. Temporary refuge or asylum was a concept and a category of protection found in a number of international instruments and comments and in the practice of States. was necessary to study it in relation to its legal nature, function, the general principle of non-refoulement and the concept of asylum, the status of refugees, the provision of durable solutions and international solidarity in obtaining such solutions.
7. Present refugee situations clearly showed that in some cases receiving States are not in a position at the time of admission to offer permanent settlement. In the period between admission and the obtention of a durable solution, it was necessary to provide adequate basic minimum standards for the protection of refugees and also principles for the provision of satisfactory durable solutions.
8.
In the debate that followed, some experts referred to the refugee situations that had occurred in Europe and Africa, many of them more than 20 years ago. States had granted asylum in their territories in cases of large-scale influx, without making use of any other concepts. It was felt that a specific notion of "temporary refuge" had so far not been found necessary, and could have undesirable results. It was also pointed out that the solution of problems arising in large-scale influx situations should be based on the effective implementation of international solidarity and cooperation and did not depend upon asylum being qualified in a certain manner. Moreover, when considering whether the adoption of a new concept was desirable, regard should also be had to its implications for the individual asylum seeker.
9. The view was also expressed that asylum was not necessarily linked to the granting of a durable solution, with the result that there was no need to develop a new concept to cover situations where such durable solutions might
not be immediately available.
10. Some experts considered, that in certain regions, mass influx had changed the nature of the asylum or protection that could be granted, even though the principle of non-refoulement had, of course, to be maintained. The question
}
Page 225Page 226