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EC/SCP/16 page 8
negative determination, a refugee was deemed entitled to residence after three months. In the case of a negative decision, he would not be returned to his own country but would be asked to proceed to another country.
22.
Several experts, while emphasizing the need to apply the principle of non-refoulement, pointed to the difficulties in establishing the degree of protection which should be afforded in the case of a mass influx of asylum-seekers. One speaker believed that, while persons in such situations might not fall within the strict definition of the 1951 Convention, they were nevertheless likely to come within the widened definition of the term "refugee" contained in the OAU Convention. The same expert believed that the application of the standards of treatment established in the 1951 Convention in situations involving large-scale influx, would in the longer term be facilitated by the principle of international solidarity and burden-sharing.
International solidarity and burden-sharing in relation to temporary refuge and durable solutions. (Point 5 of the Agenda)
23. Introducing the item, the Chairman stated that the main problem was to define the implications of international solidarity in concrete terms so that countries of first asylum when faced with a large-scale influx could be assured of a response from the international community.
24. In the ensuing discussion, one expert expressed the view that there might be a need to define or qualify the term "mass-influx" since the effects of an influx on their resources and infrastructure would differ from one country to another. One expert believed that the principle of burden-sharing already operated in practice, even if there was sometimes delay in its application. In his view, therefore, consideration should be given to strengthening the existing emergency machinery so that the response from the international community could be prompt and effective. He stressed however that such arrangements should not be a precondition for absolute respect of the principle of non-refoulement, and that the function of such arrangements should be to assist the States concerned to help the persons in distress and that such arrangements should not lead to an unfounded displacement of persons.