Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
14
determination thus often results in a period between when a refugee requests asylum and
when he or she is finally accorded status.
The Convention, however, only provides for the obligations of states to recognized refugees,
and asylum seekers find themselves in a position of limbo while their claims are adjudicated.
They generally do not have a recognized right to legal residence in the country of asylum,
although their status as asylum seekers affords them protection from removal or deportation.
The economic and social rights attached to status as an asylum seeker are usually much more
restricted than those afforded to recognized refugees.18 As asylum processes in many
countries have become prolonged—in the United States, for example, wait times for an initial
asylum interview now exceed two years19—the limited rights provided leave asylum seekers
at risk of falling into poverty or being excluded from the formal labor market, health care,
education, and other benefits while they await status.
It is also worth noting that the 1951 Convention does not provide for a right to be recognized
as a refugee, nor does the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which simply grants
the right for individuals to “seek and enjoy asylum.” Moreover, the Convention does not grant
individuals legal permission to enter another country to file their asylum claims, restricting
the legal migration options refugees have to seek safety. Rather, the only firm commitment of
states is to refrain from refoulement of individuals to territories (not limited to the country of
origin) where they would be at risk of persecution. States may choose not to grant refugee
status for a number of reasons. The Convention allows states to withhold a grant of protection,
for example, from those who have committed "a war crime, or a crime against humanity" as
well as "serious non-political" crimes.20 Some states also place limits on grants of refugee
status for refugees who are deemed to already have found or had the opportunity to access
protection in another “safe third country.”21
1.2.2. Non-refugee forced migrants: The mismatch between protection in law and
needs in practice
The Convention does not cover all forms of forced migration or all situations in which forced
migrants may find themselves. There is a notable mismatch between the highly complex
reasons why people move with the legal definition of refugee status in international and most
national law. Many people who are displaced do not fit the definition precisely. Often flight is
driven by a combination of overlapping motivations, some of which may be recognized and
some of which are not. Refugee rights advocates have also expressed concern that the
Convention does not recognize some legitimate reasons for persecution that have come to be
accepted or have developed since it was written including gender, sexual orientation, or
violence inflicted by non-state actors such as criminal gangs.
While not in the Convention per se, other legal instruments and mechanisms have emerged to
account to some extent for a more nuanced understanding of the drivers and dynamics of
18 In the United States, for example, asylum seekers must wait 180 days after filing their asylum claim before they may apply
for work authorization, and in the United Kingdom, applicants must wait for a year to gain the right to work, and even then
only in certain shortage occupations. In Sweden, children of asylum seekers were only granted the right to attend school by
legislation in 2003, although
19 Human Rights First, In the Balance: Backlogs Delay Protection in the U.S. Asylum and Immigration Court Systems (Human
Rights First, 2016)
20 Article 1F, UN General Assembly, 1951 Convention.
21 Council of the European Union, “Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on
procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status,” December 13, 2005, EUR-Lex, L 326/13,