The Right to Seek Safety: Seventy-Five Years After the Refugee Convention

By Itoe Francis Ebongue / GICJ

Introduction

World Refugee Day 2026 comes at a time when global displacement remains at historic levels, highlighting the urgent need to protect the right to seek safety. Observed under the theme, “The Right to Seek Safety: A Common Safeguard for All,” this year's commemoration reaffirms a fundamental principle of international law: every person fleeing persecution, armed conflict, violence, or serious human rights violations has the right to seek asylum and international protection.

This year also marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the foundation of the international refugee protection system. Adopted in the aftermath of the Second World War, the Convention established legal safeguards for people forced to flee their countries and remains one of the most important achievements of the modern human rights framework.

While important progress has been made over the past seven decades, millions of people continue to be displaced by conflict, insecurity, persecution, and humanitarian crises. World Refugee Day is therefore both a moment of solidarity and an opportunity to assess whether governments are meeting their obligations to protect those who have been forced to flee.

Global Displacement Trends

Forced displacement remains one of the world's most pressing humanitarian and human rights challenges. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), approximately 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2025. This figure includes refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, and other populations in need of international protection.

Conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar, Gaza, Afghanistan, and parts of the Sahel continue to drive large-scale displacement. Although some displaced persons have returned to their countries of origin, many returns have taken place under fragile conditions where security, access to services, and long-term stability remain uncertain.

Across Africa, millions continue to be displaced by armed conflicts, insecurity, and political instability. Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and countries across the Sahel region continue to experience significant displacement, while neighbouring States shoulder much of the responsibility for hosting refugees despite facing economic and developmental challenges of their own.

For many families, displacement is no longer temporary. Refugees often spend years, and sometimes decades, away from home with limited opportunities for voluntary return, local integration, or resettlement.

The Refugee Convention after Seventy-Five Years

The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol remain the principal international legal instruments governing refugee protection. Together, they define who qualifies as a refugee and establish the rights of refugees as well as the responsibilities of States. At the heart of the Convention is the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits states from returning individuals to places where they may face persecution, torture, or other serious threats to their lives and freedoms.

Over the past seventy-five years, the Convention has helped protect millions of people. However, significant gaps remain between legal commitments and practical implementation. In many regions, asylum systems continue to face pressure from restrictive migration policies, border closures, prolonged detention, and administrative barriers that prevent people from accessing protection. The continued relevance of the Convention demonstrates that the challenge facing the international community is not the absence of legal standards, but the need for stronger political commitment to uphold them.

Protection Gaps and Human Rights Concerns

Despite existing legal protections, refugees and asylum-seekers continue to face serious challenges. Documented reports of pushbacks at borders, arbitrary detention, unlawful returns, and restrictions on asylum procedures continue to raise serious concerns about states' compliance with international refugee and human rights law. Such practices undermine the right to seek asylum and place vulnerable individuals at greater risk.

Women, children, persons with disabilities, and survivors of violence often face additional barriers in accessing protection and essential services. Many displaced persons continue to experience discrimination, exploitation, limited access to healthcare and education, and difficulties securing lawful employment.

Climate-related disasters and environmental degradation are also contributing to human displacement. Although people displaced solely by climate-related factors are not formally recognised as refugees under current international law, environmental pressures increasingly interact with conflict, poverty, and insecurity to force people from their homes.

Addressing these challenges requires more than emergency humanitarian assistance. Sustainable solutions must include peacebuilding, human rights protection, inclusive development, and meaningful efforts to address the root causes of displacement.

Shared Responsibility and International Solidarity

Refugee protection is a shared international responsibility. While humanitarian organisations provide essential support, States remain primarily responsible for ensuring that refugees are protected and that their rights are respected.

Several countries have adopted policies that promote refugee inclusion through access to education, healthcare, livelihoods, and legal documentation. These measures help refugees rebuild their lives and contribute positively to host communities.

However, responsibility-sharing remains uneven. The majority of the world's refugees continue to be hosted by low- and middle-income countries that often face significant economic and social challenges.

Greater international cooperation is needed to ensure that host countries receive adequate support and that responsibility for refugee protection is shared more fairly among states. Without stronger solidarity, humanitarian systems and host communities will continue to face increasing pressure.

A Refugee’s Perspective

Behind every statistic is a human story of loss, resilience, and hope. Refugees leave behind their homes, families, livelihoods, and communities in search of safety. Their experiences remind the international community that refugee protection is not only a legal obligation but also a matter of human dignity.

As a Cameroonian refugee and human rights advocate living in Nigeria, Itoe Francis Ebongue notes:

"For many refugees, safety remains uncertain long after crossing a border. Protection must go beyond admission and include legal status, education, healthcare, livelihoods, and meaningful opportunities for integration. Refugees should not merely survive; they should be empowered to rebuild their lives with dignity and contribute positively to the societies that host them."

This reality reflects the experience of millions of displaced people who seek not only safety, but also opportunity, inclusion, and respect for their fundamental rights.

GICJ Position and Recommendations

Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) reaffirms that the right to seek asylum and international protection is a fundamental human right that must be respected, protected, and fulfilled by all States.

GICJ calls on governments to:

• Fully uphold the principle of non-refoulement and prevent unlawful returns.
• Ensure fair, accessible, and effective asylum procedures.
• End arbitrary detention of refugees and asylum-seekers.
• Expand access to healthcare, education, housing, and livelihood opportunities.
• Strengthen international responsibility-sharing mechanisms and support host countries.
• Address the root causes of displacement, including armed conflict, persecution, poverty, environmental degradation, and human rights violations.
• Promote accountability for violations of international refugee and human rights law.

Protecting refugees requires both legal compliance and political commitment. International obligations must be translated into practical actions that improve the lives of displaced people and safeguard human dignity.

Conclusion

World Refugee Day 2026 is both a commemoration and a call to action. Seventy-five years after the adoption of the Refugee Convention, the right to seek safety remains as important as ever. Although progress has been made, millions of people continue to face displacement, insecurity, and barriers to protection.

The success of the international refugee protection system will not be measured by the existence of legal instruments alone, but by their implementation in practice.

As the world marks this important anniversary, governments, international organisations, Civil Society, and local communities must renew their commitment to protecting refugees and supporting durable solutions. Only through genuine solidarity, accountability, and unwavering respect for international law can the promise of refugee protection become a reality for present and future generations.

The right to seek safety must remain protected not only in law and literature, but also in practice.

References

• UNHCR Global Trends Report 2025; available at:  https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends 
• 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees; available at: https://www.unhcr.org/1951-refugee-convention.html 
• 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees; available at: https://www.unhcr.org/1967-protocol-refugees.html 
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 14; available at: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
• UNHCR World Refugee Day Resources; available at: https://www.unhcr.org/world-refugee-day