Complementary Protection in International Refugee Law

Netherlands International Law Review -     

难民保护面临的国际法问题及对策

对难民提供国际保护既是人道主义的要求,也是维护国际和平与安全使然,然而拒不接受难民的趋势越来越严重。应对这一问题的法律措施,一是修改既有难民定义,扩大国际难民法的保护范围,使得各国对那些不符合既有难民定义却处于与难民同样境地的人的援助,从纯粹基于人道主义考虑的自觉自愿行为转化为法律义务。二是强调国际人权法在难民国际保护中的应有作用。将人权原理应用到难民保护领域,通过敦促国家履行国际人权保护义务来实现对难民的保护,可以克服国际难民法的固有缺陷,并强化难民国际保护的法律基础。     

International Refugee Protection Challenges and Opportunities

The new Millennium heralded a promise of change. For refugeesand other displaced persons, the start of the new Millenniumwas mixed; not much changed on the ground, but the fiftiethanniversary of the 1951 Convention brought Declaration of Statesparties reaffirming their commitments and the Agenda for Protection.Five years on, has the reaffirmation of States' commitment tothe international protection regime, and their endorsement ofthe Agenda for Protection, made a difference to refugees? Havewords been matched with actions to ensure access to asylum forthose who need it and a greater sharing of international responsibilityin this regard? This article looks at the major refugee protectionchallenges that confront us at the beginning of the 21^st centuryon both sides of the development divide. It also addresses whymany of these problems have developed and examines some of theemerging opportunities, which, if seized in good faith, couldprovide more robust protection for refugees, while respondingto the security, sovereignty and economic concerns of States.     

North Korean Refugees and International Refugee Law

The severe food crisis of the 1990s forced thousands of NorthKoreans to leave their country in search of food. Most of themcrossed the border into China, to which the Government of thePeople's Republic of China (the PRC) responded by forcibly repatriatingdefectors to North Korea, thus placing many of them at riskof being subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment and,at times, even death. This article provides an overview of thesituation of North Korean asylum seekers and analyses the legalprotection available to North Korean defectors under internationallaw. The article focuses specifically on the situation of NorthKoreans in mainland China and China's obligations under internationalhuman rights and refugee law. The aim of the article is to contributeto the elaboration of durable solutions for the plight of NorthKorean asylum seekers and to develop a range of recommendationsfor law reform and policy change.     

Complicity in International Criminal Law and Canadian Refugee Law: A Comparison

International criminal law is normally seen as the purview ofcriminal prosecutions, either internationally or domestically.However, international criminal law is also increasingly beingapplied in refugee law. This is because the 1951 Refugee Conventioncontains an exclusion clause prohibiting asylum seekers fromobtaining refugee status if they have committed a crime againstpeace, a war crime or a crime against humanity. Thus, refugeelaw refers back to international criminal law; however, whileinternational criminal tribunals deal with persons who bearthe greatest responsibility, in actual practice persons whohave been excluded from refugee protection have been mostlyfrom the lower echelons of organizations involved in atrocities.This article, based on Canadian case law, examines the conceptsof complicity, aiding and abetting and joint criminal enterprisefrom both an international criminal law point of view and froma Canadian refugee law angle, in order to determine whetherthese notions have similar contents in the two jurisdictions.     

论国际法上的人权保护

尊重和保护人权是各国应负的国际义务 ,各国均应采取必要的措施来保护人权。作者指出 ,保护人权与维护主权二者并不相悖 ,各国只有在平等、相互尊重主权的基础上 ,才能促进人权保护的发展。     

论国际环境法的保护对象

随着国际环境法的发展 ,国际环境法的保护对象经历了一个从点到线、由线到面、再从面到立体的发展过程。可持续发展原则在国际环境法上确立后 ,国际环境法保护对象的范围不断扩大 :在人域内 ,从国家的环境资源主权以及相应的财产权扩大到当今世代全世界范围内的穷国、穷人和未来世代及其利益 ;在人域外 ,从珍稀、濒危动植物扩大到自然万物。《联合国气候变化框架公约》是一个很好的例证 ,其保护对象包括两大类 :自然因素的保护对象和社会因素的保护对象。国际环境法保护对象的发展是人类的希望之所在。     

论国际淡水资源利用和保护法的发展

国际淡水资源利用和保护法的发展表明 ,司法判例和国际“软法”文件在国际环境法的发展中将起着重要的作用。目前 ,国际淡水资源利用和保护法中的许多习惯法规则的形成 ,也在很大程度上归功于相关的司法判例和国际“软法”。国际淡水资源利用和保护法的发展将使得国际环境法体系得到进一步健全和完善     

Adjudicating Fear of Witchcraft Claims in Refugee Law

In refugee applications involving witchcraft‐related violence (WRV), those accused of witchcraft are largely women, and those fearing witchcraft are more often men. This is one of two interrelated articles reporting on cases where claimants feared harm from witchcraft or occult practices. It argues that WRV is a manifestation of gender‐related harm, one which exposes major failings in the application of refugee jurisprudence. Systemic inattention to the meaning and application of the Convention ground of religion, combined with gender insensitivity in analysis, meant that claims were frequently reconfigured by decision makers as personal grudges. The fear of witchcraft cases pose an acute ontological challenge to refugee status determination, as the claimed harm falls outside what is understood to be objective, verifiable, or Convention‐related. Male applicants struggled to make their claims comprehensible as a result of the feminized and ‘irrational’ characterization of witchcraft fears and beliefs.     

人文关怀与国际私法中弱者利益保护

现代国际私法在弱者利益保护方面充分表现出人文关怀和实质公平价值取向。人文关怀是人文精神的集中体现 ,而人文精神是国际私法的永恒主题 ,国际私法的构建应贯穿人文精神。现代国际私法对弱者的人文关怀不但表现在有利原则、强制性规范和公共秩序保留等原则和制度层面 ,而且还反映在具体的法律适用规范之中     

论我国国际私法立法中的人权考虑

人权在国内表现为宪法中的基本权利,宪法基本权利对立法者具有约束力,国际私法立法也受基本权利的制约。在各国的国际私法立法中,宪法基本权利主要通过决定连结点影响国际私法。我国现有的冲突规范并不完全符合宪法基本权利的要求,在国际私法立法中应当充分考虑宪法基本权利的影响。     

国际私法中弱者权利保护方法

法律的正义价值高于其他价值。国际私法中的弱者权利保护方法与正义有天然联系。晚近的国际私法倡导对弱者的保护。国际私法弱者权利保护方法的正义内核体现在涉外消费者的保护、合同关系中"自由选择法律的限制"、保护妇女、子女等的立法,以及跨国侵权关系中对受害人的保护。保护弱者是国际私法适应现实生活需要而出现的制度安排,彰显了国际私法弱者权利保护方法的正义内核。     

Combating Terrorism by International Law

The world press of the late 1960s and early 1970s carried with constantly rising frequency news of skyjackings, explosions in embassies, kidnappings of diplomats, provocations and outright attacks against various governmental and nongovernmental offices abroad, and also of the use of the mails to send plastic letter bombs.