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The Internal Protection Alternative - TWAIL-ing the reigning interpretation of the Refugee Convention

Berthelsen, Nora LU (2015) LAGF03 20151
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
In this bachelor thesis I have researched the concept of the internal protection alternative in international refugee law. The existence of an internal protection alternative as a basis for denial of refugee status developed in Europe in the nineteen eighties and is today a part of the refugee status assessment in many legal systems. Dominant voices within the field of international refugee law have interpreted the Refugee Convention and found the internal protection alternative to be part of the Convention.
I have chosen to critically study the emergence of the internal protection alternative and how the dominant interpretations of the Refugee Convention have been carried out, by using the concept of TWAIL. TWAIL aims at visualizing the... (More)
In this bachelor thesis I have researched the concept of the internal protection alternative in international refugee law. The existence of an internal protection alternative as a basis for denial of refugee status developed in Europe in the nineteen eighties and is today a part of the refugee status assessment in many legal systems. Dominant voices within the field of international refugee law have interpreted the Refugee Convention and found the internal protection alternative to be part of the Convention.
I have chosen to critically study the emergence of the internal protection alternative and how the dominant interpretations of the Refugee Convention have been carried out, by using the concept of TWAIL. TWAIL aims at visualizing the colonial structures of international law, which create and re-create asymmetrical power relations in the international order.
My conclusion is that the internal protection alternative emerged out of Europe and that an interpretation of the Refugee Convention later was made to include this concept, without questioning the concept itself. I found that the dominant interpretations focus on creating a legal basis for the internal protection alternative by fitting it within the framework of the Refugee Convention. This is a concept that benefits the European states that have chosen to use this basis, as well as other states using it. The ones disadvantaged by this interpretation are first and foremost those who are denied asylum because of this doctrine. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
I denna kandidatuppsats har jag undersökt internflyktsalternativet inom internationell flyktingrätt. Internflyktsalternativ som grund för att avslå en ansökan om flyktingstatus och uppehållstillstånd växte fram i Europa under 1980-talet och är idag en del av asylprövningen i de flesta rättssystem. Dominerande röster inom den internationella flyktingrätten har tolkat FN:s flyktingkonvention och funnit att internflyktsalternativet är en del av denna konvention.
Jag har valt att kritiskt granska framväxten av internflyktsalternativet och hur den dominerande tolkningsoperationen gjorts, genom att använda mig av TWAIL-konceptet. TWAIL syftar till att synliggöra de koloniala strukturer som finns inneboende inom folkrätten, och som skapar och... (More)
I denna kandidatuppsats har jag undersökt internflyktsalternativet inom internationell flyktingrätt. Internflyktsalternativ som grund för att avslå en ansökan om flyktingstatus och uppehållstillstånd växte fram i Europa under 1980-talet och är idag en del av asylprövningen i de flesta rättssystem. Dominerande röster inom den internationella flyktingrätten har tolkat FN:s flyktingkonvention och funnit att internflyktsalternativet är en del av denna konvention.
Jag har valt att kritiskt granska framväxten av internflyktsalternativet och hur den dominerande tolkningsoperationen gjorts, genom att använda mig av TWAIL-konceptet. TWAIL syftar till att synliggöra de koloniala strukturer som finns inneboende inom folkrätten, och som skapar och återskapar asymmetriska maktförhållanden.
Min slutsats är att internflyktsalternativet växte fram i Europa och att en tolkning av flyktingkonventionen senare gjordes för att inbegripa detta, utan att ifrågasätta denna tolkning. Jag fann att de dominerande tolkningsoperationer som gjorts framför allt fokuserar på att skapa en gemensam legal grund för internflyktsalternativet genom att passa in det inom flyktingkonventionens ramar. Detta är något som gynnar de europeiska stater som valt att använda sig av denna grund, så väl som andra stater som har asylsökande personer inom staten och inte vill bevilja dessa flyktingstatus och uppehållstillstånd. De som missgynnas är först och främst de asylsökande som på grund av denna doktrin nekas asyl. (Less)
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author
Berthelsen, Nora LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20151
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
folkrätt, public international law
language
English
id
5431320
date added to LUP
2015-07-03 14:57:46
date last changed
2015-07-03 14:57:46
@misc{5431320,
  abstract     = {{In this bachelor thesis I have researched the concept of the internal protection alternative in international refugee law. The existence of an internal protection alternative as a basis for denial of refugee status developed in Europe in the nineteen eighties and is today a part of the refugee status assessment in many legal systems. Dominant voices within the field of international refugee law have interpreted the Refugee Convention and found the internal protection alternative to be part of the Convention.
I have chosen to critically study the emergence of the internal protection alternative and how the dominant interpretations of the Refugee Convention have been carried out, by using the concept of TWAIL. TWAIL aims at visualizing the colonial structures of international law, which create and re-create asymmetrical power relations in the international order.
My conclusion is that the internal protection alternative emerged out of Europe and that an interpretation of the Refugee Convention later was made to include this concept, without questioning the concept itself. I found that the dominant interpretations focus on creating a legal basis for the internal protection alternative by fitting it within the framework of the Refugee Convention. This is a concept that benefits the European states that have chosen to use this basis, as well as other states using it. The ones disadvantaged by this interpretation are first and foremost those who are denied asylum because of this doctrine.}},
  author       = {{Berthelsen, Nora}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Internal Protection Alternative - TWAIL-ing the reigning interpretation of the Refugee Convention}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}