Protection elsewhere: the scope for safe return

When can states return refugees to their country of origin – or elsewhere – instead of offering asylum?

International refugee law is regarded as the back-up to national protection provided by a state to its citizens. As a consequence, a refugee claimant can be refused refugee status because he or she has access to a safe refuge within the country of origin. This ‘internal protection alternative’ (IPA) has been controversial ever since it emerged – not least because it is easily affected by political pressures.

Jessica Schultz

is a lawyer specialising in international human rights and refugee law. She has published the first monograph to examine the treaty basis and criteria for IPA,

The International Protection Alternative in Refugee Law

: Treaty basis and scope of application under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

In this book launch, she will discuss her findings in conversation with

Jan-Paul Brekke
(ISF) and

Jeff Crisp
(University of Oxford). This topical conversation will address the evolution of the IPA concept, current dynamics in state practice, and post-2015 developments in refugee policy in Norway and in Europe more broadly.

Read more about the book