“The segment of this Handbook on the criteria for determining refugee status breaks down and explains the various components of the definition of refugee set out in the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. The explanations are based on the knowledge accumulated by the High Commissioner’s Office over some 25 years, since the entry into force of the 1951 Convention on 21 April 1954. The practice of States is taken into account as are exchanges of views between the Office and the competent authorities of Contracting States, and the literature devoted to the subject over the last quarter of a century. As the Handbook has been conceived as a practical guide and not as a treatise on refugee law, references to literature etc. have purposely been omitted.” – Publisher’s description
