The legal scope of the 1951 Refugee Convention: is it broad enough? Gender discrimination issues arising from Article 1

The legal scope of the 1951 Refugee Convention: is it broad enough? Gender discrimination issues arising from Article 1

The 1951 Refugee Convention (hereafter “The
Convention”) sets down the definition and the legal context of those seeking asylum
under a lawful framework that protects every foreigner who fits into the
definition of a “Refugee”.
However, the exhaustive list of Article 1 does not provide any category that can cover women’s needs in terms of their reproductive rights and their inability to enjoy them. A grant for asylum should be, in the end, about the protection of those who fear persecution for exercising their rights; therefore, not being able to voluntarily interrupt its pregnancy or having the possibility of growing its family is against one’s right to self-determination and yet, it is still one of the major factors for oppression in multiple countries in the World.
Considering that reproductive rights are human rights, this paper aims to find any gap in the definition of a “Refugee” according to Article 1 of The Convention, that, effectively, inhibits women of obtaining the fair protection they deserve, and consequently, final remarks about a narrow definition will be reflected upon for the purposes of this analyses.

O Asilo em Portugal – Breves Notas

O Asilo em Portugal – Breves Notas

O Grupo de Prática da NOVA Refugee Clinic – Legal Clinic foi estabelecido com o objetivo de criar um espaço de informação e compreensão sobre o direito de asilo. Neste sentido, o nosso primeiro artigo tem por escopo traçar breves notas sobre o asilo em Portugal, apresentando sucintamente alguns conceitos e ideias sobre a proteção internacional na legislação portuguesa.