C1.1 New Zealand's obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (26/07/1999)

1. New Zealand acceded to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees ("the Convention") on 30 June 1960 and later acceded to the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees ("the Protocol") on 6 August 1973.
2. As a party to both the Convention and the Protocol, New Zealand acknowledges all United Nations conventions relevant to determining refugee status, as well as international instruments of law used to determine refugee status.

C1.1.1 Definition of 'refugee'

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Article 1, section A(2)

Refugees are persons who:

1. because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, are outside the country of their nationality and unable or unwilling to seek the protection of that country; or
2. because they have no nationality and are outside the country of their former habitual residence, are unable or unwilling to return to it.

C1.1.5 Country of nationality

1. In the case of a person who has more than one nationality, "country of nationality" means each of the countries of which they are a national.
2. If a person has the protection of one of their countries of nationality, New Zealand's obligations under the Refugee Convention are not activated.

C1.1.10 Principle of 'non-refoulement'

1. Article 33(1) of the Convention provides for the obligation of non-refoulement, by which governments undertake not to return a refugee to a country where the refugee's life or freedom would be threatened for a reason accepted under the Convention.
2. Article 33(2) states however that the prohibitions against non-refoulement no longer apply if there are reasonable grounds for regarding:
   1. an individual as a danger to the security of the country in which they are, or
   2. an individual convicted of a particularly serious crime as a danger to the community of that country.
3. In addition, the non-refoulement obligations of Article 33(1) do not apply to individuals to whom Article 32 and /or the exclusion provisions in Article 1F apply. Such persons are either considered to be a risk to the Receiving State or, because of their conduct, are considered unworthy of protection.

Effective 26/07/1999