Out of sight, out of mind - The Allocation of Refugee Protection Responsibilities to Third Countries in European Union Asylum Policy

The use of readmission agreements and safe third country rules enable the allocation of protection responsibilities from EU member states to third countries. Due to the increased displacement of individuals from Syria and Afghanistan, these legal mechanisms have been of increased importance to the European Union asylum policy during the recent year. The purpose of this thesis is to examine to what extent the practice of allocating the responsibility to protect refugees to third countries through safe third country rules and readmission agreements, as enshrined in European Union asylum policy, is compatible with the obligations of European Union member states under international law and what implications this practice has on the institution of refugee protection. This thesis thus examines the content and scope of refugee protection and the obligations of states under international law in relation to the allocation of protection responsibilities to an intermediary country. The examination is primarily focused on state obligations under the Refugee Convention, but takes into regard state obligations under the Convention against Torture, the European Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Furthermore, this thesis examines European Union readmission agreements and European Union safe third country rules as regulated on a policy level and as implemented in practice. To this end, this thesis primarily employs a legal dogmatic method. This thesis shows that the practice of allocating the responsibility to protect refugees to third countries, as enshrined in European Union asylum policy, is compatible with the practical obligations of states under international law to some extent. However, it is found that the objective behind refugee protection in international law is incompatible with the objective behind the allocation of protection responsibilities in EU asylum policy. While states are obliged under international law to offer surrogate protection to refugees, they are expected, and to some extent obliged, under EU asylum policy to manage refugees and their movements. Some divergences are also found between the practical obligations of the European Union member states in the respective legal systems, especially as regards obligations under the principle of non-refoulement. In this thesis, it is further found that the practice of allocating protection responsibilities to third countries transforms the institution of refugee protection through, inter alia, imposing obligations on states that are opposite to their obligations in relation to refugee protection under international law. The allocation practices also have the potential of enabling a return of a refugee back to her country of persecution without an examination of her asylum claim even being made, which may effectively undermine the right to seek asylum