July 28, 1951

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

Twelve states sign the Refugee Convention in Geneva

Twenty-four delegations had voted unanimously for the text on the Wednesday. When it opened for signature on the Saturday, only twelve governments signed.

Noon at the European Office of the United Nations

At noon on 28 July 1951, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees opened for signature at the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva. Twelve governments signed that day: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia.

The conference of plenipotentiaries had met from 2 to 25 July and adopted the text on the 25th by 24 votes to none, with no abstentions. Signature and adoption are routinely conflated; they were three days apart.

The Danish delegate Knud Larsen, who had presided over the drafting, sat at the signing table with High Commissioner Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, John Humphrey of the UN Human Rights Division, and deputy executive secretary Margaret Kitchen.

Europe, or Europe and elsewhere

The signed text defined a refugee through a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion — subject, in the original, to a dateline covering events before 1951.

It is often said the Convention was simply limited to Europe at the start. The dateline was mandatory, but each state could interpret the relevant events as occurring either in Europe or in Europe or elsewhere, and signatories declared which scope they accepted.

The 1967 Protocol removed the dateline, but an existing European-only declaration could continue unless the state withdrew it.

Signatures that did not switch anything on

Signing did not bring the Convention into force. Article 43 required six ratifications or accessions and then a ninety-day wait; entry into force came on 22 April 1954.

The current UN Treaty Collection's successor-state presentation does not display Yugoslavia among signatories, while the contemporary UN photograph record and historical accounts identify Yugoslavia as the twelfth signer that day.

UNHCR states that asylum in the sense of temporary or permanent admission was not dealt with in the Convention.

Sources

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What the sources leave uncertain

The date is secure, but “adoption” and “signature” are often conflated. The conference adopted the text on 25 July; twelve states signed when it opened for signature on 28 July.
The current UN Treaty Collection’s successor-state presentation does not display Yugoslavia among current signatories, while the contemporary UN photograph record and historical accounts identify Yugoslavia as the twelfth signer on 28 July.