THE CONVERGENCE OF REFUGEE LAW AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

Abstract

One key body of international law that regulates and manages armed conflicts is the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Over time and more recently, Refugee law now equally has a concomitant and contemporaneous application to armed warfare. This paper seeks to determine the protection and preservation of refugees under both refugee and international humanitarian law vis-à-vis the right of asylum seekers during armed combats. The cumulative application of IHL and refugee law is another focus of analysis. The convergence and divergence between refugee and international humanitarian law in protecting the rights of displaced persons, noncombatants and asylum seekers during armed conflicts will be considered. This paper equally deals with, inter alia, the legal position of refugee and international humanitarian law as regards the international obligations of States in the areas of non -refoulement, disarmament and separation during armed conflicts. It also deals with the issue of granting refugee status to new actors, which appears during warfare, and ways to determine the right of ex-combatants and treat them as civilian refugees. This paper submits that despite the divergence between international humanitarian law and refugee law, their main objective is the protection of persons during armed conflicts.