The right of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries is grounded in Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the ‘Convention), adopted in 1951, consolidated previous international instruments and provides a comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees at an international level. Non-discrimination, non-penalisation and non-refoulement (ie, the forced return of people to their places of origin) are three of the most important principles on which the Convention is based. 

However, the influx of migrants to many countries is causing economic problems and leading to divisive political responses. Many are asking whether these laws have had their day and need to adjust to a different world with a new set of challenges.