“Push” Factors upon Ratification and Compliance with the 1951 Convention

Concerning protecting human rights, the international system has moved beyond State interest toward respecting and protecting human values. Given the economic impact on the national law of refugee protection, the following two questions are addressed: 1) why do States sign the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the 1951 Convention), and 2) why do States comply with it? The current literature does not offer a concrete answer to these questions. The 1951 Convention shares similarities with human rights treaties, but at the same time, it differs from them since it creates externalities within the asylum laws of a State. Thus, these questions may find an answer by considering input from various scholars who have critically examined these aspects from economic and human rights perspectives. Moreover, by emphasizing the importance of the WTO model for trade liberalization, this chapter questions if it is possible to build a liberalization model for the movement of international refugees. This research question might be answered by uncovering the differences between trade and asylum policies by considering public opinion and political support for the ratification of international treaties and by analyzing the application of the main liberalization principles to international policies for refugees.