| When refugees or asylum-seekers are subject of an extradition process,the interface between extradition law and international refugee law raises questions critical to the protection of refugees and asylum-seekers. A lack of understanding of the interlinkages between the two bodies of law could risk refoulement of asylum-seekers and refugees. There is thus a felt need to clarify the applicability of refugee protection principles in the context of extradition proceedings. With this in mind, UNHCR has issued a “Guidance Note on Extradition and International Refugee Protection”.
The Guidance Note seeks to provide guidance on both substantive as well as procedural issues, arising in the context of extradition of asylum-seekers or refugees and sets out UNHCR’s position in these areas. More specifically, the Note examines in detail a requested State’s non-refoulement obligations under international refugee and human rights law in the context of extradition proceedings concerning a refugee or an asylum-seeker, explores the extent to which existing principles and provisions of extradition law correlate with the principle of non-refoulement, and addresses questions related to extradition procedures, setting out safeguards required to ensure full consideration of the special situation of refugees and asylum-seekers.
The Note also elaborates on the appropriate relationship between extradition and asylum procedures, considers ways in which information related to an extradition request may affect eligibility for international refugee protection and highlights procedural safeguards in asylum procedures where an asylum-seeker is also the subject of an extradition request.
The Note further examines the types of interventions which UNHCR could undertake to ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers are protected in the context of extradition proceedings. In its conclusion, the Note presents observations on the inter-relationship between extradition and asylum and the need to ensure that the extradition practice of States is consistent with their obligations under international law.
 Guidance Note extradition (351.32 KB)
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