Need for critical reimagination: colonial legacy of the 1951 Refugee Convention

This chapter highlights some of the lacunae inherent in conceptualising international refugee law, by showing that the origins of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is inherently hegemonic, Eurocentric and colonial-ignorant. We examine some of the gaps associated with the global refugee regime and the historical development of 1951 Refugee Convention. We begin with the premise that the Refugee Convention was established and implemented by states in the Global North, in response to the displacement that occurred in the aftermath of the Second World War in Europe, which has led to the side-lining of states in the Global South. By exploring the political negotiations for formalisation of the Convention, we show how Western states dominated debates and marginalised (de)colonised states. For a thorough understanding of the effects, we go beyond a Eurocentric gaze prevalent in contemporary refugee studies literature and examine India’s role in the historical development of the Convention.