Now Is the Time to Uphold the Rule of Law for Refugee Protection: UN and Regional Experts

Geneva (20 June 2025) -- On World Refugee Day, the Platform of Independent Experts on Refugee Rights (PIERR), a group of UN and regional independent human rights experts, issued the following statement:

In the face of increasing challenges worldwide to the rule of law, including limitations on the independence of judges and lawyers and restrictions to access to asylum, on this World Refugee Day, we urge States to reaffirm their commitments to protect and promote the human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers. These include guarantees of due process and procedural safeguards complying with international human rights and refugee law including at ports of entry for those seeking international protection; in decision-making on entry, stay and refugee status; providing effective protection against arbitrary arrest and detention, and alternatives to detention; and ensuring respect for the core principle of non-refoulement.

At all stages of forced displacement, human rights must be protected by the steadfast commitment of States to uphold and protect the rule of law and non-discrimination, and ensure effective access to justice. Failure to ensure equal protection of the law for all can violate the enjoyment of the right to seek asylum and other core human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers. Implementation of the prohibition of racial discrimination is essential to ensure equal protection of the law for refugees and asylum-seekers.

The lack of respect for the rule of law has devastating consequences for refugees and asylum-seekers. It can create conditions for conflict, which may drive displacement and compel refugees to seek international protection in other countries. Some States in recent times have responded to increased arrivals with restrictive measures that may limit access to territory, and to fair and efficient asylum procedures that align with due process guarantees; penalize or subject asylum-seekers to arbitrary detention; separate them from their families; or fail to ensure protection of unaccompanied and separated children.

Shifting responsibilities for international protection undermines the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution, recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In some parts of the world such practices already create a harmful cycle in which the very principles meant to protect those in need of protection – and all people – are themselves weakened and at risk. To break this cycle, measures that reflect and reinforce the rule of law are critical, particularly for those who have fled conflict, war, persecution or other serious human rights violations.

When speaking of the rule of law, it is also important to recognize that the free and independent exercise of the legal profession is essential to ensuring access to justice and safeguarding due process and other procedural rights. Unfortunately, we are witnessing a serious erosion of due process in some contexts through measures that limit asylum-seekers' access to legal assistance, including in immigration detention and when facing removal to a third country, particularly if it is unsafe, that may lead to refoulement.

On this World Refugee Day, we call on States to strengthen cooperation and solidarity, responsibility-sharing, and measures that respect and uphold the human rights protection of refugees and asylum-seekers. Specific measures to support the best interests of refugee and asylum-seeking children and other vulnerable groups must be put in place.

Respect for the rule of law is not optional. It is a foundational human rights principle and necessary to protect the rights of all people, including those who have been forced to flee and rely on these universally recognized principles. States must respect and uphold these rights of refugees and asylum-seekers, recognizing the universality of human rights and obligation of equal protection of the law.

ENDS

Siobhán Mullally, PIERR Chair and UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Gehad Madi, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants; Matthew Gillett, (Vice-Chair on Communications), UN Working Group on arbitrary detention; Jorge Contesse, Member, UN Committee against torture; Selma Sassi-Safer, Commissioner and Special Rapporteur on refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and migrants in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Andrea Pochak, Commissioner and Rapporteur on Human Mobility of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; and Alan Mitchell, President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

ABOUT THE PIERR

The PIERR is composed of the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the human rights of migrants and on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, the Working Group on arbitrary detention,  the UN Committee against torture, the Special Rapporteur on refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and migrants in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Rapporteurship on Human Mobility of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

The Platform is supported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

For more information on the PIERR, please refer to www.pierr.org