Paragraph 334 of the Immigration Rules states that a person will be granted refugee status in the United Kingdom if “they are a refugee, as defined in Article 1 of the 1951 Refugee Convention” and if “refusing their application would result in them being required to go […] in breach of the Refugee Convention, to a country in which they would be persecuted on account of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group.”1 Article 1 of the 1951 Refugee Convention contains the inclusion criteria.

Sections 30-36 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 set out interpretations of terms contained in Article 1 of the 1951 Refugee Convention to be applied in domestic asylum cases. UNHCR noted concerns during the passage of this legislation through Parliament that some of these interpretations could lead to international protection being wrongly denied to those who need it.2 Such a risk may be obviated to an extent by section 2 of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, which provides that nothing in the immigration rules shall lay down any practice that would be contrary to the UK's obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention.3 This means that UK courts will be required to interpret sections 30-36 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 in a manner which is in keeping with the Refugee Convention.

The UK does not recognise or incorporate any additional regional definitions in the manner that countries which are parties to the 1969 Organisation of African Unity Convention and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration do.

• 1Immigration Rules, Part 11: Asylum. Available at:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-11-asylum
• 2UNHCR, Updated Observations on the Nationality and Borders Bill, as amended, updated January 2022, paragraphs 198-235. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/media/unhcr-updated-observations-nationality-and-borders-bill-amended.
• 3Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, Section 2. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1993/23/section/2.