UK domestic law provides for a complementary form of international protection known as humanitarian protection. It is governed by the Immigration Rules and the requirements a person must meet in order to be granted humanitarian protection can be found at paragraphs 339C – 339E.1

Under paragraph 339C, humanitarian protection is to be granted to individuals who do not qualify as refugees but who would face a real risk of serious harm if returned to their country of origin and who are unable, or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country. Serious harm is defined in paragraph 339CA and includes the death penalty or execution; unlawful killing; torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or a serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of armed conflict.

A person is excluded from humanitarian protection where they are “undeserving” of it. The exclusion reasons found in Article 1F of the 1951 Refugee Convention are replicated in relation to humanitarian protection at paragraph 339D of the Immigration Rules. A person will also be excluded from humanitarian protection where they have been convicted by a final judgement of a particularly serious crime (as defined in Section 72 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) and constitute a danger to the community of the UK or where they are a danger to the security of the UK.

UK law therefore does provide a complementary international protection status through humanitarian protection, based on the risk of serious harm and non-refoulement obligations. It functions as a safety net for individuals who cannot be returned safely but who do not meet the 1951 Refugee Convention definition.

• 1Immigration Rules, Part 11: Asylum. Available at:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-11-asylum.