An interesting 2014 article by Bríd Ní Ghráinne in the International Journal of Refugee Law on the issue of state protection and internally displaced persons. Abstract appears below.
Bríd Ní Ghráinne, "UNHCR’s Involvement with IDPs: – ‘Protection of that Country’ for the Purposes of Precluding Refugee Status?" (2014) 26:4 Int J Refugee Law 536.
Abstract (taken from here)
The absence of protection from persecution is a precondition to
qualifying as a refugee. However, protection is not solely
provided by states and may stem from non-state
actors (NSAs) such as international organizations. This article will
examine
whether such protection may be substituted for
‘protection of that country’ and, if so, under what circumstances, and
whether
it may thus preclude the application of the Refugee
Convention. The focus will be on the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees owing to its significant role in the
protection of Internally Displaced Persons, persons who often go on to
make
a refugee claim upon fleeing the state. The article
will first put forward an interpretation of the term ‘protection of
that
country’, by examining the refugee definition, in
particular the meaning of the terms ‘that country’ and ‘protection’; by
analysing relevant principles of EU law; and by
outlining how these concepts have been elaborated by relevant
jurisprudence
on international organizations. The second half of
the article will analyse the legal basis and scope of UNHCR’s mandate
with
IDPs, and will conclude by illustrating the reasons
why the activities of UNHCR cannot constitute ‘protection of that
country’
for the purposes of precluding the application of
the refugee definition.
