Guidelines on International Protection No. 14: Non-penalization of refugees on account of their irregular entry or presence and restrictions on their movements in accordance with Article 31 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

Abstract UNHCR issues these Guidelines pursuant to its mandate, as contained in, inter alia, the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, namely paragraph 8(a), in conjunction with Article 35 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and Article II of its 1967 Protocol. These Guidelines have benefited from comprehensive research and multiple rounds of broad expert and public consultations. These Guidelines are intended to provide legal interpretative guidance for governments and other stakeholders, including policy- and decision-makers, border control authorities, prosecutorial authorities and asylum authorities, as well as legal practitioners, members of the judiciary and UNHCR staff. Calls for public consultation on future Guidelines will be posted online at: http://www.unhcr.org/544f59896.html.