[4] Nevertheless, ideas like the principle of non-refoulement (non-returning of refugees to dangerous countries) (Article 33) are still applied today, with the 1951 Convention being the source of such rights.

[5] Prior to the 1951 convention, the League of Nations' Convention relating to the International Status of Refugees, of 28 October 1933, dealt with administrative measures such as the issuance of Nansen certificates, refoulement, legal questions, labour conditions, industrial accidents, welfare and relief, education, fiscal regime and exemption from reciprocity, and provided for the creation of committees for refugees.

[5] However, the League of Nations' convention was primarily designed for the relief of refugees from the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and from the Russian Revolution, and was only ratified by nine countries, limiting its scope.

[5] The 1951 Convention was adopted by a United Nations Conference on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons, convened in Geneva in 1951.

[9] Article 1 of the Convention defines a refugee as a person who:[10][11] As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.With the passage of time and the emergence of new refugee situations, the need was increasingly felt to make the provisions of the 1951 Convention applicable to such new refugees.

[13] The Protocol defined refugee to mean any person within the 1951 Convention definition as if the words "As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and ..." were omitted.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has supervisory responsibilities but cannot enforce the convention, and there is no formal mechanism for individuals to file complaints.