Contact us
Menu

Principle of
non-refoulement

The expulsion of an individual to a country where they face a real risk of torture or other ill-treatment is absolutely prohibited under international human rights law. Under the UN Convention against Torture, the principle of non-refoulement must be applied without discrimination of any kind and regardless of an individual’s legal status under national law. However, OMCT’s research has documented cases in which people on the move were deported to third countries despite credible and documented risks of torture, abuse, or exploitation, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.

International law

Article 3 of the Convention against Torture (CAT) provides that no State shall expel, return, or extradite an individual to another country where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would face a risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Similarly, Article 33 of the Refugee Convention states that no State shall expel or return (“refouler”) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to territories where their life or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. While the Refugee Convention’s non-refoulement obligation applies specifically to recognized refugees, the absolute prohibition of torture under the CAT extends beyond the refugee framework and broadens the scope of protection, as it applies to everyone regardless of status or circumstance. Protection against refoulement therefore applies erga omnes to all people on the move, including refugees who have not been formally recognized as such and asylum seekers whose status has not yet been determined. In the context of migration, OMCT has documented cases in which people on the move were deported to third countries despite credible and documented risks of torture, abuse, or exploitation, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.

Case Studies

Tunisia
The Central Mediterranean region has become a lawless space, where deportations, interceptions at sea, pull and push backs are becoming normalized tools for migration control and border management. In Tunisia, the OMCT documented that the Tunisian authorities have resorted systematically since July 2023 to deportations of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers to both Algeria and Libya, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement. Moreover, the OMCT documented the use of violent interceptions to counter irregular border crossings . Following disembarkation, OMCT’s research and documentation work confirms that people on the move are usually detained, without access to humanitarian assistance, identification of vulnerabilities or referral to UNHCR to access asylum and international protection, and at risk of subsequent deportation to Libya or Algeria or internal forced and arbitrary displacement to border areas.
Libya
In Libya, interceptions off the Libyan coast are often conducted through violent and hazardous methods, including the use of firearms, physical abuse during boarding, and reckless navigation that has contributed to shipwrecks. In several instances, interference with NGO rescue vessels has disrupted life-saving operations and placed people on the move at immediate risk of drowning. These operations, often supported through cooperation with European actors, result in the disembarkation of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in a country that cannot be considered a safe place. Upon return, individuals are routinely subjected to arbitrary detention in facilities where conditions are widely documented as inhumane. The OMCT reaffirms that Libya cannot currently be considered safe places for the disembarkation of persons rescued at sea and that such disembarkations should be considered illegal returns in violation of the principle of non-refoulement. In addition to sea interceptions, deportations from Libya to countries such as Niger and Sudan have also been documented.
Human
stories
During the night of May 3 to 4, 2024, Tunisian security forces dismantled the informal settlements opposite the UNHCR and IOM headquarters in Tunis and forcibly displaced around 500 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Different groups of people expelled were deprived of their liberty and/or forcibly transferred to border areas. Human rights associations appealed to the United Nations protection bodies, and despite the multiple protection measures granted by the UN Human Rights Committee, some of these individuals were arrested and detained, while others were expelled to Algeria, separated from their wives and children. As of December 2024, several dozens of them remained stranded in Niger after being further expelled by Algerian authorities.
Useful resources: