UNHCR official warns that the 1951 refugee convention is increasingly under threat

The U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday that governments around the world, especially in the Global North, which includes the United States and countries in Europe, are increasingly undermining the global convention on refugees and asylum-seekers — even threatening its very existence.

The stark warning by UNHCR came on the 75th anniversary of the U.N. Refugee Convention, a 1951 document that defines who refugees are and outlines the responsibilities of countries hosting them.

Countries have moved to suspend applications for asylum — requests for international protection by those who say they face war or persecution for their religion, race, nationality, sexuality or for their political beliefs if they were to return home.

“I am not exaggerating when I say that the institution of the asyl