UN Refugee Convention turns 75 amid rising political pressures

The UN Convention on Refugees is marking its 75th anniversary this week, at a time when migration and asylum are increasingly divisive issues. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR), insists the convention remains relevant. “Refugee protection remains just as important today as it was 75 years ago,” Elisabeth Tan, the agency’s director of international protection told Swissinfo. The UN Convention on Refugees was drafted in 1951 in response to the horrors of the Second World War. It defined a refugee as…