난민여성의 보호 －난민협약상 사회집단의 구성원개념을 중심으로－

Abstract

The Refugee Convention defines refugees as those having well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Contracting Parties are obliged to protect refugees mainly through the obligation of non-refoulement. The Convention was originally based on the notion of political persecution and formulated during the Cold War between the East and the West. After the collapse of the Cold War, new types of persecution and persecutions not based on traditional categories have appeared. Under this circumstance, at issue is the protection of refugee women through the notion of membership of a particular social group. Gender is a very broad concept and therefore including women in membership of a particular social group can be controversial. However, UNHCR’s interpretation and states’s practice confirm that gender can be considered as membership of a social group. Some states grant refugee status even to those who are persecuted by local communities or individuals where the state is reluctant to protect the victim. This shows that the Convention is flexible to cope with emerging new types of persecution. On the other hand, it means that the universal definition of membership of social group has not been made. It would be desirable to develop our own notion of membership of a social group, especially to protect refugee women.