About the publication
This article contests claims of Asian exceptionalism by examining the unique case of Bangladesh, a principal refugee-hosting State in South Asia, which came close to acceding to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in 1989.
By framing this episode as a ‘near accession’, the article concludes that the traditional understanding of the Asian rejection of the 1951 Convention remains fluid; some States in the region may view their position in relation to the Convention from a different perspective.
Using a general inductive approach, drawing on materials from the Archives and Records Division at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees headquarters, together with interviews conducted during fieldwork in Bangladesh, the article offers a socio-legal historical examination of the moment when Bangladesh formally decided to accede to the Convention.
The empirical study of Bangladesh’s ‘near accession’ challenges the notion of uniformity in South Asia in relation to the 1951 Convention, and thereby provides new insights into our understanding of non-signatory States and, more broadly, into the study of international refugee law.