As India plans to deport Rohingya Muslim immigrants, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) today said the principle of non-refoulement — or not sending back refugees to a place where they face danger — is binding on all states.
In an e-mail response to PTI's questions on the Rohingyas in India, the UN body said the principle is considered a part of customary international law and therefore is binding on all states, whether they have signed the Refugee Convention or not.
"In addition, India is party to major international human rights instruments, such as International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, Convention on the Rights of the Child," it said.