Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in the context of "Multilateral treaty"

Koreans in Japan (在日韓国人・在日本朝鮮人・朝鮮人, Zainichi Kankokujin/Zainihon Chōsenjin/Chōsenjin) (Korean: 재일 한국/조선인) are ethnic Koreans who immigrated to Japan before 1945 and are citizens or permanent residents of Japan, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South Korean nationals who have immigrated to Japan since the end of World War II and the division of Korea.

They currently constitute the third largest ethnic minority group in Japan after Chinese immigrants. Their population declined significantly due to death, returning to Korea, and assimilating into the general Japanese population. The majority of Koreans in Japan are Zainichi Koreans (在日韓国・朝鮮人, Zainichi Kankoku/Chōsenjin), often known simply as Zainichi (在日; lit. 'in Japan'), who are ethnic Korean permanent residents of Japan. The term Zainichi Korean refers only to long-term Korean residents of Japan who trace their roots to Korea under Japanese rule, distinguishing them from the later wave of Korean migrants who came mostly in the 1980s, and from pre-modern immigrants dating back to antiquity, possibly including the Yayoi people who constitute the biggest ancestral group of the Japanese people.

Non-refoulement (/rəˈfuːlmɒ̃/) is a fundamental principle of international law anchored in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees that forbids a country from deporting ("refoulement") any person to any country in which their "life or freedom would be threatened" on account of "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion". The only exception to non-refoulement according to Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees are "reasonable grounds" of "danger to the security of the country" or "danger to the community of that country". Unlike political asylum, which applies only to those who can prove a well-grounded fear of political persecution, non-refoulement refers to the generic deportation of people, including refugees into war zones and other disaster locales.

Non-refoulement is generally seen as customary international law, where it applies even to states that are not parties to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. It is debatable whether non-refoulement is a peremptory norm (jus cogens) of international law, where non-refoulement must always be applied without any adjustment for any purpose or under any circumstances (derogation). The debate over jus cogens nature of non-refoulement was rekindled following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States as well as other terrorist attacks in Europe.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1239, adopted on 14 May 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998) and 1203 (1998), the Council called for access for the United Nations and other humanitarian personnel operating in Kosovo to other parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).

The Security Council recalled the United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international agreements and conventions on human rights, the Conventions and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and other instruments of international humanitarian law. It expressed concern at the humanitarian catastrophe occurring in and around Kosovo as a result of the continuing crisis. Furthermore, there was concern for the influx of Kosovan refugees into Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries. In this regard it noted the intention of the Secretary-General Kofi Annan to send a mission to Kosovo to assess humanitarian needs.

A refugee travel document (also called a 1951 Convention travel document or Geneva passport) is a travel document issued to a refugee by the state which they normally reside in, allowing them to travel outside that state and to return there. Refugees are unlikely to be able to obtain passports from their state of nationality (from which they have sought asylum) and therefore need travel documents so that they might engage in international travel.

The 145 states which are parties to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees are obliged to issue travel documents to refugees lawfully resident in their territory.