The Minimum Core: A Principled Approach to Refugee Determinations Based on Violations of Socio-Economic Rights

Abstract

This paper examines the minimum core approach to determining claims for refugee status based on violations of rights contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This approach was recently applied by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in BG (Fiji). As the only country to have applied the minimum core in refugee jurisprudence, New Zealand is boldly promoting the justiciability of ICESCR rights in this context. However, as the minimum core has only been applied to a handful of refugee decisions and there has been no significant discussion of its appropriateness this context, the exact operation of the concept in refugee jurisprudence is poorly understood. The reasoning and analysis of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in BG (Fiji) is used in this paper as a springboard for a wider discussion of the minimum core concept in refugee jurisprudence.