The U.N. Refugee Convention in the U.S. and Canada: Substantive Benefits, or Just Lip Service?

In an era of mass migration, asylum procedures have come under new scrutiny. In this paper, I will look at the origins of the United Nations Refugee Convention, compare its implementation today in the United States and Canada, and analyze how well (or poorly) the American and Canadian systems comport with the Convention’s requirements. After discussing some substantive differences in American and Canadian asylum and refugee law, I will then turn to some of the procedural differences between the systems, which have less high-profile but often equally significant impacts on the lives of people seeking recognition as refugees. I will also discuss a few points of strength and areas of opportunity for growth in the systems, focusing in particular on a few lessons that the United States might be able to learn from its neighbor to the north.