The Social Dimension of the 1951 Refugee Convention: Balancing International Protection and Social Security Coordination in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract This article advances a doctrinal reinterpretation of the social dimension of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. It challenges the assumption that bilateral social security coordination mechanisms operate as neutral instruments of transnational administration, arguing that, in situations of forced migration, they may instead function as structural barriers to the effective enjoyment of refugee rights. It argues that Articles 24 and 25 of the Refugee Convention require host states to ensure effective access to social security through functional substitution. The article concludes that refugee protection requires protection-sensitive social security coordination consistent with international and European legal obligations.