DREPTUL INTERNA?IONAL PUBLIC ?I DREPTUL UNIUNII EUROPENE CU PRIVIRE LA STATUTUL REFUGIA?ILOR

What we are witnessing today in Europe and especially within the European Union, is a general confusion generated by waves of migrants and possible risks to the security of the EU and its Member States. The confusion is also caused by the lack of adequate policies and strategies and a major absence of predictability, but also by incorrect approaches of situations caused by the huge number of people emigrating to Europe, especially to Western Europe, willing to settle here in a veritable exodus. Nevertheless, the genuine refugees are only a small part of these people. Public international law brings under regulation the protection of refugees by establishing a legal status for them in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted by the UNO in 1951. Unfortunately, international law has few provisions related to the protection of migrant persons, other than refugees. We believe that a fair approach to the status of refugees, as it is established by international treaties, is necessary in order to properly distinguish genuine refugees from other categories of migrants and thus to determine the obligations of European states (not only) concerning the refugees and what can the states do in order to protect the victims of certain special situations, such as armed conflicts, difficult economic life, natural disasters etc.