Displacement and Social and Economic Rights

Socioeconomic deprivation constitutes both a cause and consequence of forced displacement yet has proven a contentious issue in debates concerning the scope and ambit of protection obligations at international law. While there has been considerable normative movement in recent decades, with international refugee law evolving beyond binary distinctions between “economic migrants” and “refugees,” refugee law still lags developments in international human rights law that have elevated both the importance and content of social and economic rights. This chapter highlights the most pressing and controversial issues in ensuring social and economic rights in the context of displacement across borders. It argues for a more ambitious approach to the progressive development of international law on these issues in both scholarship and jurisprudence and highlights those areas most in need of attention.