Proceedings of the International scientific and practical conference ―The Hague Conference on Science and Public Policy‖ (May 8-10, 2026) / Publisher website: www.naukainfo.com. – The Hague, Netherlands, 2026. - 232 p.

158 The legal status of foreigners, migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers is characterized by an increased level of vulnerability in the field of the protection and safeguarding of human rights, particularly in the context of the application by States of measures of forced removal. Under such circumstances, particular importance is attached to the principle of non-refoulement, which occupies a central place within the system of international protection of human rights and refugees and constitutes one of the fundamental guarantees against the return of a person to a State where his or her life or freedom may be threatened on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion [1]. This principle is primarily aimed at protecting persons who may be subjected to persecution, violence, or other serious human rights violations, including refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons in need of international protection [2, p. 1274]. The principle of non-refoulement was first normatively enshrined in Article 33 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees; however, the subsequent development of international law led to a significant expansion of its scope of application [1]. The contemporary international legal understanding of the principle of non-refoulement extends beyond the specialized institution of refugee protection and applies to any person regardless of his or her legal status. The application of the principle of non-refoulement is not dependent upon the formal recognition of a person as a refugee or as a person in need of complementary protection. Accordingly, compliance with the requirements of non-refoulement must be assessed in every case of forced return, expulsion, or extradition of an individual [3]. In this regard, the principle has acquired a universal character and is regarded as one of the fundamental guarantees of human rights protection. Its normative basis is contained not only in specialized international legal instruments relating to refugee protection, but also in the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter – the ECHR), in particular Article 3, which establishes an absolute prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment [4].