European refugee law and the situation of refugees in East Africa

European refugee policy shapes and influences refugee policies and the situation of refugees around the world. It has created a body of binding rules and procedures on refugee protection, status determination procedures and social rights, and it has thus contributed to the evolution of international refugee law. This has an impact far beyond the borders of the European Union. This paper traces the similarities and discrepancies between the Common European Asylum System and the refugee protection systems in East African jurisdictions. The description of the respective laws and policies governing refugee status and procedural rights, refugees’ access to social, economic and other rights, as well as durable solutions, shows that refugee protection systems in the European Union and in East African jurisdictions are structurally similar with regard to the restrictions placed on the rights of refugees, whereas positive aspects of a harmonised European refugee policy have little in common with the situation in East African jurisdictions.