page_title: Right of asylum
hierarchical_section_title: Right of asylum
caption_attribution_description: English: Sanctuary ring on a door of the portal of the Virgin, on the western facade of Notre-Dame de Paris (France). In Middle Ages, grasping this kind of ring on a church door gave the right of asylum. Français&#160;: Anneau du droit d'asile sur un vantail du portail de la Vierge, sur la façade occidentale de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (France). Au Moyen Âge, saisir ce type d'anneau à la porte d'une église procurait le droit d'asile.
context_page_description: The right of asylum is an ancient juridical concept, under which a person persecuted by one's own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, such as another country or church official, who in medieval times could offer sanctuary. This right was recognized by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition. René Descartes fled to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, and Thomas Hobbes to France, because each state offered protection to persecuted foreigners.
  The Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews recognized a religious "right of asylum", protecting criminals from legal action to some extent. This principle was later adopted by the established Christian church, and various rules were developed that detailed how to qualify for protection and what degree of protection one would receive.
  The Council of Orleans decided in 511, in the presence of Clovis I, that asylum could be granted to anyone who took refuge in a church or on church property, or at the home of a bishop. This protection was extended to murderers, thieves and adulterers alike.
context_section_description: The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; from the Ancient Greek word ἄσυλον) is an ancient juridical concept, under which a person persecuted by one's own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, such as another country or church official, who in medieval times could offer sanctuary. This right was recognized by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition. René Descartes fled to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, and Thomas Hobbes to France, because each state offered protection to persecuted foreigners.
  The Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews recognized a religious "right of asylum", protecting criminals (or those accused of crime) from legal action to some extent. This principle was later adopted by the established Christian church, and various rules were developed that detailed how to qualify for protection and what degree of protection one would receive.
  The Council of Orleans decided in 511, in the presence of Clovis I, that asylum could be granted to anyone who took refuge in a church or on church property, or at the home of a bishop. This protection was extended to murderers, thieves and adulterers alike.
  That "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution" is enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and supported by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Under these agreements, a refugee is a person who is outside that person's own country's territory owing to fear of persecution on protected grounds, including race, caste, nationality, religion, political opinions and participation in any particular social group or social activities.
caption: Sanctuary ring on a door of Notre-Dame de Paris (France).
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