Editing Search and rescue (section)

==2.1.2 Non-refoulement Principle==
The principle of non-refoulement refers to the obligation on states not to send individuals to territories in which they may be persecuted, or in which they are at risk of torture or other serious harm. It may not immediately correlate with the right of every one to seek asylum, but it does clearly place limits on what states may lawfully do.

This rule is solidly grounded in international human rights and refugee law, in treaty, in doctrine, and in customary international law. It is an inherent aspect of the absolute prohibition of torture, even sharing perhaps in some of the latter's jus cogens character. It applies independently of any formal recognition of refugee status or entitlement to other forms of protection, and it applies to the actions of states, wherever undertaken, whether at the land border, or in maritime zones, including the high seas.

Its essential characteristics are acts attributable to the state or other international actor, which have the foreseeable effect of exposing the individual to a serious risk of irreversible harm, contrary to international law.
UNHCR's Executive Committee, indeed, has particularly emphasised the importance of fully respecting the principle of non-refoulement in the context of maritime operations:

''‘… interception measures should not result in asylum-seekers and refugees being denied access to international protection, or in those in need of international protection being returned, directly or indirectly, to the frontiers of territories where their life or freedom would be threatened on account of a Convention ground, or where the person has other grounds for protection based on international law.’''