Welcome to the Fifth Edition of The Refugee Law Reader, which is the first comprehensive on-line model curriculum for the study of the complex and rapidly evolving field of international asylum and refugee law. The Fifth Edition is an expanded ‘universal’ edition introducing new regional legal sections on Africa, Asia and Latin America. In order to better serve a global community, we now have independent editions in French, Russian and Spanish. As a ‘living book’, new editions of The Reader always reflect the most important developments in International Refugee Law that have occurred since the first online publication in April 2004. The Reader is aimed for the use of professors, lawyers, advocates and students across a wide range of national jurisdictions. It provides a flexible course structure that can be easily adapted to meet a range of training and resource needs. The Reader also offers access to the complete texts of up-to-date core legal materials, instruments, and academic commentary. In its entirety, the Refugee Law Reader is designed to provide a full curriculum for a 48 hour course in International Refugee Law and contains over 700 documents and materials.