The contemporary relevance of Kant’s concept
of “temporary sojourn”
Kant’s claim that first entry cannot be denied to those
who seek it if this would result in their “destruction” (Untergang)
has become incorporated into the Geneva Convention
on the Status of Refugees as the principle of “non-refoulement”
(United Nations 1951). This principle obliges signatory states
not to forcibly return refugees and asylum seekers to their countries
of origin if doing so would pose a clear danger to their lives
and freedom. Of course, just as sovereign states can manipulate
this article to define life and freedom more or less narrowly
when it fits their purposes, it is also possible to circumvent the
“non-refoulement” clause by depositing refugees and asylees in
so-called safe third countries. Kant’s formulations clearly foresaw
as well as justified such balancing acts as between the moral
obligations of states to those who seek refuge in their midst and