Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights claim that the right of return to one's own country is a human right, numerous scholars have interpreted this to mean citizens or nationals of the country, as well as applying only to the individuals who were personally displaced, not to their descendants.

Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not binding under U. S. law the way a treaty is, this type of norm is recognized as a source of international law in such treaties as the Statute of the International Court of Justice, to which the U. S. is a party:

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