Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa
A/RES/73/150
of refugee protection, including the humane treatment of asylum seekers, notes with
interest that the High Commissioner has continued to take steps to encourage the
development of measures to better ensure the civilian and humanitarian character of
asylum, and encourages the High Commissioner to continue those efforts, in
consultation with States and other relevant actors;
25. Deplores the continuing violence and insecurity, which constitute an
ongoing threat to the safety and security of staff members of the Office of the High
Commissioner and other humanitarian organizations and an obstacle to the effective
fulfilment of the mandate of the Office and the ability of its implementing p artners
and other humanitarian personnel to discharge their respective humanitarian
functions, urges States, parties to conflict and all other relevant actors to take all
measures necessary to protect activities related to humanitarian assistance, prevent
attacks on and kidnapping of national and international humanitarian workers and
ensure the safety and security of the personnel and property of the Office and that of
all humanitarian organizations discharging functions mandated by the Office, and
calls upon States to investigate fully any crime committed against humanitarian
personnel and bring to justice the persons responsible for such crimes;
26. Calls upon the Office of the High Commissioner, the African Union,
subregional organizations and all African States, in conjunction with agencies of the
United Nations system, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and
the international community, to strengthen and revitalize existing partnerships and
forge new ones in support of the protection system for refugees, asylum seekers and
internally displaced persons, and encourages African States that have not yet done so
to consider ratifying and enforcing the Convention on the Safety of United Nations
and Associated Personnel; 13
27. Calls upon the Office of the High Commissioner, the international
community, donors and other entities concerned to continue and, where appropriate,
to intensify their support to African Governments through appropriate capacity building activities, including training of relevant officers, disseminating information
about refugee instruments and principles, providing financial, technical, legal and
advisory services to accelerate the enactment or amendment and implementation of
legislation relating to refugees, strengthening emergency response and enhancing
capacities for the coordination of humanitarian activities, in particular to those
Governments that have received large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers;
28. Reaffirms the right of return, in accordance with international law, and the
principle of voluntary repatriation, appeals to countries of origin and countries of
asylum to create conditions that are conducive to voluntary repatriation, and
recognizes that, while voluntary repatriation remains the pre -eminent solution, local
integration and third-country resettlement, where appropriate and feasible, are also
viable options for dealing with the situation of African refugees who, owing to
prevailing circumstances in their respective countries of origin, are unable to return
home;
29. Also reaffirms that voluntary repatriation should not necessarily be
conditioned on the accomplishment of political solutions in the country of origin in
order not to impede the exercise of the refugees’ right to return, recognizes that the
voluntary repatriation and reintegration process is normally guided by the conditions
in the country of origin, in particular that voluntary repatriation can be accomplished
in conditions of safety and dignity, and urges the High Commissioner to pr omote
sustainable return through the development of durable and lasting solutions,
particularly in protracted refugee situations;
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