2003 (Executive Committee—54th Session) where, in relation to the above, the person or persons do not have the required documentation or valid permission to enter; and that such measures also serve to protect the lives and security of the travelling public as well as persons being smuggled or transported in an irregular manner; (a) Recommends that interception measures be guided by the following considerations in order to ensure the adequate treatment of asylum-seekers and refugees amongst those intercepted; (i) The State within whose sovereign territory, or territorial waters, interception takes place has the primary responsibility for addressing any protection needs of intercepted persons; (ii) All intercepted persons should be treated, at all times, in a humane manner respectful of their human rights. State authorities and agents acting on behalf of the intercepting State should take, consistent with their obligations under international law, all appropriate steps in the implementation of interception measures to preserve and protect the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons intercepted; (iii) Interception measures should take into account the fundamental difference, under international law, between those who seek and are in need of international protection, and those who can resort to the protection of their country of nationality or of another country; (iv) Interception measures should not result in asylum-seekers and refugees being denied access to international protection, or result 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. Intercepted persons found to be in need of international protection should have access to durable solutions; (v) The special needs of women and children and those who are otherwise vulnerable should be considered as a matter of priority; (vi) Intercepted asylum-seekers and refugees should not become liable to criminal prosecution under the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea or Air for the fact of having been the object of conduct set forth in article 6 of the Protocol; nor should any intercepted person incur any penalty for illegal entry or presence in a State in cases where the terms of Article 31 of the 1951 Convention are met; (vii) Intercepted persons who do not seek or who are determined not to be in need of international protection should be returned swiftly to their respective countries of origin or other country of nationality or habitual residence and States are encouraged to cooperate in facilitating this process; 8 (viii) All persons, including officials of a State, and employees of a commercial entity, implementing interception measures should receive specialized training, including available means to direct intercepted persons expressing international protection needs to the appropriate authorities in the State where the interception has taken place, or, where appropriate, to UNHCR; (b) Encourages States to generate and share more detailed information on interception, including numbers, nationalities, gender and numbers of minors intercepted, as well as information on State practice, having due consideration for security and data protection concerns subject to the domestic laws and international obligations of those States; (c) Encourages States to further study interception measures, including their impact on other States, with a view to ensuring that these do not interfere with obligations under international law. 8 See Conclusion on the return of persons found not to be in need of international protection. (A/AC.96/987, para. 21) 156