A/RES/70/135
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
course of the year, which is aimed at strengthening the international protection
regime and at assisting Governments in meeting their protection responsibilities;
2.
Endorses the report of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the work of its sixty -sixth
session; 2
3.
Recognizes the relevance of the Executive Committee’s practice of
adopting conclusions, encourages the Executive Committee to continue this process,
and welcomes the adoption of the decision on a multi-year workplan for Executive
Committee conclusions; 3
4.
Appreciates the convening of the high-level segment on the Afghan
refugee situation of the sixty-sixth session of the Executive Committee, welcomes
the statement adopted by the States members of the Executive Committee on
7 October 2015, 4 commends the efforts of Afghanistan, Iran (Islamic Republic of)
and Pakistan, as well as those of the Office of the High Commissioner, to align
policies, strategies and plans for voluntary repatriation and reintegration in the
country of origin, as well as assistance and continued protection for refugees in host
countries, and urges donors, development and humanitarian actors, United Nations
agencies, non-governmental organizations and civil society to render their
unequivocal support to enhance reintegration and absorption capacity in areas of
return, while also supporting refugees and host communities;
5.
Recalls the high-level segments of the sixty-fourth and sixty-fifth
sessions of the Executive Committee, renews its call upon all States to provide the
necessary support with a view to sharing the burden of the host countries, and
underscores the critical importance of development support for host communities;
6.
Welcomes the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 5
and its recognition of the needs of, among others, refugees and internally displaced
persons, and urges its full implementation;
7.
Reaffirms the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 6 and
the 1967 Protocol thereto 7 as the foundation of the international refugee protection
regime, recognizes the importance of their full and effective application by States
parties and the values they embody, notes with satisfaction that 148 States are now
parties to one or both instruments, encourages States not parties to consider
acceding to those instruments and States parties with reservations to give
consideration to withdrawing them, underlines, in particular, the importance of full
respect for the principle of non-refoulement, and recognizes that a number of States
not parties to the international refugee instruments have shown a generous approach
to hosting refugees;
8.
Urges States that are parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto to respect their obligations in letter and
spirit;
9.
Re-emphasizes that the protection of refugees is primarily the
responsibility of States, whose full and effective cooperation, action and political
resolve are required to enable the Office of the High Commissioner to fulfil its
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3
4
5
6
7
2/8
Ibid., chap. III, sect. E.
Ibid., annex II.
Resolution 70/1.
United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, No. 2545.
Ibid., vol. 606, No. 8791.