2004 (Executive Committee—55th Session) CONCLUSIONS ADOPTED BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON THE INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF REFUGEES 1 No. 99 (LV) – GENERAL (2004) The Executive Committee, (a) Welcomes the information on implementation of the Agenda for Protection by UNHCR, States and non-governmental organizations contained in this year's Note on International Protection 2 ; notes that the Agenda for Protection was welcomed by the General Assembly of the United Nations 3 ; emphasizes its continuing importance; and encourages all concerned actors to provide timely information on their own followup activities to enable UNHCR to comply with the Executive Committee's request to be kept informed, through its Standing Committee, of the progress achieved and initiatives taken to implement the Agenda for Protection; (b) Encourages States, UNHCR, other inter-governmental as well as non-governmental organizations to identify opportunities particularly at the national and regional level to cooperate and to consider their respective contributions to the implementation of the Agenda's Programme of Action; (c) Welcomes the accession of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the 1967 Protocol; appeals to States which have not acceded to the 1951 Convention and/or the 1967 Protocol to consider doing so and to States which have made reservations to these instruments to consider lifting them; and reiterates the central place of these instruments in the international refugee protection regime and the importance of their full implementation; (d) Notes with appreciation the sustained efforts by UNHCR to address concerns relating to the protection needs of refugee women and children, including through a range of measures which aim to assure the implementation of the High Commissioner's five commitments to refugee women, as well as the translation into concrete action of the five global concerns for refugee children; and calls on UNHCR to report on the results of its implementation of these initiatives; (e) Recognizes that some countries of asylum, in particular developing countries and countries in transition which host large numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers, carry a heavy burden; and reiterates in this regard its strong commitment to international solidarity and burden and responsibility sharing; (f) Recalls its Conclusion No. 91 (LII) on registration of refugees and asylum-seekers; reiterates the fundamental importance of early registration as a key protection tool and the critical role of material, financial, technical and human resources in assisting host countries in registering and documenting refugees and asylumseekers, particularly developing countries confronted with large-scale influxes and protracted refugee situations; welcomes in this context the significant progress achieved in the area of registration as evidenced by the ongoing roll-out of registration and documentation activities under the auspices of Project Profile; and encourages States and UNHCR to continue their work in this regard with the assistance of other relevant actors as appropriate; (g) Welcomes the development of asylum legislation and the establishment of processes for status determination and admission in a number of countries, often with the help and advice of UNHCR; encourages the States concerned to continue to strengthen their capacity; and welcomes in this regard the technical and financial support of other States and UNHCR as appropriate; (h) Welcomes the significant achievements in voluntary repatriation over the course of the past year 4 and the further potential for the sustainable voluntary return of considerable numbers of refugees, as a result of peacemaking, reconciliation and reconstruction efforts which have contributed to the resolution of certain longrunning conflicts; acknowledges the importance of ensuring the ongoing voluntary nature of refugee returns and the full and equal participation of refugee women in the pursuit of voluntary repatriation and the consolidation 1 Contained in United Nations General Assembly Document No. 12A (A/59/12/Add.1) A/AC.96/989 3 A/RES/57/187 4 An illustrative list of major voluntary return operations is included in Section VII of the 2004 Note on International Protection, A/AC.96/989. 2 160