2005 (Executive Committee—56th Session) Recalling Executive Committee Conclusion No. 15, that decisions by States with regard to the granting of asylum shall be made without discrimination as to race, religion, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, nationality or country of origin; and acknowledging in this context that integration potential should not be a criterion for granting asylum, (a) Recognizes that the provisions of this Conclusion are intended to guide States in their consideration of whether local integration may be an appropriate durable solution for persons accepted as refugees in their territory pursuant to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, or under the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, or the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, or under domestic law, as applicable, as well as when implementing it; (b) Acknowledges the importance of comprehensive approaches especially for the resolution of protracted and large-scale refugee situations, which incorporate, as appropriate and given the specifics of each refugee situation, voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement; (c) Encourages States, UNHCR and other relevant actors to engage in consultations to develop, as early on as possible in a refugee situation, comprehensive arrangements that draw upon appropriate solutions, including through a combination of solutions, and which recognize the challenges involved with the timing and sequencing of solutions; and emphasizes the important place which local integration can have in such comprehensive arrangements; (d) Notes that the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol set out rights and minimum standards for the treatment of refugees that are geared towards the process of integration; recognizes the need for State Parties to implement their obligations under these instruments fully and effectively; and therefore encourages State Parties maintaining reservations to consider withdrawing them; and calls on States to facilitate, as appropriate, the integration of refugees, including, as far as possible, through facilitating their naturalization; (e) Encourages States, UNHCR and other relevant actors when preparing comprehensive arrangements to consider the characteristics of individuals and groups of refugees within a broader refugee population who could benefit from voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement; (f) Urges States and UNHCR to continue working proactively on local integration where appropriate and feasible and in a manner that takes into account the needs and views of both refugees and their hosting communities; (g) Notes that the criteria for identifying refugees who could benefit from local integration should be clear and objective and be applied in a non-discriminatory manner; (h) Reaffirms the importance, in this respect, of registration, or ad hoc surveys where these take place, as a means of facilitating the implementation of appropriate durable solutions; and encourages States and UNHCR to utilize the registration data of refugees in this process, in a manner that fully respects international norms and standards regarding the protection of personal data; (i) Notes that characteristics which may assist in determining circumstances in which local integration can be an appropriate durable solution could include, subject to States' consideration: (i) refugees born in asylum countries who might otherwise become stateless; and/or (ii) refugees who, due to their personal circumstances including the reasons prompting their flight, are unlikely to be able to repatriate to their country of origin in the foreseeable future; and/or (iii) refugees who have established close family, social, cultural and economic links with their country of asylum, including those who already have, or have the capacity to attain, a considerable degree of socio-economic integration. (j) Welcomes the practice in States with developed asylum systems of allowing refugees to integrate locally; and calls on these States to continue supporting refugees' ability to attain this durable solution through the timely grant of a secure legal status and residency rights, and/or to facilitate naturalization; (k) Acknowledges that the process of local integration is complex and gradual, comprising three distinct but inter-related legal, economic, and social and cultural dimensions, all of which are important for refugees' ability to integrate successfully as fully included members of society; and notes that refugees' understanding of these dimensions may need to be facilitated through proper counselling and advice; (l) Affirms the particular importance of the legal dimension of integration, which entails the host State granting refugees a secure legal status and a progressively wider range of rights and entitlements that are broadly 180