1998 (Executive Committee—49th Session) CONCLUSIONS ADOPTED BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF REFUGEES 1 No. 85 (XLIX) - CONCLUSION ON INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION (1998) The Executive Committee, The protection situation (a) Welcomes that many States continue to grant asylum to refugees, both on an individual basis and in situations of mass influx, in accordance with international law and with internationally established principles and standards, but deplores the numerous and serious breaches of such law, principles and standards by some States; (b) Deplores, in particular, that in certain situations, refugees, as well as returnees and other persons of concern to UNHCR, have been subjected to armed attacks, murder, rape and other serious violations of or threats to their personal security, including through denial of access to safety, refoulement or expulsion to highly dangerous situations; (c) Expresses deep concern about the increasing use of war and violence as a means to carry out persecutory policies against groups targeted on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion; (d) Reiterates that refugee protection is primarily the responsibility of States and that it is best achieved through effective cooperation between all States and UNHCR, as well as other international organizations and pertinent actors, in a spirit of international solidarity and burden-sharing; (e) Encourages UNHCR and States to strengthen their efforts to promote broader accession to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol and to cooperate to promote a universal and full implementation of these instruments; Human rights and refugee protection (f) Notes that the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being commemorated this year and reaffirms that the institution of asylum, which derives directly from the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution set out in Article 14 of the Declaration, is among the most basic mechanisms for the protection of refugees; (g) Recognizes that the refugee experience, in all its stages, is closely linked to the degree of respect by States for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the related refugee protection principles, and reaffirms the importance in this regard of educational and other programmes to combat racism, discrimination and xenophobia, to promote tolerance and respect for all persons and their human rights, to advance the rule of law and legal and judicial capacity-building, and to strengthen civil society and sustainable development; (h) Deplores that serious and repeated violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are one of the principal reasons for refugee flows, continue both in peace and in times of armed conflict; (i) Encourages UNHCR to strengthen further its collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and with relevant human rights bodies and mechanisms, as well as with non-governmental organizations, with a view to strengthening refugee protection, keeping in mind the need to improve coordination, promote complementarity, avoid duplication of efforts and to preserve the distinct character of the respective mandates; (j) Deplores gender-related violence and all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex directed against refugee and displaced women and girls, and calls on States to ensure that their human rights and physical and psychological integrity are protected, and that they are made aware of these rights; 1 Contained in United Nations General Assembly Document No. 12A (A/53/12/Add.1) 127