Agenda for Protection (Third Edition) - PoA-ISS

AgendaFORPROTECTION

AGENDAPROTECTIONFORTHIRD EDITIONOctober 2003

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONCONTENTSForeword by the High CommissionerAn OverviewAgenda for ProtectionIntroductionDeclaration of States PartiesProgramme of Action5 to 79 to 1921 to 2223 to 2829 to 88GOAL 1Strengthening implementation of the 1951Convention and 1967 Protocol31to41GOAL 245 to 51Protecting refugees within broader migration movementsGOAL 355 to 61Sharing burdens and responsibilities more equitablyand building capacities to receive and protect refugeesGOAL 465 to 69Addressing security-related concerns more effectivelyGOAL 5Redoubling the search for durable solutions73 to 81GOAL 6Meeting the protection needs of refugee womenand refugee children85 to 882

List of Documents91 to 99General Conclusion on International ProtectionN o . 92 (LIII) - 2002101 to 103Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's ProgrammeResolution A/RES/57/187General Assembly of the United Nations104 to 109Thematic IndexPhoto Credits110 to 1231243

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONToday’s refugee situations challenge the internationalcommunity as never before to improve the global governancestructure for refugees. The Agenda for Protection offers botha realistic and ambitious way forward. It is realistic becauseit reflects a shared understanding of protection challengesderiving from the broad, participatory dialogue nurtured bythe Global Consultations. It is ambitious because itrecognizes that improved refugee protection can only beachieved through considerably enhanced multilateralcooperation and through shared commitment to implementnew, practical arrangements to address current protectiongaps. We need new approaches, tools and standards tounderpin the present protection regime and enhance both thelegal and physical protection of refugees.As acknowledged in the Declaration of States Parties adoptedat the Ministerial Meeting in Geneva in December 2001 andthe Agenda for Protection, the 1951 Refugee Conventionremains the cornerstone of the international refugeeprotection regime, yet it alone does not suffice. The Agendafor Protection is thus about building on the Convention. I callthis the “Convention Plus” approach.The “plus” concerns the development of special agreementsor multilateral arrangements to ensure improved burdensharing, with countries in the North and South workingtogether to find durable solutions for refugees. This includescomprehensive plans of action to deal with mass outflows,and agreements on “secondary movements”, whereby theroles and responsibilities of countries of origin, transit, andpotential destination are better defined. It also includesagreements aimed at better targeting development assistance6

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONin refugees’ regions of origin, and multilateral commitmentsfor resettlement of refugees.This publication is a response to a request from UNHCR’sExecutive Committee to disseminate the Agenda forProtection widely and to engage partners actively in itsfollow-up. This process has already begun. UNHCR looksforward to continued and strengthened cooperation withStates, intergovernmental and non-governmentalorganizations, development partners and refugeesthemselves, to pursue implementation of the Agenda forProtection in the coming years.Ruud Lubbers7

AGENDAPROTECTIONFORAn OverviewFollowing 18 months of discussions among governments,intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations(NGOs), refugee experts and UNHCR – known as the GlobalConsultations on International Protection – UNHCR andStates adopted a joint Agenda for Protection. The Agenda is anambitious, yet practical, programme of action to improve theprotection of refugees and asylum-seekers around the world. Itis intended to serve as a guide for concrete action, not only byUNHCR, but also by governments, NGOs and other partners.Although not a legally binding document, the Agenda hasconsiderable political weight, as it reflects a broad consensuson what specific actions can and should be undertaken toachieve certain agreed goals in refugee protection. The Agenda9

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONdoes not address all protection problems facing refugees today;but it does focus on those issues and activities that wouldbenefit from multilateral commitment and cooperation. Whileconfirming certain policy directions and guiding operationalplanning for UNHCR, the Agenda also calls on governmentsand partner organizations to do their part in upholding andstrengthening the international protection regime.The Agenda consists of two sections: the Declaration of StatesParties and a Programme of Action. The Declaration wasadopted at the conclusion of the December 2001 MinisterialMeeting of States Parties to the 1951 Convention relating tothe Status of Refugees and/or its 1967 Protocol. In adopting theDeclaration, States Parties reaffirmed the validity of the 1951Convention and pledged to meet their obligations under thetreaty and to uphold the values and principles embodied in theConvention and its 1967 Protocol. In effect, the Declarationunderpins the entire Programme of Action.The Programme of Action identifies specific objectives andactivities grouped according to six inter-related goals:strengthening implementation of the 1951 Convention and its1967 Protocol; protecting refugees within broader migrationmovements; sharing burdens and responsibilities moreequitably and building capacities to receive and protectrefugees; addressing security-related concerns moreeffectively; redoubling the search for durable solutions forrefugees; and meeting the protection needs of refugee womenand children. All of the goals are equally important. Certainthemes, such as burden-sharing and improving protection ofrefugee women and children, run throughout the entireAgenda.10

AGENDAFORPROTECTION1The 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol are the cornerstonesof the international refugee protection regime. Strengtheningimplementation of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocolis thus the first step in improving protection of refugees andasylum-seekers. The Programme of Action suggests that this canbe done in a number of ways, including by working towardsuniversal accession to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol,by improving individual States’ asylum procedures and trying toharmonize those procedures among States, by offering otherforms of protection to those who need it but may not qualifyunder the 1951 Convention’s definition and, conversely, bytaking immediate action to exclude those who do not deserveinternational protection.Within individual countries, the government, NGOs andUNHCR are encouraged to work to create a climate moreconducive to refugee protection. This will involve fosteringgreater respect for refugees through, for example,public-awareness campaigns, ensuring that there are adequatereception facilities for those seeking asylum, registering eachasylum-seeker and refugee individually and providing him/herwith appropriate documentation, and developing systematicresponses to mass influxes.Addressing the factors that trigger mass movements ofpopulations is equally important. The Programme of Actioncalls on States, intergovernmental organizations and UNHCRto examine the root causes of refugee movements, particularlyarmed conflict, and to devote greater resources, both humanand financial, in developing respect for human rights,11

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONdemocratic values and good governance in refugee-producingcountries and in supporting the work of the United Nations inconflict-prevention, conflict-resolution and peacekeeping.2Refugees move within broader population flows that are alsocomposed of economic and other categories of migrants. Withonly limited migration options available, many persons whoare not refugees try to enter countries as asylum-seekers.Protecting refugees within broader migration movementscan be achieved by encouraging States to develop migrationmanagement policies that do not jeopardize refugee protectionand that promote a more positive environment for asylum byreducing strains on asylum systems. UNHCR, the InternationalOrganization for Migration, other intergovernmental agenciesand States are to collect more data on the nexus betweenasylum and migration. The aim is to better understand “push”and “pull” migration factors, or those factors that drive peopleout of their home countries and lure them to other countries,human smuggling, travel routes and other aspects of complexmixed movements that include refugees.States are encouraged to ensure that any immigration-controlmeasures they adopt will contain safeguards allowing access tointernational protection for those who need it. These kinds ofsafeguards should also be applied during rescue-at-seaoperations and during any attempts to intercept migrantsbefore they reach their intended destinations. In addition,strategies will be developed to ensure that those asylumseekersfound not to be in need of international protection willbe returned to their home countries quickly, but humanely andwith respect for their human rights and dignity.12

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONThe Programme of Action also calls for combatting humantrafficking and smuggling. It encourages States to accede tothe 2000 United Nations Convention against TransnationalOrganized Crime and its Protocols, to launch informationcampaigns aimed at potential migrants that will warn about thedangers of human smuggling and trafficking and will informabout legal immigration opportunities, and to publicize thepenalties they will impose for trafficking in people.3The Declaration of States Parties recognizes that theinternational regime for refugee protection is strengthenedthrough multilateral cooperation. The proposed activitiescontained in the Programme of Action are based on theconcept of sharing burdens and responsibilities moreequitably and building capacity to receive and protectrefugees. To achieve this goal, UNHCR is called upon to workwith States, particularly first-asylum States, to develop specificburden-sharing agreements that would be applied in responseto mass influxes and to resolve protracted refugee situations.The High Commissioner has termed this and certain relatedefforts “Convention Plus”, since the intention is to build on the1951 Convention by developing special agreements andmultilateral arrangements to improve responsibility-sharing.States will also work with UNHCR, other intergovernmentalorganizations and NGOs to improve their capacities to protectrefugees, including by boosting their ability to provideessential services, such as education and vocational training.The Programme also promotes linking refugee issues withnational, regional and multilateral development plans. Forexample, States are encouraged to consider allocating a13

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONpercentage of their development funds to programmes thatsimultaneously benefit refugees and the local population inhost countries.States are also encouraged to maker greater use ofresettlement, both as a protection and burden-sharing tool,particularly in mass-influx situations. Since responsibilitysharinginvolves participation among a broad array of partnersin protection, the Programme of Action aims to strengthenrelationships with civil society, including NGOs, and tonurture community-based systems of protection within refugeepopulations.4Another of the Programme’s goals, addressing securityrelatedconcerns more effectively, focuses on the myriadsecurity problems confronting refugees. The breakdown insocial and cultural systems, the separation from or loss offamily members and community, and the impunity with whichperpetrators of crimes against refugees act, render refugees,and particularly refugee women and children, vulnerable toabuse. All too often, refugee women endure rape, abductionand trafficking at the hands of fellow refugees, hostcommunities, local authorities or humanitarian workers.Refugees, especially girls, are frequently subjected to sexualexploitation, violence and abuse. Armed groups and nationalarmed forces frequently target refugee children andadolescents for forcible military recruitment.The Programme of Action proposes measures to ensure thatStates and UNHCR work together to preserve the civiliancharacter of asylum. These will entail separating armedelements from refugee populations and developing14

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONarrangements among States, UNHCR, the UN Department ofPeacekeeping Operations and other UN and intergovernmentalorganizations to safeguard the security of refugees.To keep refugee children and adolescents safe from forciblemilitary recruitment, States are to work to ensure that refugeechildren and adolescents have access to education andvocational training and to offer training to refugee populationson how to prevent military recruitment. States are encouragedto ratify the 2000 Optional Protocol to the Convention on theRights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in ArmedConflict. In addition, wherever possible, States, UNICEF,UNHCR and other protection partners will set up programmesto disarm, demobilize and reintegrate child soldiers who hadcome from the refugee population.The problem of age-based and sexual and gender-basedviolence will be addressed by mechanisms to hold allperpetrators accountable for their actions and by enablingrefugees to file complaints. Educational and awareness-raisingprogrammes about these forms of violence will target men,women and children. All protection partners will be trained onthe rights and needs of survivors of sexual exploitation,violence and abuse.5One of the core components of international protection isfinding durable solutions for refugees. The Programme ofAction encourages countries of origin, host States, UNHCR,humanitarian partners (including NGOs) and refugees tointegrate voluntary repatriation, local integration and15

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONresettlement into a comprehensive approach to finding durablesolutions, particularly for protracted refugee situations. This isalso part of the High Commissioner’s Convention Plusinitiative.Key objectives are improving conditions for voluntaryrepatriation and making repatriation sustainable. Countries oforigin, working with UNHCR and other partners, including theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, willrespect the right to return and assure returnees of theirphysical, legal and material safety through amnesties, humanrights guarantees and measures enabling all returnees,including women, to reclaim their property. Programmes willbe put in place to encourage reconciliation among returneesand local residents and to ensure that educationalopportunities, including vocational training, are available toreturnees. Returnee women will be encouraged to participateequally in peace and reconciliation processes.In promoting local integration, States will examine when,where and how to grant secure legal status and residencerights, including the possibility of becoming naturalizedcitizens in the country of asylum for those refugees who haveattained a considerable degree of socio-economic integration.International and regional development partners are to playtheir part by ensuring that the necessary resources are availableto foster refugee self-reliance and ensure the viability of thelocal communities hosting the refugees.Resettlement opportunities will be expanded for use as both aprotection tool and a durable solution. UNHCR will encourageStates that do not yet have resettlement programmes to make16

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONresettlement places available. Those States that do offerresettlement opportunities will be encouraged to increase theirquotas, diversify the kinds of refugee groups they welcome,and introduce more flexible resettlement criteria. In addition,States and UNHCR will analyze refugee registration data in amanner that will help them anticipate the need for resettlementof groups or individuals and process those resettlementapplications more quickly, particularly in emergencysituations. Greater emphasis will be placed on gender-relatedprotection needs, in addition to women-at-risk programmes,within resettlement schemes.UNHCR and States are called upon to ensure that anyassistance programmes for refugees integrate self-reliance andrelief-substitution strategies. By tapping the resourcefulness ofrefugee women and men, certain basic goods, such as cookingoil, blankets and stoves, can be produced by the refugeesthemselves. In addition, these strategies can help reduce orprevent incidents of sexual and gender-based violence thatmay result from dependence as a result of lack or denial ofsocio-economic opportunities in host countries. All actorsinvolved in refugee protection will ensure that refugees,especially refugee women and adolescents, and the hostcommunities participate in the design and development of selfrelianceprogrammes.6Numerous guidelines and policies on protecting refugeewomen and children already exist, but they are not adequatelyapplied and implemented. The Programme of Actionhighlights this concern in its goal of meeting the protection17

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONStates will also give priority to providing access to primary andsecondary education for refugee children and adolescents.Looking AheadThe success of the Agenda for Protection hinges on thestrength of commitment to its implementation on the groundand to robust follow-up. UNHCR has already begunconsultations with its Executive Committee to establish amulti-year work programme to implement the Agenda. Inresponse to a request in the Agenda, the High Commissionerwill launch a Forum to pursue the Convention Plus initiative,aimed at taking concrete action to improve the situation ofrefugees and reduce the number of persons requiringprotection.19

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONNotes:20

AGENDAPROTECTIONFORThe following document was originally issued asA/AC.96/965/Add.1 of 26 June 2002. It was endorsed by theFifty-third session of the Executive Committee of the HighCommissioner's Programme in October 2002.I. INTRODUCTIONIn response to the numerous challenges confronting refugeeprotection for States, as well as for the Office of the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and onthe occasion of the 50 th anniversary of the 1951 Conventionrelating to the Status of Refugees, UNHCR set in train, inDecember 2000, the Global Consultations on InternationalProtection. The purpose was to provoke both reflection andaction to revitalize the 1951 Convention framework and toequip States better to address the challenges in a spirit ofdialogue and cooperation. 1The Agenda for Protection is the product of this consultativeprocess. It reflects a wide cross-section of concerns andrecommendations of States, intergovernmental organizations,non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as refugees1For information on the Global Consultations on International Protection, pleaseconsult the Global Consultations page of UNHCR’s website at www.unhcr.org.21

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONthemselves. The Agenda focuses on suggested activities whichwould strengthen international protection of asylum-seekersand refugees and improve implementation of the 1951Convention and its 1967 Protocol. These activities flow fromthe Declaration adopted unanimously by States Parties to the1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol at the MinisterialMeeting of States Parties, organized jointly by Switzerland andUNHCR on 12–13 December 2001, to commemorate theConvention’s 50 th anniversary. 2 This Declaration recognizesthe enduring importance of the 1951 Convention and 1967Protocol, reaffirms political commitment to upholding thevalues and principles they embody, and urges all States toconsider ways to strengthen their implementation. It alsoaffirms the need for closer cooperation between States Partiesand UNHCR to facilitate UNHCR’s duty of supervising theapplication of these instruments. 3 The Declaration is premisedon more robust international cooperation, within an agreedframework of basic principles.This Declaration serves as the framework for the Agenda forProtection, which in turn is intended to guide action byUNHCR, together with States, NGOs and other protectionpartners, in furthering protection objectives during the yearsahead. 42See Report of the Ministerial Meeting of States Parties to the 1951 Convention and/orits 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/MMSP/2001/10, available onthe Global Consultations page of UNHCR’s website at www.unhcr.org.3See Declaration of States Parties to the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocolrelating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/MMSP/2001/09, available on the GlobalConsultations page of UNHCR’s website at www.unhcr.org.4The Agenda for Protection is the outcome of a process which has generated considerablesupport across the board for the actions contained in it. It is a statement of goals andobjectives and an inventory of actions to reinforce the international protection of refugees.The progressive implementation of this framework will require, in certain instances,additional consultation and will be subject to the availability of resources andcommitment by all concerned.22

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONII. DECLARATION OF STATES PARTIESThe Declaration of States Parties sets out a number ofimportant understandings about the significance of the 1951Convention and its 1967 Protocol within the broaderinternational framework for refugee protection. TheDeclaration serves, within the Agenda for Protection, as theframework for its goals, objectives and the activities to reachthem. It is an integral part of the Agenda. The numbering of thefollowing paragraphs corresponds to that of the original text,as adopted.PreambleWe, representatives of States Parties to the 1951Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and/or its 1967Protocol, assembled in the first meeting of States Parties inGeneva on 12 and 13 December 2001 at the invitation of theGovernment of Switzerland and the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),1. Cognizant of the fact that the year 2001 marks the50 th anniversary of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to theStatus of Refugees,2. Recognizing the enduring importance of the 1951Convention, as the primary refugee protection instrumentwhich, as amended by its 1967 Protocol, sets out rights,including human rights, and minimum standards of treatmentthat apply to persons falling within its scope,23

AGENDAFORPROTECTION3. Recognizing the importance of other human rightsand regional refugee protection instruments, including the1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Conventiongoverning the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem inAfrica and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration, and recognizingalso the importance of the common European asylum systemdeveloped since the 1999 Tampere European CouncilConclusions, as well as the Programme of Action of the 1996Regional Conference to Address the Problems of Refugees,Displaced Persons, Other Forms of Involuntary Displacementand Returnees in the Countries of the Commonwealth ofIndependent States and Relevant Neighbouring States,4. Acknowledging the continuing relevance andresilience of this international regime of rights and principles,including at its core the principle of non-refoulement, whoseapplicability is embedded in customary international law,5. Commending the positive and constructive roleplayed by refugee-hosting countries and recognizing at thesame time the heavy burden borne by some, particularlydeveloping countries and countries with economies intransition, as well as the protracted nature of many refugeesituations and the absence of timely and safe solutions,6. Taking note of complex features of the evolvingenvironment in which refugee protection has to be provided,including the nature of armed conflict, ongoing violations ofhuman rights and international humanitarian law, currentpatterns of displacement, mixed population flows, the highcosts of hosting large numbers of refugees and asylum-seekersand of maintaining asylum systems, the growth of associated24

trafficking and smuggling of persons, the problems ofsafeguarding asylum systems against abuse and of excludingand returning those not entitled to or in need of internationalprotection, as well as the lack of resolution of long-standingrefugee situations,7. Reaffirming that the 1951 Convention, as amendedby the 1967 Protocol, has a central place in the internationalrefugee protection regime, and believing also that this regimeshould be developed further, as appropriate, in a way thatcomplements and strengthens the 1951 Convention and itsProtocol,8. Stressing that respect by States for their protectionresponsibilities towards refugees is strengthened byinternational solidarity involving all members of theinternational community and that the refugee protectionregime is enhanced through committed internationalcooperation in a spirit of solidarity and effective responsibilityand burden-sharing among all States,Operative ParagraphsAGENDAFORPROTECTION1. Solemnly reaffirm our commitment to implementour obligations under the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967Protocol fully and effectively in accordance with the objectand purpose of these instruments;2. Reaffirm our continued commitment, in recognitionof the social and humanitarian nature of the problem ofrefugees, to upholding the values and principles embodied inthese instruments, which are consistent with Article 14 of the25

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, and which requirerespect for the rights and freedoms of refugees, internationalcooperation to resolve their plight, and action to address thecauses of refugee movements, as well as to prevent them, interalia, through the promotion of peace, stability and dialogue,from becoming a source of tension between States;3. Recognize the importance of promoting universaladherence to the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol,while acknowledging that there are countries of asylum whichhave not yet acceded to these instruments and which docontinue generously to host large numbers of refugees;4. Encourage all States that have not yet done so toaccede to the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol, as faras possible without reservation;5. Also encourage States Parties maintaining thegeographical limitation or other reservations to considerwithdrawing them;6. Call upon all States, consistent with applicableinternational standards, to take or continue to take measures tostrengthen asylum and render protection more effective includingthrough the adoption and implementation of national refugeelegislation and procedures for the determination of refugee statusand for the treatment of asylum-seekers and refugees, givingspecial attention to vulnerable groups and individuals withspecial needs, including women, children and the elderly;7. Call upon States to continue their efforts aimed atensuring the integrity of the asylum institution, inter alia, by26

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONmeans of carefully applying Articles 1F and 33 (2) of the 1951Convention, in particular in light of new threats andchallenges;8. Reaffirm the fundamental importance of UNHCR asthe multilateral institution with the mandate to provideinternational protection to refugees and to promote durablesolutions, and recall our obligations as State Parties tocooperate with UNHCR in the exercise of its functions;9. Urge all States to consider ways that may berequired to strengthen the implementation of the 1951Convention and/or 1967 Protocol and to ensure closercooperation between States Parties and UNHCR to facilitateUNHCR's duty of supervising the application of the provisionsof these instruments;10. Urge all States to respond promptly, predictably andadequately to funding appeals issued by UNHCR so as toensure that the needs of persons under the mandate of theOffice of the High Commissioner are fully met;11. Recognize the valuable contributions made by manynon-governmental organizations to the well-being of asylumseekersand refugees in their reception, counselling and care,in finding durable solutions based on full respect of refugees,and in assisting States and UNHCR to maintain the integrity ofthe international refugee protection regime, notably throughadvocacy, as well as public awareness and informationactivities aimed at combating racism, racial discrimination,xenophobia and related intolerance, and gaining public supportfor refugees;27

AGENDAFORPROTECTION12. Commit ourselves to providing, within theframework of international solidarity and burden-sharing,better refugee protection through comprehensive strategies,notably regionally and internationally, in order to buildcapacity, in particular in developing countries and countrieswith economies in transition, especially those which arehosting large-scale influxes or protracted refugee situations,and to strengthening response mechanisms, so as to ensure thatrefugees have access to safer and better conditions of stay andtimely solutions to their problems;13. Recognize that prevention is the best way to avoidrefugee situations and emphasize that the ultimate goal ofinternational protection is to achieve a durable solution forrefugees, consistent with the principle of non-refoulement, andcommend States that continue to facilitate these solutions,notably voluntary repatriation and, where appropriate andfeasible, local integration and resettlement, while recognizingthat voluntary repatriation in conditions of safety and dignityremains the preferred solution for refugees;14. Extend our gratitude to the Government and peopleof Switzerland for generously hosting the Ministerial Meetingof States Parties to the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.28

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONIII. PROGRAMME OF ACTIONFollowing on from the Declaration of States Parties, aProgramme of Action is suggested which, if implemented,should progressively reinforce refugee protection over amultiyear period. The Programme of Action has six goals:1. Strengthening implementation of the 1951 Conventionand 1967 Protocol;2. Protecting refugees within broader migration movements;3. Sharing burdens and responsibilities more equitably andbuilding capacities to receive and protect refugees;4. Addressing security-related concerns more effectively;5. Redoubling the search for durable solutions; and6. Meeting the protection needs of refugee women andrefugee children.The Programme’s goals are inter-related and there arecross-cutting themes. These include responsibility andburden-sharing, as well as a gender and age-sensitiveapplication of the regime as a whole. Suggested follow-upactivities relating to refugee women and refugee children aredealt with specifically in Goal 6 and, in addition, incorporatedthroughout the Programme of Action.29

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONStrengthening implementationof the 1951 Conventionand 1967 ProtocolGOAL 1GOAL 1Implementation of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, whichtogether remain the foundation for international refugee protection,has to be strengthened. In the first instance, the base of State Partieshas to be broadened, bringing in all the geographic regions in a morebalanced way. More harmonized approaches to refugee statusdetermination, as well as to the interpretation of the 1951 Conventionand to the use of complementary forms of protection, are also calledfor. Resolute responses to the root causes of refugee movements, moreeffective and predictable responses to mass influx situations,improved reception policies and an environment generally moreconducive to refugee protection would contribute to betterimplementation of the refugee protection regime. Appropriatemeasures to strengthen supervision of implementation of the 1951Convention and 1967 Protocol need to be put in place. Refugeeprotection would also be enhanced by accession to, and effectiveimplementation of, regional refugee instruments, as well as keyhuman rights instruments.GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1There are 12 identified objectives, together with various activitiesdirected towards their realisation, under this overall goal:31GOAL 1

GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 1GOAL 1AGENDAFORPROTECTION1. Universal accession to the 1951 Conventionand 1967 Protocol• UNHCR to carry out a survey of the difficulties States havein acceding to or in implementing the 1951 Convention/1967Protocol, with a view to assisting States to overcome them.• States Parties to contribute actively to UNHCR’s ongoingaccession campaign, which aims to achieve universalaccession to the 1951 Convention/1967 Protocol regime.• States Parties and regional organizations to promoteaccession in their bilateral contacts and in multilateral fora andinform UNHCR about such initiatives.• States Parties to give consideration to withdrawingreservations lodged at the time of accession and, whereappropriate, to work towards lifting the geographicalreservation.• States Parties, which have not already done so, to ensure thatthe fundamental principles of the 1951 Convention areincorporated, where this is necessary according to the nationallegal system, into domestic legislation.2. Improved individual asylum procedures• States, through UNHCR’s Executive Committee (ExCom), toconsider updating past ExCom guidance on the recommendedframework for asylum procedures, with a view to promotinggreater harmonization in the practice of States. 5• States to grant access to asylum procedures and to ensure thattheir asylum systems provide for effective and fairdecision-making, done promptly and with enforceable results,5See Conclusion No. 8 (XXVIII) 1977, on the determination of refugee status(A/AC.96/549, para. 53.6); Conclusion No. 30 (XXXIV) 1983 (A/AC.96/631, para. 97.2),on the problem of manifestly unfounded or abusive applications for refugee status orasylum.32

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONincluding as regards the return and readmission of those foundnot to be in need of international protection. Return isimportant to counter misuse of asylum procedures andmaintain the integrity of asylum systems. 6• States that have not yet done so to legislate for and set upasylum procedures, benefiting from UNHCR assistance andExCom guidance. States with established asylum proceduresto consider how best to support these initiatives, including withfinancial and technical assistance where necessary, as atangible form of international cooperation. 7• States to introduce or, as necessary, enhance gender andage-specific safeguards in asylum procedures, with due weightbeing accorded to the principle of family unity and bearing inmind the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of theChild and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women, as well as related UNHCRguidelines; the special needs of particularly vulnerablepersons, such as victims of torture or persons with disabilities,should also benefit from necessary safeguards. 8• States and UNHCR to work to ensure that claims lodged byfemale and child asylum-seekers take properly and sensitivelyinto account gender and age specificities, including forms ofpersecution which have specific gender or age-related aspects.• States and UNHCR to undertake consultations, preferablywithin ExCom, on ways to better manage the challenge ofincreasing claims to refugee status from unaccompanied andseparated child asylum-seekers.GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 16See also Goal 2, objective 7.7See also Goal 3, objective 2.8UNHCR’s Guidelines on Gender-Related Persecution (HCR/GIP/02/01, May 2002),UNHCR’s Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women (Geneva, 1991), UNHCR’sSexual Violence against Refugee Women: Guidelines on Prevention and Response(Geneva, 1995 – under revision) and UNHCR’s Refugee Children: Guidelines onProtection and Care (1994). See also Goal 4, objective 4.33GOAL 1

GOAL 1AGENDAFORPROTECTION• UNHCR to engage in intensified training and in-housecapacity-building, while committing more resources toimprove the quality and consistency globally of its mandaterefugee status determination processes.GOAL 1GOAL 1MGOAL 1M3. Provision of complementary forms ofprotection to those who might not fallwithin the scope of the 1951 Convention,but require international protection• Within the framework of its mandate, ExCom to work on aConclusion containing guidance on general principles uponwhich complementary forms of protection should be based, onthe persons who might benefit from it, and on the compatibilityof these protections with the 1951 Convention and otherrelevant international and regional instruments.• States to consider the merits of establishing a singleprocedure in which there is first an examination of the 1951Convention grounds for refugee status, to be followed, asnecessary and appropriate, by the examination of the possiblegrounds for the grant of complementary forms of protection.GOAL 1GOAL 14. Exclusion of those undeserving ofinternational refugee protection, includingthose guilty of terrorist acts• Given that combating terrorism is primarily a criminal lawenforcement issue, but also that abuse of the asylum channelmust be prevented, States to put in place measures, withappropriate legal safeguards, to give effect to the exclusionclauses of the Convention, which might include the following:incorporation of the exclusion clauses of the Convention into34

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONnational legislation; closer cooperation and improvedinformation sharing between immigration/asylum authorities,law enforcement authorities, and, where appropriate, UNHCR;and priority processing of asylum applications by expertpersonnel where there is a suspicion that the claimant mightfall under Article 1 F of the 1951 Convention. 9• States to apply the exclusion clauses in a manner which is notprejudicial to any well-founded claim to refugee status byfamily members of individuals subject to exclusionproceedings.• UNHCR to revise its Guidelines on Exclusion (1996).GOAL 1GOAL 15. Closer cooperation in the supervisionof implementation of the 1951 Conventionand 1967 Protocol• States, UNHCR and NGOs to identify and work on practicalmodalities to ensure better cooperation between UNHCR andStates Parties in strengthening implementation of the 1951Convention and 1967 Protocol, and in facilitating UNHCR’sduty to supervise international refugee instruments.• In this regard, and to maintain the positive momentum of theGlobal Consultations process, UNHCR to continue to providea forum for high-level and participatory dialogue on protectionissues, emerging global themes and challenges, as well asspecific protection situations, particularly those of an urgentcharacter.• In this regard also, States to provide more information ontheir achievements and problems as regards protection inregular meetings of the Standing Committee, paying specialattention to protection issues related to women and children.GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 19The application of exclusion clauses should, as appropriate, take closely into account anyrelevant pronouncements of the Security Council.35GOAL 1

GOAL 1GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 1GOAL 1AGENDAFORPROTECTION6. More harmonized interpretation of the1951 Convention in light of developmentsin refugee law• UNHCR to publish the background papers and summaryconclusions of the expert roundtables held within the GlobalConsultations framework.• UNHCR to produce complementary guidelines to itsHandbook on Procedures and Criteria for DeterminingRefugee Status, drawing on applicable international legalstandards, on State practice, on jurisprudence and using, asappropriate, the inputs from the debates in the GlobalConsultations’ expert roundtable discussions.• UNHCR to continue to organize expert discussions, alsoinvolving State practitioners, as the issue might require.• UNHCR to continue to participate in initiatives and studiesorganized or undertaken by States, regional organizations andother partners, including NGOs and universities, focusing onrefugee law.7. Further standard-setting• Consistent with the recognition in the Declaration of StatesParties that the international refugee protection regimeshould be developed further, as appropriate, UNHCRto explore areas that would benefit from furtherstandard-setting, such as ExCom Conclusions or otherinstruments to be identified at a later stage.8. Enhanced respect for refugeesGOAL 1• States, UNHCR and other relevant actors to foster a positiveand respectful attitude towards refugees, including through,36

AGENDAFORPROTECTION✦ encouraging political leaders to uphold the basic valuesunderpinning the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol;✦ making better use of and more broadly distributing publicawareness materials which can sensitize civil society tothe situation of refugees, including those developed byUNHCR (e.g. as developed for the Respect; Stereotypes;and Lanterna Magica campaigns), as well as educationalmaterial (pamphlets and brochures for refugee childrenand teenagers; and education kits, including teachers'guides).• States to develop public awareness programmes, with theparticipation of refugees, which focus on the positive socialand cultural contributions that refugees can make, buildinginto these programmes greater use of educational tools such aspublic service announcements, sports, music andentertainment, in a way which promotes positive messagesabout tolerance, pluralism and common values, as well asbridge-building.• States to take measures to combat racism, racialdiscrimination and xenophobia directed againstasylum-seekers and refugees.9. Adequate reception arrangements• ExCom to consider adopting a basic framework for receptionpolicies, drawing on applicable international legal standards,in the form of an ExCom Conclusion.• UNHCR to develop Guidelines on the Reception ofAsylum-Seekers, paying explicit attention to gender andage-specific considerations, as well as the special needs ofvictims of torture and/or of violence or the disabled, as well asthose with special medical needs.• UNHCR to monitor reception arrangements and to include37GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 1GOAL 1

GOAL 1GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 1GOAL 1AGENDAFORPROTECTIONinformation on developments, including difficultiesencountered by asylum-seekers, as well as anyrecommendations, in its reporting on protection situations invarious regions to ExCom.• States more concertedly to explore appropriate alternatives tothe detention of asylum-seekers and refugees, and to abstain,in principle, from detaining children.• States, UNHCR, NGOs and other partners to work withrefugee communities to address the needs of unaccompaniedand separated child asylum-seekers and refugees, including, asnecessary, their temporary placement in foster families orappointment of State or non-State guardians, and themonitoring of such arrangements.10. More effective and predictable responsesto mass influx situations• UNHCR to prepare a comparative study on protectionresponses to mass influxes, which will look at best practicesfrom UNHCR’s experience, as well as take into account theviews of States, and, at the same time, explore the need foranother authoritative text, in addition to the 1951 Conventionand the 1969 OAU Convention.• UNHCR to develop and disseminate guidelines to clarify theprocedural aspects of exclusion in the context of groupdetermination on a prima facie basis.• States and UNHCR to ensure that emergency responses tomass influxes include community-based activities addressingthe specific protection needs of refugee women and refugeechildren, as well as of vulnerable groups. 10• States to promote with the United Nations system, especiallyGOAL 110This would include: separated children, the handicapped, the chronically ill, singlefemales, single heads of household, the elderly and victims of torture.38

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONUNHCR, more effective engagement in early warning andcontingency planning, as appropriate, both to enable countriesto better prepare themselves for a potential mass influx ofrefugees and to ensure more adequate and timely support fromthe international community.11. Better registration and documentationof refugees• In keeping with the Conclusion on Registration of Refugeesand Asylum-Seekers (No. 91 (LII) (2001)), and bearing inmind confidentiality requirements regarding the use of data,States to register and document female and male refugees andasylum-seekers on their territory on an individual basis asquickly as possible upon their arrival, in a manner whichcontributes to improving their security, their access to essentialservices and their freedom of movement.• UNHCR to work with States towards ensuring the provisionof financial and technical support, including as regardstraining, equipment, and materials to enable, particularly,developing host States to undertake registration and issuanceof documents to refugees, in recognition that this is primarilya State responsibility.• States, UNHCR and relevant partners to ensure that thosecarrying out registration of camp populations and registrationfor voluntary repatriation are adequately trained, including ingender and age-sensitive interviewing techniques.• States and other relevant partners to consider how to makeavailable and accessible their expertise, including through theprovision of human resources, to assist UNHCR’s ongoingeffort to improve its own systems for registration anddocumentation of refugees.• UNHCR to issue operational standards and guidelines with39GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 1GOAL 1

GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 1GOAL 1AGENDAFORPROTECTIONregard to registration and population data management, reviseits 1994 Registration Guide and develop registration and datamanagement training modules. In addition, UNHCR tostrengthen field registration support (methodologies, systems,materials, training and support missions), including bydrawing on States’ existing expertise and human resources.• States and UNHCR to introduce new techniques and tools toenhance the identification and documentation of refugees andasylum-seekers, including centrally, biometric features, and toshare these with a view towards developing a morestandardized worldwide registration system.• States to provide necessary documents relating to civil status(e.g. birth, marriage, divorce, death), benefiting from thesupport and cooperation of UNHCR, where appropriate.• States, UNHCR and other relevant partners to use registrationdata to identify and make specific assistance and protectionarrangements, where appropriate, for: women with any specialprotection concerns, unaccompanied and separated children,child- and single-headed households, as well as handicappedrefugees and the elderly.12. More resolute responses to root causesof refugee movementsGOAL 1GOAL 1• States to give greater priority to dealing with root causes,including armed conflict, and to ensure relevantintergovernmental agendas reflect this priority.• States to use appropriate means at their disposal, in thecontext of their foreign, security, trade, development andinvestment policies, to influence developments inrefugee-producing countries in the direction of greater respectfor human rights, democratic values and good governance.40

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• States to support the work of the United Nations in the areasof conflict-prevention, conflict-resolution, peace-keeping andpeace-building in war-torn States.• International and regional human rights bodies, as well asdevelopment actors, to be encouraged to examine how they canmake a more direct impact on refugee situations generated byhuman rights violations and inter-group disputes, in particularby extending financial and/or technical support to countries oforigin willing to establish national human rights commissions,and to put in place measures to improve the functioning of thejudiciary and police forces.• States to give renewed consideration to ratifying the 1954Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, with aview to early accession.• UNHCR to seek information from States on steps they havetaken to reduce statelessness and to meet the protection needsof stateless persons, in keeping with ExCom Conclusion No.78 (XLVI) (1995), and to report to ExCom on this survey,together with recommendations which might assist in furtherimproving their situation.• UNHCR, through its field presence, to act as a catalyst,where appropriate, in mitigating circumstances which mightlead to refugee flows.GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 141GOAL 1

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AGENDAFORPROTECTIONGOAL 245

GOAL 2AGENDAFORPROTECTIONProtecting refugeeswithin broadermigration movementsGOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 1UNHCR’s clearly defined responsibilities for refugees and otherpersons of concern do not extend to migrants generally. It is, at thesame time, a fact that refugees often move within broader mixedmigratory flows. At the same time, the insufficiency of viable, legalmigration options is an added incentive for persons who are notrefugees to seek to enter countries through the asylum channel, whenit is the only possibility effectively open to them to enter and remain.It is important, given not least the effects on and risks to them, thatrefugees receive protection without having to resort to a criminaltrade that will put them in danger. There is therefore a need to achievea better understanding and management of the interface betweenasylum and migration, both of which UNHCR should promote, albeitconsistent with its mandate, so that people in need of protection findit, people who wish to migrate have options other than through resortto the asylum channel, and unscrupulous smugglers cannot benefitthrough wrongful manipulation of available entry possibilities.To improve the protection of refugees within broader migrationmovements and to counter misuse of asylum systems, seven objectivesand accompanying actions have been identified:GOAL 146

AGENDAFORPROTECTION1. Better identification of and proper responseto the needs of asylum-seekers and refugees,including access to protection within thebroader context of migration management• States to ensure, taking into account relevant multilateral andcross-sectoral consultations, that immigration-control measuresare tempered with adequate protection safeguards whichappropriately differentiate between refugees, on the one hand,and persons not in need of international protection, on the other,to enable protection needs to be met within the agreedinternational framework.• States to develop a coherent policy agenda on migration andasylum that strikes a proper balance between migration controlpriorities and refugee protection imperatives, and which mightinclude transparent and equitable immigration policies for thepurposes of employment and family reunification.• UNHCR to develop Guidelines on Safeguards for InterceptionMeasures, together with a training package for States,intergovernmental organizations and NGOs.• ExCom to consider adopting a Conclusion focusing onprotection safeguards in interception measures.• UNHCR, States and other stakeholders (e.g. the InternationalMaritime Organization) to seek to reach common understandingson responsibilities in the context of rescue at sea of asylumseekersand refugees, including with regard to rescue itself, thedisembarkation of those rescued and the solutions to be pursued.• In the broad context of migration management, States toconsider acceding to the 1990 United Nations Convention on theProtection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members oftheir Families, and relevant ILO Conventions (notably nos. 97and 143).47GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 2

AGENDAFORPROTECTION2. Strengthened international efforts tocombat smuggling and traffickingGOAL 2GOAL 1M• States to consider acceding to the 2000 United NationsConvention against Transnational Organized Crime and itsProtocols (against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Seaand Air; and to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking inPersons, Especially Women and Children).• States to ensure that their own asylum processes are open toreceiving claims from individual trafficked persons, especiallywomen and girls who can base their claim to asylum ongrounds which are not manifestly unfounded.• States to publicize penalties for those engaged in smugglingof and trafficking in people.• UNHCR to explore the convening of an experts meetingfocusing on the protection needs of trafficked children.GOAL 1MGOAL 1GOAL 13. Better data collection and research on thenexus between asylum and migration• States to generate and share more detailed, comparable, sexandage-disaggregated statistics on the size, type andcomposition of migratory flows, to enable a qualitativeanalysis of the problem and shed light on the causes andramifications of such international movements. In particular,States to consider tabulating data according to the revisedUnited Nations Recommendations on Statistics ofInternational Migration (New York, 1998).• States to examine how to collect and share information onundocumented migration and irregular movers, including onsmuggling, travel routes, etc.• In this regard, the International Organization for Migration48

AGENDAFORPROTECTION(IOM) to be encouraged to carry out a detailed study, inconsultation with relevant States and intergovernmentalorganizations, on migration dynamics, including push and pullfactors. UNHCR and IOM to explore with regional and otherorganizations 11 the undertaking of similar studies orpublication of existing data for the regions they cover.4. Reduction of irregular or secondary movements• Bearing in mind ExCom Conclusion No. 58 (XL) of 1989 onthe Problem of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers Who Move in anIrregular Manner from a Country in which They had alreadyFound Protection, UNHCR, in cooperation with relevantpartners, to analyze the reasons for such movements, andpropose strategies to address them in specific situations,predicated on a more precisely articulated understanding ofwhat constitutes effective protection in countries of firstasylum, and taking into account international solidarity andburden-sharing.• UNHCR to work with States of origin, transit and destinationand other partners, including IOM, on a package of measureswhich might be brought into play, as part of a comprehensiveplan of action, for particular irregular or secondary movementsituations.GOAL 1GOAL 2GOAL 1MGOAL 1M11Such as the Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants(APC), the Council of Europe, the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the European Union (EU),the Inter-Governmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugee and Migration Policies inEurope, North America and Australia (IGC), the Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe (OSCE), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).49GOAL 1

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONGOAL 1GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 25. Closer dialogue and cooperationbetween UNHCR and IOM• UNHCR and IOM to deepen cooperation, within theframework of the Action Group on Asylum and Migration(AGAMI), established in November 2001, working inconsultation with interested States and otherintergovernmental organizations 12 and NGOs, with the aim offurthering understanding of the nexus between asylum andmigration and enhancing each organization’s capacity tocontribute to States’ efforts to develop policies andprogrammes on asylum and migration. In this regard, AGAMIto identify and analyze the issues within the migration/asylumnexus, deepen understanding of the nexus, addressconceptual 13 as well as specific operational 14 issues andpromote better information-sharing.• UNHCR to keep States and other interested actors informedof the consultation process within AGAMI.6. Information campaigns to ensurepotential migrants are aware of the prospectsfor legal migration and the dangers of humansmuggling and trafficking• States, working together with IOM and other concernedintergovernmental bodies, such as the Office of the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), theGOAL 112These could include the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for HumanRights (OHCHR), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the SpecialRapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, as appropriate.13Such as terminology, research and data collection, as well as qualitative analysis.14Such as interception by States of smuggled and trafficked persons and safeguards toensure access to asylum procedures, information and public awareness activities, as wellas training of public officials.50

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONInternational Labour Organization (ILO), and NGOs, todevelop a model information campaign, which would providerelevant information on available channels for legalimmigration and warn of the dangers of smuggling andtrafficking, and which would present materials in a manneraccessible to those it seeks to reach, drawing on modelsalready in place or under development. Material clarifyinginternational protection responsibilities to be included.GOAL 27. Return of persons found not to be in needof international protection• States, working in consultation with relevantintergovernmental organizations, notably IOM, but alsoUNHCR and, as appropriate, NGOs, to develop strategies,including involving bilateral and regional readmissionagreements, to promote return and readmission of persons notin need of international protection, in a humane manner and infull respect for their human rights and dignity, without resortto excessive force and, in the case of children, taking dueaccount of their best interests.• States, IOM and UNHCR to cooperate, as appropriate, inremoving obstacles to the speedy return of asylum-seekersfound not to be in need of international protection, predicatingtheir activities on the obligation of States to readmit their ownnationals.• ExCom to consider adopting a Conclusion providingguidance to States on their obligation to accept and facilitatethe return of their nationals and related issues.GOAL 1MGOAL 1MGOAL 151GOAL 1

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AGENDAFORPROTECTIONGOAL 355

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONSharing burdens and responsibilitiesmore equitably and building capacitiesto receive and protect refugeesGOAL 3GOAL 1MGOAL 1The Declaration of States Parties recognizes that respect by States fortheir international protection responsibilities towards refugees isstrengthened through international solidarity and that the refugeeprotection regime is enhanced through committed internationalcooperation in a spirit of responsibility and burden-sharing among allStates. To achieve effective cooperation on refugee matters, there must becloser dialogue and multilateral “ownership” of refugee problems andtheir resolution. The Programme of Action is throughout premised on theneed for a multilateral approach to ensure that burdens andresponsibilities will be shared more equitably. Clearly performance ofprotection improves with strengthened national capacity, so thatinvestment in capacity-building has to be made a more integral part of theregular operational response to any new emergency involving refugees.NGOs and other members of civil society play a particularly importantrole directly in protecting and assisting refugees and asylum-seekers, butalso in strengthening protection capacities. Incorporating refugee issueswithin national and regional development agendas can help to reduce thegap between humanitarian assistance and development efforts, making apositive contribution to the longer-term welfare of host communities andmaking protection-based solutions more sustainable.GOAL 1To achieve a more equitable sharing of burdens and responsibilities andto build capacities to receive and protect refugees and resolve theirproblems on a durable basis, six objectives, with accompanyingactivities, have been identified:56

AGENDAFORPROTECTION1. Better responsibility-sharing arrangementsto shoulder the burdens of first asylumcountries• UNHCR to promote better responsibility-sharing in massinflux situations, using and elaborating on, where appropriate,the suggested “tool kit” mechanisms as a starting point, and towork on arrangements which might be put in place tocoordinate a comprehensive approach based on burdensharing.• UNHCR and States to examine the desirability and feasibilityof an ExCom Conclusion setting out framework considerationsfor responsibility-sharing, which might draw on the outcomeof current efforts by the Standing Committee to measurecapacity and contributions of developing host countries.• States to consider the usefulness of specific burden-sharingagreements, negotiated either bilaterally or multilaterally, tocontribute to consistency and sustainability in the internationalresponse to mass influx and protracted refugee situations.• States and UNHCR to encourage international financialinstitutions to consider to what extent the economic and socialcosts of hosting large numbers of refugees can be factored intothe justification for and conditions of financial lendingschemes.• States to explore with intergovernmental organizations andthe private sector how to better resource trust funds (e.g.Refugee Education Trust) or scholarship schemes (e.g. AlbertEinstein Academic Scholarship Programme for Refugees)which expand secondary, vocational and tertiary educationopportunities for refugees, especially adolescents.• UNHCR, in collaboration with host governments, UnitedNations specialized agencies, NGOs and other relevant actors,57GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 3

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONto evaluate the impact of refugees on host country economies,society, environment and security, especially in protractedrefugee situations.GOAL 3GOAL 1MGOAL 12. More effective cooperation tostrengthen protection capacities inrefugee-receiving countries• UNHCR and States, in cooperation with NGOs, to developand implement concrete models to strengthen protectioncapacities, based on best practice, in refugee-receivingcountries and at regional level. These should also aim to reducethe need for asylum-seekers and refugees to move on in anirregular manner by making protection available and generatingsolutions.• In this regard, States to target financial and technical assistancein a manner that boosts the capacity of countries of first asylumto meet basic protection needs and to provide essential services,including education, as well as vocational training.• UNHCR to develop further the capacity-building guidingprinciples and framework annexed to its note presented at theSeptember 2001 Global Consultations meeting 15 . In addition,UNHCR will develop a Handbook on Strengthening Capacitiesin Host Countries for the Protection of Refugees, to provide itsstaff and partners with a tool to achieve a more consistentapproach to strengthening protection capacities. At the sametime, UNHCR to maintain an updated catalogue of initiatives andactivities in this area, drawing on Annex II of the note. 16• Depending on the level of interest, UNHCR to conveneGOAL 115See Strengthening Protection Capacities in Host Countries, EC/GC/01/19.16Ibid.58

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONregional/sub-regional workshops, involving States and NGOs,with the purpose of devising and implementing specificcountry or regional strategies.• UNHCR to identify where activities to strengthen capacityare most needed, establish priorities among the variousactivities, and identify host countries requiring support.UNHCR will facilitate the pairing of needs with concreteoffers of support and expertise by States, intergovernmentalorganizations, NGOs, the private sector and other actors.• States and NGOs to explore expansion of “twinning”projects. 17• UNHCR to approach States that made offers of technical andother support during the Global Consultations (e.g. for thetraining of border officials or of those involved in refugeestatus determination) to confirm their offers of support. Thesewill then be maintained by UNHCR in a register and drawnupon, where appropriate.• The Working Group on Resettlement to continue to examinethe relationship between protection capacity and resettlement.3. Strengthened partnerships for protectionwith civil society, including NGOs• States to examine how to accord NGOs improved legal statusthough creating a clear legal framework for their operations.• UNHCR to continue to strengthen partnerships for protectionand awareness-raising, not only with host and donorgovernments (including national and regional legislatures), butalso NGOs, other actors of civil society, as well as refugeemen, women and children.GOAL 3GOAL 1MGOAL 117These are projects whereby civil servants from national administrations makethemselves available to assist other States with less developed protection structures tobuild up expertise in the different areas.59GOAL 1

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• UNHCR and NGOs to intensify their cooperation to identifyand address protection problems, especially where the latterhave a field presence.4. Refugee communities empowered to meettheir own protection needsGOAL 3GOAL 1M• States, UNHCR and other partners to put in place or mobilizecommunity-based systems and networks, including inparticular for the protection of women and children, at theoutset of the emergency phase through to the attainment ofdurable solutions.• UNHCR to disseminate widely and promote betterunderstanding of its community development strategy 18 and totrain staff, government officials and partners in its properapplication.• States, UNHCR and partners to consider ways to enablerefugees, including in particular women and adolescents, touse their skills and capacities, in recognition that empoweredrefugees are better able to contribute to their own and theircommunities’ protection.GOAL 15. Refugee issues anchored within national,regional and multilateraldevelopment agendas• States to consider allocating development funds, possibly apercentage thereof, to programmes simultaneously benefitingrefugees and the local population in host countries.GOAL 118See Reinforcing a Community Development Approach, EC/51/SC/CRP.6 (15 February2001).60

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• States to consider including refugee-hosting areas in theirnational development plans, and UNHCR to encouragemultilateral and bilateral development partners to extendtangible support for such initiatives and to submit periodicreports on its activities.• UNHCR and States to explore new funding strategies withthe private sector.6. Resettlement used more effectively as a toolof burden-sharing 19• States to examine how more flexible resettlement criteriacould be applied with regard to refugees recognized on a primafacie basis in mass displacement situations to whom Article 1F does not apply, coupled with, as appropriate, temporaryhumanitarian evacuation programmes.• The Working Group on Resettlement to examine further thepotential use of resettlement as a burden-sharing tool, whichwould include the issue of criteria to be applied in massdisplacement situations, especially where the prospect of otherdurable solutions is remote or absent.• States and UNHCR to examine ways in which resettlementcapacities can be enhanced, e.g. through increasedpartnerships with NGOs and other relevant partners.GOAL 1GOAL 3GOAL 1M19Refer also to Goal 5.61GOAL 1

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AGENDAFORPROTECTIONGOAL 465

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONAddressing security-relatedconcerns more effectivelyGOAL 4GOAL 1GOAL 1Security problems confronting refugees can take many forms. Thebreakdown in social and cultural structures and norms, the separationfrom and loss of family members and community support, and impunityfor perpetrators of crimes and violence make refugees, particularlywomen and children, especially vulnerable. Refugee women and girlsare often subject to specific forms of abuse, such as rape, abduction,trafficking, or demands for sexual favours in exchange for offers ofprotection, documents or assistance. Refugee children, especially girls,are at even greater risk of sexual exploitation, violence and abuse.Refugee children, including adolescents, are often also prone to forciblerecruitment by armed groups and national armed forces where refugeecamps are located in close proximity to zones of armed conflict. Thepresence of armed elements in an influx of refugees, or in camps orrefugee-populated areas, can exacerbate all of the above problems and,moreover, generate serious security concerns for refugees, receivingStates and host communities. Drawing a distinction between refugees,on the one hand, and armed elements, on the other, while a majorchallenge, is clearly in the interest of States and of refugees. States mayrequire technical support and dedicated resources to ensure security ofrefugees, refugee camps and refugee-hosting areas and, more generally,to preserve the civilian character of asylum. Progress in addressingsecurity-related concerns will first of all hinge on the commitment of thecountry of asylum, but may also require the active involvement of theSecurity Council, where these concerns are being discussed, theDepartment of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and organizationswith specific competence in situations of armed conflict, such as theInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).To address security-related concerns more effectively, four objectives,together with accompanying activities, have been identified:66

AGENDAFORPROTECTION1. The resourcing of States for securing the safetyof refugees and for the separation ofarmed elements from refugee populations• ExCom to give policy directions through adoption of aConclusion that would set out guiding considerations for thepreservation of the civilian character of asylum.• UNHCR to develop practical tools, including operationalguidelines that include procedures and standards (in consultationwith States, relevant United Nations entities and other interestedagencies, such as the ICRC) and to work with these partners intheir pilot application in certain specifically identified refugeesituations.• UNHCR to develop its own institutional capacity, through anenhanced refugee security project, to assist States in ensuring thephysical safety of refugees.• States to work in good faith, drawing on ExCom guidance, ingiving priority to preserving the civilian character of asylum,including by making genuine efforts to separate combatants fromrefugee populations, and to ensure the physical security ofrefugees.• To establish a viable operational framework for ensuringrefugee security, States to explore practical arrangements forcooperation on security issues with UNHCR, the Department ofPeacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and other segments of theUnited Nations.• States and UNHCR to explore how to provide material supportto UNHCR to establish standby mechanisms for the deploymentof human security officers in refugee situations, includingemergencies in which insecurity is a serious problem.• UNHCR to identify partnership opportunities between hostgovernments, donors and UNHCR to strengthen nationalcapacity to manage refugee-related security issues.67GOAL 4GOAL 1GOAL 1

AGENDAFORPROTECTION2. Keeping the Secretary-General and theSecurity Council seized with the issue• The United Nations Secretary-General and the SecurityCouncil to be kept advised and thereby actively seized withserious security problems in refugee areas. UNHCR willcontinue to keep both regularly informed.3. Prevention of military recruitment ofrefugees, including refugee childrenGOAL 4GOAL 1• States to take concrete measures to reduce the risk of and, tothe extent possible, prevent the forcible recruitment ofrefugees, in particular refugee children, including by ensuringaccess to education and vocational training.• States that have not yet ratified the Optional Protocol to theConvention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement ofChildren in Armed Conflict to consider doing so, with a viewto early accession.• States, UNHCR and other humanitarian partners to raiseawareness of and conduct training on the prevention ofmilitary recruitment among refugee populations.• States, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) andother actors, including UNHCR, where appropriate, to set upspecial programmes to disarm, demobilize and reintegratechild soldiers who are among refugee populations, equallybenefiting and addressing the particular situation of male andfemale child soldiers.GOAL 14. Prevention of age-based and sexual andgender-based violence• UNHCR to work with States and humanitarian partners toensure the full implementation of its Guidelines on the68

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONProtection of Refugee Women (Geneva, 1991), and on SexualViolence against Refugee Women: Guidelines on Preventionand Response (Geneva, 1995 – under revision), as well as theHigh Commissioner’s Commitments to Refugee Women (12December 2001) and the Policy on Protection from SexualExploitation, which is being developed by the Inter-AgencyStanding Committee (IASC) Task Force on Protection fromSexual Exploitation.• States, UNHCR and other relevant actors to adopt measuresto ensure that gender and age-sensitive prevention andresponse mechanisms, including remedial actions, to sexualand gender-based violence and exploitation, including acomplaints mechanism and an appropriate staff accountabilityframework, are an integral part of all programmes in allrefugee contexts, and include relevant educational andawareness-building programmes targeting men, women andchildren. 20• UNHCR and its partners to set in place a clear accountabilitystructure for the protection of refugee women and refugeechildren from age-based and sexual and gender-based violenceand ensure that applicable codes of conduct are respected in allhumanitarian operations.• States to provide appropriate legal and rehabilitativeremedies and to follow-up on the Yokohama GlobalCommitment. 21• States, UNHCR and other humanitarian partners to conducttraining and capacity-building on the rights and needs ofsurvivors of sexual exploitation, violence and abuse.GOAL 4GOAL 120Using the Framework of Action to Address the Problem of Child Abuse in West Africaas an important inventory of measures, which may also be relevant in other situations,particularly for the protection of refugee children.21Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation, held in Yokohama(Japan), 17–20 December 2001.69GOAL 1

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AGENDAFORPROTECTIONGOAL 573

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONRedoubling the searchfor durable solutionsGOAL 5GOAL 1Millions of refugees around the world presently have no access to timelyand durable solutions, the securing of which is one of the principal goalsof international protection. There is a need for more coherence byintegrating voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement,whenever feasible, into one comprehensive approach, implemented inclose cooperation among countries of origin, host States, UNHCR andits humanitarian and development partners, especially NGOs, as well asrefugees. As an interim response, the promotion of self-reliance ofrefugees is an important means to avoid dependency, take advantage ofthe initiative and potential contributions of refugees, and prepare themfor durable solutions. The success of the search for durable solutionsdepends in large measure on resolute and sustained internationalcooperation and support. Concerted action is called for, in particular, toresolve protracted refugee situations through a well-balanced packageof support for the different durable solutions envisaged. In this context,the Programme of Action recognizes that voluntary repatriation inconditions of safety and dignity remains the preferred solution forrefugees. Resettlement, too, will have to find its place both as a vital toolfor protection and also as an instrument of international solidarity andburden-sharing. Local integration, as well, has proven instrumental inresolving the plight of particular refugees or groups of refugees.To redouble the search for durable solutions, eight objectives andaccompanying actions have been identified:74

AGENDAFORPROTECTION1. Realization of comprehensive durablesolutions strategies, especially forprotracted refugee situations• UNHCR to undertake a review of all protracted refugeesituations, with a view to exploring with States and other partnersthe feasibility of comprehensive plans of action, bringing intoplay each of the available durable solutions, to be implementedin close consultation with countries of origin, host countries,resettlement countries and refugees themselves.• The Working Group on Resettlement to explore howstrengthening capacity in host countries affects the pursuit ofother available durable solutions, as well as a more strategic useof resettlement, including within regions affected by refugeemovements.2. Improved conditions for voluntary repatriation• Countries of origin, working in cooperation with UNHCRand relevant partners, including OHCHR, to committhemselves to respecting the right to return and receiving backtheir refugees within an acceptable framework of physical,legal and material safety, achievable, for example, throughamnesties, human rights guarantees, and measures to enablethe restitution of property, all of which should be appropriatelycommunicated to refugees.• In this regard also, countries of origin to explore moreactively initiatives in the socio-economic, cultural and politicalspheres, to foster reconciliation and dialogue, particularly withrefugee communities, and to ensure respect for the rule of law.• States to put in place more coherent and comprehensivesupport to countries of origin, to assist them to discharge their75GOAL 5GOAL 1

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONGOAL 1MGOAL 5responsibility to ensure the legal, physical and materialsecurity of refugees.• States to facilitate the participation of refugees, includingwomen, in peace and reconciliation processes and to ensurethat such agreements duly recognize the right to return andcontemplate measures to encourage repatriation, reintegrationand reconciliation.• Countries of origin and asylum, working in cooperation withUNHCR, to promote voluntary repatriation inter alia throughthe conclusion of tripartite agreements and measuresfacilitating decisions on return, such as “go-and-see visits”,information sessions involving exchanges between refugeesand home-country officials, and similar confidence-buildingmeasures, as well as, resources permitting, enhanced UNHCRfield presence to allow continuous monitoring and tocontribute to the creation of normal and peaceful conditions tofacilitate repatriation.• ExCom to adopt a Conclusion addressing legal safety issues,including property concerns, as a complement to ConclusionNo. 40 (XXXVI) on voluntary repatriation.• States and UNHCR to ensure that gender and age-relatedissues particular to a repatriation or reintegration programmeare identified at an early stage and are fully taken into accountin the planning and implementation of voluntary repatriationprogrammes.• States and UNHCR to ensure that both women and men aregiven an opportunity to make a free and fully informeddecision regarding return and to sign individually theVoluntary Repatriation Form, fully respecting the need forconfidentiality.GOAL 176

AGENDAFORPROTECTION3. Strengthened cooperation to makerepatriation sustainable• UNHCR to update its 1996 Handbook on VoluntaryRepatriation, with a sharpened focus on measures tostrengthen cooperation among all concerned actors and buildconfidence.• UNHCR and other relevant partners to assist the process ofreconciliation by ensuring that planning and programming forrepatriation include measures to encourage reconciliation,through promoting equity between returnees, displacedpersons and local residents in access to essential services andparticipation in public life.• States and UNHCR to ensure that planning for repatriationincludes the early involvement of development partners, as ameans to contribute to the sustainability of repatriation and tofacilitate UNHCR’s timely hand-over and exit.• States, UNHCR and development partners to adopt, asappropriate and in a spirit of partnership, a community-basedfocus regarding investment in reintegration, which benefitsreturnees as well as the local population, and which accordssufficient priority to housing and essential services, to increaseabsorption capacity and contribute to reconciliation.• States to take measures to ensure equal rights for returneewomen in access to housing, property and land restitution.• States, UNHCR and other partners to give priority toensuring that education possibilities are available to returneesin the country of origin, and that access is facilitated througharrangements which certify education, vocational or othertraining received while in exile.GOAL 1MGOAL 577GOAL 1

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONGOAL 1M4. Local integration having its proper place aspart of a comprehensive strategy fordurable solutions• ExCom to set out framework considerations forimplementing the solution of local integration, in the form of aConclusion sensitive to the specificities of refugee needs,international and national legal standards, as well as the socioeconomicrealities of hosting countries. In this regard, a genderand age-sensitive community-development approach to localintegration to be promoted, taking into account, as possibleand appropriate, needs of both the refugees and the localpopulation.• States to examine where, when and how to promote the grantof a secure legal status and residence rights, which couldinclude the opportunity to become naturalized citizens of thecountry of asylum, for refugees who have already attained aconsiderable degree of socio-economic integration.• States, working in partnership with international and regionaldevelopment actors, to contribute to the realization of localintegration through burden-sharing, which ensures that thenecessary resources are available to underpin self-reliance andlocal integration, in a manner that sustains the viability of localcommunities affected by their presence.GOAL 5GOAL 15. Expansion of resettlement opportunities• UNHCR to work to enhance protection through an expansionof the number of countries engaged in resettlement, as well asthrough more strategic use of resettlement for the benefit of asmany refugees as possible, taking, however, into account theresource implications thereof.78

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• States that do not yet offer resettlement opportunities to giveactive consideration to making some resettlement placesavailable.• States and UNHCR, in cooperation with NGOs, to developcapacity-building programmes with new resettlementcountries, involving training, as well as “twinning” and relatedsupport.• States that offer resettlement opportunities to considerincreasing their resettlement quotas, diversifying their intakeof refugee groups, and introducing more flexible resettlementcriteria. 22• States to put in place policies to ensure that resettlement runsin tandem with a more vigorous integration policy, aimed atenabling refugees having durable residence status to enjoyequality of rights and opportunities in the social, economic andcultural life of the country, especially as regards: education,including language training and skills development; the labourmarket; family reunification; and citizenship.6. More efficient use of resettlement bothas a protection tool and as a durable solution• States and UNHCR, working in cooperation with NGOs, tostreamline requirements for the processing of applications forresettlement, with a stronger focus on protection needs.• States and UNHCR to explore the feasibility of establishinga central biometric registration system to support theidentification of refugees in need of resettlement.• States and UNHCR to examine how to carry out earlieranalysis of data deriving from refugee registration, toanticipate the needs for resettlement of individuals or specific22See also Goal 3, objective 6.79GOAL 1MGOAL 5GOAL 1

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONgroups and to process more rapidly resettlement applications,particularly in emergency situations.• States and UNHCR to give increased attention to genderrelatedprotection needs in their resettlement programmes, inaddition to the women-at-risk category.• UNHCR to improve methods and mechanisms to minimizethe potential for malfeasance and address corruption and fraud,and to keep ExCom informed of this effort.• States and UNHCR to ensure the availability of increasedresources for resettlement activities, integrated in a balancedway in each geographic operation.7. Achievement of self-reliance for refugeesGOAL 1MGOAL 5• UNHCR and States to ensure that, from the outset, assistanceprogrammes for refugees integrate strategies for self-relianceand empowerment. In this regard, UNHCR to act as a catalystin mobilizing financial and technical support for suchmeasures.• In this regard also, UNHCR and States to look atrelief-substitution strategies 23 , tapping in particular theresourcefulness and potential of refugee women, in an effortalso to avoid the serious protection problems, including sexualand gender-based violence, which can result fromover-dependency and idleness.• States to consider expanding possibilities for education,vocational training, and agricultural and other incomegeneratingprogrammes, benefiting men and women equitably.• States, UNHCR and humanitarian partners to ensure thatrefugees, particularly refugee women and adolescents, andGOAL 123Efforts involving both refugees and local communities in producing certain items (e.g.cooking oil, flour, blankets, stoves).80

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONhost communities themselves, participate in the design anddevelopment of self-reliance programmes.• States, UNHCR and humanitarian and development partnersto work with host countries on further developing integratedapproaches that can strengthen the absorption capacity ofrefugee-hosting areas.• UNHCR to initiate a study of economic and social conditionsfor refugees in host States, with emphasis on nationalemployment legislation, as well as an inventory of bestpractices for self-reliance strategies, to provide States withpractical operational tools to turn principles into concretemeasures.8. Rehabilitation of refugee-impacted areasin former host countries• States, UNHCR and development partners to assess how theycan best promote and positively contribute to efforts of theinternational community to provide for the rehabilitation ofrefugee-impacted areas in former countries of asylum.GOAL 1MGOAL 581GOAL 1

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONNotes:82

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONNotes:83

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONMeeting the protection needs ofrefugee women and refugee childrenRefugee women and refugee children account for the vast majority ofthe world’s refugees and beneficiaries of UNHCR programmes. Theinternational community and UNHCR have developed a wealth ofinternational norms, policies and guidelines to improve the protectionand care of refugee women and refugee children. In practice, there isstill a gap in the application and implementation of these, owing toresource constraints (both financial and human), uneven prioritiesand accountability at the level of institutions, but also within theinternational community. The protection of refugee women andchildren is both a core activity and an organizational priority forUNHCR. To protect refugee women and children, a three-prongedapproach is called for, which proceeds within a rights-basedframework, which contains targeted actions, and which is solidlypremised on mainstreaming both gender equality andage-sensitivity. 24 The main protection concerns facing refugee womenand refugee children are inter-related, cannot be treated in isolationfrom each other, and require strong partnership among all concernedpartners. Specific activities to address protection needs of refugeewomen and refugee children are reflected under other goals andobjectives of the Programme of Action. Two additional frameworkobjectives, with some accompanying activities, are set out below:24Recommendations for action on behalf of refugee women and children have been drawnfrom recent independent evaluations of UNHCR’s activities for refugee women and children,Global Consultations and other meetings, international human rights law, ExecutiveCommittee Conclusions, guidelines and policies. See An independent evaluation of theimpact of UNHCR’s activities in meeting the rights and protection needs of refugee children,EPAU/2002/02 (May 2002) and UNHCR Policy on Refugee Women and Guidelines on TheirProtection: An Assessment of Ten Years of Implementation (May 2002).85GOAL 6GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1GOAL 1

AGENDAFORPROTECTION1. Measures to improve the framework forthe protection of refugee womenGOAL 1M• States, UNHCR and partners to set in place measures toensure that refugee women participate equitably in decisionmakingin all areas of refugee life, as well as in theimplementation of such decisions, and that protection- andgender-sensitive approaches are applied at every stage ofprogramme development, implementation, monitoring andevaluation.• States to consider acceding to the Convention on theElimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol.• UNHCR to review the recommendations contained in theWomen’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children’s 25assessment of UNHCR’s Guidelines on the Protection ofRefugee Women and to ensure timely and appropriate followup,with timeframes, as appropriate.• UNHCR to finalize revision of the 1991 Guidelines on theProtection of Refugee Women, taking into account relevantfindings of the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women andChildren’s assessment of implementation of the guidelines.• UNHCR to ensure continuous dissemination and to monitorimplementation of the Guidelines on Gender-RelatedPersecution, Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women,and Sexual Violence against Refugee Women: Guidelines onPrevention and Response.• UNHCR to ensure that Country Operation Plans (COPs) andAnnual Protection Reports fully address critical women’srights issues, including detailed reporting on activities carriedGOAL 625UNHCR Policy on Refugee Women and Guidelines on Their Protection: An Assessmentof Ten Years of Implementation (May 2002).86

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONout and results achieved, and incorporate, where appropriate,plans of action for protection, developed with partners andrefugees themselves.• States, UNHCR and other actors to ensure that a genderequalityperspective is mainstreamed into all training andlearning programmes.2. Measures to improve the framework forthe protection of refugee children• States, UNHCR and partners to set in place measures toensure that, as appropriate, refugee children and adolescentsparticipate equitably in decision-making in all areas of refugeelife, as well as in the implementation of such decisions, andthat protection and age-sensitive approaches are applied atevery stage of programme development, implementation,monitoring and evaluation.• States that have not yet ratified the Convention on the Rightsof the Child and its Optional Protocols on the Involvement ofChildren in Armed Conflict and on the Sale of Children, ChildProstitution and Child Pornography, and the 1993 HagueConvention on Protection of Children and Cooperation inRespect of Inter-Country Adoption to consider doing so, andStates Parties to these instruments to implement them in goodfaith.• States, UNHCR and humanitarian partners to continue orestablish programmes to inform refugee children of their rightsand encourage their participation in identifying protectionproblems, actions to alleviate them and decisions affectingthem.• States, UNHCR and humanitarian partners to continue or setin place training programmes on the rights of refugee children,87GOAL 1MGOAL 6

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONGOAL 1Mdrawing as appropriate on the Convention on the Rights of theChild, other relevant standards of human rights andinternational humanitarian law and UNHCR’s guidelines onthe protection and care of refugee children.• UNHCR to ensure continuous dissemination and to overseeimplementation of the guidelines on the protection and care ofrefugee children.• UNHCR to establish a monitoring process to measureimplementation of the above guidelines as well as follow-upon the recommendations made in the independent evaluationMeeting the Rights and Protection Needs of Refugee Children(May 2002).• UNHCR to ensure that Country Operation Plans (COPs) andAnnual Protection Reports fully address critical children’srights issues, including detailed reporting on activities carriedout and results achieved, and incorporate, where appropriate,plans of action for protection developed with partners andrefugee children themselves.• UNHCR to enhance its partnership with UNICEF and Savethe Children, to improve training and capacity-building withinthe framework of the Action on the Rights of Children (ARC)project, and to give priority to training government and partnercounterparts, as well as their own staff.• States to accord importance to primary and secondaryeducation for refugees, including by providing funding to hostStates and UNHCR, in recognition that education is animportant tool of protection.GOAL 688

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONNotes:GOAL 1MGOAL 689

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONNotes:90

AGENDAPROTECTIONFORANNEXLIST OF DOCUMENTS 26RELATING TO THE GLOBALCONSULTATIONS ONINTERNATIONALPROTECTION26All of the documents cited are available on the Global Consultations page ofUNHCR’s website at www.unhcr.org. (Most in English only).91

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONA. Third Track Meeting on the theme:“Protection of Refugees in MassInflux Situations”,8–9 March 2001• Protection of Refugees in Mass Influx Situations: OverallProtection Framework, EC/GC/01/4, 19 February 2001• The Civilian Character of Asylum: Separating ArmedElements from Refugees, EC/GC/01/5, 19 February 2001• Practical Aspects of Physical and Legal Protection withRegard to Registration, EC/GC/01/6, 19 February 2001• Mechanisms of International Cooperation to ShareResponsibilities and Burdens in Mass Influx Situations,EC/GC/01/7, 19 February 2001• Global Consultations – Protection of Refugees in MassInflux (8–9 March 2001): Chairman’s Summary• Global Consultations on International Protection: Reportof the First Meeting in the Third Track,EG/GC/01/8/Rev.1, 28 June 2001• Global Consultations – Follow-up to the First Meeting ofthe Third Track: Refugees in Mass Influx Situations (SeeAnnex II of the Update on Global Consultations onInternational Protection, EC/51/SC/CRP.12,30 May 2001)B. Third Track Meeting on the theme:“Protection of Refugees in the Contextof Individual Asylum Systems”,28–29 June 2001• Refugee Protection and Migration Control: Perspectivesfrom UNHCR and IOM, EC/GC/01/11, 31 May 2001• Asylum Processes (Fair and Efficient Asylum92

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONProcedures), EC/GC/01/12, 31 May 2001• Access to Procedures, “Safe Third Countries”, “SafeCountries of Origin” and “Time Limits”, Joanne vanSelm, June 2001• Global Consultations – Protection of Refugees in theContext of Individual Asylum Systems(28–29 June 2001): Chairman’s Summary• Global Consultations on International Protection: Reportof the Second Meeting in the Third Track(28–29 June 2001), EC/GC/01/15/Rev.1,27 September 2001• Global Consultations on International Protection –Follow-up to the Second Meeting of the ThirdTrack: Protection of Refugees in the Context ofIndividual Asylum Systems,EC/GC/01/20, 18 September 2001C. Third Track Meeting on the theme:“Protection of Refugees in the Context ofIndividual Asylum Systems”,27–28 September 2001• Reception of Asylum-Seekers, including Standards ofTreatment, in the Context of Individual Asylum Systems,EC/GC/01/17, 4 September 2001• Complementary Forms of Protection, EC/GC/01/18,4 September 2001• Strengthening Protection Capacities in Host Countries,EC/GC/01/19, 4 September 2001• Global Consultations – Protection of Refugees in theContext of Individual Asylum Systems(27–28 September 2001): Chairman’s Summary• Global Consultations on International Protection: Report93

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONof the Third Meeting in the Third Track(27–28 September 2001), EC/GC/02/2, 16 April 2002• Global Consultations – Follow-up to the Third Meeting ofthe Third Track: Protection of Refugees in the Context ofIndividual Asylum Systems, EC/GC/02/3, 16 April 2002D. Third Track Meeting on the themes:“The Search for Protection-based Solutions” and“Protection of Refugee Women and RefugeeChildren”, 22-24 May 2002• Voluntary Repatriation, EC/GC/02/5, 25 April 2002• Local Integration, EC/GC/02/6, 25 April 2002• Strengthening and Expanding Resettlement Today:Dilemmas, Challenges and Opportunities, EC/GC/02/7,25 April 2002• Refugee Women, EC/GC/02/8, 25 April 2002• Refugee Children, EC/GC/02/9, 25 April 2002• Global Consultations on International Protection: Reportof the Fourth Meeting of the Third Track EC/GC/02/10,14 June 2002• Global Consultations-The Search for Protection-BasedSolutions and Protection of Refugee Women and RefugeeChildren (22-24 May 2002): Chairman’s SummaryE. Regional Meetings• UNHCR Regional Symposium on Maintaining theCivilian and Humanitarian Character of Asylum, RefugeeStatus, Camps and Other Locations, EC/GC/01/9, 30 May2001 (Pretoria, South Africa)• Regional Workshops in Ottawa, Ontario and in Macau,Incorporating Refugee Protection Safeguards intoInterception Measures, EC/GC/01/13, 31 May 200194

AGENDAFORPROTECTION(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; and Macau SAR, China)• Global Consultations on International Protection:Budapest Regional Meeting, EC/GC/01/14, 15 June 2001(English only)• Global Consultations on International Protection:San José Regional Experts Meeting, 7–8 June 2001• Strengthening the Capacity of Countries of First Asylumin the Region to offer Adequate Protection: RegionalMeeting in Cairo, EC/GC/01/21, 20 September 2001• Nordic Resettlement Meeting: Resettlement as aMulti-faceted Protection Tool and its Relationship toMigration, Oslo, EC/GC/02/4, 16 April 2002F. Additional Events in Support of the GlobalConsultations Process• EU Seminar on Children Affected by Armed Conflict andForced Displacement – A Child Rights Perspective inDevelopment Co-operation and Migration Policies:Conclusions by the Swedish EU Presidency,Norrköpping, 1–2 March 2001• Improving the Security of Refugee and DisplacedWomen: Recommendations for Policy and Practice fromInternational Expert Seminar issued by the NorwegianInstitute of International Affairs, Oslo,24–25 January 2002[The seminar was initiated and funded by the NorwegianMinistry of Foreign Affairs and organized by theNorwegian Institute of International Affairs, inco-operation with the International Peace ResearchInstitute and the Norwegian Refugee Council.]95

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONG. Second Track – Lisbon Expert Roundtable,3–4 May 2001• Current Issues in Cessation of Protection underArticle 1C of the 1951 Convention and Article I.4of the 1969 OAU Convention, Joan Fitzpatrick, 2001• Current Issues in the Application of the ExclusionClauses, Geoff Gilbert, 2001• When is Protection No Longer Necessary? – The “CeasedCircumstances” Provisions of the Cessation Clauses:Principles and UNHCR Practice, 1973–1999,Rafael Bonoan, 24 April 2001• Lisbon Expert Roundtable, 3–4 May 2001, SummaryConclusions – Cessation of Refugee Status• Lisbon Expert Roundtable, 3–4 May 2001, SummaryConclusions – Exclusion from Refugee Status.EC/GC/01/2Track/1 (English only)H. Second Track – Cambridge ExpertRoundtable, 9–10 July 2001• Supervising the 1951 Convention on the Status ofRefugees: Article 35 and Beyond, Walter Kälin, 2001• The Scope and the Content of the Principle on Non-Refoulement, Opinion, Sir Elihu Lauterpacht CBE QC,Daniel Bethlehem, 20 June 2001• Cambridge Expert Roundtable, 9–10 July 2001, SummaryConclusions – Supervisory Responsibility• Cambridge Expert Roundtable, 9–10 July 2001, SummaryConclusions – The Principle of Non-Refoulement96

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONI. Second Track – San Remo Expert Roundtable,6–8 September 2001• Gender-Related Persecution, Rodger Haynes,10 August 2001• Internal Protection/Relocation/Flight Alternative as anAspect of Refugee Status Determination,James C. Hathaway, Michelle Foster, 2001• Membership in a Particular Social Group: Analysis andProposed Conclusions, Alexander T. Aleinikoff, 2001• San Remo Expert Roundtable, 6–8 September 2001,Summary Conclusions – InternalProtection/Relocation/Flight Alternative• San Remo Expert Roundtable, 6–8 September 2001,Summary Conclusions – Gender-related Persecution• San Remo Expert Roundtable, 6–8 September 2001,Summary Conclusions – Membership of a ParticularSocial GroupJ. Second Track – Geneva Expert Roundtable,8–9 November 2001• Family Unity and Refugee Protection,Kate Jastram, Kathleen Newland, 2001• Article 31 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status ofRefugees: Non-Penalization, Detention and Prosecution,Guy S. Goodwin Gill, October 2001• Geneva Expert Roundtable, 8–9 November 2001,Summary Conclusions on Family Unity• Geneva Expert Roundtable, 8–9 November 2001,Summary Conclusions on Article 31 of the 1951Convention relating to the Status of Refugees - Revised97

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONK. First Track - Ministerial Meeting ofStates Parties, Geneva, 12–13 December 2001• Report of the Preparatory Session of the MinisterialMeeting of States Parties, HCR/MMSP/2001/03 andHCR/MMSP/2001/03/Corr.1• Background Notes for the Roundtables of the MinisterialMeeting, HCR/MMSP/2001/04• Declaration of States Parties to the 1951 Conventionand/or its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status ofRefugees, HCR/MMSP/2001/9• Report of the Ministerial Meeting of States Parties to the1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol relating to theStatus of Refugees, HCR/MMSP/2001/10L. Support for the Process• Inter-Parliamentary Union Council Resolution on the 50 thAnniversary of the adoption of the 1951 Convention,Havana, 7 April 2001• Organization of American States Resolution on theProtection of Refugees, Returnees and InternallyDisplaced Persons in the Americas, San Jose,5 June 2001, OEA/Ser. P, AG/RES. 1832 (XXXI-O/01)• Council of Europe Recommendation on the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Refugees and the 50 thAnniversary of the Geneva Convention, Strasbourg,27 June 2001, Rec. 1525 (2001)• Organization of African Unity Decision on the 50 thAnniversary of the Adoption of the 1951 Convention,Lusaka, 11 July 2001• European Union Declaration on the 50 th Anniversary ofthe 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees,Brussels, 28 July 200198

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• Paris Appeal by Refugees at the French NationalAssembly, Paris, 16 June 2001M. Consultations with Refugees• International Conference on the Reception andIntegration of Resettled Refugees (ICRIRR),Norrköpping, 25–27 April 2001• Refugee Parliament, French National Assembly, Paris,16 June 2001• Dialogue with Refugee Women, Geneva,20–22 June 2001• The Refugee Perspective, Rouen, 14–16 September 2001N. General• Refugee Protection – A Guide to International RefugeeLaw, Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 2, 2001, Officeof the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugeesand the Inter-Parliamentary Union• Global Consultations – “Third Track” Issues: List ofSelected Reference Material, EC/GC/01/2,12 February 2001• Work Programme for “Third Track” Issues in the Contextof the Executive Committee Framework,EC/GC/01/1/Rev.2, 9 May 200199

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONNotes:100

AGENDAPROTECTIONFORGENERAL CONCLUSION ONINTERNATIONALPROTECTIONN O . 92 (LIII) - 2002Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’sProgramme, 53rd sessionContained in United Nations General Assembly documentA/AC.96/973 and document n o . 12A (A/57/12/Add.1)101

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONThe Executive Committee,Welcoming the contribution of the Global Consultations onInternational Protection to strengthening the internationalframework for refugee protection and to equip States better toaddress the challenges in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation,Welcoming particularly in this context the Declaration of StatesParties adopted during the Ministerial Meeting of StatesParties to the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relatingto the Status of Refugees, convened in Geneva on 12 and 13December 2001, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of theConvention,Commending UNHCR for the considerable efforts expended tomake the Global Consultations process a success,Recalling its Conclusion N o . 90 (LII) on internationalprotection, which affirmed the intention to pursue, withbroadly based participation, follow-up activities stemmingfrom the Global Consultations set out in a joint ExecutiveCommittee and UNHCR Agenda for Protection,(a) Endorses the Agenda for Protection contained in documentA/AC.96/965/Add.1, flowing from the Global Consultationsprocess, pursuant to the decision of the Standing Committee atits twenty-fourth meeting;(b) Recognizes that the Agenda for Protection is a statement ofgoals and objectives and an important inventory ofrecommended actions to reinforce the international protectionof refugees, and is intended to guide action by States and102

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONUNHCR, together with other United Nations organizations,and other intergovernmental as well as non-governmentalorganizations;(c) Requests UNHCR to transmit the Agenda for Protection tothe General Assembly, as an annex to the report of the Fiftythirdsession of the Executive Committee;(d) Requests UNHCR also to disseminate the Agenda forProtection widely and to engage partners actively in its followup,especially by undertaking further discussion with States,including in the Standing Committee framework, to establishpriorities for follow-up activities;(e) Encourages all concerned actors to implement thoseactivities calling for their action, and to facilitate the work ofand cooperate with UNHCR in carrying out its own follow-upactivities;(f) Invites UNHCR and States to seize opportunities to furtherdevelop and review elements of the Agenda for Protection, asimplementation progresses;(g) Invites States to cooperate with UNHCR in monitoring theprogress in the implementation of the Agenda for Protection byall concerned partners;(h) Calls on UNHCR, with the cooperation of States and otheractors, to keep the Executive Committee informed, through itsStanding Committee, of the progress achieved and initiativestaken to implement the Agenda for Protection.103

AGENDAPROTECTIONFORRESOLUTION A/RES/57/187 OFTHE GENERAL ASSEMBLYOF THE UNITED NATIONS(4 December 2002)OFFICE OFTHE UNITED NATIONSHIGH COMMISSIONERFOR REFUGEES104

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONThe General Assembly,Having considered the report of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees on the activities of his Office 1 andthe report of the Executive Committee of the Programme of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the workof its fifty-third session and the conclusions and decisionscontained therein,Recalling its previous annual resolutions on the work of theOffice of the High Commissioner for Refugees since itsestablishment by the General Assembly,Expressing its appreciation for the leadership shown by theHigh Commissioner, and commending the staff andimplementing partners of the Office of the High Commissionerfor the competent, courageous and dedicated manner in whichthey discharge their responsibilities,1. Endorses the report of the Executive Committee of theProgramme of the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees on the work of its Fifty-third session 2 ;2. Welcomes the important work undertaken by the Office ofthe High Commissioner and its Executive Committee in thecourse of the year and notes in this context the conclusion onthe civilian and humanitarian character of asylum 3 , theconclusion on reception of asylum-seekers in the context ofindividual asylum systems 4 and the progress achieved with1Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-seventh Session, SupplementN o . 12 (A/57/12).2Ibid., Supplement N o . 12A (A/57/12/Add.1).3Ibid., chap. III, sect. C.4Ibid., sect. B.105

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONrespect to recognizing the important contribution of hostdeveloping countries; welcomes also the importance attachedto cooperation with the New Partnership for Africa’sDevelopment; welcomes further the active engagement of theOffice of the High Commissioner in the Inter-Agency StandingCommittee Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitationand Abuse in Humanitarian Crises and the drafting of a policyon sexual exploitation, and encourages the Office of the HighCommissioner to continue combating such practices; andwelcomes the renewed efforts made by the Office of the HighCommissioner to promote durable solutions for refugees;3. Notes that the 1951 Convention relating to the Status ofRefugees 5 and the 1967 Protocol thereto 6 have continuouslyserved as the cornerstone of the international refugeeprotection regime, and welcomes in this context theDeclaration adopted at the Ministerial Meeting of StatesParties to the Convention and/or its Protocol 7 , held at Genevaon 12 and 13 December 2001 to commemorate the fiftiethanniversary of the Convention, as an expression of theircollective commitment to full and effective implementation ofthe Convention and Protocol and to the values they embody;4. Reaffirms that the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocolthereto remain the foundation of the international refugeeregime, and recognizes the importance of their full applicationby States parties, notes with satisfaction that one hundred andforty-four States are now parties to one instrument or to both,encourages States not parties to consider acceding to thoseinstruments, underlines in particular the importance of full5United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, N o . 2545.6Ibid., vol. 606, N o . 8791.7HCR/MMSP/2001/10, annex I.106

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONrespect for the principle of non-refoulement, and recognizesthat a number of States not parties to the international refugeeinstruments have shown a generous approach to hostingrefugees;5. Notes that fifty-four States are now parties to the 1954Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons 8 and thattwenty-six States are parties to the 1961 Convention on theReduction of Statelessness 9 , and encourages the HighCommissioner to continue his activities on behalf of statelesspersons;6. Welcomes the contribution of the process of GlobalConsultations on International Protection to strengthening theinternational framework for refugee protection and toequipping States better to address the challenges in a spirit ofdialogue and cooperation, and welcomes in this connection theAgenda for Protection 10 ;7. Reiterates that international protection is a dynamic andaction-oriented function, carried out in cooperation with Statesand other partners, inter alia, to promote and facilitate theadmission, reception and treatment of refugees and to ensuredurable, protection-oriented solutions, bearing in mind theparticular needs of vulnerable groups;8. Re-emphasizes that the protection of refugees is primarilythe responsibility of States, whose full and effective8United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 360, N o . 5158.9Ibid., vol. 989, N o . 14458.10Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-seventh Session, SupplementN o . 12A.107

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONcooperation, action and political resolve are required to enablethe Office of the High Commissioner to fulfil its mandatedfunctions;9. Urges all States and relevant non-governmental and otherorganizations, in conjunction with the Office of the HighCommissioner, in a spirit of international solidarity andburden- and responsibility-sharing, to cooperate and tomobilize resources with a view to enhancing the capacity ofand reducing the heavy burden borne by countries that havereceived large numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers, andcalls upon the Office of the High Commissioner to continue toplay its catalytic role in mobilizing assistance from theinternational community to address the root causes as well asthe economic, environmental and social impact of large-scalerefugee populations in developing countries, particularly leastdeveloped countries, and countries with economies intransition;10. Strongly reaffirms the fundamental importance and thepurely humanitarian and non-political character of the functionof the Office of the High Commissioner of providinginternational protection to refugees and seeking permanentsolutions to refugee problems, recalls that these solutionsinclude voluntary repatriation and, where appropriate andfeasible, local integration and resettlement in a third country,reaffirming that voluntary repatriation remains the preferredsolution, supported by necessary rehabilitation anddevelopment assistance to facilitate sustainable reintegration;11. Emphasizes the obligation of all States to accept the returnof their nationals, calls upon States to facilitate the return oftheir nationals who have been determined not to be in need of108

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONinternational protection, and affirms the need for the return ofpersons to be undertaken in a safe and humane manner andwith full respect for their human rights and dignity,irrespective of the status of the persons concerned;12. Recognizes that adequate and timely resources are essentialfor the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to fulfilthe mandate conferred upon it through its statute 11 , and bysubsequent General Assembly resolutions concerning refugeesand other persons of concern, and urges Governments andother donors to respond promptly to the global appeal issuedby the Office for requirements under its annual programmebudget;13. Requests the High Commissioner to report on his activitiesto the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session.11(A/57/12/Add.1), annex IV.109

AGENDAPROTECTIONFORTHEMATIC INDEX110

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONA.• accession (to refugee related instruments), 31, 32, 41, 68difficulties for States, 32• accountability, 69, 85• adolescents, 37, 57, 60, 66, 80, 87participation in decision-making, 87• advocacy, 27• amnesties, 75• Annual Protection Reports, 86, 88• armed conflict, 24, 40, 66• armed forces, armed elements (separation of), 66, 67• asylum, 22, 24, 26, 27, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 46, 47,48, 50, 51, 56, 57, 58, 66, 67, 76, 78, 81civilian character, 66, 67Executive Committee Conclusion (guidingconsiderations for) Preservation of the CivilianCharacter of Asylum, 67• asylum systems, 25, 32, 46• asylum-seekers, 22, 24, 26, 27, 37, 38, 39, 40, 47, 51, 56, 58children, 33, 38procedures, 32, 33• asylum proceduresExecutive Committee Conclusion (framework for)Asylum Procedures, 32 gender andage-specific safeguards, 33• asylum systemsEuropean, 24maintaining, 24misuse of, 33, 46safeguarding, 25111

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONB.• best practices, 38, 81• biometric, 40, 79• burden-sharing (see international solidarity), 25, 28, 29, 49,56, 57, 61, 74, 78C.• camps, 66• Cartagena Declaration, 24• children, 26, 29, 35, 37, 38, 40, 51, 59, 60, 66, 68, 69,85, 87, 88Action on the Rights of Children (ARC), 88child soldiers, 68Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 33, 87, 88forcible recruitment, 66Guidelines on the protection and care of refugeechildren, 88Hague Convention on Protection of Children andCooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption, 87Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, ChildProstitution and Child Pornography, 87Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of theChild on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, 68participation in decision-making, 87trafficked children, 48unaccompanied and separated, 33, 38, 40UNICEF, 68, 88• citizenship, 79• civilian character of asylum, 66, 67• codes of conduct, 69• Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)regional conference, 24112

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• community development, 38, 60, 77• complementary forms of protection, 31, 34ExCom Conclusion, 34• confidentiality, 39, 76• conflict-prevention, conflict-resolution, 41• Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 21, 22, 23,25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 381967 Protocol, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35, 37centrality, 25Geographical limitation (withdrawing of), 26supervision, 31, 35• corruption and fraud, 80• countries, 24, 26, 28, 39, 40, 41, 46, 49, 57, 58, 59, 60, 74,75, 78, 79, 81developing countries, 24, 28economies in transition, 24, 28first asylum, 49, 58host, 26, 39, 56, 57, 59, 60, 66, 67, 74, 75, 81, 88Handbook on Strengthening Capacities in HostCountries for the Protection of Refugees, 58rehabilitation of refugee-impacted areas, 81of origin, 41, 74, 75• Country Operation Plans (COPs), 86, 88D.• data, 39, 40, 48, 49, 50, 79collection, 48, 50confidentiality, 39, 76management, 40• demobilization, 68• Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), 66, 67• detention, 38abstaining from detaining children, 38113

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• development funds, 60• development partners, 61, 77, 81• disabilities (persons with), 33, 37, 38, 40• displaced persons, 77• durable solutions (see also resettlement, repatriation andlocal integration), 27, 28, 29, 60, 61, 74, 75, 78, 79E.• economic and social conditions for refugees in host States(study of), 81• education, 37, 57, 58, 68, 77, 79, 80, 88certification of education received in exile, 77primary and secondary, 88tool of protection, 88vocational training, 58, 68, 80• elderly, 26, 38, 40• emergency, 38, 56, 60, 80• employment, 47, 81• empowerment, 80• evaluation, 85, 86, 87, 88• exclusion clauses, 34, 35, 38• Executive Committee, (ExCom) 32, 33, 36, 37, 38, 41, 47,49, 51, 57, 67, 76, 78, 80, 85mandate, 34• Executive Committee Conclusions, 36, 85(framework for) Asylum Procedures, 32(framework for) Local Integration, 78(framework for) Reception of Asylum-Seekers, 37Complementary Forms of Protection, 34Framework Considerations for Responsibility-Sharing inMass Influx Situations, 57Legal Safety Issues in the context of Voluntary114

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONRepatriation, 76(guiding considerations for) Preservation of the CivilianCharacter of Asylum, 67Protection Safeguards in Interception Measures, 47F.• family, 33, 35, 47, 66, 79reunification, 47, 79unity (principle of ), 33• financial and technical assistance, 33, 58• forcible recruitment, 68• forum for high-level and participatory dialogue onprotection, 35• freedom of movement, 39• funding, 27, 61, 88G.• gender, 29, 33, 37, 39, 69, 76, 78, 80, 85, 86, 87• gender specificity, 29, 33, 37, 39, 69, 76, 78• geographical limitation (withdrawing of), 26• Global Consultations on International Protectionexpert roundtables, 36• guidelines, 33, 36, 38, 39, 67, 85, 86, 88and operational standards on registration and populationdata management, 40complementary to Handbook on Procedures and Criteriafor Determining Refugee Status, 36on Exclusion (1996), 35on Gender-Related Persecution, 33, 86on Safeguards for Interception Measures, 47on the procedural aspects of exclusion in the context ofgroup determination on a prima facie basis, 38115

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONon the protection and care of refugee children, 88on the Protection of Refugee Women (1991),33,68, 69, 86on the reception of asylum-seekers, 37Sexual Violence against Refugee Women, Guidelines onthe Prevention and Response, 69H.• handbookon Procedures and Criteria for Determining RefugeeStatus, 36on Strengthening Capacities in Host Countries for theProtection of Refugees, 58on Voluntary Repatriation, 77• handicapped (see disabilities), 38, 40• housing, 77• human rights, 23, 24, 31, 40, 41, 51, 75, 85, 88international and regional human rights bodies, 41national human rights commissions, 41Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights ofMigrants, 50United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR), 50, 75violations, 41• humanitarian, 24, 25, 56, 61, 68, 69, 74, 80, 81, 87and development partners, 74, 81assistance, 56evacuation, 61law, 24, 88operations, 69partners, 68, 69, 80, 87I.• immigration-control, 47adequate protection safeguards, 47116

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• impunity, 66• income-generating programmes, 80• information campaigns, 51• information-sharing, 50• interception, 50Executive Committee Conclusion on ProtectionSafeguards in Interception Measures, 47• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 66, 67• International Convention on the Protection of the Rightsof all Migrant Workers and Members of theirFamilies, 47• international financial institutions, 57• international instruments, accession to, 31, 32, 41, 68• International Labour Organization, 50, 51ILO Conventions, 47• international legal standards, 36, 37• International Organization for Migration (IOM), 48, 49, 50, 51• international refugee protection regime, 25, 27, 36to be developed further, 25, 36• international solidarity (see also burden-sharing), 25, 28,49, 56, 74• international standards, 26• irregular movers, 48, 58L.• law enforcement, 34• legal safety, 75, 76Executive Committee Conclusion on Legal Safety Issuesin the context of Voluntary Repatriation, 76• local integration, 28, 74, 78Executive Committee Conclusion (framework for) onLocal Integration, 78117

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONM.• mass influx, 31, 38, 39, 57, 61, 92early warning, 39Executive Committee Conclusion on FrameworkConsiderations for Responsibility-Sharing in MassInflux Situations, 57study on protection responses to mass influxes, 38• migration, 29, 46, 47, 48, 50Action Group on Asylum and Migration (AGAMI), 50asylum and migration nexus, 48, 50control, 47legal, 46, 50, 51management, 47United Nations Convention on the Protection of theRights of all Migrant Workers and Members of theirFamilies, 47• military recruitment, 68• monitoring, 38, 76, 86, 87, 88N.• non-governmental organizations, 21, 22, 35, 36, 38, 47, 50,51, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 74, 79improved legal status, 59• non-refoulement, 24, 28O.• Organization of African Unity, 24OAU Convention governing the Specific Aspects of theRefugee Problem in Africa, 38P.• partnership, 67, 77, 78, 85, 88• peace and reconciliation processes, 76• peace-building, 41118

AGENDAFORPROTECTION• peace-keeping, 41• Policy on Protection from Sexual Exploitation, 69• private sector, 57, 59, 61• property, 76, 77• property and land restitution, 75, 77• protection, 22, 25, 26, 29, 31, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41, 46, 47, 48,49, 56, 58, 59, 60, 66, 69, 74, 78, 79, 80, 85, 86, 87, 88Annual Protection Reports, 86, 88international, 22, 25, 27, 28, 33, 34, 47, 51, 56, 74international regime, 25, 31, 56refugee protection, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 31, 34, 47, 56• protection responsibilities, 25• protracted refugee situations, 28, 57, 58, 74, 75R.• racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, 27, 37• readmission, 33, 51• reception, 27, 31, 37Executive Committee Conclusion (framework for) onReception of Asylum-Seekers, 37• reconciliation, 75, 76, 77• refugee status determinationHandbook on Procedures and Criteria for DeterminingRefugee Status, 36• refugees, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,46, 47, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 66, 67, 68, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79,80, 85, 87, 88camps, 66Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 21, 22,23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38participation in peace and reconciliation processes, 76prima facie, 38, 61119

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONprotection regime, 25, 31, 56refugee law, 36rights and freedoms, 26status determination, 31, 34• RefugeesConvention relating to the Status of Refugees1967 Protocol, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35, 37• registration, 39, 40, 791994 Registration Guide, 40biometric system, 40, 79confidentiality, 39, 76guidelines and operational standards on registration andpopulation data management, 40worldwide registration system, 40• reintegration, 76, 77• repatriation, 28, 74, 76, 77• rescue at sea, 47International Maritime Organization, 47• reservations (withdrawal of), 26, 32• resettlement, 28, 59, 61, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80criteria, 61, 79quotas, 79training of new resettlement countries, 79Working Group on Resettlement, 59, 61, 75• residence, 78, 79rights, 78status, 79• responsibility, 25, 29, 39, 46, 47, 51, 56, 57, 76responsibility-sharing, 57• return, 33, 51, 76go-and-see visits, 76right to, 75, 76• root causes, 31,120

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONS.• secondary movement, 49• Secretary-General, 68• security, 29, 39, 40, 58, 66, 67, 68human security officers in refugee situations, 67legal, physical and material security of refugees, 76• Security Council, 35, 66, 68• self-reliance, 74, 78, 80, 81• sexual and gender-based violence, 68, 69, 80complaints mechanism, 69Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Force onProtection from Sexual Exploitation, 69Sexual Violence against Refugee Women, Guidelines onthe Prevention and Response, 69Yokohama Global Commitment, 69• sexual exploitation, 66, 69Policy on Protection from Sexual Exploitation, 69• smuggling, 25, 48, 50, 51Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land,Sea and Air, 48• Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, 50• standard-setting (further), 36mass influx, 38• statelessness, 41Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 41Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 41• statistics, 48• studies, 36, 38, 49, 81on migration dynamics, 49study of economic and social conditions for refugees inhost States, 81study on protection responses to mass influxes, 38• supervision of implementation of the 1951 Convention,31, 35121

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONT.• Tampere European Council Conclusions, 24• teenagers (see adolescents), 37• terrorism, 34• terrorist acts, 34• torture victims, 33, 37, 38• trafficking, 25, 48, 50, 51, 66Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking inPersons, Especially Women and Children, 48• training, 34, 39, 40, 47, 50, 59, 68, 69, 77, 79, 87, 88Action on the Rights of Children (ARC), 88of border officials or of those involved in refugee statusdetermination, 59of new resettlement countries, 79on gender-equlity, 87on interception measures, 47on the prevention of military recruitment, 68on the rights of refugee children, 87registration and data management training modules, 40• tripartite agreements, 76U.• UNHCR, 21, 22, 23, 27, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,41, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 67, 68, 69,74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 85, 86, 87, 88Annual Protection Reports, 86, 88Country Operation Plans (COPs), 86, 88mandate, 27, 34, 46• UNICEF, 68, 88• United Nations Secretary-General, 68• United Nations Security Council, 35, 66, 68• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 26122

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONV.• violence, 37, 66, 69• voluntary repatriation, 28, 39, 74, 75, 76Executive Committee Conclusion on Legal Safety Issuesin the context of Voluntary Repatriation, 76Handbook on Voluntary Repatriation, 77in safety and dignity, 28, 74tripartite agreements, 76• vulnerable persons, 26, 33, 38, 66W.• women, 26, 29, 33, 35, 38, 39, 40, 48, 59, 60, 66, 68, 69,76, 77, 80, 85, 86Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women (CEDAW), 33, 86Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women (1991),33, 69, 86participation in decision-making, 86participation in peace and reconciliation processes, 76women-at-risk, 80123

AGENDAFORPROTECTIONPhoto Credits:Cover(1) Afghanistan – A returnee from Pakistan is welcomed by familymembers in Kabul after five years in exile. UNHCR/N. Behring-Chisholm.(2) Guinea – Newly arrived refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberiain Kountaya camp. UNHCR/L. Taylor.(3) Pakistan – Afghan refugees assemble at Takhta Baig centerbefore repatriating to Afghanistan. UNHCR/P. Benatar.Page 30:Uganda – Somali refugees are registered at a temporary site afterbeing displaced by an attack on their refugee camp in northernUganda. UNHCR/S. Mann.Pages 44-45:Switzerland – A Nigerian asylum-seeker waiting in Zurich’s KlotenAirport. UNHCR/A. Hollmann.Pages 54-55:East Timor – Foodstuffs being unloaded for returnees. UNHCR/M.Kobayashi.Pages 64-65:Yugoslavia – A UNHCR staff member and a British KFOR soldier visita Serb returnee whose community is surrounded by ethnicAlbanians. UNHCR/R. Chalasani.Pages 72-73:Eritrea – Voluntary repatriation from Sudan. UNHCR/S. Boness.Page 84:Kenya – A Somali refugee mother waits with her child at an MSF-runclinic in Hagadera camp. UNHCR/B. Press.Principal editors: José Riera and Marilyn AchironThematic index compiled by Mariette Grange of the International Catholic Migration CommissionDesign - Printing : I.M.P. AlpesTHIRD EDITIONUNHCR, October 2003124

Department of International Protection