Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

A/RES/49/169No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 99Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions, published in 1995.

What else is in this group?

42 documents · 1987–2025

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2025).

2025A/RES/80/187Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesCompare with earlier document
2024A/RES/79/156Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesCompare with earlier document
2023A/RES/78/184Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesCompare with earlier document
2022A/RES/77/198Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesCompare with earlier document
2022A/RES/76/143Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesCompare with earlier document

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

Grouped automatically by matching titles within the same organ.

What does this mandate say?

24 operative paragraphs

Strongly reaffirms the fundamental importance of the function of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees of providing international protection to refugees and the need for States to cooperate fully with her Office in order to facilitate the effective exercise of that function;

Calls upon all States that have not yet done so to accede or declare succession to and to implement fully the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and relevant regional instruments for the protection of refugees;

Deplores the fact that in certain situations refugees and returnees and other persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner have been subjected to armed attack, murder, rape and other violations of or threats to their personal security and other fundamental rights and that incidents of refoulement and denial of access to safety have occurred, and calls upon States to take all measures necessary to ensure respect for the principles of refugee protection and the humane treatment of asylum-seekers in accordance with internationally recognized human rights norms;

Calls upon all States to uphold asylum as an indispensable instrument for the international protection of refugees, and to respect scrupulously the fundamental principle of non-refoulement;

Reiterates the importance of ensuring access, for all persons seeking international protection, to fair and efficient procedures for the determination of refugee status or, as appropriate, to other mechanisms to ensure that persons in need of international protection are identified and granted such protection, while not diminishing the protection afforded to refugees under the terms of the 1951 Convention, the 1967 Protocol and relevant regional instruments;

Calls upon all States to assist and support the High Commissioner's efforts to continue to provide international protection and assistance, in accordance with the relevant General Assembly resolutions, to persons who have been forced to flee or to remain outside their countries of origin as a result of danger to their life or freedom owing to situations of conflict, and to seek solutions to the problems arising from their forced displacement;

Recognizes the desirability of exploring further measures to ensure international protection to all who need it, including temporary protection and other forms of asylum oriented towards repatriation, in situations of conflict or persecution involving large-scale outflows and in which return home is considered the most appropriate durable solution, and encourages the High Commissioner to continue to promote international cooperation and to engage in further consultations and discussions concerning measures to achieve this objective, acknowledging the value of regional arrangements in this regard;

Stresses the importance of international solidarity and burden-sharing in reinforcing the international protection of refugees, and urges all States and relevant non-governmental organizations, in conjunction with the Office of the High Commissioner, to cooperate in efforts to lighten the burden borne by States that have received large numbers of asylum-seekers and refugees;

Reiterates that voluntary repatriation, when it is feasible, is the ideal solution to refugee problems, calls upon countries of origin, countries of asylum, the Office of the High Commissioner and the international community as a whole to do everything possible to enable refugees to exercise freely their right to return home in safety and dignity, ensuring that international protection continues to be extended until that time, and assisting, where needed, the return and reintegration of repatriating refugees, and further calls upon the High Commissioner, in cooperation with States concerned, to promote, facilitate and coordinate the voluntary repatriation of refugees, including the monitoring of their safety and well-being on return;

Calls for a more concerted response by the international community to the needs of internally displaced persons and, in accordance with its resolution 48/116, reaffirms its support for the High Commissioner's efforts, on the basis of specific requests from the Secretary-General or the competent principal organs of the United Nations and with the consent of the State concerned, and taking into account the complementarities of the mandates and expertise of other relevant organizations, to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to such persons, emphasizing that activities on behalf of internally displaced persons must not undermine the institution of asylum, including the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution;

Calls upon the international community to provide timely and speedy humanitarian assistance and support to countries affected by internal displacement to help them fulfil their responsibility towards the displaced;

Calls, likewise, upon States and all parties to conflicts to take all possible necessary measures to ensure impartial, safe and timely humanitarian access to persons in need of protection and assistance;

Acknowledges the continuing close cooperation between the High Commissioner and the representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons in the exercise of his mandate, and recognizes the importance of their close cooperation, and of cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, with respect to prevention, protection, humanitarian assistance and solutions;

Encourages the High Commissioner to continue to support the coordination role of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, especially in major and complex emergencies;

Underlines the need for further progress by the United Nations system in addressing in a coherent and mutually supportive manner humanitarian assistance, rehabilitation and development activities, especially in countries to which refugees are returning voluntarily, and calls upon the Economic and Social Council to review the complementarities of relevant United Nations organizations in this regard;

Emphasizes the need, particularly in complex emergencies that include humanitarian and peace-keeping operations, to ensure respect for the High Commissioner's protection mandate and to preserve the impartial and purely humanitarian nature of the activities of the Office;

Expresses profound concern at conditions in a number of countries and regions that seriously endanger the security of the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner and other relief workers, deplores the loss of lives among such personnel, urges support for initiatives taken by the High Commissioner and within the General Assembly and the Security Council concerning the safety of United Nations and associated personnel, in particular the consideration of new measures to enhance the safety of such personnel, and calls upon States and all parties to conflicts to take all necessary measures to ensure the security of international and local staff undertaking humanitarian work in the countries concerned;

Urges the High Commissioner, Governments and other relevant organizations to intensify efforts to respond to the protection and assistance needs of refugee children, particularly those of unaccompanied minors, and calls upon States to safeguard the security of refugee children and to ensure that they are not recruited into the military or other armed groups;

Encourages the High Commissioner to continue to undertake initiatives for refugee women in the areas of leadership and skills training, legal awareness and education and, in particular, in the area of reproductive health, with full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of the refugees, in conformity with universally recognized human rights;

Calls upon States to assist the High Commissioner to fulfil her responsibilities, under General Assembly resolution 3274 (XXIX) of 10 December 1974, with respect to the reduction of statelessness, including the promotion of accessions to and full implementation of international instruments relating to statelessness;

Notes the relationship between safeguarding human rights and preventing refugee situations, and welcomes the High Commissioner's growing cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and her continued cooperation with the Centre for Human Rights of the Secretariat and the Commission on Human Rights;

Reaffirms the importance of incorporating environmental considerations into the programmes of the Office of the High Commissioner, especially in the least developed and developing countries which have hosted refugees over long periods of time, in view of the impact on the environment of the large numbers of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner;

Welcomes efforts to strengthen collaboration among Governments, the Office of the High Commissioner and non-governmental organizations, including through the Partnership in Action process, and encourages non-governmental organizations, Governments and the Office of the High Commissioner to identify areas for further cooperation;

Calls upon all Governments and other donors to contribute to the programmes of the Office of the High Commissioner and, taking into account the effect on host countries of the increasing requirements of large refugee populations and the need to widen the donor base and to achieve greater burden-sharing among donors, to assist the High Commissioner in securing additional and timely income from traditional governmental sources, other Governments and the private sector in order to ensure that the needs of refugees, returnees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner are met.

Paragraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.

No headings found in this document.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Who created this mandate?

What else is in this group?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What does this mandate say?

Table of contents