Resolution adopted by the General Assembly  on 18 December 2019          [on the report of the Third Committee (A/74/393)]       74/130. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees        The General Assembly,    Having considered the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for  Refugees on the activities of his Office1 and the report of the Executive Committee  of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the  work of its seventieth session2 and the decisions contained therein,    Recalling its previous annual resolutions on the work of the Office of the United  Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since its establishment by the General  Assembly,    Expressing deep concern that the number of people who are forcibly displaced  owing to, inter alia, conflict, persecution and violence, including terrorism, has  reached the highest level since the Second World War,    Noting with grave concern that, despite the tremendous generosity of host  countries and donors, including unprecedented levels of humanitarian funding, the  gap between needs and humanitarian funding continues to grow,    Recognizing that forced displacement has, inter alia, humanitarian and  development implications,    Expressing its appreciation for the leadership shown by the High Commissioner,  and commending the staff of his Office and its partners for the competent, courageous  and dedicated manner in which they discharge their responsibilities,  __________________    1 Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-fourth Session, Supplement No. 12 (A/74/12).    2 Ibid., Supplement No. 12A (A/74/12/Add.1).   A/RES/74/130  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees   19-22225 2/9      Underlining its strong condemnation of all forms of violence to which  humanitarian personnel are increasingly exposed,    Reaffirming the need for consistency with international law and relevant  General Assembly resolutions, and taking into account national policies, priorities  and realities,    Recalling its resolution 46/182 of 19 December 1991 on the strengthening of  the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations and all  subsequent General Assembly resolutions on the subject, including resolution 73/139  of 14 December 2018,    1.  Welcomes the important work undertaken by the Office of the United  Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its Executive Committee in the course  of the year, which is aimed at strengthening the international protection regime and  assisting Governments in meeting their protection responsibilities, and underlines the  importance of durable solutions, the securing of which is one of the principal goals  of international protection, and the significance of the Office’s efforts to promote  addressing root causes, within its mandate;    2.  Endorses the report of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the work of its seventieth  session;2    3.  Recognizes the relevance of the Executive Committee’s practice of adopting  conclusions, and encourages the Executive Committee to continue this process;    4.  Reaffirms the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees3 and the  1967 Protocol thereto 4  as the foundation of the international refugee protection  regime, recognizes the importance of their full and effective application by States  parties and the values they embody, notes with satisfaction that 149 States are now  parties to one or both instruments, encourages States not parties to consider acceding  to those instruments and States parties with reservations to give consideration to  withdrawing them, underlines, in particular, the importance of full respect for the  principle of non-refoulement, and recognizes that a number of States not parties to  the international refugee instruments have shown a generous approach to hosting  refugees;    5.  Urges States that are parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status  of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto to respect their obligations in letter and spirit;    6.  Re-emphasizes that the protection of refugees is primarily the  responsibility of States, whose full and effective cooperation, action and political  resolve are required to enable the Office of the High Commissioner to fulfil its  mandated functions, and strongly emphasizes the importance of active international  solidarity and burden- and responsibility-sharing;    7.  Welcomes recent accessions to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status  of Stateless Persons5 and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 6  notes that 94 States are now parties to the 1954 Convention and 74 States are parties  to the 1961 Convention, encourages States that have not done so to give consideration  to acceding to those instruments, notes the work of the United Nations High  Commissioner for Refugees with regard to identifying stateless persons, preventing  and reducing statelessness and protecting stateless persons, and urges the Office of  __________________    3 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, No. 2545.    4 Ibid., vol. 606, No. 8791.    5 Ibid., vol. 360, No. 5158.    6 Ibid., vol. 989, No. 14458.   Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  A/RES/74/130   3/9 19-22225    the High Commissioner to continue to work in this area in accordance with relevant  General Assembly resolutions and Executive Committee conclusions;    8.  Re-emphasizes that prevention and reduction of statelessness are primarily  the responsibility of States, in appropriate cooperation with the international  community, in this regard welcomes the results achieved in the first five years of the  global campaign to end statelessness within a decade, and notes the high-level  segment that took place at the start of the seventieth plenary session of the Executive  Committee, which discussed the issue of statelessness, encourages all States to  consider actions they may take to further the prevention and reduction of  statelessness, and welcomes efforts that have been made by States in this regard;    9.  Also re-emphasizes that protection of and assistance to internally displaced  persons are primarily the responsibility of States, in appropriate cooperation with the  international community, aimed at, inter alia, facilitating voluntary, safe and dignified  return, integration or relocation in their own country;    10. Notes the current activities of the Office of the High Commissioner related  to protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons, including in the context  of inter-agency arrangements in this field, emphasizes that such activities should be  carried out with the full consent of the affected States, consistent with relevant  General Assembly resolutions, and should not undermine the refugee mandate of the  Office and the institution of asylum, and encourages the High Commissioner to  continue his dialogue with States on the role of his Office in this regard;    11.  Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to respond  adequately to emergencies, in accordance with its mandate and in cooperation with  States, notes the ongoing measures to strengthen its capacity to respond to emergencies,  and encourages the Office to pursue efforts to further strengthen its emergency  response capacity to ensure a more predictable, effective and timely response;    12. Also encourages the Office of the High Commissioner to work in  partnership and full cooperation with relevant national authorities, United Nations  offices and agencies, international and intergovernmental organizations, regional  organizations, the private sector and non-governmental organizations to continue to  contribute to the development of humanitarian response capacities at all levels;    13. Welcomes the efforts by the Office of the High Commissioner to ensure a  more inclusive, transparent, predictable and well-coordinated response to refugees as  well as internally displaced persons and other persons of concern, consistent with its  mandate, and in this regard takes note of the implementation of the refugee  coordination model;    14. Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to work with  the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat to enhance  the coordination, effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian response and to  contribute, in consultation with States, as appropriate, to making further progress  towards common humanitarian needs assessments, as stated, among other important  issues, in General Assembly resolution 73/139 on the strengthening of the coordination  of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, and recalls the role of  the Office of the High Commissioner as the leading entity of the clusters for protection,  camp coordination and management and emergency shelter in complex emergencies;    15. Underlines the centrality of international cooperation to the refugee  protection regime, recognizes the burden that large movements of refugees place on  major and long-standing refugee-hosting countries and communities, as well as their  national resources, especially in the case of developing countries, and calls for a more  equitable sharing of the burden and responsibility for hosting and supporting the  world’s refugees, addressing the needs of refugees and hosting States, while taking   A/RES/74/130  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees   19-22225 4/9    account of existing contributions and the differing capacities and resources among  States;    16. Notes the significant global and regional initiatives, conferences and  summits undertaken in 2019 to strengthen international solidarity with and  cooperation for refugees and other persons of concern, and encourages those who  participated to implement their commitments made therein;    17. Recalls the adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and  Migrants7 at the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on addressing  large movements of refugees and migrants, on 19 September 2016, and encourages  States to implement relevant commitments made therein;    18. Recalls the global compact on refugees as set out in the High  Commissioner’s annual report (part II) of 2018,8 affirmed on 17 December 2018,9 and  calls upon the international community as a whole, including States and other relevant  stakeholders, to implement the compact in order to achieve its four objectives on an  equal footing based on the principle of burden- and responsibility-sharing, and in  accordance with the guiding principles and paragraph 4 of the global compact on  refugees, through concrete actions, pledges and contributions, including at the first  Global Refugee Forum in December 2019, and requests the High Commissioner to  report regularly on the progress being made;    19. Emphasizes the need for robust, well-functioning, concrete arrangements  and potential, complementary mechanisms for ensuring predictable, equitable,  efficient and effective burden- and responsibility-sharing in the context of the global  compact on refugees;    20. Notes with appreciation the efforts made by the increased number of  countries applying the comprehensive refugee response framework that is part of the  global compact on refugees, including through regional approaches, where applicable,  such as the comprehensive regional protection and solutions framework (MIRPS) and  the Intergovernmental Authority on Development regional approach;    21. Renews its call upon all States and other relevant stakeholders to provide  the necessary support for the implementation of the global compact on refugees and  its comprehensive refugee response framework with a view to sharing the burden and  responsibilities for hosting and supporting refugees, while recognizing contributions  already made, and underscores the critical importance of additional development  support over and above regular development assistance for host countries and  countries of origin;    22. Invites the High Commissioner to continue coordinating the effort to  measure the impact arising from hosting, protecting and assisting refugees, with a  view to assessing gaps in international cooperation and promoting burden- and  responsibility-sharing that is more equitable, predictable and sustainable, and to  report on the results to Member States in 2020;    23. Calls upon States and other stakeholders that have not yet contributed to  burden- and responsibility-sharing to do so, with a view to broadening the support  base, in a spirit of international solidarity and cooperation;    24. Welcomes the active engagement of the Office of the High Commissioner  in the United Nations development system reform, including as part of broader efforts  towards generating system-wide efficiencies;  __________________    7 Resolution 71/1.    8 See A/73/12 (part II).    9 See resolution 73/151.   Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  A/RES/74/130   5/9 19-22225      25. Notes the transformation process that the High Commissioner has started  to establish clearer authorities and lines of accountability, including through  regionalization and decentralization, in order to enable a more timely, relevant and  efficient response to the needs of persons of concern and to ensure the effective and  transparent use of the Office’s resources;    26. Recognizes the value of a geographically diverse and representative  workforce, with a view to reflecting the international character of the Office of the  High Commissioner, and calls upon the Office to take effective measures to ensure  balanced geographical representation and gender parity across the regions, in  particular from underrepresented States, among its workforce both at headquarters  and in the field, particularly at the senior level, which will also promote a better  understanding of the working environment;    27. Welcomes the commitment and efforts of the Office of the High  Commissioner to prevent, mitigate and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse,  sexual harassment, fraud, corruption and other forms of misconduct, and encourages  the Office to sustain action with a view to strengthening and enforcing the zero- tolerance approach within the Office;    28. Expresses deep concern about the increasing threats to the safety and  security of humanitarian aid workers and convoys and, in particular, the loss of life  of humanitarian personnel working in the most difficult and challenging conditions  in order to assist those in need;    29. Emphasizes the need for States to ensure that perpetrators of attacks  committed on their territory against humanitarian personnel and United Nations and  associated personnel do not operate with impunity and that the perpetrators of such  acts are promptly brought to justice as provided for by national laws and obligations  under international law;    30. Strongly condemns attacks on refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons  and internally displaced persons and acts that pose a threat to their personal security  and well-being, calls upon all States concerned and, where applicable, parties  involved in an armed conflict to take all measures necessary to respect and ensure  respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, and urges all States to  fight racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, related intolerance and hate speech;    31. Deplores the refoulement and unlawful expulsion of refugees and asylum  seekers, and calls upon all States concerned to respect the relevant principles of  refugee protection and human rights;    32. Urges States to uphold the civilian and humanitarian character of refugee  camps and settlements, inter alia, through effective measures to prevent the infiltration  of armed elements, to identify and separate any such armed elements from refugee  populations, to settle refugees in secure locations and to afford to the Office of the  High Commissioner and, where appropriate, other humanitarian organizations prompt,  unhindered and safe access to asylum seekers, refugees and other persons of concern;    33. Notes with increasing concern that asylum seekers, refugees and stateless  persons are subject to arbitrary detention in numerous situations and encourages  working towards the ending of this practice, welcomes the increasing use of  alternatives to detention, especially in the case of children, and emphasizes the need  for States to limit detention of asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons to that  which is necessary, giving full consideration to possible alternatives;    34. Notes with grave concern the significant risks to which many refugees and  asylum seekers are exposed as they attempt to reach safety, and encourages international  cooperation to ensure adequate response mechanisms, including life-saving measures,   A/RES/74/130  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees   19-22225 6/9    reception, registration and assistance, as well as to ensure that safe and regular access  to asylum for persons in need of international protection remains open and accessible;    35. Expresses grave concern at the large number of asylum seekers who have  lost their lives at sea trying to reach safety, encourages international cooperation to  further strengthen search and rescue mechanisms in accordance with international  law, and commends the great life-saving efforts and actions taken by a number of  States in this regard;    36. Emphasizes that the international protection of refugees is a dynamic and  action-oriented function that is at the core of the mandate of the Office of the High  Commissioner and that it includes, in cooperation with States and other partners, the  promotion and facilitation of the admission, reception and treatment of refugees in  accordance with internationally agreed standards and the ensuring of durable,  protection-oriented solutions, bearing in mind the particular needs of vulnerable  groups and paying special attention to those with specific needs, and notes in this  context that the delivery of international protection is a staff-intensive service that  requires adequate staff with the appropriate expertise, especially at the field level;    37. Expresses grave concern about the long-term impact of continued cuts in  food rations on the health and well-being of refugees globally, particularly in Africa  and the Middle East, and especially its impact on children, owing to insufficient  funding and increased costs, and calls upon States to ensure sustained support for the  Office of the High Commissioner and the World Food Programme, while looking to  provide refugees with alternatives to food assistance, pending a durable solution;    38. Welcomes the positive steps taken by individual States to open their labour  markets to refugees;    39. Affirms the importance of age, gender and diversity mainstreaming in  analysing protection needs and ensuring the participation of refugees and other persons  of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner, as appropriate, in the planning  and implementation of programmes of the Office and of State policies, also affirms  the importance of according priority to addressing discrimination, gender inequality  and the problem of sexual and gender-based violence, recognizing the importance of  addressing the protection needs of women, children and persons with disabilities in  particular, and underlines the importance of continuing to work on those issues;    40. Encourages States to put in place, if they have not yet done so, appropriate  systems and procedures to ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary  consideration with regard to all actions concerning refugee children;    41. Notes with concern that a large proportion of the world’s out-of-school  population lives in conflict-affected areas, and calls upon States, in their  implementation of the global compact on refugees, to lend support to host countries  in providing quality primary and secondary education in safe learning environments  for all refugee children, and to do so within a few months of the initial displacement,  as well as the commitments in the Incheon Declaration: Education 2030 – towards  inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all to develop more  inclusive, responsive and resilient education systems to meet the needs of children,  youth and adults in these contexts, including internally displaced persons and refugees;    42. Notes the efforts by the Office of the High Commissioner to improve its  humanitarian assistance response, and stresses the importance of tailored, innovative  approaches, including cash-based interventions;    43. Also notes that the lack of civil registration and related documentation  makes persons vulnerable to statelessness and associated protection risks, recognizes  that birth registration provides an official record of a child’s legal identity and is   Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  A/RES/74/130   7/9 19-22225    crucial to preventing and reducing statelessness, and welcomes efforts by States to  ensure the birth registration of children;    44. Strongly reaffirms the fundamental importance and the purely humanitarian  and non-political character of the function of the Office of the High Commissioner of  providing international protection to refugees and seeking durable solutions to refugee  situations, and recalls that those solutions include voluntary repatriation and, where  appropriate and feasible, local integration and resettlement in a third country, while  reaffirming that voluntary repatriation, supported, as necessary, by rehabilitation and  development assistance to facilitate sustainable reintegration, remains the preferred  solution;    45. Expresses concern about the particular difficulties faced by the millions of  refugees in protracted situations, recognizes with deep concern that the average length  of stay has continued to grow, and emphasizes the need to redouble international  efforts and cooperation to find practical and comprehensive approaches to resolving  their plight and to realize durable solutions for them, consistent with international law  and relevant General Assembly resolutions;    46. Recognizes the importance of achieving durable solutions to refugee  situations and, in particular, the need to address in this process the root causes of  refugee movements;    47. Encourages further efforts by the Office of the High Commissioner, in  cooperation with countries hosting refugees and countries of origin, including their  respective local communities, relevant United Nations agencies, international and  intergovernmental  organizations,  regional  organizations,  as  appropriate,  non-governmental organizations and development actors, to actively promote durable  solutions, particularly in protracted refugee situations, with a focus on sustainable,  timely, voluntary, safe and dignified return, which encompasses repatriation,  reintegration, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities, and encourages States and  other relevant actors to continue to support these efforts through, inter alia, the  allocation of funds;    48. Recalls the purely humanitarian and non-political character of the Office  of the High Commissioner, calls upon the international community and the Office to  exert further efforts to promote and facilitate, whenever the prevailing circumstances  are deemed appropriate, the safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation of refugees,  through their free and informed choice, in a sustainable manner, to their countries of  origin, and encourages the Office and, where appropriate, other United Nations  agencies, to mobilize further resources in this regard;    49. Expresses concern about the current low level of voluntary repatriation,  encourages the solution-oriented approach pursued by the Office of the High  Commissioner to support the sustainability of voluntary repatriation and reintegration,  including from the onset of displacement, and in this regard urges the Office to further  strengthen partnerships with national Governments and development actors, as well  as international financial institutions;    50. Recognizes, in the context of voluntary repatriation, the importance of  resolute efforts in the country of origin, including rehabilitation and development  assistance, to foster the voluntary, safe and dignified return and sustainable  reintegration of refugees and to ensure the restoration of national protection;    51. Acknowledges with appreciation voluntary action taken by several host  countries to enable permanent residence and naturalization for refugees and former  refugees;   A/RES/74/130  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees   19-22225 8/9      52. Calls upon States, with the assistance of relevant stakeholders, to create  expanded opportunities for resettlement as a durable solution, broaden the base of  countries and actors engaged, and expand the scope and size and maximize the  protection and quality of resettlement as an invaluable tool for burden- and  responsibility-sharing, and acknowledges with appreciation the many countries that  continue to offer enhanced resettlement opportunities and recognizes the need to  improve the integration of resettled refugees, calls upon States to ensure inclusive  and non-discriminatory policies in their resettlement programmes, and notes that  resettlement is a strategic protection tool and solution for refugees, recalling in this  regard the annual resettlement needs identified by the Office of the High Commissioner;    53. Also calls upon States to consider creating, expanding or facilitating access  to complementary and sustainable pathways to protection and solutions for refugees,  in cooperation with relevant partners, including the private sector, where appropriate,  including through humanitarian admission or transfer, family reunification, skilled  migration, labour mobility schemes, scholarships and education mobility schemes;    54. Notes with appreciation the activities undertaken by States to strengthen  the regional initiatives that facilitate cooperative policies and approaches on refugees,  and encourages States to continue their efforts to address, in a comprehensive manner,  the needs of the people who require international protection in their respective  regions, including the support provided for host communities that receive large  numbers of persons who require international protection;    55. Notes the importance of States and the Office of the High Commissioner  discussing and clarifying the role of the Office in mixed movements in order to better  address protection needs of people in the context of mixed movements, bearing in  mind the particular needs of vulnerable groups, especially women, children and  persons with disabilities, including by safeguarding access to asylum for those in need  of international protection, and also notes the readiness of the High Commissioner,  consistent with his mandate, to assist States in fulfilling their protection  responsibilities in this regard;    56. Emphasizes the obligation of all States to accept the return of their  nationals, calls upon States to facilitate the return of their nationals who have been  determined not to be in need of international protection, and affirms the need for the  return of persons to be undertaken in a safe and humane manner and with full respect  for their human rights and dignity, irrespective of the status of the persons concerned;    57. Calls upon States to process asylum applications by duly identifying those  in need of international protection, in accordance with their applicable international  and regional obligations, so as to strengthen the refugee protection regime;    58. Expresses concern about the challenges associated with climate change and  environmental degradation to the operations of the Office of the High Commissioner  and the assistance it provides to vulnerable populations of concern across the globe,  particularly in the least developed countries, and urges the Office to continue to  address such challenges in its work, within its mandate, and in consultation with  national authorities and in cooperation with competent agencies in its operations;    59. Urges all States and relevant non-governmental and other organizations,  in conjunction with the Office of the High Commissioner, in a spirit of international  solidarity and burden- and responsibility-sharing, to cooperate and to mobilize  resources, including through financial and in-kind assistance, as well as direct aid to  host countries, refugee populations and the communities hosting them, with a view to  enhancing their capacity and reducing the heavy burden borne by countries and  communities hosting refugees, in particular those that have received large numbers  of refugees and asylum seekers, and whose generosity is appreciated;   Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  A/RES/74/130   9/9 19-22225      60. Calls upon the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to play its  catalytic role in mobilizing assistance from the international community to address  the root causes as well as the economic, environmental, development, security and  social impact of large-scale refugee populations in developing countries, in particular  the least developed countries, and countries with economies in transition, and notes  with appreciation those host countries, donor States, organizations and individuals  that contribute to improving the condition of refugees through building the resilience  of refugees and their host communities, while working towards a durable solution;    61. Acknowledges with appreciation the cooperation of the Office of the High  Commissioner with development partners, noting the advantages of complementarity  of funding sources to support refugees and host communities as requested by host  Governments, and the importance of doing so in a manner that does not negatively  impact or reduce support for broader development objectives in host countries and,  where appropriate, countries of origin;    62. Expresses concern that the needs required to protect and assist persons of  concern to the Office of the High Commissioner continue to increase and that the gap  between global needs and available resources continues to grow, appreciates the  continued and increasing hospitality of host countries and generosity of donors, and  therefore calls upon the Office to continue and enhance efforts to broaden its donor base  so as to achieve greater burden- and responsibility-sharing by reinforcing cooperation  with governmental donors, non-governmental donors and the private sector;    63. Recognizes that adequate and timely resources are essential for the Office  of the High Commissioner to continue to fulfil the mandate conferred upon it through  its statute10 and by subsequent General Assembly resolutions on refugees and other  persons of concern, recalls its resolution 58/153 of 22 December 2003 and subsequent  resolutions on the Office of the High Commissioner concerning, inter alia, the  implementation of paragraph 20 of the statute of the Office, and urges Governments  and other donors to respond promptly to annual and supplementary appeals issued by  the Office for requirements under its programmes;    64. Requests the High Commissioner to report on his annual activities to the  General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session.    50th plenary meeting  18 December 2019    __________________    10 Resolution 428 (V), annex.