F.
International Instruments 20,
Statute of the Office of the High Commissioner 21,
57. The Statute of the Office of the High Commissioner, together with subsequent resolutions of the General Assembly, defines the mandate entrusted to the
High Commissioner by the international community. The practical importance of the Statute derives from the fact that its universal character supports the action of the Office in relation to States irrespective of whether they are parties to the 1951 Convention or the 1967 Protocol. The Statute has indeed assumed increasing importance with the emergence of refugee problems in recent years in a number of States that are not parties to either instrument.
58. In relation to international instruments, the significance of the Statute lies in the fact that, under article 3(a), the Office is required to promote the conclusion. and ratification of international conventions for the protection of refugees and to supervise their application.
1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees
59. As the most comprehensive instruments defining the rights and duties of refugees yet attempted at the universal level, which lay down standards for the treatment of refugees that are in many respects the same as those for nationals, the
1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol are of fundamental importance to the Office's international protection function.
60. As regards the efforts of the High Commissioner to promote more accessions to the Convention and the Protocol, further expressions of support were received from both the Executive Committee and the General Assembly. The High Commissioner's initiative to promote more accessions, undertaken with the support of a recommendation of the Executive Committee at its twenty-eighth session, has resulted in four more States (Panama, Spain, Somalia and Suriname) adhering to the Convention and the Protocol during 1978. A number of other States have indicated that they are actively considering accession to these fundamental refugee instruments. While these positive responses are to be welcomed, it should nevertheless be recalled that only slightly more than half of the States Members of the United Nations and/or of the specialized agencies are parties to these instruments. Moreover, there are still extensive areas in which refugee problems continue to occur where no State is a party to either instrument.
61.
Full and effective implementation on the national level of the provisions of the Convention and Protocol is seldom an immediate consequence of a State adhering to these instruments.. In many States, in the absence of specific constitutional provisions to such effect, international conventions do not automatically become part of national law. In other States, ratified international conventions, although an integral part of national law, do not take precedence over other provisions with which they might conflict. Even in those States where ratified international conventions are constitutionally part of national law, implementation of the Convention and Protocol, in order to be fully effective, requires specific legislation and/or administrative measures.
20/ See annex I to the present report for a table showing the status of
accessions to the relevant instruments.
21/
Adopted by the General Assembly on 14 December 1950 as the annex to resolution 423 (V).