TNAG-1543-FCO40-2107-United-Nations-High-Commissioner-for-Refugees-(UNHCR)-Execut-1986 — Page 35

(k)

Noted with concern that since the Committee's thirty-sixth session refugee camps and settlements have continued to be the subject of military or armed attacks and expressed the hope that ongoing efforts to find a solution to this problem will lead to positive results in the near future;

(1)

Recalled its Conclusion No. 39 on Refugee Women and International Protection and called upon the High Commissioner to continue to give due attention to the specific protection needs of refugee women and to continue to report to the Executive Committee on this matter;

(m) Noted that the situation of refugee children also required special consideration and called upon the High Commissioner to report regularly to the Executive Committee on the needs of refugee children, and on existing and proposed programmes for their benefit;

(n) Recognized the valuable contribution of the non-governmental organizations in supporting the High Commissioner's efforts in the field of international protection;

(0)

Noted the importance of promoting a favourable climate of public opinion in order to facilitate the exercise of the High Commissioner's international protection function; stressed the necessity for the special situation and needs of refugees and asylum-seekers to be brought fully to the attention of the public; and welcomed UNHCR's efforts in this regard which should be fully supported by Governmental authorities and concerned non-governmental organizations.

Conclusions on accession to international instruments and their implementation

126. The Executive Committee

(a) Recalled that in numerous earlier conclusions the Executive Committee had appealed to States to accede to the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol and that similar appeals had also been addressed to Governments in various resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly;

(b) Noted with satisfaction that more than 100 States had now become parties to the 1951 Convention and/or the 1967 Protocol;

(c) Recognized that these instruments incorporate fundamental principles of refugee law including the principle of non-refoulement and lay down minimum standards for the treatment of refugees and thus constitute the cornerstone of international protection;

(a) Stressed that accession to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol implies a commitment to and a reinforcement of the fundamental principles which these instruments embody, underlines the importance attached by each acceding State to international efforts to solve refugee problems and reflects the universal character that the refugee problem has now assumed;

(e) Recognized that widespread accession to these instruments reaffirms their universal applicability and serves to reinforce the international legal framework for the protection of refugees and thereby facilitates the exercise of the High Commissioner's international protection function;

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