Note on International Protection

Abstract

Seventieth session Geneva, 7 to 11 October 2019 Item 4 (a) of the provisional agenda Consideration of reports on the work of the Standing Committee International Protection Important advances were made in bringing about protection and solutions for persons of concern to UNHCR during the period from July 2018 to June 2019, including, in particular, the affirmation of the Global Compact on Refugees by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018. At the same time, there were challenges to the fundamental principles of international refugee protection, while broader concepts of protection were applied in humanitarian action and response. Against this background, this year’s note on international protection brings into focus protection achievements and challenges in relation to displaced and stateless persons, and highlights progress in placing protection at the centre of humanitarian responses. ... 1. The period from July 2018 to June 2019 marked a number of milestones in protection for persons of concern to UNHCR. This includes the affirmation of the Global Compact on Refugees1 (GCR) by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018, which represents one of the most significant efforts to strengthen burden- and responsibility-sharing to date. There were also important developments in the identification, prevention and reduction of statelessness, as UNHCR reached the mid-way point of its campaign to end statelessness. Meanwhile, the twentieth anniversary of the “Guiding principles on internal displacement” in 2018 provided an opportunity to take stock of efforts to ensure protection for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and develop a multi-stakeholder plan of action to improve responses. Notwithstanding these advances, there were also serious challenges to the right to seek and enjoy asylum and to the principle of non-refoulement, while humanitarian access to affected populations was lacking in a number of acute crisis situations and gaps were experienced in ensuring protection and assistance for those with specific needs.