Seventy Years On, Geneva Convention On Refugees Remains Life-Saving Document - UNHCR

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2021) The UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which was signed 70 years ago, remains a life-saving document whose principles are valuable even today, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told Sputnik.

This year, July 28 will mark the 70th anniversary of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees. Signed by 149 counties, the document defines the status of the refugee and his/her rights and conditions to asylum.

"There's a lot more than the convention but the convention is still the foundation on which the whole house of supporting refugees is lying. And I think it is still a very life-saving document," Grandi said.

He believes that in the world of today which is politicized and very polarized, it is better to preserve the convention.

"It was written 70 years ago in a different context, but the principles that it explains that it asks, states to respect are very valid today. Starting from the beginning. In the preamble - the initial part of the convention - it says: refugees are the responsibility of the International Community. This is really why we exist, we exist to make sure that the international community takes this responsibility," the UN official stated.

Many legal instruments have since been developed to complement the convention and make it stronger, he noted.

'UNFORTUNATELY, WORLD STILL NEEDS REFUGEE AGENCY'

Earlier in June, the UNHCR released a report saying that the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide due to conflicts and persecution has doubled over the recent decade, and reached over 82 million people in 2020.

"Unfortunately, the world continues to need a refugee organization because we are the reference point for the principles and you know, all states complain about us 'why you tell us?' But in the end, whole states need us, they need us to have a neutral and legitimate organization that will hold the principles, remind them and ensure that everybody respects it," Grandi said.

And the world needs to mobilize solutions since people should not stay refugees all their lives, he stressed.

"In these things, you need an organization to coordinate them to remind states and to mobilize resources. So I think we are needed. ...We are a state organization, an international organization of states. Not an NGO or a private organization. So we depend on what states decided. This is their decision and I have to tell you, it will continue to be like this," the UN official concluded.