Statute of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Chapter I – General Provisions
Article 1
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, acting under the authority of the General Assembly, will assume the task of providing international protection, under the auspices of the United Nations, and refugees who meet the conditions provided for in this Statute, and finding permanent solutions to the refugee problem, helping governments and, subject to the approval of interested governments, private organizations, to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of such refugees or their assimilation into new national communities.
In the exercise of his functions, and especially if any difficulty arises in relation to, for example, any controversy regarding the international status of these people, the High Commissioner will request the dictate of an advisory committee on refugee matters if this is created.
Article 2
The work of the High Commissioner will be entirely non-political in character; will be humanitarian and social, as a general rule, will be related to groups and categories of refugees.
Article 3
The High Commissioner will follow the instructions given to him by the General Assembly or by the Economic and Social Council.
Article 4
After hearing the opinion of the High Commissioner on the matter, the Economic and Social Council may say the creation of an advisory committee on refugee matters, which will be composed of representatives of Member States and non-member states of the United Nations, chosen by the Council to attend to their interest in solving the refugee problem and their devotion to this house
Article 5
The General Assembly will re-examine, at the latest in its eighth regular session, the provisions relating to the High Commissioner, in order to decide whether this body should continue its functions after 1953.
Chapter II – Functions of the High Commissioner
Article 6
The High Commissioner shall have competence with respect to:
A) i) Anyone who has been considered a refugee due to the accommodations of May 12, 1926 and June 30, 1928, or the Conventions of October 28, 1933 and 10 February 1938, the Protocol of December 14, 1939 or the Constitution of the International Refugee Organization;
ii) Any person who, as a result of the events that occurred on January 1, 1951 and due to the well-founded fears of being persecuted due to race, religion, nationality or political opinion, are outside the country of their nationality and cannot because of such fears or for reasons that are not of mere personal convenience, do not want to be welcomed under the protection of such a country where you previously had your habitual residence, cannot or because of such fears or reasons that are not of mere personal convenience , do not want to return to it.
The decisions taken by the International Refugee Organization during the period of its activities as regards the refugee status of a person, shall not prevent the granting of refugee status to persons who meet the conditions set out in this paragraph.
The High Commissioner will no longer have jurisdiction over any person included in this session A if that person;
a) The voluntary protection of the country of his nationality has been accepted;
b) Has voluntarily reacquired the nationality he had lost;
c) Has acquired a new nationality and enjoys the protection of the Government of the country of his new nationality;
d) Have settled again voluntarily, in the country he had abandoned or outside of which he had remained for fear of being persecuted;
e) Because the circumstances for which he was recognized as a refugee have disappeared and cannot be invoked, to continue to receive shelter under the protection of the Government of the country of his nationality, other reasons than those of personal convenience; purely economic reasons cannot be invoked; or
f) In the case of a person who does not have nationality and, because the circumstances for which he was recognized as a refugee have disappeared, he may return to the country where he had his habitual residence and cannot continue pleading, to continue refusing to return to that country, reasons that are not of mere personal convenience.
B) Any other person who is outside the country of his / her nationality, lacks nationality, outside the country in which he / she had his habitual residence, for having or having had well-founded fears of being the victim of persecution due to race, religion , nationality or political opinions and can not, due to this fear, do not want to be sheltered under the protection of the government of the country of his nationality or, if he does not have nationality, do not want to return to the country where he previously lived.
Article 7
It is understood that the competence of the High Commissioner defined in the preceding paragraph will not include a person:
a) Who has more than one nationality, unless the conditions set out in the preceding paragraph 6 with respect to each of the countries in which he is national;
b) One in which the competent authorities of the country in which they have established their residence recognize the rights and impose the obligations inherent in possession of the nationality of that country;
c) To continue to receive protection or assistance from other United Nations organs and agencies; or
d) For which there are reasonable grounds for believing that one of the offenses specified in Article VI of the Statute of the International Military Tribunal approved in London or in the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been committed.
Article 8
The High Commissioner shall ensure the protection of refugees to whom the competence of the Office of the High Commissioner is extended, by the following means:
a) promoting the conclusion and ratification of international agreements to protect refugees, monitoring their application and proposing modifications to them;
b) promoting, through special agreements with governments, the implementation of all measures aimed at improving the situation of refugees and reducing the number of those who request protection;
c) assisting governments and individuals in their efforts to promote the voluntary repatriation of refugees or their assimilation into new national communities;
d) promoting the admission of refugees, without excluding the most destitute categories, in the territories of States;
e) ensure that refugees are granted permission to transfer their belongings and especially those necessary for their resettlement;
f) Obtain information from governments on the number and situation of refugees in their territory, and on the laws and regulations that concern them;
g) Keeping in constant contact with the governments and interested intergovernmental organizations;
h) Establishing contact, in the way it deems most convenient, with private organizations dealing with refugee issues;
i) Facilitating the coordination of efforts by private organizations dealing with the social welfare of refugees.
Article 9
The High Commissioner will undertake any other additional activity that the General Assembly may prescribe, in particular that of the repatriation and resettlement of refugees, within the limits of the resources made available to them.
Article 10
The High Commissioner will administer and distribute among the private organizations and, eventually, among the public organizations that he considers most able to administer such assistance, the funds, public or private, that he receives for this purpose.
The High Commissioner may refuse any offer that he does not consider appropriate, which he receives for this purpose.
The High Commissioner will not be able to appeal to governments in the process of funds nor will there be a general call without the prior approval of the General Assembly.
The High Commissioner should make, in his annual report, a presentation on his activity in this matter.
Chapter III – Organization and Resources
Article 11
The High Commissioner will appoint, for an equal period, a Deputy High Commissioner of different nationality than yours.
Article 12
Within the limits of the credits of resources allocated to the exercise, the High Commissioner will appoint the staff of his Office, who will be responsible for him in the exercise of his functions;
b) These personnel will be chosen from among those dedicated to the cause of the Office of the High Commissioner who is to serve;
c) Their working conditions will be those provided for in the staff statute approved by the General Assembly, and the provisions and regulations determined, by virtue of such statute by the Secretary General;
d) In addition, provision may be made to allow unpaid staff.
Article 13
The High Commissioner will be elected by the General Assembly on the proposal of the Secretary General. The terms of the High Commissioner’s mandate will be proposed by the Secretary General and approved by the General Assembly.
Article 14
The High Commissioner should consult with the governments of the countries in which the refugees reside to discuss the need to appoint representatives for them. In any country that recognizes this need, a representative accepted by the government of that country may be appointed. Subject to the same conditions, the same representative may exercise representation in several countries.
Article 15
The High Commissioner and the Secretary General will take appropriate steps to maintain alliances and consultations on matters of common interest.
Article 16
The Secretary General shall provide the High Commission with all necessary facilities within the limits provided for in the presumption.
Article 17
The Office of the High Commissioner will be located in Geneva (Switzerland).
Article 18
The Office of the High Commissioner will be financed under United Nations assumptions. Unless the General Assembly determines otherwise, the United Nations resources will not be charged more than those of an administrative nature derived from the functioning of the office of the High Commissioner, and all other expenses arising from the activities of the High Commissioner will be authorized through contributions voluntary.
Article 19
The management of the Office of the High Commissioner will be subject to the United Nations Financial Regulation and the provisions regulating the financial issue determined by the Secretary General in compliance with such regulation.
Article 20
Accounts relating to funds made available to the High Commissioner will be subject to verification by the Board and may accept the proven accounts presented by the bodies to which they have linked the funds. Administrative arrangements for the custody and distribution of such funds will be taken by mutual agreement by the High Commissioner and the Secretary General, in accordance with the United Nations Financial Regulation and the regulatory provisions determined by the Secretary General in application of such regulation.
