MAPPING OF THE POPULATION AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS IN ALBANIA 3.3. Role and mandate of UNHCR on Statelessness The United Nations General Assembly decided to establish a High Commissioner’s Office for Refugees as of 1 January 1951. The Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was adopted by the General Assembly (GA) on 14 December 1950 as Annex to Resolution 428 (V).16 UNHCR was mandated by the GA to provide international protection and seek permanent solutions for refugees. In addition, UNHCR was given a supervisory responsibility for the implementation of the 1951 Convention Related to the Status of Refugees17which is laid down explicitly in paragraph 8(a) of the Statute, article 35 of the 1951 Convention and Article II of the 1967 Protocol. As such, the High Commissioner for Refugees has responsibilities for refugees who are stateless, pursuant to paragraph 6 (A) (II) of the Statute and Article 1 (A) (2) of the 1951 Convention. Nonetheless, UNHCR was not explicitly mentioned in the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. To undertake the functions foreseen by Articles 11 and 20 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (“1961 Convention”) UNHCR’s mandate was expanded to cover persons falling under the terms of that Convention by General Assembly Resolutions 3274 (XXIX) of 1974 and 31/36 of 1976. The Office was entrusted with responsibilities for stateless persons generally by General Assembly Resolution 50/152 of 1995, which endorsed UNHCR Executive Committee Conclusion 78. Subsequently, in Resolution 61/137 of 2006, the General Assembly endorsed Executive Committee Conclusion 106 which sets out four broad areas of responsibility for UNHCR: the identification, prevention and reduction of statelessness and the protection of stateless persons.18 In 2014, UNHCR launched a Global Campaign to end statelessness by 2024, 60 years after the international community agreed on the first Convention19 to regulate the status of stateless persons. In this context, the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness2014 – 202420 (The Global Action Plan herein after) was developed in consultation with States, civil society and international organizations and sets out a guiding framework to address statelessness worldwide. The Global Action Plan includes 10 actions that will help States to progress against the 2024 goal: 16 UN General Assembly, Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 14 December1950, A/RES/428(V), available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3628.html 17 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, September 2011, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec4a7f02.html 18 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 30 June 2014, available at: http://www.refworld. org/docid/53b676aa4.html 19 UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 360, p. 117, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3840.html 20 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Global Action Plan to End Statelessness, 4 November 2014, available at: http://www.refworld. org/docid/545b47d64.html 28 UNHCR - TLAS / May 2018