of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which stipulates that national security and public order are the only permissible grounds for forced removal of such persons. UNHCR’s Executive Committee has underlined the obligations deriving from Article 32 that expulsion measures against a refugee be employed only in very exceptional cases and noted that since a refugee, unlike an ordinary alien, does not have a home country to which he can return, his expulsion may have particularly severe consequences. It implies the withdrawal of the right of residence in the only country – other than his country of origin – in which the refugee is entitled to remain on a permanent basis.246 UNHCR’s Executive Committee has also recommended that an expulsion order should be combined with detention only if absolutely necessary for reasons of national security or public order, and that such detention should not be unduly prolonged.247 1.2. Asylum Everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution (Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), but the 1951 Refugee Convention does not impose an obligation on state parties to grant asylum to refugees. Thus, the power to grant residence, whether through asylum or citizenship, remains the core prerogative of the sovereign state. At the same time, access to a residence permit is of great importance for refugees, in particular for stateless refugees. Such legal status is crucial for a measure of personal stability and decreases the risk of new displacements. In recognition of this, the drafters of the 1951 Refugee Convention recommended that: Governments continue to receive refugees in their territories and that they act in concert in a true spirit of international co-operation in order that these refugees may find asylum and the possibility of resettlement.248 This recommendation implies that, although states have no obligation to grant asylum in their territory, states are recommended to co-operate so that refugees find asylum and the possibility of resettlement somewhere. UNHCR’s Executive Committee expressed concern that some asylum seekers encounter serious difficulties in finding a country willing to grant them even temporary refuge, and noted that 246 UNHCR, “Executive Committee Conclusion No. 7 (XXVIII) – Expulsion,” October 12, 1977, http:// www.unhcr.org/3ae68c4320.html. 247 Ibid. This recommendation is in accordance with international provisions related to detention, as laid out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 9) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 9). 248 UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons, “Final Act and Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,” Article 4(d).The United Nations General Assembly has also recommended international co-operation regarding granting of asylum; see UN General Assembly, “Resolution 2312(XXII) - Declaration on Territorial Asylum,” December 14, 1967, UN Doc. A/RES/2312(XXII), Article 2(2). The 1951 Refugee Convention and Article 1D 47