I. The General Assembly of the United Nations, by Resolution 429 (V) of 14 December 1950, decided to convene in Geneva a Conference of Plenipotentiaries to complete the drafting of, and to sign, a Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and a Protocol relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.

The Conference met at the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva from 2 to 25 July 1951.

The Governments of the following twenty-six States were represented by delegates who all submitted satisfactory credentials or other communications of appointment authorizing them to participate in the Conference:

Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Colombia Denmark Egypt France Germany, Federal Republic of Greece Holy See Iraq Israel Italy Luxembourg Monaco Netherlands Norway Sweden Switzerland (the Swiss delegation also represented Liechtenstein) Turkey United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United States of America Venezuela Yugoslavia

The Governments of the following two States were represented by observers: 

Cuba Iran

Pursuant to the request of the General Assembly, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees participated, without the right to vote, in the deliberations of the Conference.

The International Labour Organisation and the International Refugee Organization were represented at the Conference without the right to vote.

The Conference invited a representative of the Council of Europe to be represented at the Conference without the right to vote. 

Representatives of the following Non-Governmental Organizations in consultative relationship with the Economic and Social Council were also present as observers:

CATEGORY A: 

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

International Federation of Christian Trade Unions

Inter-Parliamentary Union 

CATEGORY B: 

Agudas Israel World Organization

Caritas Internationalis

Catholic International Union for Social Service

Commission of the Churches on International Affairs

Consultative Council of Jewish Organizations

Co-ordinating Board of Jewish Organizations

Friends’ World Committee for Consultation

International Association of Penal Law

International Bureau for the Unification of Penal Law

International Committee of the Red Cross

International Council of Women International Federation of Friends of Young Women

International League for the Rights of Man

International Social Service

International Union for Child Welfare

International Union of Catholic Women’s Leagues

Pax Romana

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

World Jewish Congress

World Union for Progressive Judaism

World Young Women’s Christian Association

International Relief Committee for Intellectual Workers

League of Red Cross Societies

Standing Conference of Voluntary Agencies

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

World University Service  

Representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations which have been granted consultative status by the Economic and Social Council as well as those entered by the Secretary-General on the Register referred to in Resolution 288 B (X) of the Economic and Social Council, paragraph 17, had under the rules of procedure adopted by the Conference the right to submit written or oral statements to the Conference.

The Conference elected Mr. Knud Larsen, of Denmark, as President, and Mr. A. Herment, of Belgium, and Mr. Talat Miras, of Turkey, as Vice-Presidents.

At its second meeting, the Conference, acting on a proposal of the representative of Egypt, unanimously decided to address an invitation to the Holy See to designate a plenipotentiary representative to participate in its work. A representative of the Holy See took his place at the Conference on 10 July 1951.

The Conference adopted as its agenda the Provisional Agenda drawn up by the Secretary-General (A/CONF.2/2/Rev.1). It also adopted the Provisional Rules of Procedure drawn up by the Secretary-General, with the addition of a provision which authorized a representative of the Council of Europe to be present at the Conference without the right to vote and to submit proposals (A/CONF.2/3/Rev.1).

In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Conference, the President and Vice-Presidents examined the credentials of representatives and on 17 July 1951 reported to the Conference the results of such examination, the Conference adopting the report.

The Conference used as the basis of its discussions the draft Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the draft Protocol relating to the Status of Stateless Persons prepared by the ad hoc Committee on Refugees and Stateless Persons at its second session held in Geneva from 14 to 25 August 1950, with the exception of the preamble and Article 1 (Definition of the term “refugee”) of the draft Convention. The text of the preamble before the Conference was that which was adopted by the Economic and Social Council on 11 August 1950 in Resolution 319 B II (XI). The text of Article 1 before the Conference was that recommended by the General Assembly on 14 December 1950 and contained in the Annex to Resolution 429 (V). The latter was a modification of the text as it had been adopted by the Economic and Social Council in Resolution 319 B II (XI).

The Conference adopted the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in two readings. Prior to its second reading it established a Style Committee composed of the President and the representatives of Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America, together with the High Commissioner for Refugees, which elected as its Chairman Mr. G. Warren, of the United States of America. The Style Committee re-drafted the text which had been adopted by the Conference on first reading, particularly from the point of view of language and of concordance between the English and French texts. 

The Convention was adopted on 25 July by 24 votes to none with no abstentions and opened for signature at the European Office of the United Nations from 28 July to 31 August 1951. It will be re-opened for signature at the permanent headquarters of the United Nations in New York from 17 September 1951 to 31 December 1952.

The English and French texts of the Convention, which are equally authentic, are appended to this Final Act.