Multi-stakeholder Pledge: 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol (Law and Policy Reform Initiative)

As of December 2025, 15 pledges originating from 13 stakeholders have been submitted under the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol Multi-stakeholder Pledge. 9 pledges were submitted by seven State entities and an additional six pledges by other stakeholders (international organizations, civil society organizations, and academics and researchers). As of December 2025, seven of the pledges submitted under this MSP are reported as in progress, including two from States entities, two from civil society organizations, two from international organizations and one from an academic entity.

Yemen and Guinea-Bissau made each two pledges, while Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Panama made one pledge each.

With regards to distribution of State pledges by region, West and Central Africa has the highest number of pledges (four), followed by Southern Africa (two), the MENA region (two) and the Americas (one).

Regarding the six pledges made by other stakeholders, three are from civil society organizations, three others are from Academics and Researchers, followed by two pledges by International Organizations and one pledge by a private sector organization.

The following provides a breakdown of pledges made by other stakeholders:

As an example of pledges submitted by State entities, in 2023, Burkina Faso has pledged to adopt a revised legal framework on asylum by the end of December 2024, including the establishment of an appropriate mechanism to recognize asylum-seekers. As of October 2024, the preliminary draft law on refugee status in Burkina Faso had been approved at a national workshop. It still had to be reviewed by the Technical Committee for the Validation of Preliminary Draft Laws (COTEVAL) before being submitted to the Council of Ministers of Burkina Faso.

The Government of Yemen, for its part, has pledged to draft, enact, and implement a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers, aligned with the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. It also pledged to ensure that all domestic laws are aligned with international standards for refugee protection, and to strengthen national systems to guarantee non-discriminatory access to healthcare, education, and social services for refugees and asylum seekers.

With regard to the non-State entities, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) pledged to support parliamentary action on the protection of refugees and the assistance provided to host countries. IPU’s pledge encourages Parliaments of States which have not yet done so to accede to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, or to withdraw reservations and/or declarations to these instruments.

The University of Essex pledged to conduct interdisciplinary research on refugee protection, with Professor Gilbert seconded to UNHCR to provide expert legal guidance and support key policy initiatives.

Moreover, many law and policy pledges were made under other thematic Multi-stakeholder Pledges that include a pillar on laws and policies.

For example, during the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, at least 26 States made pledges related to asylum laws, regulations and policies. In addition, at least 32 stakeholders, including 19 States made 37 pledges related to laws and policies on the economic inclusion and social protection of refugees. As of June 2025, at least nine States have made significant progress in adopting and/or strengthening laws and policies that support economic inclusion and/or social protection, with five adopting new laws/policies. At least four States, along with many other stakeholders, also made pledges related to the travel documents of refugees.