The UN wants refugees to be treated with more understanding and respect

"It's true that countries don't live up to their obligations. It's true that countries don't let UNHCR penetrate properly in access where there are problems at borders etc, but the convention is a vital legal framework.

"I'm very committed to it. I'm glad we're marking the fiftieth anniversary. We need to reinforce and strengthen rather than undermine it."

But while the number of refugees is on the increase, the global tolerance of asylum seekers is diminishing, said Rupert Colville, a spokesman of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Hostility

He stressed that the Convention had never been intended as a body to sort out all the world's migration problems.

In the current climate of hostility, its true protective purpose, he said, had never been more relevant or necessary: "There have been three major wars in Europe in the 1990's, in the Balkans and there have also been major wars elsewhere.

"If, you like, the international community states get their act together and there are fewer wars, if more states become democratic and persecution is reduced, then you'll see fewer refugees. The refugees are simply a reflection of wider problems."

Last year, the UNHCR launched a global process to identify problems within the convention in an effort to try to strengthen it.

But whilst its verification programme may resolve some of its minor difficulties, there is a major one yet to be overcome . The majority of states in large parts of the world, namely South and South East Asia and the Middle East, have yet to sign the refugee convention.