INTERNATIONAL ACTION TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS SHOULD TACKLE ROOT CAUSES, THIRD COMMITTEE SPEAKERS STATE

7 November 1995

Press Release
GA/SHC/3313

INTERNATIONAL ACTION TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS SHOULD TACKLE ROOT CAUSES, THIRD COMMITTEE SPEAKERS STATE

19951107 International action aimed at solving the situation of refugees and displaced persons should focus on tackling the root causes of the problem, speakers stated in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning as it continued consideration of refugees problems and related issues.

The representative of Spain, speaking on behalf of the European Union, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia and Romania, said the best way to cope with a refugee crisis was to prevent it from occurring. Governments should, as a matter of priority, tackle the root causes of conflicts that could trigger refugee flows. The need for the international community to address appropriate structural solutions for problems of development and poverty, as a fundamental cause of the refugee problem, was emphasized by the representative of Brazil.

The representative of China said that measures to remove the root causes of the refugee problem included respecting the territorial integrity of States; taking steps against the dismemberment of States under the pretext of self-determination; and the strengthening of economic cooperation among various countries and regions.

Addressing the question of the return of the 1,250,000 Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens living elsewhere, the representative of that country called on the international community to ensure that those responsible for war crimes be brought to the International War Crimes Tribunal.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Ukraine, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Mozambique and the Republic of Korea. The representatives of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and of the International Committee of the Red Cross also made statements.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 8 November, to continue its consideration of refugee problems and related issues. The Committee is also expected to act on draft resolutions concerning social development, crime prevention and criminal justice, as well as international drug control.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue its consideration of issues relating to refugees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions.

The Committee has before it the following reports: the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); a report on unaccompanied refugee minors; Secretary-General's report on problems of refugees, returnees, displaced persons and related migratory movements; and a Secretariat report on assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa.

(For background information on those reports, see Press Release GA/SHC/3312 of 6 November). The addendum to the High Commissioner's report (document A/50/12/Add.1), which contains the conclusions of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, will be available at a date to be later announced.

Statements Made

AUELIO FERNANDEZ (Spain), speaking on behalf of the European Union, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia and Romania, said the civil population too often remained the target of hostilities by warring parties. In that regard, free access to persons of concern to humanitarian organizations had to be granted and the manipulation of humanitarian action for political or military purposes needed to be avoided.

He said the primary victims in mass displacements continued to be children, youths, women and the elderly. The European Union stressed the particular needs of such groups for protection. The best way to cope with a refugee crisis was to prevent it from occurring. Tackling the root causes of conflicts that could trigger refugee flows well before people were actually obliged to flee was a multifaceted and complex undertaking that must be addressed by the governments concerned as a matter of priority. It called for long-term comprehensive political action by the entire international community.

He said a concerted strategy towards prevention of refugee situations should encompass interrelated elements of preventive diplomacy, human rights, democracy-building, social and economic development and disaster prevention. All concerned agencies of the United Nations should integrate their activities into a comprehensive approach, including action for early warning and prevention.

NINA KOVALSKA (Ukraine) said her country had provided asylum to thousands of persons from "hot spots" of the former USSR such as Azerbaijan,

Third Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/SHC/3313 20th Meeting (AM) 7 November 1995

Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, Moldova, and the Chechenian Republic of the Russian Federation. The establishment of a migration service to aid them had been delayed due to the country's harsh economic situation. The geographical situation of Ukraine made it particularly attractive to immigrants from the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa, on their way to Western Europe. Their illegal immigration was of particular concern since it disrupted the border regime and enhanced criminal activities.

For centuries, thousands of people had been deported from her country. Their return raised a range of problems requiring immediate solution. The 1992 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Agreement on the Problems relating to the deported had not entered into force since it had been ratified only by her country. In addition, the need to relocate a large number of people from the area affected by the Chernobyl disaster continued to remain a major socio-economic problem for her Government. The total number of relocated families slightly exceeded only 10 per cent of the targeted figure.

Financial constrains, staff shortages and the lack of adequate equipment, hampered the process of the implementation of the adopted legal acts and decisions relating to refugee matters in her country. That situation was further aggravated because the legal regime of the borders had not been fully clarified. The transparency of Northern and Eastern borders made migration control more difficult. She underlined the importance aimed at the preparation of a conference to address the problems of refugees, returnees and displaced persons in the countries of the CIS and relevant neighbouring States.

JOHN E. AGGREY (Ghana) said the problems of internally displaced persons should be of equal importance to the work of UNHCR. Currently, there were about six million such people in Africa. In turning attention to that increasing phenomenon, neither UNHCR nor any other body should be allowed to use it as a pretext to prevent people from reaching zones of safety outside their national borders in the event of life-threatening situations. Any de- emphasizing of the rights of displaced persons to cross a border would be against the agency's original purpose.

He expressed concern about the growing tendency on the part of certain States and people to close their doors and to refuse welcome to refugees who were in desperate need of asylum. "While we do sympathize with some of the measures adopted by such countries to discourage, limit or prevent the entry of all migrants, we also believe that asylum seekers need to have access to a legal system to make claims to refugee status."

It should be possible for receiving countries to examine objectively the nature of the articulated reasons given to establish their validity for refugee status. Ghana shared the view of the UNHCR that the preferred response to that situation would be for the affected governments to set up

Third Committee - 4 - Press Release GA/SHC/3313 20th Meeting (AM) 7 November 1995

legislation and measures to streamline status determination, shorten their duration and distinguish at an early stage between founded and manifestly unfounded claims to asylum instead of closing the door to all and sundry.

The international community needed to devise innovative emergency assistance packages that could be activated easily and promptly to meet the new challenges to UNHCR, other agencies and non-governmental organizations. It was also important to address the root causes of such displacements and mass exodus.

PANG SENG (China) said after the cold war, some developed countries had attempted to impose their ideologies and values on developing ones, instead of actively assisting them in their quest for economic and social development, even though such ideologies did not conform to the national conditions of those developing countries. Furthermore, some countries used the pretext of self-determination to support separatist activities. Such action interfered in the internal affairs of countries and inflated ethnic and religious disputes. All of the above were the root causes of the refugee problems.

In order to remove the fundamental causes of the refugee problem he called for the following: respect for territorial integrity and the taking of resolute steps against the dismemberment of States under the pretext of self- determination; opposition to hegemonism; strengthening of economic cooperation among various countries and regions; and respect for the right to self- determination.

He expressed his gratitude to UNHCR for its efforts to settle and assist the 280,000 Indo-Chinese refugees in his country. His Government and UNHCR would sign an agreement to upgrade the UNHCR's mission in his country.

DJENEBOU KABA CAMARA (Cote d'Ivoire) said the phenomenon of refugees and displaced persons had spared no region of the world. Countries of Africa which shelter half of the world's refugees were paying a high price as a result of the fratricidal wars that were ravaging some countries in the continent.

The problem of donor fatigue was affecting not only development projects but also emergency situations, she went on to say. As an example, the recent appeal for Liberia received only 50 per cent of required funds, while it was 47 per cent in the case of Rwanda and 20 per cent for Somalia. That situation was having a negative impact on the assistance that UNHCR and others could render to refugees and displaced persons.

Most refugee situations were created by men, she continued, and suggested that UNHCR should plan to increase the number of women who work in refugee camps. To speed up repatriation movements, it was necessary to provide aid for the reintegration of refugees to encourage them to return to

Third Committee - 5 - Press Release GA/SHC/3313 20th Meeting (AM) 7 November 1995

their countries. The Liberian refugees in other countries were ready to return home once the conditions existed for their reintegration.

MARIA GUSTAVA (Mozambique) said peace in her country had brought favourable conditions for the return of more than 1.7 million people. Such a repatriation process had been coordinated by UNHCR together with her Government and the countries of asylum. The social component of the five-year Programme of her Government attached great priority to the process of resettlement and reintegration of refugees, displaced persons and demobilized soldiers.

Furthermore, her Government was working together with the international community in the rehabilitation of the country's economic and social infrastructure by creating small-scale projects in rural areas, she said. But land-mines still made agricultural activities and the movement of persons precarious. She appealed to the international community to continue lending its financial, material and technical assistance towards the demining process in her country.

AZRA KALAJDZISALIHOVIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) said that during the political turmoil in her country, more than 200,000 Bosnians had been killed. Also, through military activities, expulsions and "ethnic cleansing", more than 60 per cent of the original population had been brutally forced to leave their homes.

Today, more than 1,250,000 Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens had taken refuge in more than 100 countries worldwide. A large number of refugees were in refugee camps that lacked appropriate social, health and education services. In addition, 850,000 people were internally displaced in her country. Ten per cent of them lived in collective centres with very bad conditions. The other 90 per cent lived with families or friends, or in vacant houses. The lack of adequate housing, together with the usual cut-offs of utilities, made their living situation very difficult.

The recent fall of Srebrenica and Zepa had resulted in the expulsion of 37,000 people. In addition, the Serbs had refused access to or any information on the 8,000 men who were feared dead. And a new wave of ethnic cleansing had intensified in the region of Banja Luka, Doboj, Bijeljina and other locations in north-western Bosnia. She called on the international community to bring those responsible for the atrocities to the International War Crimes Tribunal.

In the past 20 months, more than 20 per cent of her country's territory had been liberated. An agreement between the President of Croatia and her President had been made last November on the return of a total of 400 families. "The free exercise of the right to return needs to ensure that

Third Committee - 6 - Press Release GA/SHC/3313 20th Meeting (AM) 7 November 1995

those who have committed war crimes do not remain in positions of power but be held responsible for their crimes", she emphasized.

KWANG JAE LEE (Republic of Korea) called for a rapid reaction to emergencies, for strengthened preventive diplomacy and for mediation efforts in solving the refugee problem. The United Nations needed to redouble its efforts to protect the human rights of and combat intolerance against vulnerable groups such as women and children. Legal deterrence measures which called for the punishment of the perpetrators of the crimes involved were imperative. The strong support of governments and a closer coordination with United Nations agencies as well as non-governmental organizations in the work of UNHCR should be encouraged. The work of NGOs in refugee relief services could not be overlooked. For example, in his country, NGOs had raised $1.3 million in cash and donations for refugees in Rwanda.

Solutions to complex emergencies required efforts whereby humanitarian activities were complemented by the political will to resolve conflicts and by development efforts. He called for the creation of a new assistant high commissioner post for policy, planning and operations.

EDGARD TELLES RIBEIRO (Brazil) said the seriousness of the refugee crisis faced over the last few years in different continents and the underlying causes of major population displacement demanded continuous evaluation and action. The international community should not fail to provide adequate resources to allow the UNHCR to meet its growing challenges.

He said there was a need to address the underlying political, social and economic factors that influence the response of States to influxes of refugees, as well as internal displacements. Appropriate structural solutions for the problems of development and poverty should also be addressed by the international community as part of the effort to deal with those questions.

He said that in order to improve the way the refugee problem was treated internationally, it was necessary that all countries become party to the Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol. It was also important to find ways to strengthen the existing legal regime, which might include working towards a declaration of non-binding guiding principles. He expressed regret that the adoption of restrictive measures by certain States, including the denial of protection for victims not from the States and the setting up of physical and legal barriers to refugees. There was a need to uphold and strengthen international commitment to the institution of asylum and to the principle of "non-refoulement", which constituted the legal and moral basis of international protection. [The principle of non-refoulement prohibits the expulsion or forcible return of a person to a country of origin or former habitual residence where the person may have reason to fear persecution.]

Third Committee - 7 - Press Release GA/SHC/3313 20th Meeting (AM) 7 November 1995

EIGIL PEDERSEN, representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the recent decision to initiate the safe return to Rwanda of refugees from Zaire required very careful analysis and closer cooperation between UNHCR and those organizations that were currently assisting refugees. The return to Rwanda must be safe for the people concerned and should be implemented at a pace that would enable the Rwandan authorities to receive them. The international community must increase support to the Government of Rwanda to ensure that both the population of Rwanda and the returnees were assisted adequately.

The duration of many assistance programmes to displaced persons and refugees was of increasing concern to the Federation. Operational modalities to address long-lasting and large operations had to be altered, he continued. Considerable human and financial resources were now tied into servicing assistance programmes which, almost by definition, remained relief and welfare operations with little prospect of evolving into development programmes. Major long-term assistance programmes for refugees and internally displaced persons, a more enlightened form of humanitarian funding, was needed. Such funding should recognize the long-term nature of those programmes and provide funding for relief and welfare activities on an appropriate time-frame basis.

DOMINIQUE BOREL of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the search for disappeared persons was of great concern for her organization. The rehabilitation needs of refugees were also of great concern. The organization of a safe and dignified return was imperative. Also, mechanisms to settle existing differences in recovering lands and property needed to be established. The return of refugees needed to be done in a voluntary fashion, he stressed. In addition, he called for the enforcement of the demining process worldwide.

Protecting refugees meant respecting humanitarian law, Mr. Borel said. Cooperation needed to include "coordination for protection". The meaning of protection needed to be redefined. The protection of refugees greatly depended on the political will of States to respect international law.

* *** *