THIRD COMMITTEE HEARS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES EXPRESS CONCERN OVER DECLINE IN WILLINGNESS OF STATES TO GRANT ASYLUM

20 November 1995

Press Release
GA/SHC/3326

THIRD COMMITTEE HEARS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES EXPRESS CONCERN OVER DECLINE IN WILLINGNESS OF STATES TO GRANT ASYLUM

19951120 Draft Highlighting Needs of Internally Displaced Introduced; Discussion Continues on Rights of Child, World's Indigenous People

A return to their homes was always the best solution to the problem of refugees, but in the absence of that possibility, the importance of third country resettlement could not be overlooked, Sadako Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this afternoon as she addressed it and held a dialogue with its members.

Mrs. Ogata expressed concern over the decline in the willingness of States to grant asylum, even on a temporary basis. Many countries were openly admitting their weariness with accepting large numbers of refugees seeking asylum, and some were closing their borders. Some were even introducing laws and procedures which denied admission to their territories. "Action by political bodies must address the causes of conflicts and resolutely seek solutions, otherwise humanitarian activities will be left in isolation and may continue indefinitely", she warned.

The representatives of the United Kingdom, the Sudan, Burundi, the Netherlands and Zambia participated in the dialogue with the High Commissioner.

Also this afternoon, the Committee heard the introduction of a 78-Power draft resolution by which the Assembly would strongly reaffirm the purely humanitarian and non-political character of the function of the Office of the UNHCR of providing international protection to refugees and seeking solutions to their problems. It would call for a more concerted response by the international community to the needs of internally displaced persons and would call upon States to adopt nationality legislation with a view to reducing statelessness.

The Committee this afternoon also continued its discussion on the protection of the rights of the child as well as the programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.

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The Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Carol Bellamy, warned that exploitative child labour continued to get worse under the impact of increased competition in the global marketplace. She added that UNICEF was working with governments and non-governmental organizations in a number of countries to combat sexual exploitation of children and help its victims with an emphasis on youth empowerment.

The Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York, Purificacion V. Quisumbing, speaking on behalf of Graca Machel, the expert studying the impact of armed conflict on children, called for the complete demobilization of all child soldiers under the age of 18 worldwide. She said the demobilization and reintegration of child combatants was a relatively unexplored area that required further support and resources.

The representative of Japan expressed concern about the effect that armed conflicts were having on children in many parts of the world. Since the future depended on the children, no effort should be spared in ensuring universal respect for their rights.

Referring to the International Decade for Indigenous People, the representative of Fiji said that indigenous people should be encouraged to be active participants in the process, rather than passive actors.

The representatives of Burkina Faso, Philippines, Mexico, Israel, Cuba, Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain also spoke.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 21 November, to continue its consideration of the promotion and protection of the rights of the child as well as the programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The Committee is also expected to take action on draft resolutions on questions relating to refugees and related matters.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this afternoon to hear an address by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, who will also hold a dialogue with Committee members.

The Committee was also expected to continue its consideration of the question of the promotion and protection of the rights of children as well as the Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.

The Committee has before it reports by the Secretary-General on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (document A/50/456); a study on the impact on children of armed conflicts (document A/50/537); on concrete measures taken to alleviate the situation of children in armed conflicts (document A/50/672); a final report on a comprehensive programme of action for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (document A/50/511); and another report on the progress made at the national, regional and international levels in accomplishing the objectives of the Decade (document A/50/565). (For background information on those reports, see Press Release GA/SHC/3325 of 17 November.)

Statement by High Commissioner for Refugees

SADAKO OGATA, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said although the core of her mandate was still to grant protection to millions of refugees, the international community was no longer satisfied with the UNHCR's "waiting for people to cross borders to protect and assist them". Growing emphasis was being placed on the provision of humanitarian assistance, protection and the creation of conditions which could contribute to an early solution in the countries of origin.

"The best protection is to find a lasting solution to the refugee problem", Mrs. Ogata said. The return home was always the best solution. However, she underlined the importance of third country resettlement for categories of people. She expressed concern over the decline in the willingness of States to grant asylum, even on a temporary basis. Many countries were openly admitting their weariness about accepting large numbers of refugees seeking asylum, and others were closing their borders. Some were even introducing laws and procedures which denied admission to their territories.

Some 9 million refugees and displaced persons had returned to their places of origin during the last five years, she said, but increasing numbers were repatriating to situations where perfect conditions for return did not

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exist. Nevertheless, return was sometimes a better alternative than prolonged stay in exile, which was often intolerable and dangerous. "Nowhere has UNHCR been more severely tested than in the former Yugoslavia", Mrs. Ogata emphasized. It had been very painful to be powerless to stop some of the worst human rights atrocities in the history of the United Nations.

Prevention was difficult because it was a political function, Mrs. Ogata said. Prevention touched upon issues of sovereignty, whether in the context of early warning, preventive diplomacy, conflict negotiation and resolution. She looked to the Security Council and other political bodies to act on early warning signals and endeavor to prevent or resolve emerging conflicts. "Action by political bodies must address the causes of conflicts and resolutely seek solutions; otherwise humanitarian activities will be left in isolation and may continue indefinitely", she said.

She expressed her dismay at the international community's inability to arrive at a clear stand on the question of land-mines, and she called for a total ban on the production, use and export of land-mines.

Dialogue with High Commissioner for Refugees

The representative of the United Kingdom asked for the High Commissioner's views on the proposed review of the United Nations Emergency response mechanism.

The representative of Sudan said that countries hosting refugees experienced some negative effects because of the presence of the refugees. Special consideration should be given to those countries, especially the least developed ones.

The representative of Burundi said his country had a massive refugee presence. What solution was envisaged to the need for emergency assistance to deal with the danger facing Burundi and Rwanda? he asked. In the refugee camps in Zaire there were armed refugees. Most of the refugees were becoming assailants and fighters, he said.

Mrs. OGATA said she had been able to strengthen the emergency capability of her office. That was tested during the events in Rwanda last year when half a million poured into the United Republic of Tanzania.

She said that she was strengthening coordination between her Office and the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). It would destroy the three agencies if their units dealing with the refugee situations were to be taken out to put into a single humanitarian agency.

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She said she would like to have much better coordinated stand-by arrangements with governments and non-governmental organizations. There were still many more questions to ask before she could say that she was for or against the proposed merger.

On the problems of host countries, she said the UNHCR had tried to bring their very heavy burden to the attention of the international community. Money was provided on a project basis and could not be allocated on a per head basis.

With regard to armed elements in Zaire, she said that one of today's realities was that those fleeing from civil war included armed elements. The best and only solution was peace in the countries from which they fled. In the meantime, the main thing was to maintain the civilian character of the camps.

The representative of the Netherlands asked about cooperation between UNHCR and the Department of Humanitarian Affairs and wondered why Mrs. Ogata had not referred to it.

The representative of Zambia asked about the rationale behind third country resettlement.

MRS. Ogata said she had not referred to the Department of Humanitarian Affairs because it was not an operational agency but a coordinating body. However, it had played great advocacy roles such as in the land-mines issue.

In answering the second question, she said it was very important for those who could not go back to their communities of origin to have another option since some people felt they could not be safe back home. She foresaw such a situation coming up in areas of the former Yugoslavia.

Introduction of Draft Resolution

The representative of Denmark introduced a draft resolution on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He announced that Algeria, Brazil, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe joined in sponsoring the draft.

The original sponsors were Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique,

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Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Togo, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay.

By the draft, the Assembly would call upon all States that have not yet done so to accede to and to implement fully the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, and relevant regional refugee instruments, as applicable for the protection of refugees (document A/C.3/50/L.20/Rev.1). It would strongly reaffirm the fundamental importance and the purely humanitarian and non-political character of the function of the Office of the UNHCR of providing international protection to refugees and seeking solutions to their problems.

Also under that text, the Assembly would call for a more concerted response by the international community to the needs of internally displaced persons and would reaffirm its support for the High Commissioner's efforts. In addition, it would reiterate the relationship between safeguarding human rights and preventing refugee situations. It would condemn all forms of ethnic violence and intolerance as being among the major causes of forced displacements as well as an impediment to durable solutions to refugee problems, and would appeal to States to combat intolerance.

Under the terms of the text, States would be called upon to adopt nationality legislation with a view to reducing statelessness, consistent with fundamental principles of international law, in particular by preventing arbitrary deprivation of nationality. Furthermore, States would be called upon to promote conditions conducive to the return of refugees and to support their sustainable reintegration by providing countries of origin with necessary rehabilitation and development assistance. Also, the Assembly would call upon governments and other donors to demonstrate their international solidarity and burden-sharing with countries of asylum.

Statement by Executive Director of UNICEF

CAROL BELLAMY, Executive Director of UNICEF, said that 181 countries had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child -- more than the number for any other human rights treaty in history. Only 10 countries had not yet become parties.

She said that UNICEF's traditional focus had been on child survival, having helped save the lives of 25 million children since 1980. Mortality under age five had been cut in half in a single generation. But as mass child deaths receded in many parts of the world, a new challenge had arisen.

She said that exploitative child labour continued to get worse under the

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impact of increased competition in the global marketplace. However, concern about the plight of working children was also on the increase and innovative solutions were being sought. The UNICEF was also making the issue of children in armed conflict a central theme of its 1996 State of the World's Children's report. The UNICEF was pushing for a ban on anti-personnel land-mines, for a protocol to the Convention raising the minimum age of recruitment into armed forces to 18 and restructuring of priorities away from military spending and towards investing in human development.

She went on to say that UNICEF was working with governments and non- governmental organizations in a number of countries to combat sexual exploitation of children and help its victims with an emphasis on youth empowerment. It was also working in the area of gender discrimination, the right to a name and civil registration and participation rights.

Statement on Impact of Armed Conflict on Children

PURIFICACION V. QUISUMBING, Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York, read a statement of Graca Machel, Expert conducting the United Nations Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children. She said the study had undertaken research in thematic areas such as child soldiers, land-mines, nutrition, education for peace, internally displaced children, and minority and indigenous children affected by armed conflict.

The study was using the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a framework for its work. It was also exploring ways and means to increase the accountability of governments and non-State parties to a conflict for protecting the well-being of children in conflict situations in addition to the responsibilities of civil society, non-governmental organizations, agencies and professional organizations.

She reiterated the call for the complete demobilization of all child soldiers under the age of 18 in all countries. The demobilization and reintegration of child combatants was a relatively unexplored area that required further support and resources.

She said the study fully supported the strengthening of the Land-mines Protocol II that included a prohibition against targeting civilians, restriction on use of land-mines and their transfer, and the granting of access to safe passage for United Nations agencies by States Parties.

Other Statements

AWA OUEDRAOGO (Burkina Faso) said UNICEF needed the necessary resources to improve the well-being of children worldwide. In her country, street children were reintegrated into society. Two centres had been established

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where they were provided with education and with the necessary care.

The proper solution for refugee children needed to be found, she continued. Social and other types of rehabilitation services were necessary to reduce the trauma and shock those children suffered. The teaching of human rights and a prohibition against children's volunteering to participate in armed forces was crucial. It was necessary to lure children away from the attraction that arms might have in their eyes. The international community also needed to find a radical solution to the problem of land-mines, which were really "anti-children mines".

POSECI W. BUNE (Fiji) said that, in order for the Decade of the World's Indigenous People to succeed, the indigenous people needed to be fully consulted and to participate fully in the process of identifying the problems they faced. "Indigenous people should be encouraged to be active participants in this process, rather than passive actors."

He called for the early adoption of the Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. While not all the wrongs that history had inflicted upon indigenous people could be put right, the United Nations needed to ensure that remedy was still possible.

FELIPE MABILANGAN (Philippines) said that in 1993, his country had hosted a Global Youth Earth-Saving Summit with the theme, "Tribal Youth Partnership for Sustainable Development". The Summit had brought together delegates from 30 countries and had adopted numerous resolutions addressing the needs of indigenous people. One resolution lamented the homogenization, destruction and distortion of cultures, underscoring the need for cultural survival.

He invited all States to the global indigenous cultural olympics/summit, to be held in Manila from 24 February to 3 March 1996. He pointed out that the event had originally been scheduled for December 1995; and hoped the registration forms to attend it would be filled out promptly.

MANUEL TELLO (Mexico) said that meeting the demands of indigenous people was an urgent task in Mexico's national development plan. The Government had assumed as a priority the shaping of a relationship with its various communities. It was working toward complete integration of all ethnic groups in the country without implying that they had to give up their cultural identity.

Mexico was working on various laws to guarantee the rights of the indigenous people, he said. It was also strengthening democratic participation and participation in development projects by indigenous people in their regions. Their participation in local government was an essential

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element of the new relationship between the Government and the indigenous people. The Government was committed to the promotion and protection of the culture and rights of the indigenous.

Mexico attached special importance to the Decade of the World's Indigenous People, he went on. Their contributions to their societies and full respect of their values were central elements in a new stage of cooperation between the indigenous people and the United Nations. Mexico proposed the establishment of a permanent forum to enable indigenous people to express their concerns.

DAPHNA SHARFMAN (Israel) said that the International Convention on the Rights of the Child was the most important document of its kind. Israel had concentrated its legislation regarding the rights of children primarily on their protection from harm or injury and on ensuring their welfare. Since independence, and especially in the 1950s and 1960s, Israel had enacted a considerable number of laws regarding parents' obligations to their children; the rights of children to education, a home and protection by the family from injury; special consideration for the family unit; social rights of children and child labour.

In 1991, an office of Ombudsman for children and youth was opened in Israel to protect any child who felt deprived, abused or injured at home, in school or around the neighbourhood, she said. In its first half decade of operation, hundreds of children, parents and teachers had registered complaints. Most of those cases dealt with children in trouble with the law, problems caused by divorce and other personal and family issues.

JUAN ANTONIO FERNANDEZ PALACIOS (Cuba) said children could not survive on promises alone. The political will to allow for their survival was essential. The Convention on the Rights of the Child had been ratified by 180 States, more than any other United Nations Convention. He hoped for its ratification by all the countries of the world. In developed countries, a lucrative market existed for traffic in children, for illegal adoptions and for the use of children in pornography. Such a market was often satisfied by developing States, where distressing economic situations drove many parents to give up their children.

DAVID JULL (Australia) said that many millions of the world's children continued to suffer from poor health, lack of education, exploitation and abuses of their human rights. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was clearly a first step to rectify that situation. Acceptance of the Convention must be followed up with diligent efforts to implement the obligations entered into.

Australia was committed to contributing constructively to practical,

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cooperative responses to the problem of exploitative child labour, he said. Part of that commitment involved a high-level tripartite working party established by the Government to look at how the country could contribute to the protection and promotion of core labour standards, including elimination of child labour.

He added that Australia had enacted a Crimes (Child Sex Tourism) Amendment Act in 1994 to deal with the activities of Australian paedophiles who travelled overseas for the purpose of sexual exploitation of children. It also targeted organizers of overseas tours for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with minors. The first Australian to be charged under that act was currently awaiting trial.

MOHAMMAD SINON MUDZAKIR (Malaysia) said that different problems faced by indigenous people in different parts of the world required a different set of solutions. The primary focus for the Decade should be deliberations on the draft declaration and the promotion of activities that would bring significant improvement to indigenous people in the areas of education, health and development. Malaysia proposed a step-by-step approach towards the resolution of the complex and varied problems faced by indigenous people. Programmes should be executed in partnership with governments, indigenous people, the United Nations system, private enterprise and civic societies.

Malaysia was concerned about the untenable situation of children who had become victims of armed conflicts in many parts of the world, he went on. The international community had failed to protect children from the destruction and debilitation of war. No child should take part in hostilities. Efforts should be continued to provide assistance and relief to children through international cooperation.

MOHAMMED SALEH (Bahrain) said the department for social welfare in his country provided children with the necessary services for their well-being. He regretted the suffering of children in armed conflicts and in situations of human displacement, and he appealed to the international community to expedite its actions to protect those children. According to UNICEF, he said, 1.5 million children had died during the past decade as a direct result of wars. He urged the mass media, social institutions and charitable organizations to help in alleviating the suffering of the children.

MITSUKO HORIUCHI (Japan) called on governments that had not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child to do so as early as possible, stating that governments had the primary responsibility for improving the condition of children.

She said Japan was concerned about the effect that armed conflict was having on children in many parts of the world. Increasingly, innocent

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children had been targets in such conflicts and they were sometimes used as soldiers. Japan also continued to be concerned about child labour. It was imperative to eradicate that problem, especially in its most hazardous and exploitative forms. The primary responsibility for doing that rested with the States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The utmost effort should be made at the international level to enable all children to attend school rather than being forced to work.

Urgent attention was also required of the world community to the problem of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, she stated. Those practices were increasingly being conducted across national borders. Since the future depended on the children, no effort should be spared in working to ensure universal respect for their rights and to improve the conditions in which they lived.

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