PRESS BRIEFING BY UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES

At a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, called on the international community to mobilize the same amount of resources and attention now devoted to solving conflict and post-conflict problems in the former Yugoslavia to similar situations in Africa.

Speaking to correspondents shortly after briefing the Security Council on refugee situations in the former Yugoslavia and in the Great Lakes region of Africa, the High Commissioner said Africa needed "similar strong mobilization of support, including military support, and galvanization of action", as in the former Yugoslavia, to solve its refugee problems. Both regions had enormous humanitarian problems which required both peace and security.

In the former Yugoslavia, she said there were still 1.8 million displaced persons. The return of minorities was key to resolving that problem, and should be promoted. Otherwise, there would be no peace and stability in that region. But in the Great Lakes of Africa, the issue was one of addressing urgently the problem of refugees who had been mixed with combatants, criminals and those who had committed genocides. Separating those criminals and combatants remained a problem. As the Secretary-General had said in his recent report on Africa, a separation mechanism should be set up. That might require using the police or military. Also, the issue of what to do with those criminals and combatants after they had been separated would have to be worked out.

Asked if she was satisfied with the level of refugee return in the former Yugoslavia and the "mandatory" return of more than 100,000 Bosnian refugees from Germany, she said over 400,000 people had returned to Bosnia in the last two years. Of that total, about 130,000 came from Germany. The UNHCR was more challenged by the need to return minorities to their homes; this was the year for the return of minorities. In order to accelerate that return, certain cities had been designated as "open cities"; 11 cities had been so designated so far.

Continuing, she said a "multi-ethnic presence" was necessary in those cities to which refugees were returning and that returnees would have to be helped to get back to their houses. They also needed access to common social services, such as schools and hospitals. Only 5,000 persons had so far registered as minority returnees to the designated cities. That number was disappointing. But at the same time, there were signs that people were coming back to have a look at their houses. The UNHCR hoped to have as many as 200,000 returnees this year.

She denied any knowledge of what the correspondent called "mandatory" return of refugees from Germany. Germany would like to see refugees return to their countries. That was natural because Germany had borne a heavy burden. There had been no discussion of "mandatory" return in any of the agreements. Croatian officials, for instance, did tell UNHCR about a lot of pressure by Germany to see that the refugees return. Assistance must be provided for the return of refugees. The areas to which the refugees were returning to must not be destabilized. The UNHCR would cooperate with the German authorities, such as by providing them with information on areas receiving refugees.

She said the problem of house occupancy had to be worked out in those areas into which refugees were returning. That question had to be cleared if people were going to go back in a safe and peaceful way. It would take a little time. The UNHCR was working on a family-by-family basis so as not to totally displace the lives of those already occupying the houses into which returnees were moving. Adequate time and space would have to be given before lawful owners were allowed to move into those properties. Of course, establishing lawful ownership was also a complicated issue. The UNHCR planned to create "buffer housing" for those who were unlawfully occupying other people's houses. That would enable the lawful owners to reclaim their properties.

A correspondent wanted to know whether she had a time-frame for the return of minority refugees. The High Commissioner said she did not think the problem would be solved this year. The UNHCR hoped things would move faster next year. The return of "majority refugees" -- those going back to areas where they would be part of a majority -- had reached 400,000. The reconstruction efforts for that category of refugees would further attract more refugees from majority groups to return. But the real problem was minority return because it was linked to house occupancy, documentation, security, information and psychological problems.

Asked if she had discussed Kosovo with the Security Council, she said she had. The UNHCR had had a presence in Kosovo since 1992. About 300,000 Croat-Serb refugees were in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, out of which 14,000 were in Kosovo. About 20,000 people from Kosovo had also left their homes.

Another correspondent wanted to know if the presence of war criminals had posed an obstacle to the return of refugees in the former Yugoslavia, she said it was. Having an effective judicial mechanism was very important for post-conflict resolution and for the return of refugees not only in the former Yugoslavia but in the Great Lakes of Africa as well.

Asked about the refugee situation in Sierra Leone and if child soldiers were among those fleeing the country, she said the UNHCR had sent out emergency teams to Sierra Leone to deal with the situation there.

UNHCR Briefing - 3 - 21 April 1998

Asked also about the movement of refugees from Kalimantan, Indonesian, to Malaysia, she said the refugees were from Acheh, Indonesia. Some had been forced back by Malaysian authorities and some had forced themselves into UNHCR premises. The UNHCR was dealing with the situation, and it was discussing the matter with the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities.

Responding to a request for more information on the return of Serbs to Croatia, she said there were enormous bureaucratic obstacles to the return of refugees. There was a wide gap between political declaration by the top leaders and the situation on the ground. Political leaders should practice what they say down to the level of local authorities.

Asked if the decision to recall investigators from the Democratic Republic of the Congo affected UNHCR operations there, she said it did. The UNHCR did not have access countrywide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It had asked for access because there were people whose whereabouts could not be ascertained; the UNHCR did not know whether some of those people were alive or dead. The investigative team went with a clear mandate to examine where refugees were and whether they were alive or dead. Its report would have provided a clearer picture.

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