E/1979/95 pago 10
39. As part of its ongoing activities, the Office continues to promote the issue of Convention travel documents and also arranges for such documents to be printed and made available to governments upon request for issue to refugees. As in previous years, UNHCR has maintained stocks of the Convention travel document in English/French and French/English versions. During 1973, the Office also printed and made available an Arabic/English/French version. At the end of the reporting period, the printing of a further trilingual version in Spanish/French/English was in preparation, and this version will be available to Governments during 1979.
40.
UNHCR field offices have continued to co-operate with the competent authorities in many States in connexion with the issue of Convention travel documents. Where refugees, for various reasons, have not been able to obtain Convention travel documents, the Office has sought to obtain the issuance of alternative documentation.
41.
As regards the important practical problem of ensuring that a refugee has adequate identification papers, article 27 of the 1951 Convention provides that Contracting States shall issue identity papers to refugees lawfully staying in their territory who are not in possession of a valid travel document. During 1978, the Office continued to co-operate in this regard with the authorities in several States in Africa. During 1970, the Office, at the request of several African Governments, arranged for the printing of identity cards for issue to substantial numbers of refugees, including some new groups. In one country in South East Asia, which has continued to admit large numbers of asylum-seekers, the UNHCR field office, with the approval of the competent authorities, has been issuing identity cards to such persons. The practice of issuing identity cards to refugees has been continued by the competent authorities in a number of other States.
Naturalization
42. Facilitating the assimilation of refugees within new national communities is one of the High Commissioner's functions deriving from the Statute of his Oflice. In the case of refugees for whom repatriation to their country of origin is not a feasible solution, naturalization represents the final stage of integration in their country of residence. In this regard, article 34 of the 1951 Convention provides that "Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees" and "in particular make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings".
43.
The Office has continued to promote the naturalization of refugees by endeavouring to remove logal obstacles and to enable refugees to obtain