NO. 179
The best way to resolve a refugee situation is to enable
refugees to return freely and voluntarily to their homes
in their countries of origin. Although this can only rarely be
accomplished in the short run, in many cases it has been
possible for refugees to remain nearby and to return home when
the situation has changed enough to permit voluntary
repatriation. That remains the best hope even for those whose
homelands remain under foreign occupation, like the almost
three million Afghans in Pakistan. These people require and
deserve the full-hearted support of the international community
as they continue to suffer the deprivations of a limited,
impermanent existence in temporary asylum. In our judgment,
international resettlement is the correct solution for only
relatively small numbers of refugees.
Even where return to the homeland appears unlikely, there
are advantages for refugees to be cared for in the region in
which they have their roots. Often a neighboring country
shares a common geography, language, and ethnic or cultural
character which can ease the acceptance of refugees and help
them achieve longer term residence. At the first African
refugee conference in Tanzania, in 1979, Julius Nyerere
as the host President said: "as Africans, we welcome the
refugees, we give them our space, we share our food." Outside
help was needed, he added, but for the care of refugees in
Africa, not for resettlement outside of Africa.