}
CONFIDENTIAL
37TH EXECUTIVE COMMITTREE OF UNHCR
Brief 3(a)(iv):
UNHCR Activities:
other organisations
Line to take
Co-ordination/Co-operation with
1. Co-ordination with governments and VOLAGS (national and international) necessary to avoid wasteful duplication and to ensure full coverage of those in need of assistance.
2. Development of local (governmental and VOLAG) expertise to deal with refugee problems must remain a priority.
3. Welcome increased co-ordination between UNHCR and other organisations with data/expertise which may be of use to refugee
work (eg, WFP, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, Habitat etc.). Hope this will continue and develop further.
4. Co-operation with governments, World Bank and UNDP particularly important in dealing with longer-term programmes aimed at integrating refugees into the local community (eg, development projects) that fall outside UNHCR's remit. Early assessments of whether such long-term programmes will be needed welcome.
5.
Also welcome increased regional co-ordination following re-organisation of UNHCR into original bureaux. See scope for greater contact between UNHCR offices in neighbouring countries in some regions. But recognise the practical difficulties.
Background
from
6. Refugee problems cut across most aspects of UN work: emergency relief to long-term economic development; from agricultural policies to food aid; from population studies to the
causes of natural disasters. There is, therefore, vast scope for
useful co-ordination in the UN system.
7. Likewise, there are hundreds of national and international
VOLAGS which get involved in refugee works. The danger is that much time, energy, effort and money will be wasted through repeated learning mistakes unless there is adequate co-ordination and exchange of information between all the organisations involved, UN or otherwise.
CONFIDENTIAL