CONFIDENTIAL
37TH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF UNHCR
Brief 3(a)(vi): Prevention of refugee flows
Line to take
1
1.
(a)
Concerned at suffering of millions of refugees world-wide;
(b) welcome international efforts aimed at durable solutions to
existing refugee problem and at humanitarian assistance to refugee populations;
(c) but prevention better than cure;
(d) therefore welcome attempt to address the problem of how best to avert new flows of refugees in the UN group of governmental
experts;
(e)
experts' group's report and recommendations welcome;
(£) but recommendations do little more than exhort states to
fulfil their existing obligations (under the UN Charter and international law) and to co-operate fully with existing UN machinery, and for the relevant organs of the UN to co-ordinate more
closely;
We
(g) most practical recommendation is paragraph 70(c). should encourage more exchange of information between political sections of the secretariat with those sections (UNHCR and UNDRO)
which deal with refugees and natural disasters in order to identify areas where political developments might create new flows of
refugees or compound
the effects of natural disasters. They in
turn could then co-ordinate with other implementing agencies involved (eg, WFP, UNDP, UNICEF).
Background
2. The group of governmental experts was established, at FRG initiative, by UNGA Resolution 36/148 of 1981, to analyse ways to avert new flows of refugees and to establish a mechanism for
implementation of these. It has now completed its task (ie submitted its report for consideration by UNGA) so there should be no need for it to meet again.
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