TRAC Indochina Resource Action Center
1118 Twenty Second Street, NW Suite 300 • Washington, DC. 20037 • (202) 223-8866
IRAC'S NEW ADDRESS STARTING JULY 11, 1988
1628 16th Street, N.W. - 3rd Floor; Washington, D.C. 20009 NEW Tel. (202) 667-4690 NEW Fax # (202) 667-6449
INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS TO REFUGEE CRISIS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA PROPOSED AND DISCUSSED
Participants at a conference on "The Crisis of First Asylum in Southeast Asia" called for multi-year resettlement commitments and international burden-sharing along with broader attention to exploring solutions for the root causes of refugee flows. 300 Indochinese-American leaders and community advocates from 32 states, representatives from the 15 nations of asylum and resettlement, and refugee policy experts came together on June 6-8, 1988 to address the current crisis and work on solutions. presenting these draft recommendations, conference participants stressed that the existence of refugees affects all three categories of nations involved countries of asylum, donor and resettlement countries, and countries from which the refugees themselves have fled.
In
The following summary is drawn from recommendations presented by workgroup rapporteurs at the conference's closing plenary. Although they represent the majority opinion, these points cannot be considered to have been fully endorsed by official government representatives at the conference, nor do they reflect the entire range of opinions voiced during the conference.
PROTECTION AND CARE
The conference called for strengthening protection for asylum- seekers attempting to cross international borders and on the high seas. An appeal was made to grant refugee status to displaced persons in camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. Camp populations should be located in physically secure and culturally appropriate conditions. Participants strongly urged the creation of a vehicle for resolving domestic and community conflicts within camps, to include: 1) Education of refugees about their human rights and procedures for reporting abuses; 2) Special training for internal camp security forces; and 3) 24-hour international oversight. Emphasis was placed on ensuring protection and appropriate services to women and children.
Participants recommended that the human and experiential resources of former refugees be utilized in meeting the orientation, education, and training needs of camp populations. They stressed that camp education services should include health, safety, family planning, native language literacy, self reliance programs and skills training, as well as primary and secondary curricula.
SCREENING FOR REFUGEE STATUS
An internationally-monitored screening program appears to be a necessity in order to prevent forcible return of asylum-seekers;