or 80.
*
4
CONFIDENTIAL
THE AUSTRALIAN MEMORANDUM
EXPLANATORY COMMENT'S
UN ISB/Rej
C
The last 12 months have seen an increase in international concern over the question of mass exodus. The influx of 117,000 Cuban refugees into the United States, and more than one million Afghan refugees into Pakistan,
Intry alig together with the Indo Chinese and Ethiopian outflows
^ over the last few years, have underlined dimensions of this problem which have become a major international preoccupation.
The Australian Government has for some time been devoting its concerted attention to the problems of mass exodus and large scale influx. It is seriously concerned by the phenomenon of "refoulement" which bas been connected with the concern of some countries ataev the lack of international solidarity and co-operation in burden sharing.
Australia believes that international solidarity encompassing both protection to individuals by joint or individual action, and assistance to States who receive large numbers of refugees in their territories, i.e. co-operation in burden sharing is essential to any regime for the international protection. of refugees.
Temporary xefuge is put forward as a mechanism not only for avoiding expulsion or return, but also for admitting refugees in a way which will enable an admitting state, when it considers that it could not bear alone the burden of protection, to signal to the International Community that international solidarity and assistance are required.
At the heart of what is said on temporary refuge in the memorandum is that while temporary refuge (or whatever it might be called) has proved an important and indispensable mechanism in many large-scale influx situations, the legal concept itself has been barely examined. Very evident, we believe, is considerable uncertainty as to its definition and its relationship to other concepts and principles and to the main legal instruments. This uncertainty is clearly reflected in the differing terminology which has been applied to. describe temporary refuge.
CONFIDENTIAL
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