the
international community
resettlement),
(which must include third-country
the provision of temporary asylum or "safe haven"
to persons in flight should be seen as a human rights issue to be
taken seriously by the countries of the region.
The makings of a new international consensus are surely as fragile as the old framework which is already so badly eroded.
Our failure to engage now in constructive new thinking, and then
to move beyond general agreements to actual implementation of
workable and humane solutions, will be felt by all concerned,
with the refugees themselves being those most acutely affected.
Moreover, failure to come to terms with the refugee situation in
Southeast Asia may well threaten the very prospects for improved
regional security and cooperation which hold such great promise.
34