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remarks were, of course, directed at terrorist acts committed by refugees in Latin America). At the very end of the Executive Committee Session, Israel lodged a complaint about the attendance of a repres- entative of the PLO. (This was indeed the first time the PLO had attended the Executive Committee since the attendance by NLMs was first permitted two years ago. No prior notice came from the Secre- tariat that the PLO would attend. The PLO plaque was already set up before the first meeting.
Their resident observer sat behind it on about two occasions during the session. He did not speak. Represen- tatives from SWAPO, ANC (South Africa) and PAC attended and spoke at the session.)
UNHCR and UNDRO
9. UKMIS Geneva have already sent a detailed report to UN Department about discussions in the Executive Committee on the demarcation issue between UNHCR and UNDRO. Briefly, what happened was that the UK and Netherlands both noted that UNDRO had not been mentioned in the Conference documentation where it dealt with inter-agency coordination. The UK, recalling its statement at ECOSOC 61, suggested that UNHCR
The might make use of the coordination machinery available at UNDRO. Australian Ambassador spoke along the lines of his statement to ECOSOC 61 and delved a little into the demarcation issue as such. These remarks gave rise to a remarkable response from the High Commissioner. He dealt with the issue at considerable length and made little attempt to conceal his annoyance. His references to UNDRO were, in places, patronising, misleading and inaccurate. His references to UNDRO's mandate, General Assembly Resolution 2816, could have caused those who were not familiar with the resolution, to have misunderstood the purpose of the Disaster Relief Office. The High Commissioner also made it clear that he thought that the discussions at ECOSOC 61 and Resolution 2011 of that session of the Council had clarified his position in regard to man-made disasters. The day after his statement, the representative of UNDRO (Rossborough) announced that the UNHCR had expressed its willingness to join in examining the possibility of drafting a working agreement with UNDRO along the lines that UNDRO had already negotiated with FAO and other agencies of the UN. It is bel- ieved that this understanding was arrived at between the High Commissioner and the Coordinator during the previous evening. It is possible that the High Commissioner may have felt that he had over- reacted in his statement. to the Executive Committee. However, it still remains to be seen whether the negotiations between the two Offices will ever get off the ground.
"Boat People"
10.
The High Commissioner and the representatives of the UK, USA, and Australia among others all expressed concern at the plight of displaced persons from Indo-China who had sought places of refuge by setting out to sea in small, often unseaworthy, boats. Particularly alarming were reports given to the Executive Committee by Norway of rescued refugees who had complained that their distress signals had been ignored by merchant vessels. The Committee, during its considerati on of the pro- tection item, appealed to ships' captains to pick up such refugees in distress and to states in the region to offer these people first asylum. In the event of states of first asylum being unable to grant these refugees permanent residence, the international community was urged to cooperate with the High Commissioner to find them places of resettle-
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