TNAG-1066-FCO40-1316-Human-rights-in-Hong-Kong-1981 — Page 127

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E/CN.4/1503 page 51

While this comment is essentially relevant to the political role of the Secretary-General in terms of peace-keeping, the

basic concept of an appropriate United Nations presence can

be extended to humanitarian emergencies as distinct from situa-

tions of armed conflict. In fact, in elaborating further on the idea of United Nations presence, the Secretary-General expressed the view:

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relatively small United Nations presence can have a calming effect on a violent situation out of all proportion to its numbers, armaments or military capacity. I fully recognize the political and other complexities involved. Clearly the authority of the Security Council must be respected, and the principle of national sovereignty strictly observed. On this basis, I believe however, that Member States might consider the possibilities of extending in some form the Organization's very considerable experience of peace-keeping into humanitarian emergencies where conditions call urgently for an element of security.

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111. It is suggested that further thought be given to the idea

of introducing into the framework of international action in

situations of mass exodus, the concept of a "corps of humani-

tarian observers".

112. It is recalled, in this connection, that already in 1971,

when the mass exodus of millions of Bengalis occurred, the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees promoted the idea of stationing small teams of humanitarian observers on both

sides of the border of the then East Pakistan. The subsequent

proposal by the Secretary-General in this regard was not accepted

by the Government of India so that the full benefits of an

international presence of this kind could be assessed. A small

team of humanitarian observers was, however, placed in East

Pakistan.