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difficult. Compassion fatigue was regrettable but inevitable.
Resettlement was no longer the answer. The UK was having
difficulties in integrating Vietnamese boat people, a problem not experienced with immigrants from other parts of the world. Solutions must be manifold and complex and applied with flexibility. In fact flexibility was the High Commissioner's most important asset when tackling his broad and demanding mandate. Talk of solutions was often misleading: a euphemism for palliatives. Temporary solutions were important. The best durable solution was voluntary repatriation. Resettlement was expensive and not always successful. Local
integration put even more strain on the poorest countries, the traditional receivers of refugees. It was better for a refugee to return to his own old home, familiar language, climate and social
environment. Home was best. The High Commissioner should be active in promoting such solutions. Dame Anne highlighted the difficulties of refugees in Pakistan, where one-fifth of the entire Afghan population had fled in the face of the Soviet invasion and occupation. She emphasised the special difficulties of Hong Kong and hoped that
resettlement countries would not forget the refugees there. She announced a new pledge of £3 million towards refugee aid, two thirds for Afghans in Pakistan, of which, £1 million would be earmarked
for the World Bank Pilot Project, and the rest for refugees in Sudan. The UK statement ended with a tribute to the voluntary
agencies.
Action Taken on Decisions by the Executive Committee (Item 5) (Document A/AC.96/626 and Corr 1)
20. This item was the brainchild of the previous Turkish PR, designed to keep the Office on its toes. With his departure, the
steam went out of it. Although the Office were forced to review recent decisions and to look at their implementation, they had an easy ride when the item came before ExCom. Turkey said only that
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