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Refugees:
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[Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos.] attempt to gain international acceptance of these principles and other essential innovations. I believe that it is right and fair to say that Britain has always regarded Africa as a priority area in humanitarian and refugee relief. On the broader issues raised by ICARA II the Government have not yet issued a policy statement. I note that the Government's representa- tive on the United Nations Commission has made cautious speeches on the search for solutions, on extending the area of development, and on additionality. She is of course reflecting the Govern- ment's general attitude towards the problem.
Everyone in
in this
this Chamber appreciates the difficulties; but a clear statement of Government policy giving details of their approach to lasting solutions for refugees in Africa would be an important step forward. Two things are desirable: unilaterally, a constructive commitment as urged by the British Refugee Council; and, multilaterally, a more positive lead through the United Nations Commission than we have given hitherto. Both of those commitments would reflect the mood of the British people at this time, and we hope that the Minister will respond accordingly.
4.52 p.m.
Lord Trefgarne: My Lords, I should like to add to those of every other noble Lord who has spoken my words of gratitude to the noble Viscount for raising this subject this afternoon. It is as topical as it is heartrending. The plight of the refugees in Africa that we watch nightly on our television screens from the comfort of our living rooms has awoken the conscience of this country and, indeed, across the world. It is right that we should discuss this issue. I welcome the opportunity to put the Government's views on record and to recount the steps that we are taking.
I am particularly pleased that my noble friend Lord Brentford has been able to make his maiden speech on this occasion and I should like to congratulate him upon it. I hope that we shall have the chance of hearing my noble friend again soon and often there after on this topic and perhaps on others.
I should like to add my tribute to that paid by the noble Lord, Lord Cledwyn, to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Winchester, who will be retiring very shortly. It is not often that we know in advance that a Member of your Lordships' House is speaking for the last time because they normally only leave your Lordships' Chamber feet first, so to speak. Happily that is not the case with the right reverend Prelate and I hope that we shall see him again here at your Lordships' House in the future although not, of course, as a speaking Member.
The problem that we are discussing this evening is a daunting one. It can, like most things, be reduced to statistics. These tell their own tale of trends and comparisons, even if they disguise the harsh details of individual suffering. As recently as 1959, World Refugee Year, there were 1.2 million refugees or thereabouts. Last year there were something in the region of 10 million. This is considerably more than at the end of the Second World War, the greatest upheaval of modern history. Most regions of the third
Third World
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world are affected. It is difficult to arrive at a realistid figure for Africa in present conditions. But estimates are in the region of 4 million. In Asia some 4 million Afghans are in refugee camps. This is the largest single concentration of refugees in the world. Over one-fifth of the population of Afghanistan have now been forced to flee their country following the Soviet invasion.
Further east, the Vietnamese boat people have brought critical problems to their immediate sanctuaries, particularly Hong Kong. They have also drawn attention, with the grim tales of piratical attacks, to the plight and vulnerability of those fleeing from oppression. Elsewhere, in Latin America, in the Middle East or recently, for example, on the Thai/Cambodian border there are similar stories and more tragic statistics.
Many of these refugees are victims of natural disaster; for example, the great drought now spreading relentlessly across the African continent. These disasters are very much in the news. But we need to acknowledge that the majority of refugees in the world have been reduced to these straits as a result of acts by man, not nature. They are fleeing from external aggression or occupation. Or they are escaping with their lives from internal persecution and oppression. These are political problems which require political solutions, a point to which I shall return.
These refugee problems, whether man-made or natural, are compounded because most of today's 10 million or so refugees have left one very poor third world country to settle in another. Their arrival often has a critical impact on their anxious hosts. Efforts made by these countries to cope in a humanitarian way, despite the overwhelming strain on their resources, are often not sufficiently recognised. But the problem is frequently beyond them. They have enough problems of their own. The rest of the world must share the burden. It is a global responsibility. The United Kingdom therefore shares this responsibility. We have as a nation a long and proud tradition of granting refuge to those in fear of persecution. We underlined this concern by becoming a party to the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees. Seven years later it was a British initiative, under the Government of my noble friend Lord Stockton, which led to the 1959 United Nations World Refugee Year. We also took the initiative in calling for the convening of the International Conference on Indo-Chinese Refugees in 1979, and I recall repeating the Statement to your Lordships at the time.
The aim of all these measures was to give an international dimension to the problem. We believe that the right approach is to channel our help through the international organisations and voluntary agencies which are capable of reacting to this international dimension. The major international agency in this field is the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Originally established in 1951 for a period of three years, this organisation has become the focal point for the international effort to alleviate refugee problems throughout the world.
Its main objectives are to find permanent solutions to refugee problems through voluntary return to the country of origin, or permanent settlement in the first
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