TNAG-1537-FCO40-2101-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-third-countri-1986 — Page 10

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NO. 179

--At the last United Nations General Assembly, a new High

Commissioner for Refugees was elected -- Jean-Pierre Hocke'

of Switzerland. He brings new leadership and direction to

one of the most responsible and demanding positions in the

UN system. His election demonstrates that the UN can act

positively and effectively to achieve humanitarian

objectives, in the spirit intended by its founders.

--The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has

also grown in the scope and importance of its

responsibilities during the past decade. With its

partners, the League of Red Cross Societies and the

national societies of many concerned countries, the ICRC

has long set the standard for impartial, non-political

humanitarian aid. I serve on the Board of Governors of the

American Red Cross. I am glad to note that that

organization is expanding its international involvement,

under the able leadership of its President, my friend and

former colleague, Richard Schubert.

-I want to commend the leadership of Alexander Hay, the

President of the ICRC who has presided over that

organization's major expansion. I have had the pleasure of

meeting with President Hay and other ICRC leaders. I found

their counsel always wise and useful, not only on

humanitarian programs but also in terrorist situations such

as the hijacking of TWA flight 847, in which the ICRC

assisted in its usual quiet, effective way in the