CONFIDENTIAL
7. UNHCR Representation Hitherto refugees were dealt with by the
Home Affairs Ministry with occasional assistance/guidance from a
non-resident UNHCR representative. Recently, however, this situation
has changed. In May 1986 a full-time resident UNHCR representative
was appointed to Belize, and in June 1986 responsibility for
immigration (and hence aliens and refugees) passed from the Ministry
of Home Affairs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Quite clearly the
new UNHCR representative has had a problem on arrival. His first
priority has been (and still is) to try and establish the true facts
re inmigration: in the absence of full time UNHCR representation in
the past national procedures for dealing with refugees (and the
associated international funding) have tended to became blurred. He
is now actively engaged in reconnoitring, visiting and enquiring in
order to establish exactly what the situation is. Fortunately a link
with same refugee communities has been retained for some time now by
the American non-profit association VETA, which at least is providing
the new representative with an entree into the problem in the field.
8. It is too early yet to carment on the value of UNHCR's contribution.
However, if his new resident representative only establishes a more or
less accurate picture of the present situation he will have done a
great service which needed doing.
27 August 1986
CONFIDENTIAL
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