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justifiable these may be in themselves.
A look at our daily newspapers reveals the extent to which such problems are increasingly acquiring prominence. Governments must react to the preoccupations of their publics; but humanitarian issues must not be imprisoned by narrow political walls. While acknowledging the legitimate concerns of Governments in these areas, their responses should not threaten their long-standing humanitarian traditions in defence of refugees.
9.
The High Commissioner's competence is, of course, considered to be universal, and the concept of his mandate has been extended of necessity in recent years by successive General Assembly resolutions, expanded regional definitions such as that adopted by OAU and applied by UNHCR in Africa, and a variety of other regional initiatives. While these have the merit of responding to varying social and political realities across the globe, they give rise to a tendency to apply different definitions and standards in different areas, which increasingly complicates the Office's international protection function. I have clearly stated in our earlier encounters that the 1951 definition, while still so usefully applicable in a number of situations, no longer fully matches the realities of the present everywhere. But it is this definition that lays down the basic humanitarian rules of action for the international community. This does not mean that we should attempt to rewrite the law, or to reconcile the irreconcilable. means instead that we should interpret the law humanely and responsibly. I would suggest that this was already the case when the principles of 1951 were first applied, for after all, European refugees in the Second World War and the first turbulent decade after it were recognized as refugees and resettled even though they were victims of violence and conflict and not just individual persecution.
10.
It
We must be humane, but we must also be responsible. It is not, and it will not be, UNHCR's intention to assume responsibility for all the transfrontier movements of the present day. But when conflict and violence can be identified as being an important factor in the decision to flee, when human beings are made outcasts by their societies, when to become a refugee is the only way to avoid death or injury, UNHCR cannot stand back and cite the Convention. The High Commissioner's basic task of providing international protection and upholding fundamental principles of international law would mean nothing if he could not consider such persons to be of his concern.
11.
Concern, yes; indefinite aid programmes, no. It is vital that UNHCR assistance does not become an end in itself; that humanitarian problems are not exploited for political purposes; that refugee aid is not used to anaesthetize the consequences of conflicts and to deflect or avoid the obligation to address the root causes of refugee flows. Instead, UNHCR assistance and the breathing-space it provides should be used constructively to pursue fundamental solutions to the problems themselves. It is a major challenge for UNHCR and the international community to look beyond simple palliatives to an overall global strategy that is both humanitarian and politically responsible. The international community must re-examine all mass movements and go beyond mere assistance to real solutions through tackling the root causes of these movements. The fundamental responsibility here is that of States. But UNHCR's humanitarian action in the field, by achieving even partial solutions for specific portions of major case-loads, can contribute to the creation of a favourable climate for the resolution of more fundamental differences. In this vital search for real and lasting solutions, UNHCR stands ready, without compromising its non-political stance, to play an appropriate role.
12.
In many of today's large-scale influxes, where entire communities of groups have fled, voluntary repatriation is the only realistic alternative to indefinite
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