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21. The speech also mentioned durable solutions, and the regional approach to refugee problems.
22. Turkey was the last country to speak. In their speech they dwelt on the problems of transit/first asylum. They called for common humanitarian action based on non-political criteria. They called for burden sharing and said that the developing world must help the least developed countries - money alone was not enough. For them UNHCR's two main objectives were to provide protection assistance to refugees and to find durable solutions. On the reorganisation of
UNHCR they too reserved judgement pending observation of how things worked out.
23. Three NGOs the took the floor. First the Ecumenical Consultative Committee on Refugees who stated that voluntary repatriation remains the best solution, that there must be burden sharing without reformal, that detention must not be used as a punative deterrent, and that alternatives must be found to closed camps and other methods, that more work should be done for refugee women, and that armed attacks on refugee camps was the most serious protection issue in some countries. UNESCO called for strengthening of cooperation with UNHCR in 1988/1989 and in the next medium term plan 1990-1995. An area for closer cooperation lay in higher education, ie. for grants to obtain second degrees for refugees who had already received grants for first degrees. The ICM spoke in standard terms but highlighted the problems of handicapped and long-staying refugees.
7 October 1986
M T Trevan
CODE 18-77
AWO Ltd. 7/84
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