TNAG-1800-FCO40-2560-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-principle-of-first-asylum-1988 — Page 9

It

25. Another expert stressed the importance of the further elaboration of the principle of international solidarity. The initiative to hold the present meeting was one aspect of increasing attention being paid by the international

community to the large-scale displacements of people which had occurred.

would be useful to study the experiences of each region in this matter.

was a need to consider the protection aspects of problems raised by such

population movements. He hoped for a strong and forthright statement on international solidarity which should be expressed in relation to the finding

of durable solutions.

There

26. One expert felt that the central idea behind the working paper submitted

by the Australian expert was that confidence on the part of States in the

effective operation of burden-sharing would make them readier to receive large

numbers of asylum-seekers. He underlined that mass influx was a factual

situation which needed an appropriate solution. It was difficult for legal

experts to solve such situations, the causes of which were often closely

related to the specific political and social situations in a given region, by

working out universally applicable rules. The problem really required a

political and a financial solution. What could be done, however, was to improve the legal framework for the effective organization of the required

assistance within the framework of international solidarity and to ensure the

basic humanitarian standards for the treatment of the people in distress.

What was needed in particular was to further streamline the international aid mechanism, perhaps by some system of advance pledging of financial, material and technical aid on the part of States. Moreover, if solutions could be

envisaged that took clearly into account the need for new asylum-seekers to be resettled, preferably within the region or at least in a cultural environment appropriate for their well-being as had been done in Africa, the global

commitment might be more readily for thcoming.

27. The view was expressed that international solidarity should involve all States, especially countries of origin, neighbouring countries, those granting temporary refuge, and also the States granting resettlement as well as financial and technical aid. A number of speakers underlined that countries