Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

A/7211

United Nations General Assembly Official Records: Twenty-third Session

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Supplement No.11 (A/7211)

INTRODUCTION

1. This report covers the period from 1 April 1967 to 31 March 1968; most of the statistical and financial data, however, relate to the year 1967.

2. Despite a further increase in the number of refugees in Africa during this period, no major event occurred to jeopardize to any serious extent the results achieved in the principal parts of the world in which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is at present carrying out its work. On the whole, therefore, the period under review was one of consolidation and progress for the activities of UNHCR. This is particularly true in the case of Africa, where a growing proportion of refugees have passed or are about to pass beyond the initial stage when they were almost wholly dependent on emergency relief, whether from the spontaneous and generous assistance of the local inhabitants or from various international sources.

3. Progress was made in respect of both international protection and material assistance to facilitate the settlement of the refugees. The most important occurrences, with regard to relevant instruments and decisions, were the adoption by the General Assembly, at its twenty-second session, of a Declaration on Territorial Asylum, the rapid accession of an increasing number of countries to the Protocol to the Convention of 20 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, and the adoption of important recommendations by the Conference at Addis Ababa on the Legal, Economic and Social Aspects of African Refugee Problems, followed by the recent establishment at the headquarters of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and within the OAU secretariat of a Bureau for the Placement and Education of African Refugees. These events unquestionably reflect increasing support by the international community for the principles governing the work of UNHCR and, particularly, the desire that refugees, wherever they may be in the world, should be given a legal, economic and social status identical to or comparable with that of the nationals of the countries in which they are to live.

4. The programme of material assistance, which amounted to $4,531,600 in 1967, provided UNHCR with the limited funds it required to cope with refugee problems and to find lasting solutions for them in accordance with its traditional policy and its statute. When voluntary repatriation, which is, of course, the ideal solution, is possible for and desired by only a limited number of refugees, as was the case during the period under review, it is necessary to resort to the only constructive and humanly satisfactory alternative, namely, rapid and complete assimilation of the refugees in the community in which they are to live. After Europe, where it has been possible, by sustained efforts, to deal successfully with difficult long-standing problems and to prevent the emergence of any serious new ones, settlement programmes in Africa and Asia are also gradually achieving their objectives, by offering refugees a free choice between voluntary repatriation as soon as they find this possible, and an industrious, peaceful and useful life in the host country. As to other parts of the world where there are still problems of refugees coming under the mandate of UNHCR, as in Latin America or certain Mediterranean countries, the intensification of some of these as a result of circumstances has been offset by the irrelatively limited scope, but they all merit the constant attention which UNHCR is devoting to them.

5. Another field in which substantial progress can be reported is that of co-operation between UNHCR and other United Nations agencies or bodies. In accordance with the desire expressed by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, steps have been taken to ensure increasingly close co-ordination, which will gradually make it possible to take full advantage of the special qualifications and activities of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Together with the activities of the voluntary agencies, on which UNHCR continues to rely for many aspects of its day-to-day work, the common efforts of these various organizations has the catalytic and multiplying effect which UNHCR has always sought. When considering the large amount spent outside the UNHCR programme, this effect becomes particularly evident in the settlement and well-being of the refugees.

6. Lastly, it is gratifying to note that the purely humanitarian and social nature of the work of protecting and assisting refugees is universally recognized, warranting a realistic and constructive policy which ultimately benefits not only the refugees, but all the countries in which it is applied. The fact remains that UNHCR has to rely on Governments for the bulk of the funds required for its work. Despite the progress which is being made in this respect, it is to be hoped that additional Governments will act more promptly to provide financial support for a limited programme which meets only the most urgent needs of the refugees.

I. INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION FOR BENEFIT OF REFUGEES

A. Introduction

7. In today's world where activities in the fields of economic, social and human rights impinge on one another and where the participation of Governments and international organizations is so closely interrelated, international co-operation at all levels has become an essential condition for the effective and rational discharge of the task of UNHCR. This multilateral co-operation, which is instrumental in the pooling of available resources of the benefit of refugees, encompasses activities of Governments, local authorities, members of the United Nations system, other intergovernmental organizations and voluntary agencies.

8. A striking example of this co-operation has been the Conference on the Legal, Economic and Social Aspects of African Refugee Problems, held at Addis Ababa in October 1967, sponsored by two members of the United Nations system, the UNHCR and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), as well as the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and a private organization, the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. This Conference included participation by twenty-two African Governments, while observers represented several States, several specialized agencies of the United Nations, as well as a number of non-governmental organizations. The Conference, which lasted ten days, considered some of the main aspects of international protection and material assistance to refugees, with special reference to their position in Africa. It considered, in particular, the possible role of refugees in economic and social development and their utilization as human resources. The recommendations of the Conference have been submitted for further consideration to the Council of Ministers of the OAU and to the United Nations. Several of these recommendations concern concrete measures which are dealt with under the relevant chapters of this report.

9. Another remarkable feature of international co-operation in favour of refugees was the European Refugee Campaign, 1966, which was organized, under the chairmanship of His Royal Highness the Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, by national committees and voluntary agencies in eighteen European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. The object of the campaign was to collect funds in developed countries where the problems of refugees were gradually being solved, in order to assist the new groups of refugees in developing countries.

10. In recognition of the exceptional services rendered to the cause of refugees by His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, in his capacity as chairman of the Working Group of Voluntary Agencies which organized the campaign, and in appreciation of his profound humanitarian concern for the cause of refugees, the Prince of the Netherlands was awarded the Nansen Medal for 1967 by the Nansen Medal Award Committee, in the presence of the diplomatic corps, at a ceremony which took place at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on 30 October 1967.

B. Co-operation with Governments

11. The High Commissioner has continued to maintain close relations with States members of the United Nations and the specialized agencies. International events, such as the Tehran Conference on Human Rights, have provided further opportunities for the High Commissioner to increase awareness of the need for protection of the rights of refugees.

12. The High Commissioner and his senior staff again visited a number of countries where material assistance programmes are being put into effect, or where acute problems of refugees have developed. The High Commissioner thus had the opportunity to submit the problems of refugees to His Holiness, the Pope, and to several Heads of State.

13. Relations have been maintained with government officials in over fifty countries, where UNHCR is represented through two regional offices, twenty-four branch offices, three sub-offices and ten correspondents.

14. Since the High Commissioner's last report to the General Assembly, a branch office has been opened in Africa at Khartoum, the Sudan, and the sub-branch office in the United Arab Republic has become a branch office. The office located at Beirut, of which the office in the United Arab Republic was formerly a sub-office, now deals with problems of refugees who are the concern of UNHCR in other countries in the Middle East.

15. While limited in size, the branch offices are instrumental in maintaining contact and carrying out negotiations in respect of the legal status of refugees and in supervising the implementation of material assistance programmes, particularly through their close relations with the local authorities which take a preponderant part in the carrying out of projects in certain areas. Resident representatives of UNDP are helpful to UNHCR in maintaining liaison with Governments on its behalf in some of the countries where the Office is not represented.

C. Co-operation with members of the United Nations system

16. The importance of increasing co-operation between UNHCR and other members of the United Nations system was recognized by the General Assembly, which decided in its resolution 2294 (XXII) of 11 December 1967 that the High Commissioner should be invited to attend the meetings of the Inter-Agency Consultative Board of the United Nations Development Programme. While concentrating largely on the land settlement of refugees in developing areas, this co-operation also extends to other fields of UNHCR activities, including international protection, employment, education and training, administration, public information and fund raising. UNHCR has also taken a more active part in inter-agency meetings, and in those of other organizations, such as the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECIA), FAO, the ILO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO and the World Food Programme. Other members of the United Nations system have also attended the meetings of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme. The agencies concerned were informed of UNHCR projects of interest to them before these projects were submitted to the Executive Committee.

17. Co-operation in the field of administration, budget, finance and personnel which has existed since the inception of UNHCR, has increased particularly with Resident Representatives throughout the world. Thus, for example, in many countries where UNHCR has no branch office or correspondent, the UNDP Resident Representatives take care of its interests in many ways, which vary from follow-up on the emergence of new refugee problems to liaison with government officials. In order to meet the requirements of the Enlarged Committee on Programme and Co-ordination, UNHCR is again participating in the general review of the programme and activities of the United Nations system.

18, In co-operation in respect of public information and fund raising, UNHCR is also reaping considerable benefit from its closer relations with other members of the United Nations system. With regard to public information, several of the specialized agencies (the ILO, UNESCO and WHO) graciously devoted space in an issue of their monthly news bulletins to the problems of refugees. The Administrative Committee on Co-ordination (ACC), at its forty-eighth session, considered uniform procedures with regard to anniversaries and other special celebrations and agreed that fixed date observances should be continued in organizations like UNHCR which depend for their resources on voluntary contributions.

19. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 2294 (XXII), the High Commissioner is participating in the preparatory work of the second United Nations Development Decade through its contribution to a survey being prepared by the United Nations Secretariat, which will include information on the role of UNHCR within the general context of United Nations activities in the field of development, through the rural settlement of refugees in hitherto uncultivated areas and the utilization of human resources.

20. In view of the close link between human rights, in general, and the international protection of refugees, the High Commissioner is participating in preparations for Human Rights Year. As the geographical scope of UNHCR activities in the field of international protection continues to expand, inter-agency co-operation becomes increasingly important and should prove especially useful in areas where UNHCR is not represented. The High Commissioner values the support he receives from the specialized agencies concerned with intergovernmental legal instruments in the economic and social fields. Close contact is maintained, in particular, with the ILO with regard to the inclusion of refugees in social security agreements and on the position of refugee seamen.

21. From a general point of view, the High Commissioner hopes that, following the recommendations included in the Secretary-General's reports on the development and utilization of human resources, the access of refugees to education, training and employment will be facilitated so that their rate of integration may be accelerated.

22. UNHCR has been co-operating with the United Nations Secretariat in the preparation of the Secretary-General's second report on the development and utilization of human resources which, inter alia, recognizes that refugees, as well as other population groups in similar conditions, should be given full opportunity to participate in development projects at the local level and to make their contribution to the economic and social life of their country of asylum, side-by-side with the country's own citizens.

23. Education and training are assuming increasing importance in the work of UNHCR particularly in developing areas, where large numbers of refugees have been settling during the past few years and where there is an increasing need for both primary and secondary school facilities. Provision for primary education is included in all projects for the settlement of refugees on the land, while secondary education, training and, to a limited extent, higher education, may be provided under the UNHCR Education Account, as explained in more detail in chapter III below. UNHCR's activities in the field of education and training are co-ordinated with those of UNESCO, FAO and the ILO. UNHCR also co-operates in the administration of the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa, which deals with relief to South African refugees.

24. UNESCO made available to UNHCR an expert to advise the High Commissioner on education for refugees. Following exchanges of views with the ILO, a number of vacancies in vocational training schools will be made available for refugees and it is expected that similar facilities may be arranged with FAO. Refugees within the competence of UNHCR in Africa are also benefiting from the three special training programmes administered by the United Nations.

25. As the UNHCR projects for the rural settlement of refugees in Africa are further developed and as projects are initiated in new areas, co-operation with other members of the United Nations system assumes growing importance. Methods and procedures evolved over the past few years now constitute a firm basis for the concerted action required to make new refugees self-supporting as rapidly as possible and to consolidate their settlement.

26. The World Food Programme has again provided food supplies for emergency relief to new refugees and has made provision for their continuation until the refugees can live off their own crops. In 1967 alone, $1.6 million worth of food was made available by this Programme.

27. In planning the rural settlement of refugees, advice has been received from UNDP, the World Food Programme and specialized agencies, including the ILO, FAO, UNESCO and WHO. In areas where the settlement has reached a more advanced stage, the agencies have continued their co-operation by making experts available whenever possible. Thus in Burundi, experts made available by the ILO and FAO within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme have assisted the Government in the implementation of the 1967 project to consolidate the settlement of Rwandese refugees. And an ILO expert has also supervised the creation of co-operatives in refugee settlements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO assisted in a programme for the eradication of the tsetse fly in Burundi and Uganda. In the Sudan, UNDP and FAO participated in consultations on the choice of a suitable agricultural area for the settlement of a new group of refugees.

28. An important development took place with respect to the inclusion of refugees in global development programmes after the UNHCR programmes have come to an end. At its eighteenth session, held in October 1967, the Executive Committee of the UNHCR Programme agreed on the principles involved and stressed the crucial importance of ensuring that, upon completion of UNHCR programmes for the local settlement of refugees in development areas, their integration be included in the wider framework of development programmes carried out by other members of the United Nations system, With reference to the situation of refugees in East Burundi, the Committee agreed that the High Commissioner should draw the attention of UNDP to the urgency of putting a development project into effect. The High Commissioner is pleased to report that following his subsequent exchange of views with the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, it was agreed that, pending approval by the UNDP Governing Council of a zonal development programme to be put into effect in Eastern Burundi in 1969, subject to the conclusion of an agreement with the Government of Burundi, UNDP would contribute an amount of up to $200,000 to an interim project to be but into effect in 1968.

29. Similar possibilities are at present being explored in the Central African Republic and Uganda.

30. On several occasions in the past, UNICEF has generously contributed to the work of UNHCR by the provision of supplies for refugee children. In accordance with the views expressed by some of the members of the Third Committee during the twenty-session of the General Assembly, the High Commissioner has been in close contact with UNICEF on this matter and he hopes that further arrangements can be worked out with a view to increasing co-operation between the two organizations.

D. Co-operation with other intergovernmental organizations

31. The Office has continued to receive support from a number of other intergovernmental organizations interested in work for refugees by virtue of their terms of reference or of their general humanitarian aims.

32. The Organization of African Unity (OAU), which co-sponsored the Conference on the Legal, Economic and Social Aspects of the African Refugee Problems, held at Addis Ababa, has played an important role in promoting the work of assistance to refugees in Africa. The Council of Ministers of the OAU, at its tenth session, adopted a resolution in connexion with this Conference and decided, in particular, that the proposed bureau for the resettlement and placement of African refugees which had been recommended by the Conference should be established on 1 March 1968 within the secretariat of the OAU. Furthermore, at the meeting of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments of the OAU, held in Kinshasa in May 1967, a resolution was adopted recommending accession to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol and recommending that its Committee of Experts on the Status of Refugees be instructed to adopt an instrument on the specific aspects of the problems of African refugees which would be complementary to the 1951 Convention.

33. The Organization of American States recommended accession to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol by States members of the organization.

34. In Europe, the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration has continued to act as UNHCR's operational arm in respect of the movement of refugees for resettlement in other countries. Close relations continued to be maintained with the Council of Europe, Commission of the European Economic Community, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), all of which take an interest in the international protection of refugees.

E. Relations with voluntary agencies and other non-governmental organizations working for refugees

35. The voluntary agencies and non-governmental organizations have again made important contributions to the work of international assistance to refugees through their financial participation, their co-operation in the field and their general support. A total of ninety-five organizations, including national social welfare bodies, are participating in or contributing to UNHCR programmes. This represents an increase of twenty-three over the figure for 1966. It will be noted from that list that there is an increase in the number of national Red Cross societies co-operating in UNHCR activities. An amount of over $1 million in cash has been pledged or paid by the agencies during 1967. This sum includes part of the proceeds of the European Refugee Campaign, 1966. A number of agencies have already made pledges for additional contributions in 1968.

36. Among the many organizations which play a major role in implementing assistance projects for refugees, particular mention should be made of the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM), the League of Red Cross Societies, the Lutheran World Federation/Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service and the Lutheran World Federation/Zambia Christian Refugee Service, which have undertaken to carry out important assistance programmes for refugees in countries in Africa, in compliance with requests received from the Governments concerned.

37. The expansion of voluntary agencies within developing areas where new problems of refugees have arisen is beneficial both from the point of view of help to the refugees and the development of the social welfare infra-structure in the areas concerned. It has been noted, in particular, that the voluntary agencies are increasingly participating in new assistance and development programmes in Africa. The High Commissioner would like to pay tribute to the men and women who devote themselves to this work far from their homes in the interests of the humanitarian cause of refugees.

38. In Europe, the voluntary agencies are playing their part in taking over some of the day-to-day assistance programmes in keeping with the policy approved by the Executive Committee of the UNHCR Programme, whereby responsibility for such help is to be assumed by Governments and local bodies.

39. The role of the agencies in respect of fund-raising campaigns for refugees was highlighted in the report to the Assembly, at its twenty-second session. During 1967, the support of agencies for the work of UNHCR in the field of international protection has assumed particular importance in connexion with preparations for International Human Rights Year. The voluntary agencies and non-governmental organizations sponsored or participated in a number of international conferences in the course of which they particularly stressed the importance of the right of asylum and of accession to intergovernmental legal instruments for refugees. During the period under review, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies, with its member organizations, has continued to give world-wide support to UNHCR activities.

II. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION

A. General remarks and main developments

40. In reporting to the General Assembly on the international protection of refugees, the basic function of his Office under the Statute, the High Commissioner would like to recall the promotional role of his work in this particular field. While all refugees within the competence of UNHCR benefit from its protection, it is difficult to evaluate the impact of international protection over a given period. It may be stated, even so, that considerable progress has been made since the High Commissioner reported to the General Assembly at its twenty-second session, particularly with regard to intergovernmental action. The most significant developments are the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 2312 (XXII), which is the Declaration on Territorial Asylum and the entry into force of the Protocol relating to the status of refugees, which enhances the universal character of the 1951 Convention.

41. The General Assembly, in resolution 2294 (XXII). requested the High Commissioner to pursue his activities of protection and assistance for refugees, bearing in mind the ever-increasing number in Africa. As shown elsewhere, this trend towards increasing numbers has continued during the period under review, during which the number of refugees in Africa rose from some 785,000 to nearly 845,000. In addition, the geographical scope of protection activities was extended to countries where refugee problems had not previously manifested themselves. The administrative infra-structure of UNHCR has been increased accordingly and, in spite of their very limited size, the branch offices in Africa devote an increasing part of their time to protection problems.

42. The interest of African States in the protection of refugees was demonstrated inter alia by the participation of twenty-two African countries in the Conference on the Legal, Economic and Social Aspects of African Refugee Problems, which adopted recommendations concerning the definition of the terms refugee, asylum, the social rights of refugees, travel documents and voluntary repatriation. While endorsing the principles embodied in the 1951 Convention, these recommendations include additional proposals more especially adapted to the African refugee problem.

43. In other areas also UNHCR has continued to protect and safeguard the rights and interests of refugees, particularly with regard to the implementation of the principle of non-refoulement as embodied in the 1951 Convention. It was also given further consideration to means whereby the legal integration of refugees could be accelerated, particularly when they have been residing in a country for many years and are already settled from an economic and social point of view.

B. Asylum

44. Asylum is of fundamental importance for the work of this Office and the High Commissioner seeks to promote the observance and strengthening of the principles concerning asylum on a world-wide basis. The Office has thus closely followed developments in respect of persons seeking asylum in various parts of the world.

45. During the period under review, a generous asylum policy has continued to be practiced, with few exceptions, by countries admitting refugees to their territory, in spite of the considerable economic and demographic burden created for some of them by the admission of many new people. A number of States have already included provisions concerning asylum in their constitution or legislation concerning aliens. In March 1968, the Austrian parliament adopted a law which provides, inter alia, for the right of residence for refugees recognized as such under the 1951 Convention. In Botswana, a provision concerning non-expulsion of refugees has been included in the amendment to the Refugee Recognition and Control Act, which was adopted in September 1967. In the United Kingdom, the Committee on Immigration Appeals (Wilson Committee) recommended that claims to political asylum should be dealt with under the appeals procedure which it proposed for immigration cases.

46. On the intergovernmental legal plane, however, the granting of asylum as a human right was, until recently, based only on article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which went no further than to state that a person has the "right to seek and enjoy asylum". It is particularly important, therefore, that the General Assembly, at its twenty-second session, unanimously adopted a Declaration on Territorial Asylum which is contained in resolution 2312 (XXII). This Declaration states, in article 3 (1), in clear and unambiguous terms, the principle of non-refoulement - that no person entitled to seek asylum in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"... shall be subjected to measures such as rejection at the frontier or, if he has already entered the territory in which he seeks asylum, expulsion or compulsory return to any State where he may be subjected to persecution."

It also gives expression to two other principles. First, that asylum should be respected by all other States, and that "the grant of asylum by a State is a peaceful and humanitarian act and that, as such, it cannot be regarded as unfriendly by any other State". Second, article 2 states that "The situation of persons" to whom asylum is granted is "... of concern to the international community", and that "where a State finds difficulty in granting or continuing to grant asylum, States individually or jointly or through the United Nations shall consider, in a spirit of international solidarity, appropriate measures to lighten the burden on that State".

47. It is gratifying for the High Commissioner to note the active support which the question of asylum is receiving in many sectors of the international community, as, for instance, at conferences of regional or non-governmental organizations. Thus, on 29 June 1967, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on asylum of persons in danger of persecution. Resolution No. 67/14 contains, inter alia, a recommendation that member Governments should act in a particularly liberal and humanitarian spirit in relation to persons who seek asylum on their territory, and should, in the same spirit, ensure observance of the principle of non-refoulement. In October 1967, the Conference on the Legal, Economic and Social Aspects of African Refugee Problems in Africa, held in Addis Ababa, agreed that African States should be guided in the granting of asylum by the principles embodied in the 1951 Convention and that African States should be invited to share the burden with countries of asylum in Africa.

48. During the period under review, support for the adoption of an intergovernmental binding legal instrument on the right of asylum was expressed by numerous non-governmental organizations, as reflected by the Human Rights Conference of non-governmental organizations held in Geneva in January 1968, the Assembly for Human Rights held at Montreal in March of this year and the twenty-first Plenary Assembly of the World Federation of United Nations Associations held in April.

49. More recently, the Human Rights Conference, held at Tehran in May 1968 on the occasion of the International Human Rights Year in response to the statement and report submitted by the High Commissioner, adopted a resolution in which it called upon Governments to accede to international instruments dealing with the protection of the rights of refugees, in particular the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Protocol thereto. In the same resolution, the Conference affirmed the importance of the observance of the principle of non-refoulement and asylum.

50. Since the Declaration on the right of Asylum was adopted unanimously in the United Nations, it is to be hoped that countries which have not yet done so will bring their legislation into line with the generally accepted principles of the Declaration. It is also to be hoped that a legally binding instrument on asylum will be drawn up in the future. This should be facilitated by the fact that fifty-three members of the United Nations or its specialized agencies have already acceded to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees which, in its article concerning non-refoulement provides that no refugee will be returned to a country where he may fear persecution.

C. Recognition of refugee status

51. This Office has continued to co-operate with Governments on problems connected with the recognition of refugee status, and in the determination of eligibility under the 1951 Convention, which is particularly important, since it is used by many States as a criterion for the granting of asylum. Co-operation in this respect, which exists with the authorities of a number of countries of first asylum in Europe, has been extended to other countries in view of the increased number of individual applicants for refugee status. Thus, for instance, in Senegal, legislation on the implementation of the 1951 Convention and a procedure for determining refugee status are, at present, under consideration in consultation with UNHCR. More recently, Botswana included a provision for recognition of refugees in the Amendment to its Recognition and control Act adopted in September 1967.

D. Intergovernmental agreements concerning refugees

52. The Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees contained in General Assembly resolution 2198 (XXI) of 16 December 1966, entered into force on 4 October 1967 upon the sixth accession. The Protocol extends the scope ratione personae of the 1951 Convention by removing the dateline of 1 January 1951 contained in the definition of the term "refugee" in article 1. A2, which gives the Convention a more universal character by making it applicable to new groups of refugees. It also brings the personal scope of the Convention into line with that of the Statute of the Office.

53. Since the entry into force of the Protocol, seven additional States have acceded to it, thus bringing the number of parties to thirteen (as at 10 May 1968). Parliamentary procedures are at an advanced stage in several other countries and in both the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme and the Third Committee of the General Assembly, a number of States expressed their intention to accede to this essential complement to the Convention.

54. It is a source of considerable satisfaction to the High Commissioner that this important instrument came into force within a very short period after its adoption. He is also gratified that both the Organization of African Unity and the Organization of American States recently adopted resolutions recommending accession to the Protocol and the Convention. The High Commissioner will continue to promote accessions to both these instruments, in particular, on the occasion of the International Year for Human Rights, and very much hopes that many more States will become parties.

55. During the period under review, Madagascar and Nigeria acceded to the 1959 Convention bringing the number of parties to fifty-three. It is understood that accession is under active consideration by other States. Australia has withdrawn certain of the reservations it had made upon accession to the Convention, that is, those in respect of the right of refugees to work as wage-earners, to be self-employed, or work in liberal professions (articles 17-19), enjoy freedom of movement (article 26) and protection against expulsion (article 32). Australia has also extended its obligations under the Convention by withdrawing the geographical limitations provided for in article 1. B.

56. At its eighteenth session, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme noted that, taking into account article 35 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, it would be advisable for the Office to receive more detailed information concerning the manner in which its provisions are applied. The Office is examining the most suitable means through which the necessary action can be taken in this matter.

57. During the period under review, the Italian Government withdrew some of the reservations it had made upon accession to the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons,¹ thereby improving, to some extent, the status of such persons on its territory, and the refugees among them stand to benefit from this measure.

58. At its twentieth session held in October 1967, the Joint Maritime Commission of the International Labour Organisation adopted a resolution urging States members of the ILO to accede to the Hague Agreement on Refugee Seamen, expressing the hope that States will extend its benefits also to refugee seamen covered by the 1967 Protocol.

59. In co-operation with the Government of the Netherlands, UNHCR has continued to provide a counselling service for refugee seamen in the port of Rotterdam, inter alia to advise refugee seamen calling at that port on the regularization of their position under the above Agreement and on means of obtaining appropriate travel documents.

60. Details in respect of parties to legal instruments affecting refugees may be found in annex I to this report.

E. Participation of UNHCR in the International Year for Human Rights

61. The High Commissioner attaches great importance to the International Year for Human Rights, which he hopes will serve to focus attention on the special problems confronting refugees. As persons often become refugees through the violation of human rights in one form or another, it is all the more important to ensure that, once they are refugees, their human rights are safeguarded.

62. The High Commissioner is closely co-operating with other members of the United Nations system, as well as other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in arrangements for Human Rights Year. He submitted a study to the Tehran Conference on Human Rights on measures taken and methods used for the protection of human rights of refugees, and also delivered a statement to the Conference in which he emphasized the importance of asylum, as indicated in paragraph 10 above.

63. In the framework of Human Rights Year, the High Commissioner is seeking to promote accessions to the 1951 Convention, the 1967 Protocol and other instruments of benefit to refugees. The withdrawal of reservations to these instruments will also be most welcome to his Office. The Commissioner hopes that Human Rights Year will also lead to wider acceptance of the principles embodied in these instruments and of the principles relating to asylum as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the recently adopted Declaration on Territorial Asylum. He trusts that these principles will, in due course, be strengthened by the further establishment of corresponding legal obligations under internal law.

64. UNHCR has endeavoured to promote the reunion of families which are separated because one its members has become a refugee. Such reunion can take place either through voluntary repatriation or through the reunion of the family in the country of asylum. The High Commissioner attaches great importance to the family reunion of refugees and hopes that Human Rights Year will lead to a further liberalization of the practice of States in this field, as recommended in the Final Act (section IV. B) of the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons, which adopted the 1951 Convention.²

F. Economic and social rights of refugees

65. The Office continues to attach the greatest importance to the granting of economic and social rights of refugees, so that they may be in a position to benefit from the opportunities obtaining in their country of residence. This is the more necessary since, in some areas, employment opportunities may be decreasing in view of general economic conditions. Further progress has been made in this field through improved legal regulations in some countries, the adoption of clauses favourable to refugees in relevant governmental instruments and, more recently, through closer inter-agency co-operation.

66. The Office follows up on developments in the legislation and administrative practice of countries of residence of refugees, with a view to promoting the adoption of appropriate provisions for the benefit of refugees, and, in particular, seeks to ensure that the standard of treatment accorded to them is in harmony with the relevant international instruments. In Austria, a decree was adopted on the application of article 17.2 of the 1951 Convention, whereby refugees who have completed three years' residence are automatically given access to employment. In Ethiopia, prospective employers may be released from the requirement of obtaining work permits for the employment of refugees wishing to settle in the country.

67. As regards education and training, a law was adopted in Belgium in April 1967 exempting refugees from certain requirements in respect of the recognition of academic degrees and diplomas. In addition, a decree was adopted establishing that foreign diplomas of secondary education, including those for technical studies, are to be considered as equivalent to Belgian diplomas; this decree will benefit refugees who started their technical studies in their country of origin.

68. On the intergovernmental plane, the High Commissioner is actively following developments, particularly in respect of intergovernmental agreements on social security with a view to enabling refugees, recognized as such under the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol, to be included among the beneficiaries of these instruments.

69. The importance of adequate education, training and employment possibilities for refugees has been recognized by other members of the United Nations system, not only as a human right, but also from the point of view of the best utilization of human resources. Their co-operation and the further support of Governments in promoting full access of refugees to adequate education, training and employment possibilities will contribute both to alleviate the plight of refugees and to making the best use of available human resources.

G. Issue of documentation to refugees

70. The possibility for refugees to receive the documentation they need, particularly in connexion with travel, has become particularly significant in the world of today. The High Commissioner welcomes the widespread issue of travel documents under the 1951 Convention, which has also been recommended by the Conference on the Legal, Economic and Social Aspects of African Refugee Problems. As regards other types of documentation, the International Commission on Civil Status, in September 1967, adopted a recommendation whereby member States are requested to designate authorities competent for the issue of documents, in accordance with article 25 of the 1951 Convention.

H. Acquisition by refugees of the nationality of their country of residence

71. As the General Assembly knows, the acquisition by refugees of the nationality of their country of residence through naturalization, option or otherwise, is one of the principal means by which a refugee ceases to be a refugee. As increasing numbers of refugees are consolidating their economic and social position in their country of residence, where many of them have already spent a great part of their lives, it would seem necessary to encourage and facilitate their naturalization. Steps are now being envisaged to increase the refugees' awareness of the advantages and prospects which the nationality of their country of adoption might offer them. At the same time, UNHCR continues to encourage Governments to afford opportunities to refugees to enable them to complete the last step in their integration in a new community: the acquisition, through nationality, of the full civil rights of the country. States which admit refugees as immigrants already provide many facilities for this purpose. Other countries have either reduced naturalization fees or the length of sojourn required before nationality may be granted.

72. The High Commissioner welcomes the initiative taken in this field by the Council of Europe, which, in co-operation with HCR, is studying the legal rules and regulations and the methods in force in its member countries, in respect of Commissioner also hopes that the voluntary agencies will be able to give guidance to refugees and encourage them to accomplish the necessary legal steps required in this connexion.

73. He is particularly grateful to the Government of Greece, which recently took measures to facilitate the naturalization of Armenian refugees, and to the Government of Italy, where the competent authorities no longer require refugees to submit proof of release from their former nationality for the purpose of acquiring Italian citizenship.

I. Indemnification by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany

74. In accordance with the conclusions adopted by the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme at its eighteenth session, the Office of the High Commissioner has continued negotiations with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany with a view to resolving the outstanding problems in respect of indemnification.

75. The German authorities have continued the implementation of article 1 of the Indemnification Agreement concluded between the Federal Republic of Germany and UNHCR in October 1960 and, by 31 March of this year, 36,279 applications had been received, 17,993 of which have been settled. The number of positive decisions taken was 1,591 and payments amounting to approximately DM75 million had been made.

76. In accordance with paragraph 3 of the Protocol to the Agreement, UNHCR has pursued its consultations with the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany with a view to speeding up the processing of claims and solving certain questions which have arisen concerning the qualification for indemnification of persons who had suffered persecution under the national-socialist regime by reason of their nationality. As for the first point, new administrative measures have been taken by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany as a result of which applications have been dealt with and settled at an increased rate. Furthermore, the relevant government directives to the Federal Administration Office have been amended to cover certain groups of persons persecuted by reason of their nationality, who hitherto had been unable to obtain indemnification.

77. As reported by the High Commissioner at the twenty-second session of the General Assembly, a Supplementary Fund amounting to DM3,500,000 ($US 875,000) was made available to UNHCR by the Federal Republic of Germany. The object of this fund is to finance measures of assistance to persons persecuted under the national-socialist regime by reason of their nationality, who did not qualify for indemnification from the previous fund established under the aforementioned Agreement of 1960. It is expected that, by the end of 1968, the great majority of qualifying applicants will have received payment from the Supplementary Fund.

J. Legal aid

78. The Office has continued to provide facilities for legal aid and advice to individual refugees to enable them to solve legal problems arising from their special status as refugees, where such assistance was not available from any other source. This activity, which is complementary to legal protection, has proved of great help in furthering the local integration or resettlement of refugees. It is financed under the UNHCR current programme and further details are given in chapter III below.

III. MATERIAL ASSISTANCE

A. General review

79. The period under review has been largely a period of stabilization in the course of which every effort has been made to consolidate the economic and social position of non-settled refugees requiring assistance from the international community, particularly on the African continent. Indeed, apart from one new problem of refugees in Africa and from a continuing influx in a few countries, the major portion of UNHCR programme funds has been devoted to help refugees to become self-supporting to a point where their economic and social situation would be similar to that of the local population.

80. Projects outstanding from previous programmes, the current programme for 1967, whose target had been fixed at some $4,827,000, and the HCR Emergency Fund, from which an amount of over $206,000 was committed in 1967, again played a major role in contributing to meeting the needs of over 222,000 non-settled refugees spread over more than fifty countries, through the five continents, as shown in annex II, tables 1 and 2. Many more refugees were able to take advantage of the funds and facilities provided under the programme in terms of various individual services, or enjoyed the benefit of essential complementary projects outside the programmes for which funds had been especially earmarked by their donors. The catalytic nature of the programme was enhanced by the fact that the amount of $4,472,000 committed in 1967 under the 1967 programme attracted supporting contributions in an amount of $7,373,000. These contribution, a considerable part of which were provided by countries of residence of refugees, are an illustration of the Governments' share in the effort of the international community in favour of refugees. In addition, mention should be made of the food supplies made available by the World Food Programme (WFP) in an amount of some $1,300,000 of the value of land placed at the disposal of refugees by countries of residence, and of the services rendered by the authorities of these countries in their capacity as operational partners of UNHCR. Over and above these sums, special trust funds amounting to $958,000, including contributions to the UNHCR Education Account, were channelled through UNHCR for essential complementary projects outside the programme, as shown in table 3 of annex II.

81. UNHCR policy in respect of material assistance to refugees has again been focused on helping refugees to become self-supporting as rapidly as possible. The Conference on the Legal, Economic and Social Aspects of African Refugee Problems has played a particularly important part in drawing attention to, and endorsing, the principles and methods of work developed by UNHCR in the light of difficulties experienced in Africa. Thus, the Conference agreed that assistance to refugees should preferably be channelled through international and multilateral channels and that the primary responsibility for establishing refugees on the land should lie with the Government of the country of asylum. The Conference also stressed the importance of integrated zonal development for the benefit of refugees and the local population alike. Finally, it also accepted the principle that education and remunerated employment would help to prevent refugees from becoming a burden on their country of asylum, while, at the same time benefiting the economic and social development of the country. With this objective in view, the Conference agreed that a bureau for the placement into employment and resettlement of individual refugees be set up within the framework of the secretariat of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

82. Apart from the three main solutions open to the refugees, that is, voluntary repatriation, resettlement through migration in another country and local integration in country of residence, emergency relief has continued to play a very important role in new refugee situations when thousands of men, women and children, generously admitted to a country of asylum had to be provided on short notice with the necessary care and maintenance. Assistance from the local authorities combined with support from the UNHCR Emergency Fund and other organizations, including the World Food Programme, in developing areas, have gone a long was to taking care of the immediate requirements of newcomers, some 70,000 of whom throughout all areas of UNHCR operations needed this type of assistance in 1967. On the other hand, the economic and social position of refugees qualifying for material assistance from UNHCR has by and large improved. Thus, for example, at the end of 1967 the number of those refugees in Africa in receipt of rations had increased only by some 15,000 (that is, from an estimated 125,000 to a little over 140,000 at the end of the year), while the number of newly arrived refugees in need of assistance in Africa amounted to 60,000. Furthermore, there are good prospects that a number of refugees, who are already in the course of settlement in Africa, will achieve self-sufficiency during this year.

83. As heretofore, special attention has been devoted by UNHCR to voluntary repatriation and an amount of nearly $15,000 was committed under the 1967 programme to facilitate the return to their homes of some 1,000 refugees, most of whom were Congolese.

84. The promotion of resettlement through migration continued to prove a most desired solution, particularly when the refugees concerned were given an opportunity to establish themselves permanently in a country of immigration and to obtain the nationality of that country without too much difficulty after a relatively short period of time. Resettlement has been particularly valuable in permitting newly arriving refugees rapidly to leave their country of asylum in Europe, thus avoiding an accumulation of new problems which, in the somewhat less favourable economic context of the last year, would not have been easy to solve. During the past few years, resettlement has also become more significant for the solution of problems of refugees in other parts of the world. Resettlement opportunities are also available to some extent to certain groups of refugees in Asia and Africa. The Bureau for the Placement and Resettlement of Refugees has recently been established, as recommended by the Addis Ababa Conference, and it should enable a number of individual refugees in Africa, other than farmers, to find new homes in countries of Africa prepared to admit them for permanent settlement.

85. During 1967, a total of 6,757 refugees were resettled with UNHCR financial assistance. A total amount of approximately $309,000 was committed by UNHCR for the promotion and financing of resettlement and a further allocation of $200,000 has been included in the UNHCR programme for 1968 for this purpose.

86. Local integration has again constituted the solution to the problems of the large majority of refugees whom UNHCR has been called upon to assist. This is mainly owing to the fact that in Africa, where the majority of non-settled refugees are at present to be found, integration is possible provided a certain amount of international assistance, which varies from country to country, is provided in support of the effort generously undertaken by the receiving country. Thus, of a total of 222,000 benefiting under UNHCR current operations and the Emergency Fund, 214,000 were assisted in local integration, of whom some 206,000 were in Africa. Whereas integration projects in Europe and Latin America mainly include the establishment assistance and the provision of simple housing, training in skills, physical rehabilitation and placement of the handicapped in institutions, the whole emphasis in Africa as well as Nepal, is placed on establishment in agriculture. As indicated in more detail in the High Commissioner's last report to the General Assembly, the dispersion of existing rural communities and their relatively limited absorption capacity has made it necessary in many cases to establish the refugees in new areas with little or no economic and social infrastructure. The Majority of projects, therefore, in addition to the provision of land, farming equipment and seeds, necessarily entail such indispensable elements as the building of access roads and bridges, the eradication of tse-tse fly, the draining of marshes, the clearing of bush and the adduction of water. At the same time, projects need to include provision for medical assistance and primary education from the early stages of their implementation.

87. The High Commissioner is pleased to report that the infra-structure of most of the rural communities of refugees has made good progress. The health situation has improved. An increasing number of bush schools have been converted into concrete. Access roads have been improved or extended so that the refugee communities are in a better position to engage in trade with the surrounding local population, thereby increasing their own standard of living and at the same time, that of their neighbours. The close co-operation which has developed with other members of the United Nations system, described in more detail in chapter I above, is proving increasingly conducive to improvements in the situation of both the refugees and the local population. It should be emphasized, however, that considerable efforts will continue to be required to help the more recently arrived refugees to reach a standard of living similar to that of refugees who have been established for some time, to ensure that those refugee communities which have achieved a certain degree of self-sufficiency continue to make further progress, and to prevent those communities which have now been well established for some time, such as the Rwandese in the Kivu Province of the Congo, from losing the benefit of the considerable efforts put in by host countries and other members of the international community. This is the more important since in certain areas of Africa refugees are often at the mercy of unpredictable climatic conditions.

88. In his report to the General Assembly at its twenty-second session, the High Commissioner reported on the growing number of individual refugees, including a number of white-collar workers, in the cities, particularly in Dakar. To take this need into account, a project for individual counselling was included in the UNHCR programme for 1967. Some 600 refugees benefited from this project and a further similar project has been included in the 1968 programme. Furthermore, the Bureau for the Placement and Resettlement of Individual Refugees, established pursuant to the recommendations of the Addis Ababa Conference, will, it is hoped, contribute to solving the problem of those individual refugees who are unable to settle in their country of first asylum.

89. Particular attention has been devoted to the fundamental problems of education and training for refugees. As indicated above, primary education has generally become a component part of projects for the settlement of refugees in Africa, on the understanding that responsibility for it will subsequently be taken over by the Government of the host country. Post-primary education, on the other hand, with the high cost it entails, could not be included in the UNHCR programmes and an Education Account was established by UNHCR, which is fed by voluntary contributions outside the programme. As will be seen from table 3 of annex II, over $215,000 were committed from the Education Account in 1967. While the funds were, in most cases, earmarked by the donors for certain specific educational projects, every effort has been made to apply the relatively limited resources available for secondary education and training, bearing in mind the objective that refugees should learn those skills for which there is a direct demand in the economy of their country of asylum. In this respect, the newly established Bureau for the Resettlement and Placement of Individual Refugees will also have a most useful role to play in seeking opportunities for secondary, vocational or higher education in various African countries and assisting graduate refugees in or outside Africa in finding employment in Africa itself.

90. Following the memorandum of understanding concluded between UNHCR and UNESCO in the course of 1967, an expert from UNESCO was seconded to UNHCR and made a detailed survey of refugee education needs and possibilities in Africa, which will constitute the basis for further UNHCR action in this field.

91. The Office has continued its co-operation with the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa. In 1967, the High Commissioner channelled an amount of $26,000 to a voluntary agency for the relief of refugees from South Africa, who had been given asylum in various African countries. The High Commissioner has also pursued his co-operation with the administration of the United Nations Special Education and Training Programmes for refugees from Portuguese territories, South Africa and South West Africa.

92. Legal assistance has again proved invaluable in enabling individual refugees to solve their legal problems, thus facilitating their permanent settlement. As amount of over $76,000 was committed for this form of assistance under the 1967 programme.

93. Individual supplementary aid has also been continued for the neediest refugees and an amount of over $85,621 was committed under the 1967 programme, which benefited some 15,000 refugees during the period under review.

94. Taking into account the new problems of refugees which remain to be solved and the continuing efforts to be made to consolidate the position of refugees in a number of settlements, the Executive Committee of the HCR programme has adopted a target of $4,631,600 for the UNHCR programme for 1968, more than two-thirds of which is intended for the local settlement of refugees in Africa.

B. Assistance to refugees in Africa

Burundi

95. The number of refugees in Burundi, which amounted to 79,000 on 1 January 1967, has remained practically unchanged during the year.

Rwandese refugees

96. of the 54,000 Rwandese refugees living in Burundi, 41,000 are in the four settlement areas of Kayongozi, Kigamba Muramba and Mugera, and 13,000 are scattered throughout the country.

97. The former rural settlement projects were followed in 1967 by a single interim project for the four above-mentioned settlement areas, with a total budget of some $960,000, of which UNHCR provided more than $400,000, the balance of which was in the form of contributions in kind, cash or in the form of services provided by the government of Burundi, the WFP, FAO, the ILO or UNDP. The implementation of the project was entrusted to the International Association for Rural development Overseas (AIDR).

98. Within the framework of this single project, which provides a remarkable example of inter-agency co-operation, special emphasis was placed on rural development of both the settlement areas and the surrounding areas. Outstanding progress has been made in this respect and, towards the end of 1967, the inhabitants of the four areas had reached the stage of self-sufficiency in food. The supplementary food which the World Food Programme continued to supply was distributed only to special groups of refugees, such as children and expectant mothers, or in the form of payment in kind to adult refugees and to Burundi engaged in community work.

99. In accordance with the decision of the local authorities to increase the area of land allotted to each refugee family, new stretches of land have been brought under cultivation and marshland drained; various cash crops have been tried out and the cultivation of coffee and ground nuts has been introduced in the region. A tse-tse fly eradication campaign, financed by OXFAM, has produced good results. Bee-keeping has also started to show results. Lastly, a tangible sign of the desire of the refugees to settle permanently has been the appearance of banana trees in the settlement areas, while the huts are being replaced by dwellings built of durable materials, which are more hygienic, thus contributing to a steady improvement in the health conditions of the inhabitants.

100. At Muramba, plans have been drawn up for providing the region with an adequate water supply, which will benefit both the refugees and the local population. Co-operatives have also been established in all the areas, under the guidance of an ILO expert.

101. As far as primary education is concerned, two school complexes, each of which can accommodate 350 pupils, have been completed and the construction of two others is nearing completion. After completion of the 1967 project and of a similar project planned for 1968, the percentage of Burundi and Rwandese children in the whole region who will receive primary education could reach 30 per cent, a figure which is close to the average percentage prevailing in Burundi.

102. In spite of the progress made, it became apparent towards the end of 1967 that it would be premature to break off the programme of material assistance to the Rwandese as from January 1968, the date on which the 1967 interim project would normally have come to an end. Moreover, UNDP was not in a position to take over from UNHCR at the beginning of 1968. The Government of Burundi has asked for UNDP assistance for the implementation of a global development plan in the north-eastern part of Burundi, where most of the refugees are located. Pending the implementation of this plan, which is envisaged for 1969, UNDP has agreed to participate in the financing of preliminary operations in 1968, up to the sum of $200,000. The Government of Burundi has also agreed to contribute. Furthermore, OXFAM has agreed to allocate an amount of over $120,000, while UNHCR will contribute $160,000 under its 1968 programme.

Congolese refugees

103. In spite of the events which occurred in the Kivu Province during the summer of 1967, the number of Congolese refugees in Burundi has remained at approximately 25,000, new arrivals having been offset by the return to the Congo of the majority of the 3,000 persons who took refuge in Burundi in 1967. UNHCR contributed to the repatriation of nearly 800 Congolese refugees during 1967.

104. The Congolese refugees, most of whom are fishermen and small farmers, are distinguished by a great ability to adapt themselves to the most difficult local conditions. They live, nevertheless, in precarious conditions. They live, nevertheless, in precarious conditions and the marginal assistance they receive from UNHCR and voluntary organizations is still needed.

Joint post-primary education and training projects

105. Because of the Education Account of UNHCR, it was possible to allocate more than $9,000 for the execution of projects for secondary and university education and vocational training, under which some 460 refugees in Burundi will benefit during the scholastic year 1967/1968.

Central African Republic

Sudanese refugees

106. The situation of the 27,000 Sudanese refugees, who were at Bambouti at the beginning of 1967 and whose numbers had just been increased by a further 1,1000, was marked by two main developments: the decision of the Central African authorities to evacuate the frontier area of Bambouti by transferring the refugees to M'boki, 280 kilometres to the east, and the launching of the first phase of the project for the rural settlement of these refugees at M'boki.

107. This transfer, which had been decided on in the summer of 1967, when the first crops were beginning to ripen at Bambouti, encountered a number of obstacles, including the reluctance of the refugees to go to their new settlement area. A number of them preferred to remain at Bambouti, while others, estimated at some 100,000, scattered in the areas adjacent to Bambouti while awaiting the harvest season, or crossed the Congolese frontier. Of these, about 3,000 returned to the Central African Republic, in which, at 31 December 1967, there were 21,000 refugees of Sudanese origin - 10,000 at Bambouti, 9,500 at M'boki, 1,100 at Ouanda-Djallé and Djema and some 400 scattered among the local inhabitants. Because of the understanding attitude of the Central African authorities, the measures adopted to enable the refugees to harvest their crops and the efforts made to encourage them to go to M'boki, the difficulties encountered in the first phase of the transfer operation were soon overcome. Accordingly, it was expected that the transfer operation would be completed in May 1968 before the rainy season.

108. During 1967, projects representing a total amount of some $1,280,000 were launched with a view to the rural settlement of Sudanese refugees at M'boki. About 40 per cent of this amount, or $540,000, was allocated by UNHCR under its regular programme for 1967; the difference of $740,000 represented contributions in cash, in kind or in services provided by the Central African Government, the Government of the United States of America, the World Food Programme, the League of Red Cross Societies, which obtained technical help from the Office for the Development of Agricultural Production (BDTA) and by a number of voluntary agencies.

109. According to a study completed in 1967, the approximately 15,000 hectares of arable land made available to Sudanese refugees would be sufficient for the settlement of not more than 12,000 to 15,000 of them. The Government of the Central African Republic, However, might be prepared to offer additional land, if necessary. The refugees established at M'boki have already received farm implements and small tools, as well as seed corn, rice, sesame and sorghum and manioc, sweet potato, banana and mango seedlings. Seventy plant nurseries, seed beds and market gardens were established for the production of sugar cane and citrus fruit seedlings, which will be distributed to the refugees in 1969, while oil-palm seedlings will be purchased locally. Pending the first harvest, the refugees at M'boki continue to receive food rations supplied by the Catholic Relief Services, the United States Agency for International Development and by the World Food Programme.

110. With regard to market crops, plans call for the cultivation of pimentos and tobacco, and the pimento crop will provide initial income for the refugees starting at the end of the 1968 growing season. Great hopes have also been placed in silkworm breeding and fish breeding. Lastly, efforts were made to encourage trade and handicrafts in the area. Thus, thirty refugee families were settled as market gardeners along the M'bokou River.

111. Progress was also made with regard to infra-structure. At the end of 1967, seventeen bridges had been built and, of the 300 kilometres of carriage track needed for the M'boki area, more than 150 kilometres had been completed. Similar progress was made in the construction of administrative buildings, comprising dwellings, offices, a maternity centre and food stores. Plans for the construction of a hospital and a building to be used as a cultural centre have been completed and measures for the supply of water are under study.

112. At the end of 1967, public health conditions in the area could be regarded as satisfactory. A League doctor assisted by about twenty nurses, sixteen of whom were refugees, provided medical care in a temporary hospital, a maternity centre and six "bush" dispensaries. Of the 650 lepers among the Sudanese refugees, about 450 were resettled at M'boki, where they are undergoing treatment.

113. Positive results were also achieved in primary education. Schooling was provided in the 1967/1968 academic year for 30 per cent of the refugee children who were at the M'boki centre in October 1967, which was about the average percentage in the Central African Republic as a whole. Primary education was provided for 725 children divided into fifteen classes, which were held in "bush" schoolrooms, five of which were taught by Central African teachers and ten by Sudanese teachers, who were themselves refugees. In addition, because of a contribution of $48,000 to the Education Account,³ forty Sudanese refugees will receive secondary or vocational education in the Central African Republic during the current school year and four others will be able to attend French courses while awaiting admission to a university.

114. On the whole, the progress made in 1967 in various fields warranted the hope that, barring unforeseen events, the Sudanese refugees in the M'boki area would be self-sufficient by mid-1969. In that expectation, the Central African authorities established contact with the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme with a view to planning the take-over of UNHCR activities and to incorporating these activities within the framework of a regional development plan. It should be noted in this connexion that for refugees and the local population alike in the M'boki region, the gradual transitions from a subsistence economy to a monetary economy is closely linked with the development of the road axis connecting the M'boki area with the capital of the Central African Republic.

115. The High Commissioner has been authorized by the Executive Committee to make an allocation of $600,000 in the budget for the regular programme for 1968, for continued work on the infra-structure of M'boki and the community services needed in the area.

116. The High Commissioner was also asked to provide assistance for 200 Sudanese refugees at Djema and 900 at Ouanda-Djallé. The first group received assistance from the League of Red Cross Societies and the second received emergency assistance from UNHCR. An appropriation of some $10,000 for these two groups of refugees has been included in the 1968 programme.

Congolese refugees

117. The pacification of the area adjacent to the Central African Republic made it possible for some 3,700 of the 16,000 Congolese refugees who were in the Central African Republic at the beginning of 1967 to return to their country of origin during the year, of whom 117 received financial assistance from UNHCR for their repatriation. The events which occurred in the eastern Congo in the summer of 1967 also caused an influx of some 1,700 new refugees into the Zemio area of the Central African Republic, so that at the end of 1967, the number or refugees of Congolese origin in the Central African Republic was estimated at 14,000. At the request of the Government of the Central African Republic, the High Commissioner drew on the Emergency Fund to provide $6,000 to supplement the emergency relief provided for these refugees by the League of Red Cross Societies and other voluntary agencies.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

118. As a result of the influx of new Angolan refugees and the arrival of some 7,000 Sudanese refugees from Bambouti, the Central African Republic, the total number of refugees increased in 1967 to about 414,000, of whom about 350,000 were Angolans, 40,000 Sudanese and 24,000 Rwandese.

Angolan refugees

119. The integration of some 350,000 Angolan refugees, most of whom were in the central Congo and south-eastern Katanga, progressed normally during the year. Most of these refugees were able to meet their essential needs by their own efforts and with the help of the local population, the Congolese Government and a number of voluntary organizations.

120. Owing to the attraction of urban life and the marginal nature of the land, there was a considerable flight from the land in the central Congo and it is feared that the concentration of hundreds of thousands of Angolan refugees on relatively poor land may cause serious economic problems in the near future.

121. UNHCR assistance to these refugees was of a marginal nature and consisted mainly of medical assistance, education and training. UNHCR contributed $3,550 under the 1967 programme towards the cost of medical treatment for 170 Angolan refugees suffering from tuberculosis. In addition, some $15,500 drawn from the Education Account enabled a voluntary organization to equip the Sona-Bata secondary school with a science laboratory and to contribute towards the construction of twenty-two secondary school classrooms and improvements to or equipment of another twenty primary-school classrooms in the central Congo.

122. UNHCR intends to continue in 1968 the marginal assistance which it grants to newly-arrived refugees or to meet needs arising in specified sectors.

Rwandese refugees

123. During the first six months of 1967, the 24,000 Rwandese refugees, most of whom were in the province of Kivu, made satisfactory progress in settling in agriculture under the ILO/UNHCR integration and zonal development project for Rwandese refugees. The completion of this project, however, was delayed by the events which occurred in this province during the summer of 1967. Refugees living in the Kalonge area were particularly affected, while those in the northern part of Kivu suffered less during this difficult period. It is encouraging to note that the schools established in the Bibwe area were taken over by the Government as from 1 January 1968.

124. A sum of $6,500 drawn from the Education Account enabled some 200 Rwandese to receive secondary schooling.

Sudanese refugees

125. With the arrival of some 7,000 Sudanese refugees in the north-east Congo, the number of refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo increased from 33,000 to 40,000 in 1967.

126. Implementation of the emergency relief project for these refugees, which started at the beginning of 1967 and for which the High Commissioner had drawn $50,000 from the Emergency Fund, was interrupted more than once by the events which occurred in the north-eastern part of the country. A mission composed of representatives of FAO, UNHCR and the Government, which was to have gone to the area to prepare a rural settlement project, had to be postponed for the same reasons.

127. It was possible, nevertheless, to provide assistance to the Sudanese refugees for education; $35,000 was drawn from the Education Account for the conversion of a group of buildings near Isiro into a secondary school and to defray the costs of operating this school for a period of three years.

128. The Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme has authorized the High Commissioner to allocate $350,000 under his 1968 programme, in order to begin implementation of the programme for the rural settlement of Sudanese refugees in 1968. Provision has also been made for increased assistance for education and training of the refugees in the Congo.

Joint education and training project

129. An allocation of some $11,000 from the Education Account enabled thirty-five Rwandese and Sudanese refugees to receive higher education.

Senegal

130. At the beginning of 1967 the number of refugees was of the order of 62,000, but was reduced by about 2,000 by voluntary repatriation. The integration of the balance of the refugees into the Senegalese community continued, and they are rapidly assimilated into the population and many are already able to pay local taxes.

131. It was possible to continue to provide assistance to refugees from Portuguese Guinea, estimated at almost $3 million in 1967 alone, owing to the extensive participation of the Governments of Senegal and of the United States of America, and to the help of numerous international or voluntary organizations. UNHCR's participation amounted to nearly $140,000. The programme was executed by the National Committee for Assistance to Refugees, with the help of the central and local authorities, the Catholic Relief Services and the Senegalese Red Cross.

132. The rural settlement programme was carried out as scheduled and under favourable conditions. The progress made permitted a reduction from 2,000 tons in 1966 to 1,000 tons in the amount of food supplied to the refugees, the transport of which within the country was financed by UNHCR.

133. The arrival of new refugees at Casamance in 1967 made it necessary to buy and distribute farm implements, seeds and fertilizers, while the development of new land and the establishment of new villages involved the drilling of thirty-nine new wells, additional to the ninety already dug under previous UNHCR programmes. Ten culverts were built on some of the numerous streams in Casamance, in order to facilitate access to the new refugee villages.

134. With regard to health, the mobile medical unit launched in 1966 was continued owing to a British voluntary organization, which agreed to make two nurses available to the Senegalese Red Cross to direct the mobile teams, which had already been organized by the League of Red Cross Societies. This programme brought about a considerable improvement in the state of health of the refugees and helped to prevent serious epidemic. The work of the mobile teams, however, was somewhat hampered by a lack of medicaments.

135. The primary education programme, which called for the establishment of six schools in isolated villages for both refugee and Senegalese children, was delayed as a result of technical difficulties, which were fortunately overcome at the beginning of 1968. The conversion of ten bush schools into semi-permanent buildings was carried out as planned.

136. In order to facilitate integration of the refugees into the Senegalese economy, the dissemination of information on modern farming methods was organized in 1967 under the auspices of the Senegalese rural advancement movement.

137. With regard to the 3,000 refugees in urban areas, a counselling service to help the refugees find permanent solutions to their problems and, if necessary, to grant emergency assistance was set up at Dakar by the Senegalese Government in co-operation with UNHCR. This centre was functioning actively towards the end of 1967 and satisfactory results were achieved in the approximately 600 cases with which it dealt.

138. On the whole, continued progress is expected in the economic integration of refugees in 1968, which should permit a further reduction aid in kind. Meanwhile, UNHCR assistance is still needed to consolidate the results already obtained and to complete current projects, particularly in the fields of education and health. For that purpose, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme has authorized a further allocation of $115,000 under the 1968 programme for assistance to refugees in Senegal.

Sudan

139. At the beginning of 1967, there were 4,700 Congolese refugees in the Sudan, most of whom were grouped in the southern provinces of the country and received assistance from the Sudanese Government. In the course of the year, 28,600 Ethiopian refugees arrived in the Kassala area, while 300 Congolese refugees left the country. Accordingly, on 31 December 1967, the total number of refugees given asylum in the Sudan amounted to about 33,000.

140. In march 1967, the Sudanese Government asked UNHCR for help on behalf of these two categories of refugees.

Congolese refugees

141. Under an agreement concluded in February 1967 between the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sudan on the voluntary repatriation of refugees from the two countries, 681 Congolese refugees asked for repatriation and, at the end of 1967, measures to that end were under consideration. In the case of those who had opted for local settlement, pending their transfer to the interior of the country in accordance with the terms of the agreement, a joint UNHCR/Sudanese mission, organized at the request of the Government of the Sudan, visited the area to take stock of the situation and the needs of the refugees. A project for the settlement of these refugees is under consideration. In the meantime, they are being assisted by the Sudanese authorities.

Refugees from Ethiopia

142. Regrouped in six settlements near Kassala, the 28,600 refugees from Ethiopia, who came to the Sudan in 1967, were soon able to meet their basic needs owing to the generous hospitality of the local population, the emergency relief granted by the Sudanese Government and a donation of powdered milk from the Government of Kuwait.

143. Pending a long-term solution, the Sudanese Government has drawn up an emergency relief programme providing essentially for the improvement of the accommodation available to the refugees, the purchase and distribution of food and the organization of health services. This programme, in which several international organizations participated, including WFP, is being carried out by the Sudanese Government assisted by the Sudanese Red Crescent. UNHCR has contributed $150,000, allocated from the Emergency Fund. Although the health conditions of the refugees are relatively good, some of them are suffering from an eye disease or from tuberculosis.

144. The High Commissioner has also been authorized by the Executive Committee to allocate a sum of $348,000 under his 1968 current programme to facilitate, in particular, the rural settlement, away from the frontiers, of refugees who have opted for local settlement.

145. At the beginning of 1968, in consultation with UNHCR, UNDP and FAO, the Sudanese Government selected a site at Abu-Sabeka, about 100 miles from the Kassala region, for the rural settlement of the 28,600 refugees from Ethiopia. This thinly populated and fertile area, comprising nearly 100,000 feddans, has an abundant rainfall and the advantage of forming part of a wider region in which the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is interested.

146. It is expected that the project for the rural settlement of the refugees from Ethiopia will necessitate the technical and financial co-operation of the Sudanese Government, UNHCR and other organizations, such as the World Food Programme. The supply of food by WFP is of vital importance until such time as the refugees can become self-sufficient.

Uganda

147. As a result of the influx of some 6,000 new refugees, mostly from the Sudan, the number of refugees in Uganda rose from 157,000 to nearly 163,000 in 1967. Ugandan law, which provides for the settlement of the refugees in certain specific regions, is applied with leniency. About 50,000 refugees have been settled in twelve rural settlements with UNHCR assistance, while more than 112,000, who have found homes with relatives or friends among the local population, are establishing themselves by their own efforts outside these areas.

148. In 1967, a total of more than $1,540,000 was committed in Uganda, the bulk of which was devoted to financing the settlement of refugees in agriculture. Of this sum, about $550,000 was committed by UNHCR under its 1967 programme (including $15,400 from the Emergency Fund). Thus, nearly $1 million was provided in the form of supporting contributions by the Ugandan Government, WFP and a number of voluntary agencies through contributions in cash or kind, and services.

149. Efforts were also made to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of refugees. Negotiations were opened between the Government of Uganda, on the one hand, and the Governments of the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the other, and a Sudanese repatriation mission visited Uganda in the course of the year.

Rwandese refugees

150. Of the approximately 68,500 Rwandese refugees in Uganda at the end of 1967, more than 33,500 received the assistance of the international community for their establishment in eight settlements at Oruchinga, Nakivale, Kahunge, Kinyara, Rwamwanja, Kyangwali, Kyaka and Ibuga.

151. To facilitate the settlement of these refugees in agriculture, UNHCR committed a sum of $134,800 under its 1967 current programme. A considerable part of this sum was earmarked for Kyangwali settlement, which was established at the end of 1966 to take 6,000 refugees from the overcrowded fertile Oruchinga valley. Substantial progress was made in the settlements, and, in particular, at Kyangwali, and by the end of the year the vast majority of the refugees were practically self-supporting in terms of food, and so the rations still made available by the World Food Programme (WFP) were reserved for newcomers or distributed to needy refugees as supplementary rations.

152. Progress was made on the infra-structure, but much remains to be done in order to provide the areas as a whole with certain community services. In 1968, special attention will be paid also to the development of cash crops, in order to enable the refugees to attain a standard of living comparable to that of the indigenous population.

153. An allocation of $312,000 for the Rwandese refugees in Uganda has been made under the UNHCR 1968 programme.

Sudanese refugees

154. On 31 December 1967, nearly 15,000 Sudanese refugees of the 60,000 who had been given asylum in Uganda were living in the four settlements established for them at Agago, Nakapiripirit, Onigo and Ibuga. UNHCR committed about $368,500 for the continuation or extension of activities at these settlements, in addition to an allocation of $15,400 from the Emergency Fund to help some 2,000 new refugees at Ibuga to meet their basic needs.

155. As a result of the water supply problem and the shortage of arable land, very few Sudanese were able to produce all the food they needed at the end of 1967, and they were still receiving food rations made available under the World Food Programme.

156. Outstanding progress was made in the field of primary education, in particular at Nakapiripirit, Agago and Onigo, where bush schools have been replaced by ordinary seven-class schools, each of which is capable of providing primary education for nearly 350 refugee children.

157. Generally speaking, it is planned to continue in 1963 the aid supplied to the different settlements and to make further efforts to equip the areas with the community services they are still lacking in 1967, including adequate water supply, maintenance of access roads and internal communication lines, health services and primary schools. An allocation of $68,000 was made under the 1968 programme for the settlements at Nakapiripirit, Agago, Onigo and Ibuga.

Joint education and training projects

158. Because of an allocation of $42,500 from the Education Account,300 Rwandese and Sudanese refugees will be able to receive secondary education in the scholastic year 1967/1968, and three Sudanese refugees will have university scholarships.

Congolese refugees

159. During the year, the number of Congolese refugees remained at approximately 34,000, some 32,500 of whom were living outside the settlement areas. At the beginning of 1967, some 1,500 Congolese refugees were living in settlement areas, most of them at Acolpi. At the end of the year, they were still not self-supporting in terms of food.

Prospects for 1968

160. Towards the end of 1967, the Ugandan Government and the United Nations Development Programme mentioned the possibility of drawing up zonal development projects calculated to benefit both the refugees and the local population in certain regions of Uganda. UNHCR is closely following this move, which is fully in accordance with the principle adopted and the wish expressed by the Executive Committee concerning the takeover of programmes of UNHCR by other members of the United Nations system discussed in chapter I of this report.

United Republic of Tanzania

General remarks

161. At the end of 1967, the number of refugees living in the United Republic of Tanzania was estimated at some 40,000, as against 34,000 at the end of the previous year. Nearly all these refugees came from Mozambique and Rwanda, and only a few small groups came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa.

162. So far, nearly 37,000 refugees have been established in rural settlement areas through the joint efforts of the Government of the receiving country, UNHCR, the World Food Programme and various intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. Since 1964 most of the rural settlement projects have been entrusted to the Lutheran World Federation and the Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service, which not only provided technical assistance, but made a substantial contribution in funds, goods and services.

163. Under its 1967 programme, UNHCR allocated some $525,000 for assistance to refugees in the United Republic of Tanzania; supporting contributions from other sources in 1967 were estimated at roughly $600,000.⁴

Refugees from Mozambique

164. With the arrival of new refugees from Mozambique, the number of such refugees rose from 19,000 to about 25,000 during 1967. Nearly all these refugees live in the rural settlements at Rutamba, Muhukuru and Lundo in southern Tanganyika. Considerable progress was made in rural settlement, including health centres and primary schools, particularly at Rutamba, where assistance has been granted since 1965. The influx of new refugees, however, made some extensions necessary there.

165. Then number of refugees in the Muhukuru and Lundo rural settlements increased from 6,000 to 9,300 and from 4,000 to 6.000 respectively. Owing to the recent nature of the projects in effect in these areas and the remoteness of Lundo from the large centres and seaports, there has not yet been much progress in the settlement of the refugees. It is thought that there will be greater progress in 1968, owing in particular to the road development schemes which are intended to make these areas more easily accessible.

166. Although it is no longer necessary to distribute food to the refugees who were settled earlier at Rutamba, distribution of food through WFP is still necessary at Muhukuru and Lundo, and to the newcomers in all the areas.

167. A total of more than $62,000 was allocated from the Education Account to enable a number of refugee students to continue their studies.

Rwandese refugees

168. The number of Rwandese refugees remained at approximately 13,500 in 1967. Since 1962, some 9,000 of them have been settled in the regions of Karagwe and Muyenzi, in the north-west of the united Republic of Tanzania. On the whole, these communities are self-supporting, particularly at Karagwe, where they pay their taxes and participate in the economic life of the region. In 1967, however, some reorganization was necessary in the Muyenzi area, where marginal assistance projects were still necessary.

169. During 1967, the 3,400 or so Rwandese refugees established on the Mwesi highlands made satisfactory progress in the growing of food crops, so that there has been no distribution of food rations since September. The infra-structure of this settlement area in matters of health and education has been in existence for some time.

170. At Mwesi, there is still the problem of its remoteness from any commercial centre, which makes the subsequent development of the area difficult. Thanks to the financial support of OXFAM, a far-reaching study of the development possibilities of this area was made by the Agricultural Development Service of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development at Nairobi, and submitted to the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania at the beginning of 1960.

Other groups refugees

171. The programme of assistance to refugees in the United Republic of Tanzania includes also a minor project for the rural settlement of about 600 refugees from the Congo and Malawi Pangale.

172. The rural settlement of some 100 refugees from Kenya in the Dabalo region should be of a purely temporary nature if, as is hoped, almost all these refugees return to Kenya.

Prospects for 1968

173. The Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme approved allocations totalling $143,650 under the 1968 programme, which will be mainly devoted to the continuation of current rural settlement projects. These allocations will probably have to be increased during the year, in order to take account of any growth in population which may occur in the rural settlement areas after the preparation of the 1968 programme.

Zambia

174. With the arrival of some 6,000 new refugees, including 2,400 Angolans, 950 Mozambiquans, 2,550 Congolese and more than 200 from Southern Africa, and the repatriation of some 1,650 refugees, mostly Congolese, the number of refugees in Zambia rose from 6,250 to nearly 11,000 in the course of 1967. Most of them live in the settlement areas of Nyimba, Lwatembo and Mayukwayukwa or are dispersed among the local population.

175. Projects totalling $748,000 were put into effect in 1967, for the benefit of all refugees residing in Zambia. Of this amount, nearly $435,000 were provided by UNHCR, the remainder representing contributions in cash or kind, or in the form of services supplied by the Zambian Government, the World Food Programme, the Lutheran World Federation, the Zambia Christian Refugee Service and the Zambia Red Cross.

Refugees from Mozambique

176. Despite the arrival of some 850 new refugees from Mozambique during the year, the project for the settlement of refugees at Nyimaba, where there were already about 1,300 Mozambiquan refugees, proceeded according to plan. As a result of the bumper maize harvest in the first year, it was possible in August 1967 to discontinue the distribution of maize meal provided by WFP.

177. Cash crops were also introduced. Furthermore, the infra-structure of the area was strengthened, in particular by the improvement and maintenance of access reads, the enlargement of the primary school at Nyimba and the improvement of health services.

178. Supplementary assistance will be necessary to ensure the community's lasting economic viability once the current projects have been completed. Consequently, steps have been taken to continue to provide assistance to the refugees in matters of agricultural improvements, health services, education and community development. An allocation of $19,000 is envisaged by UNHCR as its contribution to the financing of such assistance in 1968, in which the World Food Programme, the Lutheran World Federation, the Zambia Christian Refugee Service and the Zambian Red Cross will also participate.

Refugees from Angola

179. Most of the Angolan refugees live in the settlements at Lwatembo and Mayukwayukwa. Initially designed to accommodate 2,000 refugees, the area of Lwatembo had more than 3,650 refugees by the middle of 1967. Since the arable Land was insufficient to meet the needs of the newcomers, the area of Mayukwayukwa, where some 500 refugees were living at the beginning of 1967, was reorganized to enable it to accommodate another 1,750 refugees transferred from Lwatembo. After initial difficulties, progress was made with rural settlement and by the end of the year roughly twenty-six hectares had been cleared and sown with crops.

180. After a certain slowing down, as a result of the influx of new refugees and of disagreements, now overcome, between two local tribes, the rural settlement of refugees at Lwatembo has recently gone ahead with renewed vigour. It seems unlikely, however, that the refugees will be able to become self-supporting by 30 June 1968, as was originally planned. The settlement project will probably be continued in 1968 and, as usual, will comprise the supply of food, seeds and agricultural implements, as well as medical services and facilities for primary education and community development.

181 . In its 1968 programme, UNHCR has provided for an allocation of $88,250 for financing the Lwatembo and Mayukwayukwa projects, in which the Zambian Government, WFP, the World Lutheran Federation and Zambia Christian Refugee Service will participate.

Congolese refugees

182. During 1967, some 2,550 Congolese refugees arrived in Zambia. In response to an appeal by the Zambian Government, the High Commissioner allocated $10,000 from his Emergency Fund as a contribution to the financing of an emergency aid project for approximately 1,000 of these refugees.

183. In the second half of 1967, some 1,625 Congolese refugees returned to their native villages, so that on 1 January 1968, there were no more than about 925 Congolese refugees lift in Zambia, 600 of whom were receiving assistance at the Chipungu settlement.

184. The Zambian Government expressed the hope that refugees will be able to return to their homes and that it will consequently not be necessary for them to settle in Zambia.

Other refugees

185. UNHCR provided assistance for the resettlement, in other counties, of refugees of various origins living outside areas.

Other African countries

186. In Algeria, the programme for the resettlement of former Algerian refugees, for which the High Commissioner has been authorized to transfer contributions pursuant to Genera Assembly resolution 1972 (XVI) of 18 December 1961, is to be continued in 1968.

187. UNHCR allocated $2,000 to the Catholic Relief Services for assistance to approximately 100 refugees in Ethiopia.

188. In response to an appeal by the Ghanaian authorities, UNHCR allocated some $16,000 to the Ghanaian Red Cross to help a group of nineteen Cameroonian refugees to meet their needs. The money was provided, inter alia, for medical rehabilitation, education, vocational training and placement of the refugees in question. Some of them were helped to find employment.

189. In Morocco, where some 2,700 refugees of various origins were living, UNHCR helped to solve the problems of a great many of these refugees by repatriation, resettlement in certain European countries, local settlement or by providing supplementary assistance. The presence of aged refugees of long standing continues to pose problems and a sum of $20,000 has accordingly been allocated under the 1968 programme.

190. In 1967, as in the past, UNHCR continued to provide marginal aid to a small group of refugees of various origins to whom the Government of Kenya had granted temporary asylum. Because of this assistance, it has been possible to repatriate some of the refugees at their own request; others have received assistance to enable them to meet their daily needs. Furthermore, a private contribution of $1,000 to the Refugee Education Account enabled some of them to receive higher education. Lastly, a total of more than $27,350 was paid into the Refugee Education Account towards the end of 1967 to finance the 1968 phase of an important secondary and technical education programme established for these refugees.

C. Assistance to refugees in the Americas General

191. The American countries continued to play their important role in the immigration of refugees, thousands more of whom were admitted as permanent residents to Canada and the United States of America, where the authorities made considerable sums available for assistance to them.

192. In Latin America, UNHCR had to continue to provide assistance to some categories of refugees.

Assistance to refugees in Latin America

193. The total number of refugees under the High Commissioner's mandate in Latin America is of the order of 115,000. UNHCR assisted in the voluntary repatriation of a number of refugees, and devoted nearly $10,000 for that purpose under its 1967 programme. It also helped to resettle in Latin America some 700 refugees from the Caribbean area. About $27,000 was spent to assist them while they were in transit in Jamaica and Mexico or to pay their travel expenses.

194. As in preceding years, UNHCR assistance was concentrated on the local integration of elderly refugees and those too seriously handicapped to fend for themselves. Most of these 250 refugees, who are thus receiving or expect to for receive UNHCR assistance, are in Argentine (Buenos Aires), Brazil (Sao Paolo), Chile (Santiago) and Venezuela (Caracas). Of the $300,000 allocated for the integration of refugees in Latin America, UNHCR has earmarked $113,000 for assistance to elderly refugees, $55,000 for mentally handicapped refugees and $95,000 for dealing with a number of individual cases. The main projects undertaken to assist these refugees include, in particular, the establishment of an institution for elderly refugees in Buenos Aires and one at Santiago de Chile for refugees suffering from a mental handicap or chronic illness.

195. In addition, annuities were granted to a number of refugees who have become too old to support themselves. Some other refugees also received assistance designed to help them obtain their own means of livelihood.

196. The UNHCR programme also made it possible to finance counselling services for some 300 refugees in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. and supplementary aid was granted to some 275 refugees in various countries of Latin America to meet urgent needs.

D. Assistance to refugees in Asia, the Far East and the Middle East

India

197. There are at present some 50,000 Tibetan refugees in India, Sikkim and Bhutan. The Government is providing substantial assistance for these refugees, who are also assisted by voluntary contributions channelled through the Indian central Relief Committee.

198. Despite the considerable efforts which have been made, many needs have not yet been provided for and the situation of some 20,000 refugees living in camps and working on the roads, and that of elderly and infirm refugees continues to be a matter of concern to the Indian authorities and the voluntary organizations.

199. The Indian Government, therefore, welcomed the decision taken by the European Refugee Campaign to reserve for Tibetan refugees a substantial amount of the money collected in the campaign. These funds have already made it possible to undertake a number of projects designed to settle the refugees in agriculture, handicrafts or industry.

200. Nevertheless, additional international assistance is necessary. In 1967, UNHCR committed about $7,000 for continuation of a medical aid project for 3,200 refugees in the Simla and Narkanda areas in northern India. This project, which is being executed by the Indian Red Cross, still meets a real need and will be continued in 1968 by means of an allocation of $12,000 in the UNHCR programme.

Nepal

201. Of the 7.000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal at beginning of 1967, about 2,500 were living in organized centres, while most of the others were scattered in the mountainous areas in the north of the country. About 300 of these came to Kathmandu valley during 1967. There was also an influx of about 650 new Tibetan refugees in 1967, number of whom were apparently making their way towards India.

202. UNHCR continued to carry out projects included in earlier programmes, to which the Nepalese Government contributed generously, particularly by making land available for refugees. For its part, UNHCR committed about $71,000 under the 1967 programme to help to finance a number of settlement projects involving housing construction and vocational training.

203. Considerable progress was made in the organized settlement areas at Kathmandu, Pokhara Lake and Chialsa as a result of the close co-operation among the local authorities, the Nepal Red Cross Society, the Swiss association for Technical Assistance and UNHCR.

204. Towards the end of 1967, the level of self-sufficiency attained by the refugee community as a whole was such that its members, including some 600 elderly or handicapped persons, no longer required the food rations which were still being distributed at the beginning of the year by the United States agricultural assistance programme.

205. Among the main achievements, particular mention should be made of the construction of dwellings and small schools, the establishment of medical services and the provision of assistance for vocational training of the refugees.

206. While the refugees' immediate essential needs have been met, these gains still need to be consolidated, for example, by creating new employment possibilities. Accordingly, the $65,000 allocation under the 1968 programme will be used to help the refugees in the centres to consolidate their situation and to facilitate the settlement of the 300 new refugees who reached Kathmandu Valley during 1967.

Far East

Hong Kong

207. Of the approximately 1,000 refugees of European origin at present on the Chinese mainland, only a small number reached Hong Kong in 1967. The sum of $85,000 was allocated by UNHCR under its 1967 programme for, inter alia, assistance to refugees in transit at Hong Kong and the resettlement of a number of them in other countries.

208. In addition, the Chinese refugees at Hong Kong continue to benefit from the general assistance provided for the Chinese population by the United Kingdom authorities.

Macao

209. At the end of 1967, there still some 74,000 Chinese refugees in Macao. Despite unstable political conditions, work was begun on four projects for the local integration of those refugees and two new projects covered by the $145,000 allocation in the 1967 programme. Of the 242 apartment planned on Taipa island, construction of which began in 1966, 200 were nearing completion by the end of 1967. In accordance with the view expressed by the local authorities, it was decided not to build further housing on Taipa island and to allocate the remaining funds committed for that purpose to other housing projects at Macao.

210. UNHCR action was concentrated on certain particularly unfortunate groups. For example, the construction of a vocational training centre at the rehabilitation centre for drug addicts on the island, provided under an earlier programme, was completed and eighty refugees made use of it in 1967. The construction of a vocational training centre on Taipa island was also completed. A UNHCR contribution of $30.000 permitted the construction this year of a home for refugee girls and women.

211. Work on the enlargement of the Stella Matutina School, the additional wing of which was to accommodate 200 new pupils, began towards the end of 1967. Because of a $10,000 working capital fund include in the UNHCR programme for assistance to refugees wishing to learn a trade, the Coloane leper Hospital was able to acquire an electric generator, which provides 500 refugees with the electricity needed for the practice of their trade.

212. Despite difficulties, UNHCR assistance, which is still very necessary, has made it possible to satisfy, with the help of the local authorities, a number of particularly urgent needs.

Middle East

213. The some 10,000 refugees under UNHCR's mandate in the Middle East consist essentially of Armenians, Assyrians and other refugees from various European countries. Most of these refugees are in Lebanon and the United Arab Republic. There are also several hundred African refugee students who are receiving assistance from the authorities of the United Arab Republic. Mention should also be made of a group of approximately 300 Arab residents of Zanzibar, who have arrived in the Treaty States. There are also small groups of refugees of miscellaneous origin in Cyprus, Iran, Jordan and Syria.

214. The High Commissioner has continued his efforts to assist these refugees either to settle locally or to resettle in other countries. A total allocation of nearly $85,000 has been provided in the 1967 programme for this purpose and, of this, some $42,000 has been committed in Lebanon and some $43,000 in the United Arab Republic. In addition there remains available to UNHCR a sum of approximately $272,000, which form part of the special trust funds earmarked by the donors for housing projects for Armenian refugees in Lebanon.

215. Following the events of June 1967, the High Commissioner intensified his efforts in order to meet the increased needs of refugees under his mandate in the Middle East. The majority of these belong to the poorest strata of the population and are, therefore, those who have been most affected economically and socially by the events.

216. Through the efforts of UNHCR, the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration and the voluntary agencies, nearly 1,110 refugees, the majority of whom were in Lebanon, were thus able to emigrate to Canada, Sweden and the United States.

217. UNHCR also provided emergency aid to some eighty elderly or handicapped refugees, who have been placed in institutions or are receiving modest annuities. Some 130 fit refugees were also given assistance to enable them to establish a business, learn a new trade or obtain proper housing. UNHCR also undertook a counselling project which enabled two voluntary agencies to assist some 550 refugees in making a definitive choice between repatriation, resettlement in another country or local settlement. In addition, supplementary aid enabled more than 500 refugees to deal with certain immediate needs, such as medical expenses, which could not otherwise have been met.

218. During the period, a total of $2,000 from the Education Account was used to enable a number of refugees to obtain primary education the United Arab Republic. A further sum of $13,500 from the Education Account enabled a number of Arabs, formerly resident in Zanzibar, who had been received at Dubai, to obtain in Lebanon vocational training designed to facilitate their integration.

219. In view of the extent and gravity of the problem of the refugees under the High Commissioner's mandate in the Middle East, UNHCR has provided for an allocation of $144,000 in the 1968 programme, $91,000 for the United Arab Republic and $53,000 for other countries.

E. Assistance to refugees in Europe

220. The number of refugees under UNHCR's mandate in Europe is approximately 730,000, the great majority of whom are satisfactorily settled. A number of them, however, are still waiting for the completion of the last housing project - the last phase of a long-term programme financed mainly by the countries of residence. In France and in the Federal Republic of Germany, the implementation of these projects is progressing satisfactorily. Furthermore, several projects in Greece, which had been held in abeyance, were started in 1967 and are now being executed.

221. The number of new refugees of miscellaneous origin or of persons recognized as such, who arrived in certain countries of Europe in the course of 1967, is estimated to be about 13,500. Except in the case of Spain, where there was an influx of nearly 8,000 persons, the number of new refugees fell slightly, compared with 1966.

222. Both in resettling refugees and in settling them locally, the international co-operation machinery established with the participation of Governments, international and local voluntary agencies, UNHCR, the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration and other agencies has proved effective and has made possible the solution of new problems as they arise. In accordance with the policy followed for the last two years, responsibility for assisting refugees in Europe is being assumed increasingly by Governments, local authorities and social welfare agencies in the receiving countries, and UNHCR intervenes only where it is necessary for the international community to provide additional aid. This was the case, for example, in certain countries bordering the Mediterranean, where demographic, economic and social problems impede spontaneous integration of new refugees.

223. According to information received from the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration, a total of approximately 14,500 refugees were moved to their country of final settlement by the Committee. The great majority of them have found a new home in a country of immigration overseas. Nearly 600 were received in Europe, mainly in Sweden and Switzerland. UNHCR contributed financially towards the resettlement of some 5,500 refugees, who had left their country of first asylum, which in most cases was in Europe, in order to resettle in other countries, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United State. Mention should also be made of the resettlement of several hundred refugees in European countries, including 200 persons from Lebanon, and 30 Turkmenians from Afghanistan who were received in Turkey.

224. In Spain, the rhythm of departures for the United States accelerated during 1967 owing to assistance given by the United States consular authorities and the voluntary agencies.

225. While a fairly considerable number of new refugees were able to settle locally on their own or with the assistance of the authorities of the various receiving countries, nearly 2,250 of them required assistance from UNHCR, which committed approximately $580,000 for this propose under the 1967 programme. Assistance was given to the refugees in a variety of fields, including housing, vocational training and rehabilitation, physical rehabilitation and placement in institutions. As regards housing, every possible advantage was taken of agreements concluded under former assistance programmed which provided that housing units becoming vacant should, in principle, be reserved for other refugee families.

226. In Yugoslavia, efforts were again focused of rural settlement. It was possible thus to settle on the land a group of some fifty Albanian families, comprising approximately 280 persons, through an allocation of $200,000 under the 1967 programme and a large counterpart contribution made by the Yugoslav authorities.

227. As a rule, counselling continued to play an important role by enabling refugees, and particularly those who were elderly or handicapped, to choose the solution best adapted to their problems and capabilities.

228. Lastly, UNHCR devoted particular attention to the problem of the 213 severely handicapped refugees for whom a solution had not yet been found at the beginning of the period under review. On the basis of a decision taken by the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme at its seventeenth session in 1967, the High Commissioner addressed appeals to Governments which could assist in the solution of this eminently humanitarian problem. Following this appeal and subsequent negotiations, in which the Medical Adviser of ICEM played an active part, several of the Governments concerned indicated their willingness either to admit a further group of handicapped refugees or to give favourable consideration to those cases which were pending or had been rejected previously. As a result, it was possible for a substantial proportion of the remaining group of handicapped refugees to be placed in institutions in their country of residence or in another country.

229. As in the past, UNHCR was called upon to provide supplementary aid in special cases of particular gravity and committed some $37,000 for this purpose. It also committed some $63,000 for the provision of legal assistance to refugees unable to obtain this aid from any other source.

230. In view of the influx of new refugees and the substantial burden created for certain European countries by a large number of refugees, including a high proportion of elderly persons, the Executive Committee included in an allocation the 1968 programme which should enable UNHCR to play its role of catalyst and to continue, as best and as rapidly as it can, to cope with the remaining needs.

IV. ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL QUESTIONS

Frequency of sessions of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme

231. The Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, at its eighteenth session, considered the question of the frequency of its sessions in the light of the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on the Finances of the United Nations to the effect that organs of the United Nations should review their conference programmes with a view to reducing total meeting time to the extent possible. The Committee noted that the functioning of the Office of the High Commissioner and, in particular, the formulation and implementation of its programme would not be adversely affected if the Committee were to reduce the number of its annual session. It accordingly decided to hold, as a rule, one session annually, in the autumn.

European Refugee Campaign 1966

232. In his report to the General Assembly at its twenty-second session, the High Commissioner indicated the objectives and provisional results of the Fund Raising Campaign, which had been held in some twenty countries in favour of refugees. On 30 October 1967, His Royal Highness the Prince of the Netherlands, who had chaired the campaign, announced that its total proceeds amounted to some $18 million.

233. While the Governments of the countries⁵ where the campaign was undertaken encouraged this initiative and, in some cases, also contributed themselves to it, each national committee, representing the voluntary agencies concerned, was free to decide which groups of refugees would be assisted with the funds it had raised. In accordance with the wishes of the national committees concerned, the proceeds of the campaign are being used primarily to finance the refugee assistance programmes of the voluntary agencies in Africa and Asia. However, a common project in favour of Tibetan refugees has been established and allocations have also been earmarked towards the current programme of the Office of the High Commissioner. Thus, some $1.8 million has been contributed towards the 1965, 1966 and 1967 programmes of UNHCR, thereby closing the considerable financial gap in the target of these programmes.

Financing of the UNHCR current programme for 1967

234. The target of the 1967 programme, which had been set at some $4,584,000 by the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, was increased to $4,826,930 in order to provide for urgently needed new projects for assistance to refugees in Africa. Fifty-three Governments have contributed a total of $3,068,655; most of the balance was obtained from the proceeds of the European Refugee Campaign 1966. It is important to note that, had it not been for these considerable private contributions, the UNHCR programme for 1967 would have been far from fully financed.

Financing of operations outside the 1967 programme

235. As previously, contributions have been received from both the governmental and the private sector, specifically earmarked for essential complementary projects outside the 1967 programme. In 1967, these contributions amounted to some $993,500 as against $550,000 during the preceding year. Of the total amount contributed, over 30 per cent came from Governments and nearly 70 per cent from private sources. About 40 per cent of the total was earmarked for the refugee Education Account, as indicated in more detail in table 3 of annex II.

Results of the sale of records

236. The High Commissioner informed the Assembly at its previous session of the result achieved through the sale of records for the benefit of refugees. He is pleased to inform the Assembly that the total income of the record "All Star Festival" amounted to a little over $1,492,000 and the proceeds of the record "International Piano Festival" to nearly $246,400. The High Commissioner, on this occasion, would like to pay tribute to the co-operation he received from the record industry, the artists who benevolently lent their talents and the Governments who generously waived import duties or granted tax exemption. He is also indebted to the private committees which promoted the sales in their countries, and to the record dealers and the public who supported the two schemes, which no doubt stimulated public interest and attracted funds that would normally have not been available for refugees work

Use of the Emergency Fund

237. During 1967, a total of $206,400 was drawn from the Emergency Fund in order to meet refugee emergencies, pending the approval of appropriate projects by the Executive Committee. The greatest part of this amount was used for assistance to newly arriving refugees in the north-eastern part of the Sudan. In addition, $25,000 was taken from the fund for assistance to refugee victims of floods in Argentina and of earthquakes in Turkey and Venezuela. In accordance with the terms of General Assembly resolution 1166 (XII), the fund was restored to its $500,000 ceiling by the reimbursement of loans previously granted to refugees under various projects.

Financing of the UNHCR current programme for 1968

238. The Executive Committee, at its eighteenth session, held in October 1967, felt that a large gap might occur in 1968 between total contributions to the current programme and its financial target unless Governments were to make a significant increase in their annual contributions.

239. The concern expressed by the Executive Committee of the UNHCR programme was confirmed by the Pledging Conference held in 1967. The General Assembly included in its resolution 2294 (XXII) a plea to States Members of the United Nations and members of the specialized agencies to consider increasing their annual contributions to the UNHCR programme. At the beginning of 1968, the High Commissioner appealed to Governments which regularly contribute to the UNHCR programme to consider the possibility of increasing their annual participation, if they had not done so, and urged other Governments, which do not regularly contribute, to participate in the financing of the current programme. In his appeal, the High Commissioner drew attention to the fact that the current programme was a governmental programme designed to cover the most basic needs of refugees. The view generally held by non-governmental and other private organizations was that the UNHCR current programme should therefore by fully financed by Governments and serve as a catalyst to encourage the private sector to raise the funds needed to meet the manifold additional needs of refugees.

240. As at 30 April 1968, a total amount of $2,982,052 had been paid, pledged or conditionally pledged by thirty-seven Governments against the present target of $4,631,600; contributions paid or pledged from the private sector amounted to $589,568.

241. The High Commissioner has been encouraged by the fact that, in response to his appeals, several Governments have made insignificant increases in their annual contributions and he hopes that this trend will continue. He is also grateful to those Governments which have announced a contribution for the first time this year. He must emphasize, however, that although further governmental contributions are still to be expected in the course of the year, a considerable effort will need to be made to ensure that the 1968 programme is fully financed.

V. PUBLIC INFORMATION

242. It is of importance to the work of UNHCR that Governments and the policy forming sectors of public opinion should be well informed on the many, varied and rapidly-changing aspects of refugee problems. The Office has endeavoured to show the essentially dynamic nature of its work and differentiate clearly between one type of refugee situation and another. To achieve this end, use has been made of all modern information channels and advantage was taken of the interest aroused in 1966 by the dedication of United Nations Day to the cause of refugees and by the fund-raising campaigns undertaken in eighteen European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

243. The High Commissioner attaches the greatest importance to public information media which are instrumental in creating public awareness of a humanitarian cause, such as that of refugees. He accordingly maintains close personal contacts with representatives of the press, radio and television both at Headquarters and while visiting other countries. The attendance by the High commissioner at the meeting of prominent editors of the press, radio and television services in Europe, held in Warsaw, has enabled the Office to reach new circles which, until then, had not had the opportunity to become acquainted with the work of UNHCR in Africa and Asia.

244. As regards written information material, efforts have been made in several directions to reach a wider public. Thus, circulation has been accelerated and methods have been improved in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre. Information has been given to authors of books on the refugee problem and articles supplied to editors of magazines published by organizations closely linked with the UNHCR programmes, such as the ILO, WHO, the League of the Red Cross Societies, World University Service and YMCA, and UNHCR information material has been issued in many more languages than heretofore. UNHCR publications, in particular, the bulletin UNHCR Reports .... have covered many aspects of refugee problems, such as the settlement of Rwandese refugees in Burundi, the resettlement in Brazil of a group of "old believers" and developments in two very successful settlements in Africa, that is, the new communities of Bibwe and Ihula in the northern Kivu Province of the Congo. As part of the drive to solve the residual refugee problem in Europe, a special study on the psychological and social aspects of the resettlement and rehabilitation of handicapped refugees was published at the request of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme. One of the UNHCR basic pamphlets entitled UNHCR - What it is, what it does is now available in Arabic, English, French, Italian, Parsi, Portuguese and Spanish. Articles on the work being done to assist refugees in Africa have also been published in a number of weeklies and newspapers.

245. Visual information media continue to be one of the most effective means of disseminating information on the programme. The film Today Africa was shown on television networks in various countries, including Belgium, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and in many countries in Central and South America. The film Ahsante was used by church groups in Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, which support the activities of the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches that assist refugees. These two films were also shown during a special refugee week in the United Nations Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal, where a photographic exhibition was also on display and some 30,000 leaflets in English and French were supplied for distribution to visitors. The Government Information Services in Zambia, at the request of UNHCR and at their own cost, produced a poignant television report on the arrival, registration, emergency aid and resettlement operation for the benefit of newly-arrived refugees in Zambia. UNHCR assisted with the distribution of this film in Europe.

246. The UNHCR Information Service participated with those of other United Nations bodies in the planning of the International Year for Human Rights and will publish in 1968 material specially dealing with the functions of international protection of refugees in relation to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

247. As in the past, public information has been constantly geared to the need for UNHCR to raise additional contributions for its material assistance activities. In view of the fact that these depend entirely on voluntary contributions, it is essential that any potential donors likely to be approached for assistance to refugees should be kept fully informed of developments. Public information support given to the European Refugee Campaign 1966 certainly contributed to the successful results of the Campaign. Since then, further efforts have been made to keep donor organizations, as well as individuals, aware of the use made of their donations. Public information support has also been invaluable in promoting the sale of UNHCR long-playing records.

248. Public information methods are kept constantly under review and readjusted in order to take into account the latest technical developments in this field, as recommended by the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination in the light of the last report of CCPI.

(Note: Statistical and financial tables not included in this online version. See your nearest UN Depository Library.)

ANNEX III List of non-governmental organizations and social welfare agencies which are participating in or contributing to UNHCR programmes

Aid to European Refugees
American Joint Distribution Committee
American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees
Asociación de Protección al Refugiado, Buenos Aires
Associations des églises libres de Norvège
Association nationale pour la réhabilitatin par le travail protégé
Association pour l'établissement des réfugiés étrangers/Fonds humanitaire polonais
Australian Care for Refugees
Australian Committee for the Refugee Campaign
Australian Council of Churches
Belgian Committee for the Refugee Campaign
Belgian Red Cross
Brethren Service Commission
Caisse nationale de crédit professionnel
Caritas
Catholic Relief Services/United States Catholic Council
Central Relief Committee (India)
Centre d'initiation pour réfugiés et étrangers
Centre d'orientation sociale des étrangers
Colombian Catholic Committee
Comité d'aide des églises évangéliques de Suisse
Comité d'aide exceptionnelle aux intellectuels réfugiés
Comité franco-arménien d'action sociale
Comité inter-mouvements auprès des évacués
Comité international de la Croix-Rouge
Commission catholique espagnole de migration
Congolese Protestant Council
Conseil international des agences bénévoles
Council of Organisations for Relief Service Overseas
Croix-Rouge congolaise
Cuban Welfare Society in Spain
Danish Refugee Council
Diocèse catholique de Goma
Entr'aide ouvrière internationale
Entr'aide socialiste - Secours international
Evangelisches Hilfswerk - Innere Mission
Evangelisches Siedlungswerk
Evangelisches Verein für innere Mission
Federal Catholic Immigration Committee of Austria
Finnish Refugee Council
Free China Association
Ghanaian Red Cross
German Committee for the Refugee Campaign
German Red Cross
Gulbenkian Foundation
Indian Red Cross Society
Individuell Människojalp (Sweden)
Inner Mission, Austria
International Catholic Migration commission
International Rescue Committee
International Social Service
Irish Red Cross
Karagheusian Commemorative Corporation, New York
League of Red Cross Societies
Lifeline
Lutheran World Federation
Luxembourg Committee for the Refuge Campaign
Nepalese Red Cross
Netherland Federation for Aid of Refugees
Norwegian Refugee Council
Oesterreichischer Fürsorge - und Wohlfahrtsverband "Volkhilfe", Vienna
Oxford Committee for Famine Relief
Pères Dominicains (Bukavu, République démocratique du Congo)
Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee
Pontifica Opera de Assistenza
Provedora da Assistência Pública da Província de Macao
Rädda Barnen (Sweden)
Save the Children Fund, United Kingdom
Secours Catholique
Senegalese Red Cross
Service social d'aide aux émigrants
Société de bienfaisance russe du Caire
Société nationale du Croissant Rouge égyptien
Soroptimist Association
St. Raphaels-Verein
Sudanese Red Cross
Swedish Red Cross
Swiss Aid Abroad
Swiss Association for Technical Assistance
Swiss Federation of Friends of the Armenians
Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service
Tolstoy Foundation
United HIAS Service
United Nations Association of Sweden
United Kingdom Committee for the Refugee Campaign
United States Committee for Refugees
United Ukrainian American Relief Committee
Women's Voluntary Service
World Council of Churches
World University Service
World Alliance of Young Men's Christian Associations (YMCA)
World Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA)
Zambia Christian Refugee Service
Zambian Red Cross
Zentralbüro des Hilfswerks der Evangelischen kirchen in Deutschland e. V.

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1 For the text of the Final Act and Convention, see United Nations publication, Sales No.: 56. XIV.1.

2 For the text of the Final Act and Convention, see United Nations publication, Sales No.: 51. IV.4.

3 Committed at the beginning of the 1968 financial year.

4 It should be explained that the total value of the projects in question, whose implementation is being continued in 1968, is about $1.5 million, nearly $600,000 of which was provided by UNHCR and $900,000 from other sources.

5 Australia. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Yugoslavia.