Assistance to refugees in Somalia: resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

A/RES/44/152

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 35/180 of 15 December 1980, 36/153 of 16 December 1981, 37/174 of 17 December 1982, 38/88 of 16 December 1983, 39/104 of 14 November 1984, 40/132 of 13 December 1985, 41/138 of 4 December 1986, 42/127 of 7 December 1987 and 43/147 of 8 December 1988 on assistance to refugees in Somalia,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General,

Deeply concerned about the heavy burden that has been placed on the fragile economy of Somalia by the continuing presence of large numbers of refugees,

Noting the circumstances that have made it necessary for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme to suspend temporarily their food and other humanitarian assistance programmes for refugees in the north-west districts of Somalia,

Gravely concerned about the resultant serious food shortages that have occurred in the refugee settlements in the north-west districts of Somalia,

Conscious of the fact that Somalia, as a least developed country, does not possess the economic or financial capacity to fill the gap created by the temporary suspension of humanitarian assistance programmes for refugees in the north-west districts of Somalia,

Aware of the fact that Somalia does not have the capacity to provide humanitarian assistance from its limited resources,

Noting with concern the deleterious effect of the presence of refugees on the environment, which has resulted in widespread deforestation, soil erosion and the threat of destruction to an already fragile ecological balance,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

2. Commends the measures that the Government of Somalia is taking to provide material and humanitarian assistance to refugees, in spite of its own limited resources and fragile economy;

3. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, donor countries and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations for their efforts to assist the refugees in Somalia;

4. Calls upon the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme to resume their assistance programmes for the refugees in the north-west districts of Somalia as soon as possible;

5. Requests the Secretary-General, in close co-operation with the Office of the High Commissioner, the World Food Programme and the donor community, to launch an interim assistance programme that would ensure that essential food and other humanitarian supplies continue to reach the refugee settlements in the north-west districts of Somalia until such time as a more permanent arrangement can be made;

6. Appeals to Member States, international organizations and voluntary agencies to give full support to the Secretary-General in the launching of the proposed interim assistance programme;

7. Also appeals to Member States, international organizations and voluntary agencies to render maximum and timely material, financial and technical assistance to enable the Government of Somalia to implement the projects and activities identified in the report of the 1987 inter-agency mission annexed to the report submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its forty-second session as the basis for a comprehensive programme of action relating to both the humanitarian and the developmental needs of refugees;

8. Requests the pertinent organizations of the United Nations system, namely the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Food Programme, to prepare, in consultation with the Government of Somalia, detailed project documentation for the implementation of those projects and activities identified in the report of the Secretary-General as priority endeavours for a comprehensive programme of action;

9. Calls upon the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to continue and expand their activities in Somalia, in co-operation with the Government of Somalia, and to protect and rehabilitate its damaged environment;

10. Recognizes the important role that non-governmental organizations are playing with regard to programmes for the care, maintenance and rehabilitation of refugees, particularly in activities related to small-scale development projects, and in the fields of health and agriculture;

11. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme to apprise the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session of 1990 of the progress made in their respective fields of responsibility with regard to those provisions of the present resolution which concern them;

12. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the High Commissioner and the United Nations Development Programme, to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-fifth session a report on the progress achieved in the implementation of the present resolution.