Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

A/RES/37/195

The General Assembly,

Having considered the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the activities of his Office, as well as the report of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the High Commissioner on the work of its thirty-third session, and having heard the statement made by the High Commissioner before the Third Committee on 15 November 1982,

Recalling its resolutions 36/124 and 36/125 of 14 December 1981,

Reaffirming the eminently humanitarian and non-political character of the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner on behalf of refugees, returnees and displaced persons of concern to the Office,

Expressing deep concern that the problems of refugees and displaced persons remain distressingly serious, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America,

Considering that, despite some encouraging developments, substantial efforts continue to be needed to aid refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner, in particular through the promotion of durable and speedy solutions to their problems in accordance with the statute of the Office,

Welcoming the increasing number of accessions by States to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees,

Noting with deep concern that serious violations of the basic rights of refugees and displaced persons that are the concern of the Office have continued,

Deploring, in particular, the instances of military attacks on refugee camps in southern Africa and elsewhere,

Noting that many assistance programmes have evolved from the emergency phase to a state of consolidation,

Noting with great appreciation the positive responses of Governments to the problems of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner through offers of asylum, voluntary repatriation, rehabilitation, local settlement, resettlement and financial contributions, as well as the generous support given to the Office in its humanitarian task,

Noting with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General on the International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa,

1. Commends the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and his staff for the valuable work that the Office of the High Commissioner continues to perform on behalf of refugees, returnees and displaced persons of concern to the Office;

2. Reaffirms the fundamental nature of the High Commissioner's function to provide international protection and the need for Governments to co-operate fully with him to facilitate the effective exercise of this essential function, in particular by acceding to and fully implementing the relevant international and regional instruments and by scrupulously observing the principles of asylum and non-refoulement;

3. Deplores the continued serious violations of the basic rights of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner, in particular through military attacks on refugee camps and settlements in southern Africa and elsewhere, refoulement and arbitrary detention, and stresses the need to strengthen measures to protect them against such violations;

4. Welcomes, within the context of the efforts of the international community to share the burden of caring for refugees, the work of the High Commissioner in examining the problems associated with providing refuge on a temporary basis to asylum-seekers in situations of large-scale influx with a view to finding durable solutions, and requests him to continue the work in this regard;

5. Notes with appreciation the major contribution by countries in giving asylum to, or otherwise accepting on a temporary basis, and assisting large numbers of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner;

6. Stresses the High Commissioner's role in promoting durable and speedy solutions, in consultation and agreement with the countries concerned, to the problems of refugees and displaced persons facing his Office through voluntary repatriation or return and, whenever appropriate, subsequent assistance in rehabilitation of returnees, resettlement in other countries or integration in countries of asylum, and urges Governments to extend the necessary co-operation to support the High Commissioner's efforts in this regard;

7. Urges the High Commissioner to intensify his efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and displaced persons of concern to his Office, especially to the large numbers of them in Africa, Asia and Latin America;

8. Stresses the importance of maintaining relief efforts and the resettlement momentum for boat and land cases in South-East Asia, where large numbers of refugees and displaced persons have been admitted on a temporary basis, including the Programme of Orderly Departure;

9. Takes note of the efforts already made by the High Commissioner to adapt the management practices and staffing policy of his Office to the vastly increased tasks and invites him to continue these efforts in line with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and decisions of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the High Commissioner;

10. Requests the High Commissioner to co-ordinate closely the efforts of his Office in the field of humanitarian assistance with those of other bodies concerned, both within and outside the United Nations system, in accordance with the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination;

11. Also requests the High Commissioner to continue participating in the follow-up activities to the International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa and to intensify his assistance to refugees in Africa;

12. Calls upon the international community to share the burden of providing appropriate durable solutions to the problems of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner the world over, taking into account residual problems as well as the economic and demographic absorption capacity of the countries concerned;

13. Urges all Governments in a position to do so to support and contribute generously to the High Commissioner's humanitarian programmes.