Assistance to student refugees in southern Africa

A/RES/35/184

35. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE

184. Assistance to student refugees in southern Africa

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 34/174 of 17 December 1979, in which it, inter alia, noted with concern the continued influx into Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia of student refugees from Namibia and South Africa and the urgent need to provide facilities for their care, health and education,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General,¹ the annex to which contains the findings of the review missions sent by him to Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia in May and June 1980 to examine the status of the programmes of assistance to student refugees in southern Africa,

Conscious of the responsibilities and obligations shared by the international community to assist the countries of asylum by providing financial and material assistance to enable them to cope with the influx of these student refugees,

Convinced that the discriminatory policies and repressive measures being applied in South Africa and Namibia will lead to a further exodus of student refugees from these countries,

Recognizing the need to strengthen the capacity of the countries of asylum to deal with any new emergency which may develop as a result of a sudden influx of student refugees from Namibia and South Africa,

Disturbed by the adverse effects which the application of apartheid, particularly the bantustan policy, is having on settled communities living in South Africa in areas bordering Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, and by the consequent flight into those three countries of large numbers of families, including children of school age,

Aware of the problems confronting the Governments of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland created by the entry into their school systems of large numbers of children from the South African side of the border and their need to determine more precisely the number of children involved and the extent of the assistance required to relieve the Governments of this particular burden,

Recognizing the need to enable former student refugees from Zimbabwe to continue their education in neighbouring countries until alternative arrangements can be made for their education in their own country,

1. Endorses the assessments and recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General and commends him and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on their efforts to mobilize resources and organize the programme of assistance to student refugees in the host countries of southern Africa;

2. Expresses its appreciation to the Governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia for the assistance which they are giving to the student refugees and for the extent of co-operation which they have extended to the Secretary-General and to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on matters concerning the welfare of these refugees;

3. Notes with satisfaction the financial and material support provided for the student refugee programmes by Member States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, other bodies of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;

4. Decides to make provision in the student refugee programme for former student refugees from Zimbabwe until they complete their studies in the country of asylum or until alternative arrangements can be made for the completion of their education in their own country,

5. Requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to organize and implement an effective programme of educational and other appropriate assistance for student refugees from Namibia and South Africa who have taken asylum in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia;

6. Urges all Member States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to contribute generously to the assistance programmes for these students, through financial support of the regular programmes of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and of the projects identified in the report of the Secretary-General;

7. Appeals to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Food Programme, the World Bank and the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as other international and non-governmental bodies, to provide humanitarian and development assistance to expedite the resettlement and integration of refugee families from South Africa who have been given asylum in Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland;

8. Calls upon all agencies and programmes of the United Nations system to co-operate with the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the implementation of humanitarian programmes of assistance for the student refugees in southern Africa;

9. Requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to continue to keep the matter under review and to apprise the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular session of 1981, of the current status of the programmes, and to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth session on the implementation of the present resolution.

96th plenary meeting
15 December 1980

1 A/35/149.