Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

A/4378/Rev.1

United Nations General Assembly Official Records: Fifty-second Session

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Supplement No.11 (A/4378/Rev.1)

INTRODUCTION

During the period May 1959 - May 1960, covered by this report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has continued, in conformity with its Statute, to exercise its activities in a non-political, humanitarian and social spirit.

In Europe, which has continued to be a major area of activity, the influx of refugees qualifying for international protection by UNHCR has been small. Under the influence of the continued improvement of the European economy, the gradual reduction of the numbers of refugees, and particularly of the numbers of non-settled refugees in Europe, has continued.

Increased opportunities have been offered for resettlement of refugees, particularly in countries outside Europe, including the Americas. They reflect, under the influence of World Refugee Year, a change of attitude towards immigration of refugees and a change in the conception of refugee resettlement. The liberalization of criteria of admission and the experience already gained in the resettlement of handicapped refugees are leading to a gradual disappearance of the concept of the "unemigrable" refugee. Present conditions of emigration tend to enable the refugee to exercise his free choice in respect of the three solutions open to him: Voluntary repatriation, resettlement to another country, integration in the country of present residence.

Further progress has been made in the clearance of refugee camps in Europe. Increasing attention was paid to permanent solutions for specially difficult cases in camps. A new conception of refugee camps is emerging, according to which they should not be used as a camouflage for unsolved refugee problems but should only exist in as much as reception centres are needed. The standard of reception centres is improving. In Austria and in the Federal Republic of Germany, new reception centres have been opened to replace former, less adequate, facilities. Similar measures are being envisaged in Italy.

The Camp Clearance Programme and the other programmes designed to provide permanent solutions for refugees are being carried out with the preoccupation of offering to refugees equal opportunities with nationals of the countries of residence. Refugees should be neither an under-privileged nor a privileged group. The special target fixed for 1960 on the occasion of World Refugee Year will enable the Office to provide assistance on a larger scale to non-settled, particularly handicapped, refugees living outside camps.

The programme for assistance to refugees from Algeria in Morocco and Tunisia was continued in close co-operation with the Governments of the two countries, the League of Red Cross Societies and the national Red Crescent Societies. The operation is now under control and has lost its original emergency character. The regular distribution of relief, and particularly the distribution of milk to children, has resulted in a marked improvement of the health conditions of refugees. The continuation of the operation was only possible thanks to further international support by Governments and by non-governmental organizations.

In addition to financial and other measures designed to continue and improve the basic relief programme in North Africa as long as this is required, there is a need for suitable occupational and educational projects. The maintenance of a large group of refugees through a relief programme over a number of years involves a danger that refugees become accustomed to being cared for and lose their productive capacity and the incentive to work. Occupational and recreational projects are, therefore, now being considered in co-operation with the Governments concerned.

The gradual transfer of refugees from the non-settled categories to the now larger group of settled refugees does not, however, affect the need for legal protection. Helped by the atmosphere created by World Refugee Year, the Office has intensified its protection activities. The designation of UNHCR correspondents in six countries where the Office was hitherto not directly represented will also help to strengthen international protection. The Office has continued to consult with the Government of the Federal Republic Germany concerning the German Federal Indemnification Law, particularly the special fund which it is intended to establish in order to provide adequate compensation to refugees who have been persecuted under the National Socialist regime.

Partly as a result of the first impact of World Refugee Year, the minimum target for voluntary funds for the current 1959 programmes has been somewhat exceeded. At the time of writing, only half of the amounts required have been raised towards the target for the current 1960 programmes.

In addition to receiving contributions for the programme for refugees from Algeria in Morocco and Tunisia, the Office has also received, as a result of the good offices entrusted to the High Commissioner in General Assembly resolution 1167 (XII), contributions of some size for assistance to Chinese refugees in Hong King. Considerable amounts intended for these refugees have been given through bilateral arrangements. Attention has also been given by Governments and by non-governmental organizations to other refugees who do not come within the competence of the United Nations, and contributions for such groups have been offered to the Office of the High Commissioner pursuant to the terms of General Assembly resolution 1388 (XIV).

CHAPTER I INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION

1. Pursuant to a recommendation of the Executive Committee of the Unite Nations refugee fund, welcomed by the General Assembly in its resolution 1284 (XIII) of 5 December 1958, the protection activities of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees Have been increased during the period under review. Further improvements in the legal position of refugees are shown in more detail in annex II to this report.

2. The activities of UNHCR in the field of international protection have also been favourably influenced by World Refugee Year. It will be recalled in this connexion, that in its resolution 1388 (XIV) of 20 November 1959 the general assembly invited Members of the United Nations and the specialized agencies on the occasion of World Refugee Year to consider the possibility of improving the legal status of refugees. Measures in the legal field, however, often require a certain period of time, particularly for ratification of, or accession to, international instruments and the enactment of new laws. The full impact of the increased protection activities and of the World Refugee Year on the improvement of the status of refugees may therefore be expected to make itself felt at a later stage.

3. As heretofore, the Office of the High Commissioner has endeavoured to promote the conclusion of, as well as the ratification of, or the accession to, international conventions and agreements in favour of refugees and to co-operate with Governments in the application of such international instruments of national legislation in respect of refugees, and it assists Governments in making arrangements for the effective application of international instruments to individual refugees.

4. Gradually a network of conventions and agreements of increasing scope is evolving which extends the area where a refugee, in addition to benefiting from national legislation and administrative measures, is afforded protection on the basis of clearly defined rights as contained in international conventions and agreements. This applies particularly to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees which has now been in force in over twenty countries for a number of years. It has given rise to judicial decisions which are of great importance for the position of refugees and to administrative measures designed to improve their position.

5. During the period under review, two more Governments became parties to the 1951 Convention, and the procedure for ratification or accession to this Convention is in an advanced stage in many other countries. Furthermore, several countries are considering the waiving of reservations which they had previously made on important provisions of the Convention. New ratifications and accessions have also been reported in respect of other international legal instruments affecting refugees, in particular, the 1957 Agreement relating to Refugee Seamen, the 1954 Convention relating to the Stateless Persons, the 1957 European Convention on extradition, and several European conventions concerning social security and social and medical assistance.

6. A further important step towards the promotion of a common international viewpoint on problems affecting refugees was the adoption of the draft Declaration on the Right of Asylum by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights at its sixteenth session, held in March 1960.

7. In many countries which are parties to the 1951 Convention, this Office participates to various extents in the procedure for determining the eligibility of refugees. Arrangements in this connexion are being continuously improved. In several countries the procedure for the determination of eligibility, which is often regarded by the authorities concerned as the determining factor for the granting of asylum, has been speeded up and has been centralized as far as possible in order to ensure uniform practice.

8. In the application of the 1951 Convention and of national legislation, further progress can be recorded in a number of countries with regard to the access of refugees to employment. In addition to the implementation of the relevant provisions of the 1951 Convention in a growing number of countries, special measures have been taken on the occasion of World Refugee Year, particularly on Austria, Belgium, Germany and Italy, to facilitate the exercise by refugees of the right to work. Measures to facilitate the exercise of certain liberal professions by refugees are at present under consideration in several countries. In promoting the right of access to employment, the Office of the High Commissioner has continued to co-operate with inter-governmental organizations such as the Organization for European Economic Cooperation and the Council of Europe.

9. Progress has been achieved in the simplification of travel formalities by the issuance of travel documents to refugees from visas, the waiving of visa fees and the simplified and prompter issue of visas. Owing to the favourable attitude of Governments and the application of the Refugee Seamen Agreement of 1957 by several countries in advance of its ratification, it has been possible to regularize the precarious legal position of a number of refugee seamen.

10. Within the general objective of promoting permanent solutions for the problems of refugees and of helping refugees to acquire a new nationality, measures for the facilitation of the naturalization of refugees, including the reduction of naturalization fees, have been further promoted and are under consideration in several countries.

11. As an ancillary programme to its over-all protection activities, the Office of the High Commissioner is also carrying out a small programme for legal assistance, which enables refugees to receive legal advice and legal aid where this cannot be obtained from other sources. This programme is essentially designed to promote the integration of refugees in the country of their present residence, or their resettlement in other countries.

CHAPTER II VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION AND RESETTLEMENT

Voluntary repatriation

12. The Office of the High Commissioner has continued to facilitate the repatriation of refugees who have expressed the wish to return to their country of origin. In accordance with its Statute and with resolution 925 (X) of the General Assembly, the office continues to apply due safeguards with regard to voluntary repatriation as well as to other permanent solutions for refugees.

13. According to information received by this Office and which concerns only a limited number of countries, over 2,000 refugees returned to their country of origin between 1 January and 31 December 1959.

14. As a general rule, the repatriation of a refugee is paid for by the Government of his country of origin. Governments of certain countries, however, have generously continued to pay the transportation costs for refugees who express a wish to return to their country of origin. The Office of the High Commissioner has in a certain number of cases made arrangements for the travel of voluntary repatriants.

Resettlement

15. There was further extension of immigration opportunities, following a trend which has gradually developed over the past three years. The Office of the High Commissioner has continued to promote emigration in order to help refugees to gain admission, as far as possible, to countries of their choice, to alleviate the burden created by the arrival of new refugees in the main countries of first asylum, and to obviate the concentration of handicapped refugees which has taken place in those countries since the Second World War.

16. Resettlement, particularly in traditional overseas countries of immigration, remains a solution much desired by refugees in European countries, including newly arrive refugees. Their wish to emigrate coincides with economic opportunities in those countries. Refugee migration in 1959 and 1960 was also furthered by the spirit of international solidarity encouraged by World Refugee Year, which resulted in the further admission of handicapped refugees and in increasing openings for this category.

17. The Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme at its second session, held in October 1959, agreed on a certain number of recommendations to Governments concerning resettlement as a solution for refugee problems. These recommendations were, briefly, that Governments liberalize occupational criteria and extend age-limits for refugees, relax health criteria for relatives of refugees already admitted, admit more handicapped refugees, apply fully the principle of family migration, and examine the extent to which they could contribute towards transportation costs.

18. The number of refugees moved with the assistance of the Inter-governmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM), which constitutes a major part of total refugee movements, shows that the actual number of some 35,000 refugees within the mandate of UNHCR moved during 1959 is approximately the same as for 1958, as shown in more detail in annex III.

19. The main effect of World Refugee Year on refugee migration, however, has been the increase in the number of resettlement opportunities offered for refugees and also the changed conception of the resettlement of refugees. Many countries which had hitherto admitted few or no refugees are now opening their doors in a spirit of international solidarity and refugee migrants will now be able to go to a greater number of countries. Resettlement facilities are also being extended to the handicapped. The progress made in this respect is due in many instances to the better knowledge which the authorities concerned obtained concerning this category of refugees once the first groups had been admitted. It is now also proving possible through modern methods of become useful members of the community. Schemes on their behalf have proved successful enough to encourage Governments which have admitted them to take additional numbers. As a result, special measures have been introduced in an increasing number of countries for the admission of the handicapped.

CHAPTER III UNHCR CURRENT PROGRAMMES FOR MATERIAL ASSISTANCE¹

General observations

20. During the period under review, the Office of the High Commissioner, in additon to completing projects initiated under the former United Nations Refugee Fund, has put into implementation the series of current UNHCR programmes for 1959, for which the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme fixed a minimum target of $4,700,000. The Office has also started the implementation of the current UNHCR programmes for 1960 for which the Executive Committee approved projects up to $9,500,000 out of a total exceptionally high target fixed at $12,000,000 for 1960 on the occasion of World Refugee Year.

21. Within the 1959 as well as the 1960 current UNHCR programmes, priority has further been given to the Ear Eastern Programme and to the Camp Clearance Programme. The target for 1960 also includes projects of some size to benefit non-settled, preferably handicapped, refugees living outside camps, for whom a small amount only could be allocated in previous years.

22. In the programme outline for the current 1961 programmes, for which the Executive Committee approved a tentative target of $6,000,000, the problem is approached on a country basis. A material assistance programme will be developed for those countries where further material assistance will be provided to non-settled refugees living outside camps.

23. At the end of 1959, a total of some 38,500 refugees had been firmly settled since 1955 under the various UNHCR programmes. Approximately 10,000 refugees became firmly settled during 1959. The results of the current UNHCR programmes combined with the effects of voluntary repatriation, resettlement and various forms of spontaneous integration have resulted in a reduction of the number of non-settled refugees in Europe and in the other areas which come within the scope of the current UNHCR programmes to approximately 115,000 including a registered caseload of over 21,000 refugees still in camps,² and an estimated 94,000 non-settled refugees living outside camps. These number include refugees who are to benefit from projects in the 1959 programmes which are still under implementation, and from the 1960 programmes.

Camp Clearance Programme

24. The Programme for camp clearance is now under full implementation. Additional contributions were received on the occasion of World Refugee Year and particular interest was shown in camp clearance by a number of national WRY committees. Provided the contributions anticipated from WRY campaigns materialize, the funds required from international sources for camp clearance will be available in the course of the year. The Office aims at concluding before the end of 1960 the financial arrangements which should enable all refugees coming within the scope of the Programme to establish themselves outside camps in the course of 1961 or a few month later. The scope of camp clearance has been enlarged by a Fund for Special Hardship Cases designed to enable the Office of the High Commissioner to provide solutions also for those refugees in camps who, for technical reasons. Do not come under the terms of reference of the Camp Clearance Programme and do not receive assistance under any other programme.

25. The position of refugees in camps has improved under the influence of better over-all economic conditions. More refugees than hitherto have been employed and, although employment of refugees is often marginal from an economic point of view, it facilitates their integration into their new environment once they are enabled to leave the camp through the provision housing. The major problem has continued to be the provision of housing at sufficiently low rents. Efforts are being made both to avoid putting refugees in a better position than comparable groups of the national population and yet to make it possible for refugees to afford, notwithstanding their marginal employment position, the rent for adequate accommodation. In Austria and in Germany, the rent problem was solved for a number of refugees through the co-operation of UNHCR and the local public relief authorities which, under existing laws and regulations, cover the cost of low rent housing for public welfare beneficiaries. A number of other difficulties of a local nature have currently to be faced in respect of housing, including that of finding building ground in industrial areas.

26. A second main problem of camp clearance has continued to be the finding of permanent solutions for a number of specially handicapped cases. With the assistance of experts, efforts are being made to find new solutions on the basis of more intensive specialized counselling and through additional rehabilitation arrangements.

27. During 1959, the total number of refugees within the mandate of UNHCR living in camps decreased from 31,000 to 21,000. The decrease of 10,000 was mainly due to a reduction of 5,500 persons in the caseload of the Camp Clearance Programme, primarily through local integration schemes, and, further, to resettlement of several thousands of refugees from camps, including refugees newly arrived during the year, in other countries.

28. The number of new Hungarian refugees in camps in Austria decreased from 5,000 to 1,800, partly under the impact of further resettlement movements and partly as a result of the special permanent solutions programme for Hungarian refugees. Further details on this programme are given in annex VII A to this report.

29. In certain countries, the camps are inhabited, not only by refugees coming within the mandate of UNHCR, but also by former, now naturalized, refugees or by "national refugees." Increasing attention has been given to these groups on the occasion of World Refugee Year, and the High Commissioner has already had occasion to make available his good offices under the terms of General Assembly resolution 1388 (XIV) for the transmission of contributions for financing national programmes designed to clear camps also of camp residents who do not come within the competence of his Office.

Far Eastern Programme

30. The Office has continued to carry out, in conjunction with the Inter-Governmental Committee for European Migration, the Far Eastern Programme, which is designed to resettle in other countries of asylum an estimated 7,800 refugees of European origin still living in the Far East. A total of 1,519 refugees were transported to countries of permanent asylum in 1959.

31. Meanwhile, the Office has continued to search for resettlement opportunities for refugees of European origin from the Far East, including placement with permanent care in institutions for aged and otherwise physically handicapped refugees.

Non-settled refugees living outside camps

32. Whereas in previous years little attention could be given to non-settled refugees living outside camps in view of the priority given to the Camp Clearance Programme, current UNHCR programmes for 1960 include, within the framework of the exceptional target of $12,000,000, a programme of $6,570,000 for non-settled refugees living outside camps. Similarly, the target of $6,000,000 fixed by the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme for the current 1961 programmes concerns mainly projects for assistance to non-settled refugees living outside camps in Europe and neighbouring areas.

33. The implementation of the programmes for assistance to non-settled refugees living outside camps which are already approved, as well as the planning of future programmes for this category, reflect the new policy directives established by the Executive Committee at its third session upon the recommendation of an ad hoc Working Party.³ The Executive Committee confirmed the principle whereby international assistance should be provided for non-settled refugees living outside camps on the basis of both the degree of their needs and the possibility of assistance being given to them from within their country of residence. As the principle that first priority should be given to physically handicapped refugees had previously been approved, the Committee decided at its third session that the next priority group would be the socially handicapped refugees in areas whether they required assistance. Assistance should be afforded to refugees in this category on the basis of individual permanent solutions projects and in accordance with precise selection criteria to be established by the Office of the High Commissioner.

34. The Committee further considered that timely assistance to the non-handicapped, non-settled refugees living outside camps would prevent many of them from subsequently falling into one of the handicapped categories and that material assistance to certain groups of non-handicapped refugees in certain countries was justified.

35. With regard to the sources of contributions from which future programmes should be financed, the Executive Committee confirmed the principle of supporting contributions from within countries of residence. It recommended that in considering the share of such supporting contributions, the High Commissioner should, in the first instance, take into account the economic situation of the country concerned.

Comprehensive country programmes

36. Also within the framework of its policy appraisal, the Executive Committee, at its third session, considered the possibility of dealing with the problem of international assistance to non-settled refugees living outside camps on a country basis. This would apply particularly to those countries where the problem is of manageable proportion and where, following the example of concentration of efforts adapted for camp clearance, comprehensive programmes could be drawn up with a view to solving the problem within a limited number of years.

37. The Executive Committee recommended that the High Commissioner should plan comprehensive programmes for the settlement of refugees in certain countries and should submit priority projects for implementation on a yearly basis. The programme outline for next year approved by the Executive Committee accordingly includes a 1961 permanent solutions programme for non-settled refugees in Greece and Turkey which is conceived as the first part of a comprehensive programmes.

Other programmes

38. Details concerning other current UNHCR programmes for 1959 and 1960, as well as the outline for the 1961 programme, may be found in annexes IV and V this report.

CHAPTER IV RELIEF PROGRAMME FOR REFUGEES FROM ALGERIA IN MOROCCO AND TUNISIA

39. The joint relief operation carried out from 1 February 1959 onwards with the League of Red Cross Societies continued during the whole period under review; the details may be found in annex VI to this report. In addition to the basic relief operation, for which sixty food distribution points have been set up, thirty-seven in Tunisia and twenty-three in Morocco, a supplementary feeding programme to provide milk to children was introduced in October 1959. The supplementary programme is also meant to provide, in addition to the health services generously placed at the disposal of refugees by the Government of Morocco and Tunisia, a number of fixed dispensaries and mobile clinics.

40. In order to counteract the effects of idleness, a number of small pilot projects, such as sewing rooms, mat-weaving and other schemes calculated to provide refugees with work opportunities have been started. It is also proposed to provide, in addition to governmental educational facilities, supplementary educational supplies for primary education.

41. The supplementary projects are to be financed from voluntary contributions towards a special World Refugee Year target of $3,000,000 - which is in addition to the approximately $6,000,000 required, in cash and in kind, for the basic relief operation. Limited contributions have already been received towards this special WRY target. There has been no major financial difficulty during the period under review in respect of the basic relief programme. Declining contributions from Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have been offset by larger contributions from governmental sources. If this trend should continue, the operation would have to be financed in an increasing measure from governmental funds.

42. The continuation and improvement of this relief programme has been possible thanks to the generous contributions from Governments, from Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and from other non-governmental organizations, particularly voluntary agencies active in the international field. Its implementation would not have been possible without the close co-operation of the League of Red Cross Societies or the constant generous co-operation of the Moroccan and Tunisian authorities and the Red Crescent Societies in both countries.

CHAPTER V CONTRIBUTIONS OF VOLUNTARY FUNDS

43. The major development regarding contributions of voluntary funds to the Office of the High Commissioner has been, during the period under review, a diversification of tasks encouraged by the increased attention given on the occasion of World Refugee Year to a greater number of refugee groups. Of the total of approximately $7,000,000 contributed to UNHCR in 1959, contributions were received, not only for the current UNHCR programme and for assistance to refugees from Algeria in Morocco and Tunisia, but also for assistance to Chinese refugees in Hong Kong, for transportation of refugees through ICEM and also, at the request of the donors, for a great number of small programmes or projects (see annex VIII). A similar development has taken place in the early period of 1960.

44. Important amounts were contributed to the Office for assistance to Chinese refugees in Hong Kong within the framework of the mission of good offices entrusted to the High Commissioner by General Assembly resolution 1167 (XII). Further details are given in annex VII B. Offers of contributions have also been received under resolutions 1388 (XIV) which " Authorizes the High Commissioner, in respect of refugees who do not come within the competence of the United Nations, to use his good offices in the transmission of contributions designed to provide assistance to these refugees."

45. Contributions paid, pledged or promised for 1959 or for 1960 on the occasion of World Refugee Year amounted, up to 15 May 1960, to nearly $7,000,000.

46. A special effort was made by the Office of the High Commissioner to interest national WRY committees and other organizations in UNHCR programmes and thus to stimulate financial sponsorship of projects. A number of committees and organizations have agreed to sponsor financially either the clearance of a given camp or projects for assistance to other groups of refugees. At the time of writing (May 1960), a number of fund-raising campaigns connected with these financial sponsorships are not yet completed and the possibility of implementing a number of projects within the 1960 programmes will depend on the success of these fund-raising ventures.

47. The minimum target $4,700,000 for the current 1959 programmes has been surpassed by $350,000. On the other hand, as at 15 May 1960, only little more than $6,000,000 has been raised in spite of special WRY contributions towards the $12,000,000 target for the current 1960 programmes.

CHAPTER VI OTHER ACTIVITIES

Public information

48. The demand for public information material increased considerably when the General Assembly adopted, in December 1958, resolution 1285 (XIII) proclaiming World Refugee Year as at June 1959. This demand emanated from governmental agencies, local and national WRY committees and non-governmental organizations, as well as from the public at large. In addition to this direct demand, the Office of the High Commissioner provided information material to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for World Refugee Year and to the United Nations Office of Public Information.

49. The Office of the High Commissioner used all public information media. The office was able to enlist the assistance of well-known personalities in the arts and literature. Plays, films, television programmes and concerts have been given for the benefit of refugees. Articles have been written by well-known journalists and illustrations provided by a famous cartoonist. The Office of the High Commissioner spared no effort to support these activities and provided large quantities of reading material, as well as films and photographs to the many countries which participate in the work of international assistance to refugees.

50. In view of the increased workload, particular care had to be exercised to avoid duplication. This applied particularly to co-ordination between the various United Nations services engaged in information activities related to World Refugee Year where a careful division of functions made it possible to obtain a maximum of results for the Office.

Award of the Nansen Medal

51. The Nansen Medal Award Committee awarded the medal for 1959 to Mr. Oskar Helmer, former Minister of the Interior of Austria, for his outstanding services on behalf of refugees. The award recognized Mr. Helmer's profound humanitarian concern for refugees and paid tribute to his generosity and steadfastness in extending an open welcome to those who sought asylum in Austria during periods of great difficulty. The award ceremony took place in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on 13 October 1959.

Co-operation with other offices and organizations

52. In the exercise of its activities, the Office of the High Commissioner co-operated, as hitherto, with a number of other United Nations offices, including the Office of Public Information, as already mentioned, the United Nations Children's Fund, which has made a generous donation of blankets for refugees in North Africa, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - particularly in respect of the Joint UNHCR/UNRWA Stamp Plan, and the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration which, at the request of the Swedish Government, co-operated in the organization of a seminar on the integration of refugees held at Sigtuna, Sweden, within the framework of World Refugee Year.

53. The High Commissioner's Office has continued to find understanding support from specialized agencies including the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the World Health Organization.

54. Close contact has been maintained between the organs of the Council of Europe and the Office of the High Commissioner in matters of mutual interest, including the application to refugees of various European legal instruments, resettlement of refugees to European countries, and the promotion of World Refugee Year. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe contributed to UNHCR on the occasion of World Refugee Year an amount of $20,000 which will be used to assist refugees in Europe, including a number of national refugees. UNHCR has continued to co-operate with the organization for European Economic Cooperation in connexion with the movement of refugees for employment.

55. The Office of the High Commissioner has maintained close relationship in respect of a great variety of activities with organizations particularly concerned with refugee problems, including the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration and the United States Escapee Program. Similarly, the Office has further benefited from the co-operation of voluntary agencies working for refugees, which have played, as heretofore, a major role in the implementation of UNHCR programmes. Some seventy-five non-governmental organizations, including the main voluntary agencies working for refugees, united in an International Committee for World Refugee Year with which close co-operation was also established.

Joint UNHCR/UNRWA Stamp Project

56. On 7 April 1960, some seventy Governments issued postage stamps illustrating the refugee problem. This simultaneous issue, the largest in postal history, had been jointly prepared during the previous two years by the Office of the High Commissioner and by UNRWA. Participating States included eleven in Africa, twenty in the Americas, nineteen in Asia and twenty in Europe.

57. The principal aim of the refugee stamp issue was to focus public attention on the refugee problem, on a purely humanitarian basis, both among the millions of people who sent or received these stamps on their correspondence and among the world's philatelists. This aim was achieved in particular in the strong emphasis given to 7 April 1960, the date of the simultaneous issue, by means of messages from Heads of States, exhibitions and world press coverage.

58. The second aim of the Stamp Project was to raise funds for refugees. Over fifty of the seventy participating Governments have donated large quantities of stamps to the United Nations for sale through philatelic commercial channels, either directly in mint form, or affixed to specially designed first-day envelopes. Certain Governments also placed a surtax on the refugee stamps, the proceeds of which will go to refugee work, while other Governments will donate for refugees some or all of the proceeds of the sale of the refugee stamps in their own territory.

CHAPTER VII WORLD REFUGEE YEAR

59. It is not possible to analyze in a separate section the impact of World Refugee Year on the Office of the High Commissioner. World Refugee Year has been an all-pervading, omnipresent factor in the activities of the Office and it is likely that its favourable consequences will continue to be felt for some time to come. Furthermore, World Refugee Year has not yet come to an end at the time of writing (May 1960) and it will take some time to draw up a summary, however provisional, of its achievements.

60. As far as the office of the High Commissioner is concerned, World Refugee Year has already had a considerable stimulating effect on international protection, on resettlement opportunities and on the opening of prospects for an increased programme of international assistance. The Year thus led to a great increase in the activities of the Office in every field and has also had repercussions, therefore, on the administrative arrangements for the Office. The financial results of World Refugee Year have already been considerable, but at the time of writing, have not yet enabled the Office to reach its current targets.

ANNEXES

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

ANNEX II INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION

A. INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS AFFECTING REFUGEES

1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

1. The governments of Yugoslavia and Greece ratified the 1951 Convention on 15 December 1959 and 5 April 1960, respectively. This, twenty-four States in all have so far become parties to the 1951 Convention. These are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ecuador, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, the Holy See, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. In many other countries the procedure for ratification is in an advanced stage.

1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

2. France is the sixth State to ratify this Convention, on 3 March 1960. The Convention will come into force in Denmark, France, Israel, Norway, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia on 6 June 1960. The procedure for ratification in several other countries has been initiated.

1957 Agreement relating to Refugee Seamen

3. This Agreement, which is designed to regularize the position of refugee seamen who have no country in which they may lawfully reside, has now been ratified by seven of the eight participating Governments, those of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Morocco and Monaco have acceded to the Agreement. Italy has decided to accede to the Agreement. The ratification by Germany, one of the eight original signatories, is still needed to bring it into force. A number of Governments are already applying the principles of the Agreement in advance of its entry into force.

Draft Declaration on the Right of Asylum

4. The Commission on Human Rights adopted on 15 March 1960, with three abstentions, a draft Declaration on the Right of Asylum. This question had been receiving the consideration of the Commission for many years, with the close co-operation of UNHCR. The draft Declaration, which has still to be approved by the Economic and Social Council and by the General Assembly of the United Nations, recommends, inter alia, that no one seeking asylum should, except for certain specified reasons, be returned to or obliged to remain in a territory where he has well-founded fear of persecution endangering his life, physical integrity of liberty. The Declaration further recognizes that the situation of persons who have had to seek asylum because of persecution is the concern of the international community, which should take measures in a spirit of international solidarity to lighten the burden of countries which experience difficulty in continuing to grant asylum. The Declaration makes it clear that nothing therein shall be interpreted to prejudice the rights of every one to return to his country, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

1956 Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance

5. The Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance was ratified by Denmark on 22 June 1959, by the Federal Republic of Germany on 20 July 1959, and was acceded to by Pakistan on 14 July 1959. The eleven other States parties to the Convention, which came into force in May 1957, are: Ceylon, China, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Norway and Sweden.

1952 Universal Copyright Convention

6. The Universal Copyright Convention was ratified by Brazil on 13 October 1959 and acceded to by Lebanon on 17 July 1959 and by Czechoslovakia on 6 October 1959. Brazil ratified and Lebanon acceded also to the three protocols to the Convention. Protocol No.1 to the Convention provides that stateless persons and refugees habitually resident in a contracting State should be treated on the same footing as nationals of that State for the purposes of the Convention. The Convention has now been ratified or acceded to by thirty-four States, twenty-nine of whom are parties to Protocol No.l. It came into force in 1955.

1957 Convention on the Nationality of Married Women

7. The following states became parties to the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women in 1959 and 1960: Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Hungary, Malaya, Poland and Yugoslavia. The Convention entered into force in August 1958. It has now been ratified or acceded to by twenty States.

1957 European Convention on Extradition

8. Norway has ratified the European Convention on Extradition. This Convention, which has also been ratified by Sweden and Turkey, entered into force on 18 April 1960. It was signed in 13 December 1957 by the following eleven members of the Council of Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and Turkey. The Convention's relevance to refugees is contained in article 3, which declares that extradition will not be granted if the offence in respect of which it is requested is regarded by the requested party as a political offence. Similarly, extradition will not be granted if the requested party has substantial grounds for believing that a request for extradition for an ordinary criminal offence has been made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions, or that the person's position might be prejudiced for any of these reasons.

B. ADMISSION, RESIDENCE AND EXPULSION

9. In countries where procedures in which the Office of the High Commissioner takes part have been established for determining whether refugees come within the mandate of UNHCR or under the scope of the 1951 Convention, some 24,000 persons were recognized as refugees in the course of 1959. This total includes 7,000 newly arrived refugees. The other decisions regarding the recognition of refugee status concerned refugees who went from one country of asylum to another or who had been residing for some time in their present country of residence.

10. A federal eligibility centre was established in Austria at Camp Traiskirchen near Vienna in November 1959. With a few exceptions of persons who are clearly not refugees, all illegal entrants seeking asylum in Austria are being sent to the new centre for screening Representatives of the UNHCR are permanently stationed in Camp Traiskirchen and in the provinces with the greatest influx of asylum seekers, to advise the Austrian authorities on eligibility determination. The Branch Office itself advises the Ministry of the Interior on cases which have been referred to that Ministry for decision.

11. It is considered that the establishment of the centre at Traiskirchen contributes to the achievement of a uniform practice of determining refugee status in Austria, to the speedy examination of cases, and to improvements in the processing for emigration.

Domiciliary bans

12. In Austria, difficulties had been experienced by refugees against whom domiciliary bans had been issued, under paragraph 3 of the Aliens Police Law, and in accordance with article 32 of the Geneva Convention, on the ground of national security or public order, but who could not, as refugees, be expelled to their country of origin. By a decree of 1 October 1959, the practice of issuing domiciliary bans against such refugees has been relaxed.

C. RIGHTS OF REFUGEES IN THEIR COUNTRIES OF RESIDENCE

Right to work

13. In Austria, a decree was issued on 8 January 1960 which exempts from the requirement of an employment permit those refugees who have resided in Austria for a period of three years from 1 January 1957. Formerly this exemption applied to those refugees who had in Austria for three years from 1 January 1956.

14. On 9 February 1960, a decree was issued whereby labour permits valid until 31 December 1960 would be granted to Hungarian refugees who came to Austria between 1 January and 30 June 1957.

15. As had already been done in Germany (see para. 18 below), special instructions have been issued to labour exchanges to enlist their co-operation in assisting refugees in every way to obtain employment.

16. The Belgian authorities have agreed to issue work permits for all professions, irrespective of the state of the labour market, to refugees in Belgium within the mandate of the UNHCR who entered the country under group resettlement schemes. This measure affects some 10,000 refugees. In addition, instructions have been given that applications for work permits for refugees in those categories which still require special permits should be given favourable consideration, provided the employment is outside the Brussels area.

17. In Germany, a special instruction has been issued to labour exchanges, with a view to enlisting their co-operation in intensifying efforts during World Refugee Year to find work for unemployed refugees, in particular those in camps and others in specially difficult situations, and to see that they have every opportunity of receiving professional and linguistic training.

18. In November 1959, a federal ordinance regarding the employment of aliens was issued in Germany. Refugees will be entitled to receive work permits, which are issued free of charge and valid for three years.

19. In Italy, the authorities agreed in August 1959 to extend the benefits of the arrangement under which certain categories of refugees are permitted to work in Italy to refugees in these categories who have resided in that country for at least three years prior to 27 March 1959. The original arrangement applied to refugees living in Italy for three years before 27 March 1957.

Social security

20. In Austria, refugees in possession of an Austrian identity document have been permitted to benefit from unemployment relief (as distinct from unemployment assistance, which is granted to refugees in the same way as to nationals) until 31 December 1960. This was an extension of an earlier provision which expired at the end of 1959.

21. In Belgium, the Government has decided to allow all miners, including refugee miners, suffering from silicosis to benefit from a retirement pension provided they have paid social security contributions for five years.

22. On 25 February 1960, the German Federal Parliament enacted a law which amended and supplemented the Law concerning Foreign Pensions and will benefit a certain number of refugees.

23. In Luxembourg, under a law dated 10 August 1959, family allowances were extended to refugees, who now receive the same benefits as nationals of Luxembourg.24. In the Netherlands, under the Act on the General Social Security of Widows and Orphans which came into force on 1 October 1959, refugees are to receive the same treatment as nationals. This also applies to the very important transitory provisions of the Act.

Special facilities

25. Belgian families with four or more children are entitled to a reduction of 50 per cent in railway fares. In February 1960, the Belgian authorities agreed to extend this concession to refugees within the mandate of the UNHCR.

D. NATURALIZATION

26. With a view to reducing the number of refugees requiring protection, in accordance with article 8 (B) of the Statute, the Office has continued to assist refugees whenever possible in obtaining new nationalities through naturalization. The Belgian Government is at present considering a draft law which would facilitate the naturalization of certain categories of refugees. An amendment of the Nationality and Citizenship Act was enacted in Australia which simplifies and speeds up the procedure for naturalization.

E. MOVEMENT OF REFUGEES

Facilitation of travel

27. The High Commissioner's Office, in co-operation with the Council of Europe, has continued its efforts to facilitate travel for refugees by encouraging accessions to the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees or by encouraging the conclusion of bilateral agreements for the waiving of the requirement of visas. The European Agreement has been ratified by Belgium and France and signed, subject to ratification, by the Federal Republic of Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. A third ratification is necessary to bring the Agreement into force.

28. On 1 May 1960, an Agreement for the exemption of refugees from entry visas for a stay of less than three months entered into force between France and Switzerland. Another Agreement between the two countries, which entered into force on the same date, provides that refugees entering the other country for employment have the right to return to the country of residence during two years.

29. Agreements for the exemption of refugees from visas for temporary travel are now in force between France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and between France and Switzerland. The Federal Republic of Germany has unilaterally exempted refugees, with the exception of new Hungarian refugees, from visas for temporary travel.

30. UNHCR also encourages the implementation of the Council of Europe resolution No. 58 (5), concerning the facilitation of travel by refugees, particularly with regard to the waiving of visa fees and the prompt issue of visas in those cases where they are still required.

31. Pursuant to this resolution, the Italian Government issued instructions according to which entry visas to refugees within the mandate may be issued without reference to the central authorities and free of charge in certain cases.

32. The Government of Australia has decided to issue entry visas free of charge in the case of refugees.

33. Greece has agreed to issue refugee travel documents free of charge, and to waive the fee for entry visas for holders of these documents.

34. In September 1959, the Austrian Ministry of the Interior issued an instruction to the competent authorities with the object of ensuring that refugees lawfully staying in Austria receive the 1951 Convention travel document unless compelling reasons of national security or public order require otherwise.

35. The Government of Denmark now issues the travel document provided for under the 1951 Convention. The Convention travel document has also been prepared for issue in Israel.

Movement for employment-Action taken by the Organization for European Economic Cooperation

36. The Council of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation adopted on 9 May 1960 a recommendation on administrative practices with regard to refugees moving from one member country to another for purposes of employment. This recommendation accords the same facilities as are granted to nationals to those refugees who wish to take up employment in another country and have the right to return to their country of residence. The recommendation covers: the issue of entry visas free of charge, the granting of work permits and of residence permits valid for at least one years, and the exemption of refugees from the cost of medical examinations and health certificates. It is designed to simplify administrative practices and to facilitate the movement of refugees to other member countries in order to take up employment there and is complementary to OEEC Council decision C (56) 258, referred to in annex I to the Report of the High Commissioner to the General Assembly at its fourteenth session.⁴

F. INDEMNIFICATION-FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

37. Further intensive efforts have been made with a view to securing adequate compensation for refugees who were persecuted under the National Socialist regime. As a result of consultations which have taken place so far, it appears that the German Federal Government intends to establish a special fund for those refugees who do not receive adequate compensation under the Federal Indemnification Law.

ANNEX III REFUGEES WITHIN THE MANDATE OF UNHCR RESETTLED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR EUROPEAN MIGRATION 1 January-31 December 1959

Table not included in online version. See your nearest UN Depository Library.

ANNEX IV STATISTICAL AND FINANCIAL DATA CONCERNING THE CURRENT UNHCR PROGRAMMES FOR 1959 AND THE FORMER UNREF PROGRAMME

A. CAMP CLEARANCE

General observations

1. The Camp Clearance Programme, which was started as an integral part of the UNHCR programme for permanent solutions in Austria, Germany, Greece and Italy, was carried on as a separate operation within the 1959 programmes.

2. Between 1 January 1955 and 31 December 1959, 16,712 refugees from camps were firmly settled and most of the others were in the process of settlement. At the same date there remained 15,770 refugees in camps qualifying for camp clearance (including the fund for special hardship cases), the majority in Austria and Germany. There were still 105 official camps to be cleared by UNHCR, of which 41 were in Austria, a 49 in Germany, 8 in Greece and 7 in Italy. The Camp Clearance Programme also concerns 141 small unofficial camps in Austria.

3. As shown in the table below, the number of refugees qualifying for camp clearance decreased by 5,500 during 1959. The total number of refugees within the mandate of UNHCR living in camps in the countries referred to above was 21,000 as at 1 January 1960, including, some 2,000 refugees qualifying for the programme for new Hungarian refugees in Austria (1,820) or for the programme for new refugees in Greece (200), and some 3,800 refugees qualifying for programmes carried out by other organizations.

Programme	1 January 1959	1 January 1960
Camp Clearance Programme	19,800 b	14,300 b
Fund for Special Hardship		1,500
Other UNHCR programmes	5,300	2,000
Other programmes	7,200	3,800
TOTAL NUMBER WITHIN THE MANDATE OF UNHCR	32,000b	21,000b

a Excluding two camps accommodating new Hungarian refugees only

b Non-refugee dependants in refugee households and naturalized ex-refugees qualifying for the Camp Clearance Programme in Austria numbered 1.870 at 1 January 1959 and 1,020 at 1 January 1960. These number are included in the total.

Austria

4. By 31 December 1959, a total of 7,030 refugees from camps had been firmly settled under camp clearance projects in Austria, including 1,200 during 1959. Three official camps were cleared of refugees qualifying for the Camp Clearance Programme. In ten camps the number of families so qualifying decreased to less than ten in each. Most of these families belong to the residual group of refugees who have proved to be particularly difficult to resettle and for whom special provision is being made. As at 31 December 1959, the camp population qualifying for camp clearance had been reduced to 4,470.

5. Within the total number of 7,030 refugees firmly settled from camps in Austria up to the end of 1959, 4,669 benefited from housing projects. By 31 December 1959, provision had been made for 2,995 housing units, of which 1,962 were occupied and 886 under construction, 167 units were in various planning stages. For a small number of refugees, the improved employment conditions of refugees had made it possible to afford the higher rents resulting from a continual rise in building costs. The public relief authorities pay the rent for refugees entitled to public welfare benefits; the task of public welfare authorities has been facilitated by remissions of repayments, for permanently disabled cases, of the UNHCR contribution to housing projects. Similar measures have been taken by UNHCR for the lowest income group among refugees who experience the greatest difficulty in paying rents for newly built housing.

6. Many of the other refugees were settled through establishment assistance, i.e. small loans and credit facilities enabling them to set themselves up in a trade or profession. Another form of assistance which is essential to settle the remaining camp population is rehabilitation, which is particularly necessary in view of the relatively high proportion of socially handicapped within the present caseload.

Germany (Federal Republic of)

7. By 31 December 1959, a total of 8,313 refugees from camps had been firmly settled under camp clearance projects in Germany, including 3,610 during 1959. In the same year, eight camps were cleared of refugees qualifying for the Camp Clearance Programme. At the end of 1959, the camp population qualifying for camp clearance had been reduced to 10,070.

8. Within the total number of 8,313 refugees firmly settled, 3,647 benefited from housing projects. By 31 December 1959, provision had been made for 2,299 housing units, of which 1,146 were occupied, 300 under construction and 853 in various planning stages.

9. Increasing difficulties are being encountered with regard to the housing programme in view of the constant rise in building costs and rents. This rise results partly from the scarcity of real estate near industrial areas where employment opportunities are available for refugees, from the increasing rates of interest and from the waiving of rent controls, as well as from the rising cost of labour and materials. To offset the above difficulties, a part of the housing funds are used to refit existing housing which carries lower rents then new apartments. Further plans are being developed to build "economy housing" in the form of special low rent flats.

10. A considerable number of refugees have also been able to establish themselves through the assistance of counsellors who succeeded in obtaining accommodation for them at reasonable rents. As in the case of Austria, it was possible to arrange for a considerable number of refugees to be firmly settled through establishment assistance and a small number also benefited from rehabilitation projects.

Greece

11. By 31 December 1959, a total of 694 refugees from camps had been firmly settled under camp clearance projects in Greece. A further 203 refugees from camps had also benefited under UNHCR projects; most of them are in process of firm settlement. At the end of 1959, there remained only 300 refugees within the mandate of UNHCR qualifying for camp clearance in Greece.

12. Of the total number of beneficiaries within the camp population, 663 persons had benefited from the housing programme in Greece as at 31 December 1959. At the same date, provision had also been made for a further 1,145 housing units for refugees in Greece, 455 of which were already occupied, 288 were ready for occupation, 205 were in process of construction and 197 were being planned.

13. Another very important form of assistance to the camp population in Greece is the provision of establishment assistance, which is complementary to housing and enables the refugees concerned to establish themselves in agriculture or in various trades or professions.

Italy

14. By 31 December 1959, a total of 675 refugees from camps had been firmly settled under camp clearance projects, including 150 during 1959. In the same year, four camps were cleared of refugees qualifying for the camp clearance programme - those of Brindish, Altamura, Gargnano and Bari - leaving a further seven camps to be cleared. Within the remaining camp population of 3,476 refugees, 930 qualify for camp clearance, including some 700 refugees who were added to this caseload under the Fund for Special Hardship Cases. The remaining 2,500 are being assisted by other organizations, mainly to facilitate their emigration.

15. In spite of the limited possibilities of local integration in a country with the demographic situation of Italy, a certain number of refugees in camps were able to settle down in the country under UNHCR projects for rehabilitation and establishment assistance. Most of the others were resettled in other countries under projects for the promotion of resettlement.

B. FAR EASTERN PROGRAMME

16. From February 1952 to 31 December 1959, a cumulative total of 13,687 refugees had been moved overseas from the Far East, including 5,205 to Australia, 4,156 to Brazil, 1,146 to European countries and 3,180 to other countries under the joint operation of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration and this Office. This number includes 793 non-rehabilitable handicapped refugees and 59 dependents.

17. During 1959, 1,997 refugees received care and maintenance while in transit in Hong Kong pending their resettlement in other countries.

18. As at 1 January 1960, the total caseload of refugees on the mainland of China was estimated at 7,800, of whom some 4,400 were in possession of visa assurances. Of the total of 7,800, approximately 1,100 were non-rehabilitable refugees.

19. In the course of 1959, supplementary aid was supplied through voluntary agencies in the amount of $115,880 to 3,258 refugees on the mainland of China. Medical aid projects in a total amount of $16,273 had benefited 150 refugees by the end of December 1959.

C. NON-SETTLED REFUGEES OUTSIDE CAMPS

20. The number of non-settled refugees in countries where UNHCR programmes are in operation was estimated at 86,000 on 1 January 1960, including 9,700 socially and 21,300 physically handicapped refugees. Of those, some 17,500 are covered by existing programmes. Between 1 January 1955 and 31 December 1959, a total of 22,482 non-settled refugees living outside camps had been assisted under UNHCR programmes. This number includes 13,124 refugees who have become firmly settled. The distribution by country was as follows:

Austria	7,455
France	1,079
Germany (Federal Republic)	1,181
Greece	1,168
Italy	994
Middle East	228
Turkey	202
Other countries	817
Total	13,124

21. The total number of 13,124 does not include refugees of European origin moved from the Far East, new refugees in Greece, nor new Hungarian refugees in Austria, who benefit from separate programmes. The number of 13,124 does include 743 non-rehabilitable refugees who receive permanent care.

22. While housing projects play an important role in the establishment of these refugees, establishment assistance is equally important. Thus, as at 31 December 1959, 3,445 non-settled refugees had benefited from housing and 4,613 from establishment assistance, while 5,066 had benefited from various other forms of assistance, including, in particular, vocational training.

23. The programme for non-settled refugees living outside camps also includes an allocation for supplementary aid to the neediest refugees. During 1959, a total of 3,487 refugees benefited from such aid, often including medical assistance, in Greece, Italy, Turkey and the Middle East.

D. OTHER PROGRAMMES

Emergency account for aid to individual cases

24. As at 31 December 1959, thirty-two refugees had been assisted from this account in returning, at their request, to their country of origin.

Programme for new refugees in Greece

25. Under this programme, which was put into effect in 1959 in an amount of $100,000, 111 refugees had been firmly settled as at 31 December 1959. Another 163 families, including approximately 435 persons, among the new refugees in Greece qualified for assistance under that programme at that date.

Legal assistance programme

26. By 31 December 1959, a total of 1,659 refugees had benefited under the 1959 legal assistance programme operating in Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy. Such projects have also been put into effect in certain Latin American countries where a need for them has arisen owing to immigration of large numbers of refugees to that area over the past few years.

27. Under these projects, refugees have been assisted in claiming war damage or indemnification for persecution, in obtaining labour permits or the right to engage in independent professions, in obtaining social security benefits or pensions to which they were entitled. Refugees were also advised on questions of rent and eviction and on the leasing and purchasing of property, on labour laws and on problems arising in connexion with their personal status.

E. EMERGENCY FUND

28. As at 31 December 1959, a total amount of $155,615 had accrued to the Emergency Fund established under paragraph 7 of General Assembly resolution 1166 (XII) of 26 November 1957. Emergency aid has been granted in an amount of $5,000 from this Fund to a number of elderly refugees living in Morocco in destitute conditions and without means of support. A further amount of $4,000 was allocated from the Fund on 15 March 1960 for assistance to refugees of the Agadir earthquake disaster.

(Note: Financial and statistical data tables not included in this online version. See your nearest UN Depository Library.)

ANNEX VI RELIEF PROGRAMME FOR REFUGEES FROM ALGERIA IN MOROCCO AND TUNISIA

The basic relief operation

1. At the beginning of the joint relief operation, food rations were being supplied to approximately 180,000 refugees in both countries. It has since proved necessary to provide relief assistance for more than 200,000 refugees. Some sixty food distribution points have been set up, thirty-seven in Tunisia and twenty-three in Morocco, from which regular distributions of food are being made.

2. The primary aim of the relief operation is to provide sufficient food to keep the refugees in good health. As from December 1959, the following monthly rations per person have been distributed: 12 kilos of wheat in Tunisia, 10 kilos of wheat and 2 kilos of rice in Morocco, 400 grammes of edible oil, 400 grammes of sugar, 300 grammes of pulses; in addition 100 grammes of soap are distributed. These rations provide approximately 1,540 calories per day. Children receive in addition a monthly ration of 1,200 grammes of condensed milk, providing a further 135 calories per day.

3. The planning of the distribution of supplies in Tunisia is done by the League of Red Cross Societies in conjunction with the Tunisian Red Crescent, while the actual distribution is the responsibility of the governor of the province concerned. In Morocco distribution is carried out by the League of Red Cross Societies in co-operation with the Moroccan Red Crescent. Every effort is being made to ensure that every refugee receives his ration.

4. The continuation of the operation was made possible thanks to generous contributions from Governments, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, national and international voluntary agencies and national WRY committees, including the fund-raising campaign of the Liberal Protestant Broadcasting Corporation (UPRO) in the Netherlands. Thanks to the above bodies and to UNICEF, it was possible to distribute blankets and clothing to the refugees. During the winter months a total of 262 tons of clothing and 235,000 blankets were distributed for which only a relatively small amount had to be allocated from the cash funds of the general relief operation.

5. The refugees' shelter in both countries consists of huts, constructed by the refugees themselves, or tents which have been supplied under the joint relief operation in certain areas. These dwellings have provided reasonable protection during the winter months. There are concentrations of refugees in certain districts but there are no camps.

Supplementary feeding

6. In addition to the basic food programme, a supplementary feeding programme to provide a daily ration of milk to children was introduced in both countries in October 1959. Thirty-seven milk stations have so far been established in Morocco and fifty-one in Tunisia. The daily ration of milk has resulted in an immediate improvement in the health of the refugee children.

7. In Tunisia, six multi-purpose centres are being constructed, two of which are already being operated. These centres will provide facilities for the distribution of reconstituted milk and hot soup.

8. The health services placed at the disposal of the refugees in Morocco and Tunisia will be supplemented by a number of fixed dispensaries and mobile clinics. According to a survey of the health of the refugees in Morocco, carried out during August 1959, no serious health problems were found amongst the refugees.

Other forms of assistance

9. In order to counteract the effects of idleness upon the morale of the refugees, a number of small pilot projects to provide productive occupations have been introduced in both Morocco and Tunisia. Sewing rooms have been set up where refugee women receive training in making up contributed cloth into local style garments. In Morocco, an experimental mat weaving project has also been started. It is extremely difficult, however, to make any important impact on this problem.

10. The Governments of Morocco and Tunisia are generously providing educational facilities for refugee children. The Office of the High Commissioner is encouraging fund-raising efforts undertaken within the framework of World Refugee Year to provide educational supplies for primary education.

Contributions

11. Between 1 February 1959 and 30 April 1960, UNHCR received contributions in a total amount of $2,892,549 of which $235,741 was in kind, as shown in more detail in annex VIII to the present report. During the same period, the League of Red Cross Societies received contributions in cash and in kind in an amount of over $7,000,000.

12. The basic items of the monthly ration are wheat and rice which are being contributed in the full quantities required. Other items, such as edible oil and sugar, condensed milk, etc, have to be purchased to a large extent on the local market or on the best market abroad, and involve considerable monthly cash expenditures. With supplies on hand and contributions promised, pledged or paid as at 30 April 1960, it will be possible to carry on the basic relief programme until the autumn of 1960.

ANNEX VII OTHER PROGRAMMES

A. UNHCR PROGRAMME FOR HUNGARIAN REFUGEES IN AUSTRIA

1. During 1959, the number of Hungarian refugees still remaining in Austria decreased from 14,900 to 9,600, of whom 1,800 were still in camps on 31 December 1959. On 1 May 1960, this number had been reduced to 1,530.

2. In Yugoslavia, where 500 Hungarian refugees have established themselves, the problem may be regarded as solved, though there remains the question of reimbursement of certain costs borne by the Government of Yugoslavia on behalf of new Hungarian refugees.

3. A registration was carried out between May and October 1959 to assess the needs of the remaining non-settled new Hungarian refugees in Austria. At that time, it appeared that 1,400 were firmly settled in Austria, 1,800 were in the process of being settled under the UNHCR programmes for permanent solutions, 3,900 wished to remain in Austria and needed international assistance for their integration, and 1,500 still wished to emigrate.

4. Resettlement continued to provide appropriate solutions for the problems of Hungarian refugees who desire to emigrate. In the course of 1959 alone, 5,500 were resettled from Austria and during the first quarter of 1960, a further 200. Further resettlement opportunities have been granted to many of these refugees in response to appeals made by the High Commissioner and the Director of ICEM.

5. Many of the 3,900 refugees who wish to establish themselves in Austria will need assistance under the UNHCR programme for Hungarian refugees in Austria. Further progress has been made during 1959 in the implementation of this programme which had benefited, at the end of the year, 5,980 refugees, 2,126 of whom are firmly settled.

6. In spite of difficulties which have been experienced in the implementation of housing projects, as explained in annex IV, some 1,900 new Hungarian refugees have been provided with housing in Austria.

7. Under projects providing credit facilities to refugees, a total of 102 loans involving over $92,000 have been paid out and more than half the beneficiaries have already started to make repayments on these loans.

8. By 31 December 1959, projects in a total amount of $3,952,424 had been put into effect by UNHCR. Further projects in an amount of $410,000 will be put into effect in the course 1960, when it is hoped that a considerable proportion of the non-settled Hungarian refugees remaining in Austria may be able to establish themselves.

9. The status of permanent solutions projects, including a $3.5 million permanent solutions programme, as well as other long-term projects for these refugees is shown in the following table.

Position of UNHCR contributions towards the combined long-term and permanent solutions projects in Austria, as at 31 December 1959, by type of project ($US)

Type of project	No. of projects	Paid	Obligated	Total UNHCR commitments
Small loans	3	125,000	25,000	150,000
Establishment in agriculture	1	15,000		15,000
Housing settlement	34	2,283,994	249,211	2,533,205
Elementary schools	1	20,000		20,000
Youth projects	32	855,726	5,346	861,072
Aid to university students	2	117,384	11,577	128,961
Aid to intellectuals	3	40,000		40,000
Care of unmarried mothers	1	25,000		25,000
Counselling and case work	13	96,685	2,501	99,186
Hungarian News Bulletins	1	10,000		10,000
Administrative expenses		70,000		70,000
TOTAL	91	3,658,789	293,635	3,952,424
Position on 30 June 1959	83	3,487,695	301,631	3,789,326
Progress during 2nd half 1959	8	171,094	-7,996	163,098b

a Discontinued on 15 January 1958.

b The actual value of the eight new projects amounts to $180,381 ; the difference of $17,283 represents refunds of unspent balances and cancelled obligations under projects completed during the second half of 1959.

B. ASSISTANCE TO CHINESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG

10. Under the terms of General Assembly resolution 1167 (XII), the High Commissioner was authorized to use his good offices to encourage arrangements for contributions to assist Chinese refugees in Hong Kong.

11. During 1959 and the first four months of 1960, a total amount of $322,062 for Chinese refugees had been paid, pledged or promised to the Office of the High Commissioner. An amount of $82,315 comes from Governments and $239,747 from private sources.

12. In addition to the good offices of the High Commissioner, World Refugee Year campaigns have stimulated considerable interest in the fate of Chinese refugees in Hong Kong. A number of Governments, of national WRY committees and of other organizations have decided to allocate considerable funds for assistance to them. Such funds have been made available mainly through bilateral arrangements.

13. The problem of Chinese refugees received considerable attention at the third session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme. The Committee agreed that the question of a revolving find to be set up for Chinese refugees in Hong Kong should be further considered and that more detailed information on the situation of these refugees be submitted to the Committee at its fourth session.

(Note: Financial and statistical data tables not included in this online version. See your nearest UN Depository Library.)

ANNEX IX PUBLIC INFORMATION ACTIVITIES

1. To meet the need for detailed information about refugee problems as well as about programmes carried out by UNHCR, engendered by World Refugee Year in many countries, and to help national committees with the successful development of their campaigns, the Information Section of UNHCR prepared a series of monographs. These were published in the form of pamphlets by the Office of the Special Representative for World Refugee year (WRY secretariat). In addition, UNHCR issued its own publication, a fully illustrated folder listing its programmes and WRY targets. This folder was adopted by many committees for their own use, and distributed in significant numbers to local organizers.

2. In view of the great demand for visual material, the Office prepared several sets of photographs for international distribution, one set of eighty photographs surveying the whole field of UNHCR activities; one set, distributed by the Office of Public Informations, dealing with the relief programme for refugees from Algeria in Morocco and Tunisia and made in co-operation with the League of Red Cross Societies; one set on integration work in Greece and Austria, which was made by the Office of Public Information at UNHCR's request. Thousands of press cuttings and reports from committees have indicated the great usefulness of these photographs, particularly for fund-raising purposes.

3. At the invitation of the High Commissioner, a well-known British illustrator was asked to visit refugee camps in Europe and his work appeared in magazines with world-wide circulation. It was also used for exhibition and television programmes.

4. In co-operation with United Nations Radio, UNHCR issued, jointly with UNRWA, a series of radio features, spoken by leading Hollywood actors, it issued a special end-of-the-year programme in English and organized, in co-operation with the Swiss radio, an international radio appeal in several languages in Europe. A number of programmes were made in co-operation with British, American, Swiss, Belgian, Netherlands and German radio organizations.

5. The demand for television material was greatly stimulated by WRY - and was initially met by television films supplied by the Office of Public Information or the films prepared by UNHCR - "Kryfto" and "We Very Much Regret." These have been shown in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Australasia. The American actor Yul Brynner offered his services as Special Consultant to the UNHCR and made, with the Information Section, a television report which was broadcast by British, Australian and some European stations, and distributed as a film in New Zealand, Kenya and Northern Rhodesia. The Office extended facilities to television services in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States for special refugee programmes. The UNHCR Office in Hong Kong also co-operated with visiting television teams.

6. A film, " The Camp," was made for World Refugee Year and was distributed commercially in Australia, Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and in addition, was given wide non-theatrical distribution in many other countries, including Argentina and Ghana.

7. The Office made a special effort to give the widest publicity support to the issue of World Refugee Year stamps on 7 April.

8. The French-speaking press was invited to a visit of refugee areas in Europe; the overseas Press received direct from the Office, through United Nations information centres, through news services, and through their own correspondents basic information particularly relating to resettlement operations, and also on the camp clearance scheme.

APPENDIX REPORT ON THE THIRD SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S PROGRAMME (Geneva, 7 to 13 April 1960)

I. Introduction

Opening of the session

1. The Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme held its third session from 7-13 April 1960 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva. The Governments members of the Executive Committee were represented as follows:

Australia	Israel
Austria	Italy
Belgium	Netherlands
Brazil	Norway
Canada	Sweden
China	Switzerland
Colombia	Tunisia
Denmark	Turkey
France	United Kingdom of
Germany (Federal Republic of)	Great Britain and
Greece	Northern Ireland
Holy See	United States of America
Iran	Yugoslavia

The Government of Venezuela was not represented at the session.

2. The Governments of Ghana, Portugal and the United Arab Republic were represented by observers, as was the Sovereign Order of Malta.

3. The International Labour Organisation, the World Health Organization, the Council of Europe, the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration and the League of Arab States were also represented by observers.

4. The meeting was opened by Mr. M. Wershof (Canada), Chairman of the second session of the Committee.

Election of officers

5. Mr. J. de Rham (Switzerland) was elected Chairman, Mr. H. de Souza-Gomes (Brazil) Vice-Chairman and Mr. W. G. Middlemann (Germany) Rapporteur.

Adoption of the agenda

6. The Committee adopted the following agenda on the understanding that the problems of Chinese refugees would be considered under item 8, report of the working party, and that the questions of resettlement and refugee housing would be considered under item 10, UNHCR programmes for 1960 - second part:

(1) Election of officers

(2) Adoption of the agenda

(3) Progress report on UNHCR programmes for 1959 and on the former UNREF programme as of 31 December 1959

(4) Report on programme for new Hungarian refugees

(5) Report on the implementation of General Assembly resolutions 1286 (XIII) and 1389 (XIV) on assistance to refugees from Algeria in Morocco and Tunisia

(6) Provisional financial statements for the year 1959

(7) Status of governmental and private contributions

(8) Report of the Working Party established by the Executive Committee at its second session

(9) Assistance to refugees in the special cases category - report by Dr. Strotzka, Mental Health Adviser

(10) Second part of UNHCR programmes for 1960

(a) Programme allocations for 1960

(b) Far Eastern Programme

(c) Camp Clearance Programme and Fund for Special Hardship Cases

(d) Programme for non-settled refugees outside camps

(e) Programme for new refugees in Greece

(f) Legal assistance programme

(g) Priorities for 1960

(11) Administrative expenditure for 1960 - supplementary estimates

(12) World Refugee Year

(13) Allocations for 1961

Statement by the High Commissioner

7. The High Commissioner in his introductory statement (reproduced in full in document A/AC.96/75) reviewed some of the main problems before the Committee as well as the progress achieved in solving them, and drew attention in this connexion to the favourable prospects of World Refugee Year.

8. The High Commissioner referred in particular to the permanent solutions programmes which were being carried out by his Office, to the financial contributions which were being made available to these programmes, to the question of resettlement, the problem of new Hungarian refugees, and the problem of refugees from Algeria in Tunisia and Morocco. The High Commissioner also summed up developments in the field of legal protection and announced the results achieved in carrying out the joint UNHCR/UNRWA Stamp Plan.

II. Progress report on UNHCR programmes for 1959 and on the former UNREF programme

9. The Committee considered the progress report (A/AC.96/57).

10. The High Commissioner pointed out that by 31 December 1959 a total of 70,600 refugees had benefited under UNHCR programmes, compared with 62,265 on 30 June 1959. UNHCR programmes now included an increasing number of different types of solutions which were being implemented in a greater number of countries. The High Commissioner pointed out, however, that as the programme developed the proportion of handicapped refugees to be assisted became steadily larger. Difficulties were also being encountered in implementing housing programmes owing to the shortage of land for building near industrial centres and the increasing costs of labour and building materials.

11. The members of the Committee expressed their appreciation of the progress achieved and of the report submitted to them. In the course of the discussion the Committee heard from a statement by the representative of Greece that henceforth the refugee camp population would have priority for assistance under UNHCR programmes. He pointed out, however, that the needs of the other refugees were sometimes even greater. The Committee also heard with interest that it was expected that refugees in the two camps which remained to be cleared in Greece would be settled in the near future.

12. The Committee took note of the fact that certain activities of UNHCR and Governments to assist refugees were not included in the report as they did not involve expenditure under UNHCR's annual programmes. The Committee decided that an indication to this effect be included in future progress reports.

13. The Committee also considered a not on the use of the Emergency Fund (A/AC.96/72) set up under the terms of General Assembly resolution 1166 (XII), showing that as at 31 December 1959 an amount of $155,615 had accrued to the Fund mainly as a result of repayments of loans by refugees. The High Commissioner informed the Committee that there were prospects that repayments in a similar amount would be made in the course of 1960.

14. The Executive Committee took note with appreciation of the progress report on UNHCR programmes for 1959 and on the former UNREF programme and of the note on the use of the Emergency Fund.

III. Progress report on the programme for new Hungarian refugees

15. The Committee considered the progress report on the programme for new Hungarian refugees (A/AC.96/58 and Add.1) in which the High Commissioner indicated the cumulative progress achieved as at 31 December 1959. The document gave details of movements from Austria and Yugoslavia and from one resettlement country to another. The Committee also considered the addendum to this document which contains projects to be implemented from the remaining funds available for the integration of Hungarian refugees in Austria.

16. The High Commissioner stressed that there remained in Austria a certain number of non-settled Hungarian refugees, some of whom wished to emigrate to other countries. He appealed to Governments to admit them for resettlement. The High Commissioner also referred to the question of reimbursement of costs incurred by the Yugoslav Government for assistance to Hungarian refugees on its territory.

17. In the course of the discussion it was recalled that resettlement opportunities would also have to be found for a certain number of Hungarian refugees who had been admitted temporarily to certain countries. The representative of Australia pointed out that there were resettlement opportunities for Hungarian refugees in Australia which, during the last ten months, had met with a disappointing response. A suggestion that assistance be provided to Hungarian refugee students in Austria from the balance of funds for assistance to new Hungarian refugees was considered and it was agreed that the High Commissioner would study the matter in co-operation with the Austrian authorities.

18. The Executive Committee took note with satisfaction of the progress report on the programme for new Hungarian refugees and of its addendum. The Committee took note of the tentative allocations in an amount of $410,000 for the integration of new Hungarian refugees in Austria as described in paragraphs 14, 15 and 16 of document A/AC.96/58/Add.1. The Committee also agreed that the balance of $80,095 be reserved for assistance to new Hungarian refugees who were not covered by the present allocations and authorized the High Commissioner to make further allocations for assistance to such refugees within the amount available.

IV. Report on the implementation of General Assembly resolutions 1286 (XIII) and 1389 (XIV) on assistance to refugees from Algeria in Morocco and Tunisia

19. The Committee considered the report by the High Commissioner on assistance to refugees from Algeria in Tunisia and Morocco (A/AC/.96/59 and Add.1) which gave an outline of the problem, detailed information on contributions and expenditure, a description of the current operation and an analysis of further requirements.

20. The Director (Office of the High Commissioner) gave an eyewitness account of the actual situation of the refugees in both countries, the details of which may be found in the summary record of the twenty-fourth meeting. He stated that the refugees were now receiving the basic ration outlined in paragraph 7 of the document and in addition a blanket each and clothing. He pointed out that the number of refugees had increased to over 200,000 and that all those registered for food rations were receiving them. Further information on the number of refugees and its budgetary implications would be given to the Committee at its fourth session.

21. At present it was estimated that $6 million was required annually for the basic relief programme. For an extension of health services, supplementary feeding, education for some 65,000 children and blankets and clothing for the next winter an additional $3 million would be needed, which the High Commissioner hoped it would be possible to raise on the occasion of World Refugee Year.

22. The representative of the League of Red Cross societies also gave a brief account of the action taken by the League in close co-operation with the Office of the High Commissioner. He stressed the further needs of the refugees for the coming winter and expressed the hope that, as a result of the continued efforts of the Governments and voluntary agencies, further contributions would be forthcoming.

23. In the course of the discussion, members of the Committee expressed their satisfaction with the action taken by the Office of the High Commissioner and the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. They were pleased to note that the situation of the refugees, and particularly of the children, had improved.

24. The representative of France informed the Committee that the French Government would very shortly be making available to the High Commissioner, for assistance to Algerian French nationals who had withdrawn into Morocco and Tunisia, a sum of about $255,000, representing the balance of the payment of 250 million old francs which he had announced at the Committee's second session. The French delegation confirmed the position it had already defined at the Committee's previous sessions. That position continued to be the basis of the co-operation which the French Government wished to maintain with the High Commissioner, and of the action it proposed to pursue with a view to achieving a speedy and humane solution of the problem.

25. Other representatives also informed the Committee of the contributions which their countries had already made or which they were about to make towards the relief programme: in Germany, the Catholic Church had contributed $125,000 and the Red Cross and the Protestant churches had also contributed large amounts; a part of the $5,000 special World Refugee Year contribution of the Greek Government would be reserved for refugees from Algeria; a Norwegian contribution in an amount of $223,000 had recently been made; the Swedish Red Cross was about to contribute to the basic relief programme the funds which it had just collected as a result of a radio appeal; in the United Kingdom, the World Refugee Year Committee had already decided to reserve part of its central fund for refugees from Algeria and had already earmarked over £50,000 to this effect; since the High Commissioner's first appeal the United States had sent nearly $13 million worth of relief; the 50,000,000 dinars contribution of the Yugoslav Government had been made available in the form of supplies for the winter, half for Morocco and half for Tunisia.

26. The representative of Tunisia pointed out that since a general solution of the problem was not in sight, further measures for the relief of the refugees would be required in accordance with the provisions of resolutions 1286 (XIII) and 1389(XIV) of the General Assembly. He felt that only the minimum needs of the refugees were being met and that much remained to be done with regard to housing and medical assistance. Considerable additional financial contributions would therefore be required.

27. The question of the number of refugees in both countries was raised by some representatives, and the Executive Committee agreed that further details on this matter should be submitted by the High Commissioner at its fourth session.

28. The Committee also agreed that a twelve months' budget for the basic programme be drawn up as already planned by the Office of the High Commissioner, for consideration at the Committee's next session.

29. The question was raised as to whether the problem should not be approached from a long term point of view, for instance by putting into effect vocational training programmes which would enable the refugees to prepare themselves for a return to normal existence. There was general agreement that elementary education should precede vocational training and that funds should only be used for these purposes after the basic needs of the refugees had been fully met.

30. The Committee expressed its thanks to the Governments and organizations which had contributed to the programme of assistance to refugees from Algeria in Morocco and Tunisia. It expressed its appreciation of the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Executive Committee approved with satisfaction the report by the High Commissioner for Refugees and the proposals contained therein. In also supported the appeal which the High Commissioner was launching, on the occasion of World Refugee Year, for special contributions for assistance to Algerian refugees.

V. Extent of international assistance to be given to refugees

Report of the working party

General discussion

31. The Committee considered the report of the Working Party (A/AC.96/74) which it had established at its second session mainly to make recommendations on the extent of international assistance to be given to certain categories of refugees.32. In presenting the report of the Working Party, its Chairman and Rapporteur, Mr. H. Scheltema (Netherlands), emphasized that, while largely as a result of World Refugee Year some of the main problems before the Office of the High Commissioner might be solved in the near future, the High Commission would still be faced with a considerable problem of non-settled refugees outside camps: over 90,000, including some 20,000 physically handicapped and 9,700 socially handicapped refugees.

33. The Working Party had recognized the necessity for international assistance to be provided for these refugees taking into account the degree of their need and the possibility of assistance from within their country of residence.

34. In the course of the discussion, attention was drawn to the fact that it was difficult to make sharp distinctions between socially handicapped refugees and non-settled non-handicapped refugees, and that timely assistance to the latter group would prevent many of them from subsequently falling into one of the handicapped categories.

35. The Executive Committee endorsed the general principles and considerations contained in the report of the Working Party and then considered the individual sections of the report.

Extent of international assistance to be given to socially handicapped refugees

36. The Executive Committee considered the question of assistance to socially handicapped refugees whose number in European countries where the UNHCR programmes are being implemented was estimated at 9,700 as at 1 January 1960.

37. The Executive Committee decided:

(a) That in areas where there is a need for assistance to socially handicapped refugees, such assistance be given on the basis of individual permanent solutions projects which should receive the approval of the High Commissioner before they are put into effect;

(b) That in order to enable the High Commissioner to implement such individual permanent solutions projects an open fund should be established in the areas concerned;

(c) That the beneficiaries of these projects should be selected on the basis of individual merit in accordance with precise selection criteria to be established by the Office of the High Commissioner;

(d) That in specific areas where it should prove necessary, projects be worked out for the provision of rehabilitation facilities as explained in more detail in the first report of the mental health adviser (A/AC.96/62).

International assistance to non-handicapped non-settled refugees living outside camps

38. The Executive Committee considered the question of international assistance to non-handicapped, non-settled refugees living outside camps, whose number was estimated at a maximum of 60,000 as at 1 January 1960 in those countries where UNHCR is implementing programmes of material assistance to certain groups of non-handicapped non-settled refugees in certain countries was justified.

39. The Executive Committee decided that assistance to non-handicapped non-settled refugees should be given only on the basis of specific projects to be submitted to it by the Office of the High Commissioner.

Relationship between international contributions to UNHCR projects and supporting contributions

40. The Committee considered the question of the relationship between international contributions to UNHCR projects and supporting contributions and generally agreed on the principle of supporting contributions. Several representatives expressed the view that as conditions improved in countries of residence of refugees the relative amounts of supporting contributions should be increased to the maximum. Some representatives emphasized as a general consideration that behind the requirement for supporting contributions lay the fact that international funds were limited and should, therefore, be given the most appropriate and balanced distribution. Other representatives recalled that their countries were already assuming a considerable financial burden for assistance to refugees.

41. The Committee also considered the factors which should be taken into accounting considering the share of supporting contribution in the total cost of a project. The Executive Committee recommended that, in considering this share, the High Commissioner should in the first instance take into account the economic situation of the country, including its per capita income and its employment situation. The High Commissioner should further take into account:

(a) The proportion of the handicapped refugee population to the total population of the country;

(b) The total number of non-settled refugees, including those outside the mandate of UNHCR, living in the country and the total effort made on there behalf;

(c) The value of the project for the economy of the country in the sense that projects which increase the national capital (fixed assets) of a country should normally require higher supporting contributions than those projects which only provide services for refugees.

42. The Executive Committee requested the High Commissioner, when submitting projects for its consideration, to draw attention to those projects for which insufficient or no supporting contributions were provided, in order that it might appreciate the conditions of financing such projects.

Comprehensive programmes for the settlement of refugees in certain countries

43. The Committee considered the observations and recommendations of the Working Party concerning comprehensive programmes put forward by the High Commissioner. These programmes aimed at achieving permanent solutions for non-settled refugees within the mandate of the UNHCR living in Greece and Turkey, where their numbers are, respectively, 5,300 and 1,000. The total cost for such a programme in Greece would be $8,780,000 and in Turkey $850,000. The representatives of Greece and Turkey declared that their Governments would be prepared to support such programmes and to participate in their implementation.

44. The Executive Committee recommended that the High Commissioner should plan comprehensive programmes for the settlement of refugees within the mandate of UNHCR in certain countries and should submit, for implementation on a yearly basis, only those parts of such programmes which should receive the highest priority and for which funds could be expected.

Programme allocations for 1961

45. The Executive Committee endorsed the recommendation adopted by the Working Party in paragraph 30 of its report.⁵

The problem of Chinese refugees

46. The representative of China outlined the problem of Chinese refugees which had grown considerably since the report on the problem of Chinese Refugees in Hong Kong by Mr. Eduard Hambro had been submitted to the High Commissioner's Advisory Committee in 1954. There were at present some 2,000,000 Chinese refugees in South-East Asia and the Far East, some 1,500,000 of whom were in Hong Kong. Most of the refugees were destitute. The Hong Kong authorities and the Governments of other countries of residence of these refugees were seeking to alleviate their plight. Contributions for material assistance were now also forthcoming. He pointed out in this connexion that, through their will to work and adaptability, many of these refugees could become self-supporting if they were only given initial assistance in the form of land or professional equipment. Those who had been given such opportunities had become economic assets to their country of resettlement.

47. The representative of China therefore suggested that a revolving fund might be set up from which small loans could be granted. As another solution he suggested emigration to countries where there was still uncultivated land.

48. Finally, the representative expressed the wish that the problem be further studied by the Office of the High Commissioner and by members of the Committee and that representatives should express their views on the proposed solutions at the Committee's fourth session.

49. The representative of Belgium stated that his Government was aware of the seriousness of the problem and informed the Committee that out if his Government's contribution of $200,000 to the High Commissioner's programme for 1960, $50,000 had been earmarked for assistance to Chinese refugees in Hong Kong. In accordance with the recommendations of the Hong Kong Government, this contribution would be used for the building of houses for refugees. The representative expressed his Government's wish that the programme be so implemented as to lead to the establishment of a revolving fund. He suggested that consultations concerning the implementation of this programme be held between representatives of the Hong Kong Government, of the Office of the High Commissioner and of the Belgian Government.

50. The representative of the United Kingdom said that the Hong Kong Government, which itself devoted about one-third of its annual budget to the Chinese refugees, was extremely grateful for all the assistance given to them and would be glad to give interested Governments details of projects for which support would be particularly welcome.

51. The High Commissioner informed the Committee that he would be glad to assist in the arrangements to be made for the implementation of projects for assistance to Chinese refugees.

52. In the course of the discussions, several members of the Committee expressed their general support of the suggestions put forward by the representative of China. The Committee noted with satisfaction that contributions for assistance to the Chinese refugees were increasing, as was shown by the statements made by the representatives of Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the representative of the Lutheran World Federation, details of which may be found in the summary record of the twenty-fifth meeting.

53. The Committee was aware of the plight of the Chinese refugees and recognized their need to assistance. The Executive Committee agreed that, as suggested by the High Commissioner, the question of a revolving fund to be set up for Chinese refugees in Hong Kong should be further considered and that more detailed information on the situation of these refugees be submitted to it at its fourth session.

VI. Assistance to refugees in the special cases category

54. The Committee considered the first report on the mental health of special cases among refugees in Austria and Germany submitted by the Mental Health Adviser to the Office of the High Commissioner together with a note submitted by the High Commissioner (A/AC.96/62 and Add.1) and recommending projects in an amount of $209,000 mainly for the rehabilitation of special cases in Austria and Germany. The report showed that in Germany an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 refugees in camps fell within the special cases category and in Austria some 180.

55. In introducing the report, Dr. Strotzka, Mental Health Adviser, pointed out that the caseload had so far proved smaller than might have been anticipated. He pointed out that the main need for these refugees was rehabilitation facilities and drew attention in this connexion to favourable results already obtained in the Beckhof settlement in Germany. He had recently also visited Greece and Italy and found that certain measures were already being taken to assist the special cases in those countries; as camp clearance neared completion, many of the remaining refugees appeared to come within the special cases category.

56. Members of the Committee were aware of the fact that the special cases should be regarded as belonging to the last residual group and that it would be necessary, in order to enable UNHCR to complete the camp clearance programme, to achieve solutions for the problems of these refugees. In response to a suggestion, the Mental Health Adviser stated that pilot projects for a limited number of cases in Greece and Italy would be considered.

57. The Committee noted that it might be difficult to obtain the staff required to carry out the projects which had been submitted to it and suggestions were made as to where such personnel might be found.

58. The Executive Committee took note with appreciation of the report on the mental health of special cases. It noted that the projects submitted to it would be implemented under the programme for camp clearance or the fund for special hardship cases as appropriate, and approved the projects described in paragraphs 8 to 17 of document A/AC.96/62/Add.1.

VII. Second part of UNHCR programmes for 1960

General discussion

59. The Committee considered the second part of the UNHCR programmes for 1960 (A/AC.96/69) submitted to it by the High Commissioner in a total amount of $3.5 million, including $60,000 for the Far Eastern Programme, $630,000 for the Fund for Special Hardship Cases, $2,380,000 for non-settled refugees living outside camps, $160,000 for new refugees in Greece and $270,000⁶ for administrative expenditure. The Committee also considered the legal assistance programme and the question of priorities. It further considered the question of resettlement, the question of housing and an amendment to a project in the 1959 programme for non-settled refugees living outside camps.

60. The High Commissioner stated that World Refugee Year was now making a real impact on his programmes. Having already planned a programme in an amount of $6 million within the total target of $12 million, he was now in a position to submit to the Committee a second part of the 1960 programme in an amount of $3.5 million. He further proposed that, since the caseload of the Fund for Special Hardship Cases had proved greater than expected, the allocation for this Fund should be increased by $300,000, which would be deducted from the original over-all allocation for non-settled refugees living outside camps made in June 1959.

61. The Executive Committee agreed on the principle of a second part of the 1960 programmes in an amount of $3.5 million and considered the various programmes submitted within this amount.

Far Eastern Programme

62. The Committee considered the report on the Far Eastern Programme (A/AC.96/63) submitted to it by the High Commissioner which included an account of recent developments and proposals for two additional projects in a total amount of $60,000.

63. The High Commissioner stated that the Far Eastern Operation had progressed at a slower rate than had been anticipated, partly because of processing difficulties. Furthermore, the average rate of stay of refugees in transit in Hong Kong had increased owing to the fact that the departure of a small number among them had been deferred for medical reasons. A reappraisal of the situation would shortly be undertaken by his Office with a view to speeding up the operation.

64. The Committee noted that, as stated in paragraph 7 of the report, revised proposals concerning care and maintenance may have to be submitted to it, and that increased attention would have to be paid to the resettlement of physically and socially handicapped cases not requiring institutional care.

65. The Executive Committee took note of the report of the High Commissioner and approved the two projects contained in paragraphs 13 to 15 of that report.

Camp clearance and Fund for Special Hardship Cases

66. The Committee considered the report on the Fund for Special Hardship Cases (A/AC 96/64) submitted to it by the High Commissioner which gave statistical data concerning the refugee camp population in Europe and included a proposal for an increase of the target of the Fund from $500,000 to $800,000 and proposals for further allocations.

67. The High Commissioner pointed out that the number of refugees qualifying for assistance under the Fund was larger than had been anticipated when the Fund was instituted. That was why it was proposed that the financial target of the Fund be increased by $300,000. The proposed new allocations would be used to assist refugees in camps in Austria, Germany, Greece and Italy towards emigration and integration.

68. The representative of Italy drew attention to the continuous influx of new refugees into Italy and to the fact that there were over 5,800 refugees in camps and centres in Italy at the beginning of 1960, including those coming within the mandate of UNHCR. He considered, therefore, that camp clearance should receive priority.

69. The Executive Committee took note of the report on the Fund for Special Hardship Cases and agreed on the increase of the target of the Fund from $500,000 to $800,000. The Committee also agreed on the suggestions contained in paragraphs 8 to 11 of the report.

70. The Executive Committee accordingly requested the High Commissioner:

(a) To adjust the tentative allocations set out in paragraph 8 of document A/AC.96/64 and to allocate the reserve of $175,000 according to the requirements of the caseload qualifying under the Fund;

(b) To implement additional projects within these allocations up to the total value of $630,000;

(c) To report to it on the allocations made and the projects implemented.

Programme for non-settled refugees outside camps

71. The Chairman drew the special attention of the Committee to document A/AC.96/65 which contained proposals for the second part of the 1960 programme for non-settled refugees living outside camps and included projects in a total amount of $2,380,000.

72. The High Commissioner pointed out that after deduction of all refugees to be settled under existing programmes, there were nearly 75,000 non-settled refugees outside camps in Europe and the Middle East. As had been the case for the first part of this programme, all efforts were being concentrated on the handicapped refugees in this group. The programme had had to be conceived as to enable the High Commissioner's Office to take advantage of new opportunities created for the settlement of refugees as a result of World Refugee Year.

73. After its consideration of the programmes, the Committee discussed the question of priorities within this programme. The Executive Committee decided that, in the first place, handicapped refugees should benefit under it according to their degree of need, and, secondly, that priority should be given to specific areas in accordance with the criteria laid down for supporting contributions in paragraph 41, above.

74. The Committee approved the total allocation of $2,380,000 and the break-down by country and type of projects shown in annex I to the document (A/AC.96/65), as well as the individual projects contained therein.

75. The Executive Committee also considered an amendment to project OC/ITA/S.1/59 included in the 1959 programme for non-settled refugees living outside camps (A/AC.96/12/Amend.3/Rev.1). The High Commissioner explained that, owing to difficulties incurred in finding adequate opportunities for the settlement of the refugees concerned, the counselling expenses and the per capita cost had increased and the number of beneficiaries had to be reduced accordingly.

76. The Executive Committee accepted the proposed amendment, it being understood that this decision would not create a precedent.

Programme for new refugees in Greece

77. The Committee considered the second part of the 1960 programme for new refugees in Greece (A/AC.96/66) submitted to it by the High Commissioner in an amount of $160,000. The High Commissioner pointed out that the programme, which had been worked out by the Greek Government in consultation with his Office, should provide for the integration of some sixty-five refugee families, which was approximately half the number of new refugee families still in need of assistance at the beginning of 1960.

78. The Executive Committee approved the allocation of $160,000 for the second part of the 1960 programme for new refugees in Greece and the projects described in paragraphs 7 to 25 of the document submitted to it.

1960 programme for legal assistance

79. The Committee considered the note submitted to it by the High Commissioner on the 1960 programme for legal assistance (A/AC.96/68) which included additional details concerning programmes approved at the second session, proposed allocations to be made from within the reserve of $25,000 and an analysis of programmes to be financed from these allocations.

80. The High Commissioner drew attention to the main ways in which legal assistance was being granted by his Office: by placing funds at the disposal of branch offices or correspondents to enable them to retain lawyers to represent refugees in lawsuits, and through voluntary agencies employing lawyers. In stressing the usefulness of this programme, the High Commissioner pointed out that in 1959, in Germany alone, the legal assistance programme had benefited 1,097 refugees, most of whom had consequently been able to consolidate their economic and social position.

81. During the discussion, some representatives questioned the desirability of giving this kind of assistance to refugees in countries where they could receive free legal aid. Legal assistance as distinct from legal protection - one of the basic tasks of UNHCR - should be limited to those cases where it was absolutely indispensable.

82. It was pointed out, on the other hand, that legal assistance funds were being used when refugees could not obtain this kind of assistance from other sources and that it often speeded up the final settlement of refugees by helping them " to help themselves." The High Commissioner explained in this connexion that in many cases the representation of refugees in courts had led to decisions on the interpretation of certain articles of the 1951 Convention or of national legislation, which had created a valuable precedent and benefited refugees in general.

83. The Executive Committee recognized the usefulness of the legal assistance programme. It took note of document A/AC.96/68 and approved the allocations for 1960 listed in paragraphs 8 to 11 of that document. The Committee also approved the specific programmes described in paragraphs 12 to 17.

Priorities for 1960

84. The Committee considered the proposed priorities for the 1960 programme contained in document A/AC.96/69, paragraphs 4 and 7 to 10. In introducing these proposals, the High Commissioner pointed out that no projects within the second part of the 1960 programme would be implemented until all projects included in the first part which were ready for implementation were funded.

85. Several representatives emphasized that the highest priority should be given to the Camp Clearance Programme. In the course of the discussions, it became apparent that since all funds required were expected to become available for that programme, the question of priority was unlikely to arise.

86. With regard to the priorities for the first part of the 1960 programme, the Executive Committee decided to add the programme for non-settled refugees living outside camps and the programme for legal assistance, on an equal basis, to the priority list established at its second session.

87. Concerning the second part of the 1960 programme, it authorized the High Commissioner to pay the supplementary grant-in-aid to the United Nations administrative budget as the need arose.

88. The Executive Committee further authorized the High Commissioner to start the implementation of the projects submitted within the second part of the 1960 programme as soon as all projects included in the first part which were ready for implementation were financed.

89. After discussion, the Executive Committee agreed to the following order of priorities for these projects:

(1) Far Eastern Programme, Fund for Special Hardship Cases and Programme for new refugees in Greece on an equal basis;

(2) Programme for non-settled refugees living outside camps.

It was understood that it would be the High Commissioner's responsibility to ensure that none of the projects were implemented until all projects ready for implementation under programmes with a higher priority were financed. Projects for which earmarked contribution had been received would, however, be implemented as usual, irrespective of their priority.

Housing

90. The Committee considered a note on UNHCR housing programmes submitted by the High Commissioner in accordance with a request made by the Committee at its second session (A/AC.96/67). In addition to information on various aspects of the housing programme, the document contained suggestion for a rent equalization system for housing projects which would enable refugees whose income was a little too high to enable them to qualify for public assistance but who could, nevertheless, not afford the modest rent required for the necessary housing. This arrangement would entail a reduction in payments to the emergency fund.

91. The Executive Committee took note of the information submitted to it and approved the proposed rent equalizaion system described in paragraph 19 of the document.

Resettlement

92. At the request of some delegations, the question of resettlement on which the Working Party had reported in paragraphs 32 to 34 of its report was considered by the Executive Committee in connexion with the 1960 programmes. The question was raised as to whether the Executive Committee should allocate funds for the payment of transport of refugees who were emigrating from Europe with the assistance of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration.

93. Some representatives emphasized that ICEM was incurring financial losses on the transport of refugees. More funds for assistance to refugees and more resettlement opportunities were now becoming available on the occasion of World Refugee Year and it would be tragic if the refugees could not avail themselves of resettlement opportunities because funds for transportation were not available.

94. After a lengthy exchange of views, the Executive Committee decided that it would not be appropriate for it, at that time, to allocate funds for activities which were the responsibility of another organization and that the use of UNHCR funds should only be envisaged in those exceptional cases where the lack of transportation funds would prevent a refugee from being resettled.

95. It was agreed that resettlement would be placed as an item on the agenda of the fourth session of the Committee and that a document on the subject would be submitted by the high Commissioner.

VIII. Allocations for 1961

96. The Executive Committee considered the proposed allocations for 1961 submitted to it by the High Commissioner in document A/AC.96/71/Rev.1. In presenting his proposals, the High Commissioner pointed out that after the end of 1960 it would be possible for his Office to concentrate its efforts on the non-settled refugees living outside camps, and in particular on the handicapped. The allocations could therefore be made on a country basis except for a few common projects.

97. It was proposed that within the target of $6 million recommended by the Working Party, $5.2 million should be allocated for material assistance, $120,000 for legal assistance, and $680,000 for administrative expenditure.

98. The High Commissioner pointed out that within the target for material assistance, first priority was given to the requirements of the Far Eastern Programme and a substantial amount was proposed for the implementation of comprehensive programmes in Greece and Turkey.

99. With regard to administrative expenditure, account was taken of the fact that many of the World Refugee Year projects would have to be implemented in the course of 1961.

100. Following the recommendation contained in paragraph 30 of the report of the Working Party, the Executive Committee decided that, without specifying the amounts to be expected from governmental and non-governmental sources, respectively, the over-all target for regular UNHCR programmes for 1961 should be set at $6 million from all sources.

101. The Executive Committee agreed that a single programme for material assistance be prepared for each of the countries or areas where non-settled refugees were in need of international assistance and that the over-all target for 1961 be broken down as follows;

	$
Material assistance programmes	5,200,000
Legal assistance programmes	120,000
Administrative expenditure	680,000
	6,000,000

102. With regard to the material assistance programme, the Executive Committee agreed on the recommendations contained in section II of the report and approved the proposed country allocations listed in paragraph 10 and the specific programmes described in paragraphs 11 to 24.

103. With regard to legal assistance programmes, the Executive Committee approved the allocations proposed in paragraph 25, and for administrative expenses, the Committee adopted the proposals contained in paragraphs 27 and 29 of the document.

IX. Administrative and financial questions

Provisional financial statements for the Year 1959

104. The Executive Committee took note of the provisional financial statements for 1959 9 A/AC.96/60).

Status of governmental and private contributions

105. The Committee considered the High Commissioner's note on the status of contributions to UNHCR for 1959 and 1960 (A/AC.96/61), which gave a detailed break-down of contributions promised, pledged or paid to various programmes of UNHCR. The High Commissioner pointed out that a total of nearly $7,000,000 had been received in 1959 and forty-two Governments had contributed to UNHCR programmes. The minimum target of $4,700,000 for the current 1959 UNHCR programmes had been exceeded by $350,000. By the end of February 1960, over $4,550,000 had been paid, pledged or promised towards the current 1960 programmes.

106. By the end of February 1960, WRY contributions to UNHCR amounted to some $4.6 million.

107. The Committee noted from statements made by representatives that a certain number of contributions made within the framework of WRY for assistance to refugees had not been channelled through the Office of the High Commissioner. Such contributions were not recorded in the note on the status of contributions before the Committee.

108. The Chairman drew attention to paragraph 2 of the document, which summed up the decisions taken by the General Assembly to the effect that contributions for assistance to refugees not coming within the competence of the United Nations could be channelled through the Office of the High Commissioner.

109. The Executive Committee took note of the status of contributions.

Administrative expenditure for 1960 supplementary estimates

110. The Committee had before it the supplementary estimates for administrative expenses for 1960 (A/AC.96/70 and Add.1), in which approval was requested for an additional grant-in-aid to the United Nations budget amounting to $270,000 to cover the additional administrative costs incurred in handling the increased workload of the Office during the remainder of 1960.

111. Introducing the document, the High Commissioner explained that the increase in the 1960 programme from $6,000,000 to $9,500,000 would result in a heavy additional workload for his Office. In order to implement and control the additional projects involved, a considerable increase in staff, both at headquarters and branch offices, would be necessary

112. Adequate staff would be required in branch offices to deal with both the Camp Clearance Programme and the increasing programme for non-settled refugees living outside camps. An increase in the staff at headquarters was necessary in order to prepare the additional programmes and to supply WRY national committees and private donors with the detailed information they required for the allocation of funds and also to report to them on the use made of their contributions. The programme for non-settled refugees outside camps was based on an individual appraisal of cases which were scattered throughout the various counties in which UNHCR was operating. It was, therefore, a more complex programme than the Camp Clearance Programme. The High Commissioner pointed out that the percentage of administrative costs to the total target had nevertheless been reduced from 7.8 per cent in 1959 to 6 per cent in 1960.

113. The Committee agreed that the expanded programme justified an increase in administrative costs and that all necessary measures should be taken by the High Commissioner to avoid any delay in the implementation of programmes

114. With regard to the recruitment of the additional staff required, the Committee noted from information received from the High Commissioner that there were enough candidates who, in view of World Refugee Year, were prepared to accept short-term employment and that in certain instances Governments were informed of vacancies.

115. The representative of the United States, although complimenting the High Commissioner on his excellent presentation, stated that he would have to reserve the position of his Government until this item had been discussed at the next session of the General Assembly.

116. The Executive Committee approved the additional grant-in-aid to the United Nations budget in an amount of $270,000 to cover additional administrative expenses in 1960 as proposed in document A/AC.96/70.

117. The Executive Committee also took note of document A/AC.96/70/Add.1 in which the High Commissioner informed the Committee that he would endeavour through economies in the voluntary funds budget expenditure to provide the $17,000 required for the temporary office in Canada.

X. World Refugee Year

118. The Committee discussed World Refugee Year at its twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth meetings. In introducing the subject, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for World Refugee Year made a statement⁷ in which he informed the Committee that seventy-six countries throughout the world were now participating in World Refugee Year in one way or another. Twelve non-metropolitan territories were also participating. To date, special contributions by Governments exceeded $11.5 million. The target set by national committees was in the region of $45 million, $16 million of which had been announced by national committees as having already been collected. The Deputy Special Representative also mentioned the impact of World Refugee Year in the field of resettlement and legal protection and quoted some of the main results achieved so far.

119. The Deputy Special Representative gave a brief account of the main ways in which World Refugee Year was being promoted including the joint UNHCR/UNRWA Stamp Plan. He paid a special tribute to the non-governmental organizations, seventy-seven of which had formed themselves into an international Committee for World Refugee Year (ICWRY).

120. World Refugee Year was, however, never expected or intended to solve all refugee problems everywhere, and much would still need to be done after 30 June.

121. In conclusion, he drew particular attention to the fact that less than three months of the Year remained and that, although progress had been made, much still needed to be accomplished in that short period of World Refugee Year was to become a complete success.

122. The Deputy Director of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration made a statement⁸ in which he placed the emphasis on the resettlement of refugees in which his organization took an active part. He pointed out that ICEM was also resettling persons who were refugees from a social and not a legal point of view and therefore fell outside the mandate of UNHCR, thereby alleviating the burden of countries of asylum and contributing indirectly to the completion of the Camp Clearance Programme. In alluding to ICEM's financial problems, he reported that its anticipated deficit with regard to the transport of refugees had been reduced to an estimated $600,000 for 1960 and expressed the hope that solutions to this problem would be found so as to ensure that movement of refugees would not be hampered during World Refugee Year and that transportation funds would be available to enable refugees to make full use of resettlement opportunities offered to them.

123. The members of the Committee gave an account of the progress achieved in the promotion of World Refugee Year in their countries. From the statements, details of which may be found in the summary records of the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth meetings, the Committee noted with interest the progress achieved by Governments and national committees as well as the various forms in which World Refugee Year was being promoted. Special contributions had been made from both governmental and non-governmental sources for assistance to many categories of refugees. Resettlement criteria had been liberalized and special schemes instituted for the admission of the handicapped. In several countries, further progress had been achieved in the field of legal protection. Through various media of publicity, the idea of World Refugee Year was gradually reaching many layers of the population, even in remote areas. One scheme of particular interest was that by which the Netherlands people had been invited to write postcards to Her Majesty Queen Juliana on the fifteenth anniversary of the liberation. The proceeds of these postcards and of the surtax of stamps to be used for this purpose would be used to benefit refugees.

124. In connexion with resettlement, detailed information was given in the Committee by representatives of countries of immigration concerning the numbers of refugees admitted or to be admitted, the cost incurred in their establishment and the possibility of further legislation for the admission of refugees.

125. It was evident from many statements that World Refugee Year was being conceived as a truly international effort to assist refugees of many different groups and origins, wherever they were.

126. The following announcements of new contributions for World Refugee Year were made: Australia: an additional contribution of $200,000 for refugees from Tibet: Norway: a proposal to parliament for a further contribution of 3,000,000 Norwegian kroner, including an allocation of 2,000,000 Norwegian kroner to pay for the resettlement of refugee Year contribution of over $15,000 for UNHCR programmes.

127. The representative of the United States informed the Committee that on the occasion of World Refugee Year his Government had just decided on additional contributions in a total amount of $1,550,000, including,

$600000	for assistance to refugees from Algeria in Morocco and Tunisia to be channelled through UNHCR
$500000	to UNHCR programmes mainly for the resettlement of physically handicapped refugees living outside camps;
$50000	for assistance to refugees from the Middle East
$200000	for assistance mainly to aged and physically handicapped refugees outside camps through the United States Escapee Program and voluntary agencies; and
$200000	through the good offices of the High Commissioner for the training of young Chinese refugees and for assistance to aged and handicapped Chinese refugees in Hong Kong.

128. In the course of the session, the representative of Italy announced to the Committee that the Italian Government had just decided to ratify the 1957 Agreement relating to Refugee Seamen.

129. The High Commissioner informed the Committee that on the occasion of World Refugee Year the Council of Europe had decided to make a symbolic contribution of 100,000 new French francs for assistance to refugees.

130. In some of the statements, detailed information was given on the situation of certain categories of refugees and on the ways in which certain countries were affected by the refugee problem.

131. The representative of China described ways in which assistance was being given by Chinese organizations in his country. He reported on the difficulty that was being experienced by his Government in granting assistance to Chinese refugees, especially in some of the countries with which it did not maintain diplomatic relations. Some of the refugees could not remain in these countries and his Government would be glad to admit them to Taiwan. The representative paid tribute to the Government of Hong Kong and to countries which had also given assistance to Chinese refugees and co-operated with is country in achieving solutions to their problems. He expressed the hope that in some of these areas Chinese refugees would be assisted in establishing themselves in small industry or agriculture, and also suggested that some facilities might be given to Chinese refugee intellectuals to carry out their professions in Hong Kong.

132. The observer for Portugal drew the attention of the Committee to the problem of Chinese refugees in Macao, where 4,000 were handicapped and where local resources were insufficient to assist them. His Government hoped that on the occasion of World Refugee Year one of the international organizations concerned would grant assistance to these refugees.

133. The representative of Austria recalled that refugees were being given asylum in Austria irrespective of their state of health. The proportion of physically handicapped was therefore highest in his country. He also emphasized that there were in his country a considerable number of refugees who did not come within the mandate of UNHCR and for whom housing was required. A fund of $14 million would be necessary for this purpose, and it was hoped that some of the money might be contributed from the proceeds of World Refugee Year.

134. The representative of the Federal Republic of Germany recalled that his country had had to face and was still facing a considerable problem of national refugees: some 13 million in all, including 3.5 million who had arrived from the Soviet zone. The influx of the latter was continuing and latest developments gave reason to fear a serious increase of this influx.

135. The representative of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs referred to the conference of national committees which had been convened in Geneva in January 1960 upon the initiative of the International Committee for World Refugee Year and had been attended by representatives of twenty-six WRY committees and observers of thirteen Governments. He pointed out that the problems of Chinese refugees of all categories had been considered at that conference. He felt that national committees might continue their activity even after the end of World Refugee Year, when their role would be to sustain public interest in the refugee problem, for he considered that many refugees would still need assistance after World Refugee Year had ended.

136. Some representatives expressed the view that it would be preferable if at least half of the voluntary contributions were channelled through the Office of the High Commissioner.

137. In reply to a question by the representative of Canada, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for World Refugee Year explained that a forecast could not yet be made of the proportion of funds collected by WRY committees which would be allocated to UNHCR, since most of the national committees would not take a decision until the campaigns had been concluded.

138. The representative of the United Kingdom informed the Committee that the target of the British national committee had recently been increased to $11,200,000. She expressed the hope that all efforts would be further intensified during the last months of World Refugee Year to make it a real success.

139. The High Commissioner expressed his thanks to members of the Committee for efforts their Governments and people had made in promoting World Refugee Year. He pointed out that the attention of national committees should be drawn to the needs of various groups of refugees and referred in this connexion to resolution 1388 (XIV) of the General Assembly.

140. In conclusion, the Executive Committee took note with satisfaction and gratitude of the progress achieved by Governments and national committees and expressed the hope that World Refugee Year would make it possible to achieve permanent solutions for the largest possible number of refugees.

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1 Further details, including, in particular, financial and statistical data, may be found in annexes IV and V.

2 Unless otherwise stated, figures refer to the position as at 1 January 1960.

3 For the report of this session, see appendix to the present report.

4 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fourteenth Session, Supplement No.11 (A/4104/Rev.1), PARAS. 47 AND 48.

5 Further observations and final recommendations in respect of this item may be found I n section VIII below.

6 See section IX of this report.

7 The full text of which is reproduced in document A/AC.96/76.

8 The full text is reproduced in document A/AC.95/77.