Assistance to refugees in Somalia

A/RES/35/180

35. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE

180. Assistance to refugees in Somalia

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 34/61 of 29 November 1979 on the situation of African refugees, by which it requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to make every effort to mobilize additional resources to meet the needs of refugees in Africa,

Having heard the statement of the High Commissioner¹ on the situation of refugees in Somalia,

Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/9 of 28 April 1980, by which the Council, inter alia:

(a) Took note of the report of the interagency mission which visited Somalia from 10 to 16 December 1979 to study the refugee situation in that country and to draw up a programme of assistance to deal with the urgent humanitarian needs there,²

(b) Endorsed the appeal of the Secretary-General of 11 February 1980, as well as the appeals launched by the High Commissioner, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund, for urgent international assistance to help the Government of Somalia to provide the necessary care and attention to the refugees,

(c) Recognized the heavy burden placed on the Government of Somalia in caring for the refugees and the need for international assistance to share that burden,

Recalling further Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/53 of 24 July 1980, by which the Council, inter alia:

(a) Noted with concern the dramatic increase in the refugee population in Somalia,

(b) Requested the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the High Commissioner, to consider the necessity of dispatching a review mission to Somalia to assess current developments in the refugee situation, as a follow-up to the earlier report of the interagency mission,

Recognizing the heavy burden placed on the Government of Somalia in caring for the refugees and the need for international assistance to share that burden,

Mindful that Somalia is classified as a least developed country and that its meagre resources and inadequate infrastructure are not capable of coping with the refugee situation alone, without jeopardy to its social and economic development and without endangering the general well-being of the population,

Expressing deep appreciation for the assistance which has been rendered by several Member States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to Somalia in support of the refugee programmes,

Deeply concerned, however, that the response of the international community to date has not been commensurate with the needs of the refugees, as described in the report of the interagency mission,

1. Commends the Secretary-General for taking steps to promote continued and concerted international action to assist the Government of Somalia to provide relief aid for the refugees;

2. Takes note with appreciation of the efforts undertaken by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees in Somalia;

3. Takes note of the measures which the Government of Somalia is taking in order to provide shelter, food and other services to the refugees in Somalia;

4. Endorses the appeal of the Secretary-General of 11 February 1980 and the appeals launched by the High Commissioner, the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Programme for urgent international assistance to help the Government of Somalia to provide the necessary care and attention to the refugees;

5. Endorses also the appeal of the Economic and Social Council to all Member States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and all voluntary agencies to increase further their assistance to the Government of Somalia and to the various refugee programmes sponsored by the Office of the High Commissioner so as to ensure the adequate and continuous provision of emergency relief and humanitarian assistance to refugees in Somalia;

6. Requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the High Commissioner, to dispatch a mission to Somalia to make a comprehensive review of the refugee situation in that country in the light of developments since the publication of the report of the interagency mission which visited Somalia in December 1979;

7. Further requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the High Commissioner, to arrange for the report of the review mission to be circulated as soon as it is published, so that the international community may have an updated report on the condition of the refugees in Somalia and an assessment of their over-all needs, including measures for strengthening the social and economic infrastructure of the country;

8. Requests the Secretary-General and the High, Commissioner to continue their efforts to mobilize humanitarian assistance for the relief and rehabilitation of the refugees in Somalia;

9. Urges Member States, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and intergovernmental and financial institutions to assist Somalia in strengthening its social and economic infrastructure so that essential services and facilities can be strengthened and expanded;

10. Requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the High Commissioner, to submit the report of the proposed review mission on the current refugee situation in Somalia to the Economic and Social Council at its first regular session of 1981;

11. Further requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the High Commissioner, to submit a report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth session on the progress achieved in the implementation of the present resolution.

96th plenary meeting
15 December 1980

1 Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-fifth Session, Third Committee, 51st meeting, paras. 1-8.

2 E/1980/44.