Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

A/7612

United Nations General Assembly Official Records: Twenty-fourth Session

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Supplement No.12 (A/7612)

INTRODUCTION

1. The period under review was marked by some increase in the number of refugees with whom UNHCR concerns itself. On the other hand, this increase, which was continuous in some areas and irregular in others, was partly offset by the voluntary return of a number of refugees to their own countries.

2. More especially in Africa, the movements which took place, and the requests recently addressed to UNHCR with regard to already existing groups of refugees, introduced a new factor which has had to be taken into account in the programme. Moreover, new arrivals, sometimes in large numbers, in areas where a measure of saturation had already been reached, interfered with the implementation of existing programmes, causing delays or necessitating adjustments. In Europe too, there was a revival of the refugee problem as a result of the events of 1968, the after-effects of which are still evident in the increased number of individuals requesting asylum in countries adjoining their country of origin or seeking to emigrate overseas. Lastly, refugees have continued to leave the troubled areas of the Middle East.

3. Even so, none of these developments has radically altered the basic character of the problem as it existed last year and there has been continued progress in all sectors of UNHCR's activities. In Africa, for example, the rural settlement of the great mass of some 900,000 refugees has continued without undue difficulty. In some areas, it has gradually even reached the stage where UNHCR intervention is no longer necessary, except in isolated instances and on a minor scale. But in some large African towns there has been a steady increase in the number of refugees seeking employment, and the resulting problem, which earlier existed in a latent form, has recently become a real source of concern to Governments and UNHCR.

4. Owing to their complexity and scope, UNHCR activities in Africa call for a concerted effort by the various bodies concerned with economic and social development, and this accounts for the growing importance of the co-operation between UNHCR and the other members of the United Nations system concerned. In addition to the introduction of more flexible intervention procedures in keeping with the urgency of the problems and the needs to be met, the further efforts made in this direction have already borne fruit and have led to a better understanding of the points of view of the various organizations and to a co-operation which is daily becoming more extensive and more active. In particular, there has been greater co-operation with the organizations concerned with rural settlement, since all improvements in agricultural working methods and management serve to facilitate and speed up the process of refugee integration as well as to promote its consolidation. Special attention has also been given to questions of education, vocational training and employment, which, as is well known, are prerequisites for economic and social development.

5. The developments relating to all the above-mentioned problems have had their effect on performance by UNHCR of what is still its main function, namely the protection of refugees coming within its mandate. The need for this protection has sometimes been felt even more acutely in many fields and in a great variety of cases, particularly in connexion with the application of the vital principle of non-refoulement. As far as more general matters are concerned, UNHCR has taken part in a large number of conferences, the most important of which was the International conference on Human Rights, held in Teheran. The High Commissioner has also continued his efforts to secure an increase in the number of States parties of legal instruments directly or indirectly concerned with the status of refugees, and he has particularly welcomed the number of accessions to the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, which rose from thirteen to thirty-two during the period under review.

6. There has thus been real and considerable progress in connexion both with protection and with material assistance, each of which forms part of the effort which is the true raison d'être of UNHCR - to find and apply permanent solutions to the refugee problem. Nevertheless, there is clearly need for vigilance and for redoubled effort if the results archived are to be consolidated and further progress is to be made. This is particularly important in view of the fact that the target of UNHCR's current material assistance programme, which remained at around $4.5 million for several years, has had to be raised by over $1 million for the year 1969 in order to meet the increased needs of material assistance, particularly, for the new refugees in Africa.

7. The High Commissioner wishes to take this opportunity to express his gratitude to the many Governments of States Members of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies which have responded favourably to his appeals, and he hopes that he can continue to rely on their assistance in solving the many refugee problems still confronting him. These problems, whatever their nature, are all of profoundly humanitarian character and for that very reason represent an appeal to the conscience of all members of the international community and indeed of mankind as a whole.

CHAPTER I INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF REFUGEES

A. General observations

8. In his annual report to the General Assembly at its twenty-third session, the High Commissioner focused attention on the close interrelationship between the contributions which governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and individual persons made to the solution of humanitarian problems such of our times of refugees. The growing role of concerted action certainly is a sign of our times. It assumes its full importance in an inter-disciplinary sector, such as the work of assistance to refugees.

9. While the individual relations between UNHCR and Governments and other organizations, respectively, have further developed, as indicated in more detail below, it is also becoming increasingly necessary in many cases to combine the efforts of various sectors in order to achieve the most rapid and effective results. Thus, for instance, certain projects for assistance to refugees require the participation of local government officials, representatives of UNHCR and other members of the United Nations system welfare staff form the non-governmental organizations and possibly also volunteers. Similarly, at the programme level, financial participation may be required from the receiving Government, from other interested Governments, other members of the United Nations system for instance in the form of World Food Programme (WFP) food supplies, from non-governmental organizations in the form of counselling services and, last but not least, from the public at large through its generous participation in fund raising campaigns.

10. Concerted action such as that described above has made it possible for UNHCR to provide assistance for over a quarter of a million refugees, in spite of the limited financial means available to implement the UNHCR material assistance programmes.

11. A significant symbol of over-all concerted action for refugees may be found in the award of the Nansen Medal for 1968 to Mr. Bernard Arcens, the President of the Regional Committee for Casamance of the Senegalese Red Cross and President of the Senegal Diocesan Catholic Aid. The award was made to Mr. Arcens in recognition of his efforts, together with those of the Government of Senegal and the local authorities, to assist refugees to establish themselves in the Casamance Region of Senegal. A posthumous award of the Nansen medal was made to Mr. Charles Jordan, a former president of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies and a leading figure in the field of assistance to refugees.

B. Co-operation with Governments

12. The support of Governments for the humanitarian task of UNHCR, as reflected in the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 2399(XXIII) on the High Commissioner's annual report for 1968, has again proved invaluable in enabling the High Commissioner to discharge his basic function of international protection and to contribute to the material assistance of refugees in those cases where local resources do not suffice to meet their basic requirements. The coming into force of the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, the emergence of several new problems of refugees, the corresponding need for legislative action to safeguard the rights and interests of refugees, and the growing efforts required to enlist increased financial support for the UNHCR programmes have entailed the establishment of closer relations with many Governments Members of the United Nations and the specialized agencies.

13. The High Commissioner, the Deputy High Commissioner and several senior members of the staff were accordingly called upon to visit most of the fifty-seven countries where projects are being put into effect under the UNHCR material Assistance Programme or where new problems of refugees have emerged during the period under review. Visits were also paid to many countries which play, or could play, and important role in the solution of problems of refugees by admitting more of them to their territory or otherwise participating in the work of UNHCR.

14. At the beginning of 1968, relations with Governments in the field were ensured through thirty-one UNHCR representatives and ten correspondents accredited to a total of fifty-three countries. In the course of the period under review, the Branch Office in Algeria was closed and a Correspondent appointed, and the Sub-Office in Capua, Italy, was closed. On the other hand, however, in response to requests for assistance made by the Governments concerned, a Branch Office was opened in Botswana and one in India, and a Sub-Office was opened at Isiro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A Sub-Office will probably have to be opened in the course of 1969 in Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Juba, the Sudan and in Gambela, Ethiopia. In many countries where UNHCR has no Branch Office or correspondent, close relations with the local authorities are maintained on behalf of UNHCR by the Resident Representative of UNDP.

15. Close contact is also maintained at headquarters level with the permanent Missions in Geneva and New York, and especially with representatives of Governments members of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme. Pursuant to the terms of General Assembly resolution 2150 (XXI) and the decision adopted by the Executive Committee at its eighteenth session, the number of sessions of the Committee have been reduced to one per year. Members of the Committee, however, are kept closely informed of UNHCR activities, either through informal gatherings, as for instance in May 1968, or through regular information publication on the activities of UNHCR.

C. Relations with the United Nations and other members of the United Nations system

16. In his report to the General Assembly at its twenty-third session, the High Commissioner gave an account of the increasing co-operation which has developed between his Office and other members of the United Nations system.¹ During the period under review, relations between UNHCR and the United Nations, as well as other members of the United National system, were further strengthened in a number of fields, including in particular economic and social development, human rights, assistance to refugees from Non-Self-Governing Territories in Africa, rural settlement, employment and education and training.

17. Under the terms of General Assembly resolution 2294(XXII), the High Commissioner continued to participate in the preparatory work for the Second United Nations Development Decade. His Office was represented at both the governmental and inter-agency meetings concerned and had occasion to indicate the limited but important role which the rural settlement of refugees could play in terms of utilization of human resources.

18. Taking into account the close link between human rights and the international protection of refugees, UNHCR participated in various activities connected with Human Rights Year. The High commissioner in particular took part in the Human Rights Conference held at Teheran in May 1968² and made a statement in response to which the Conference adopted a resolution calling upon Governments to accede to legal instruments dealing with the protection of refugees, and in particular, to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees³ and to the 1967 Protocol to the Convention.⁴ In the same resolution, the Conference affirmed the importance of the observance of the principle of non-refoulement and asylum.

19. In response to requests from the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and the Special Committee on the Policies of Apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, and pursuant to the terms of General Assembly resolution 2426 (XXIII) and resolutions on related subjects, the Office of the High Commissioner has given information on assistance to refugees from the territories concerned, provided by his Office. The High Commissioner has pointed out in particular that he is extending assistance to an increasing number of refugees from these territories and that the allocation included for this purpose in the UNHCR programme for 1969 is substantially higher than heretofore.

20. The period under review witnessed a considerable development in the co-operation of UNHCR with other members of the United Nations system in the field of rural settlement, including medical assistance, employment and education and training. In reviewing this question at its nineteenth session, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme recommended that governing bodies of other members of the United Nations system support UNHCR in its efforts to ensue that the needs of refugees are taken into account in the work programme of these bodies, with special reference to assistance to refugees in the field of education and training. The Committee also decide to request the High Commissioner to bring to the attention of UNESCO and other members of the United Nations system the need for educational assistance to refugees to be taken into account when drawing up their education and training programmes, particularly in developing countries, so that these programmes may benefit both refugees and nationals. The principles underlying these decisions were endorsed in General Assembly resolution 2399 (XXIII).

21. The Administrative Committee on Co-ordination, after considering a report submitted by the High Commissioner on assistance to refugees in a number of African countries, decided that High Commissioner should arrange an ad hoc interagency meeting on assistance to refugees in Africa.

22. The meeting, which took place in January 1969 in Geneva, was attended by the representatives of the great majority of members of the United Nations system. It considered in particular practical arrangements whereby co-operation between UNHCR and other members of the United Nations system could be extended, in speed and in scope, particularly at the first and second stage of settlement of refugees on the land in Africa (emergency phase and initial rural settlement phase) since the procedures in force in respect of the third phase (development and integration phase under the aegis of UNDP and other members of the United Nations system) were functioning satisfactorily, subject to possible adjustments.

23. One of the main conclusions reached by the meeting was that the United Nations agencies concerned should further explore the possibility of taking ad hoc action of a limited scope to support the work of assistance to refugees, including expert advice and the extension to refugees, or areas of residence of refugees, of existing projects or programmes.

24. The report of the meeting was endorsed by ACC at its forty-seventh session, held in MAY 1969, and the comments of ACC on the subject may be found in its report to the Economic and Social Council.⁵

25. Meanwhile, a considerable number of positive measures were adopted by other members of the United Nations system, at headquarters level and in the field, with a few to contributing to the work of assistance to refugees. Thus, the Governing Body of the ILO took a decision at its 173rd session, held in November 1968, concerning assistance to certain categories of persons in Africa, including refugees sponsored by UNHCR. This decision provides that assistance to these persons would be available under the ILO technical co-operation programmes provided that such assistance is requested by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and that the necessary funds are available.

26. Pursuant to a resolution adopted by UNESCO at its General Conference in November 1968, the Director-General of UNESCO has undertaken to make available to UNHCR the services of two associate experts in the field of educational assistance for African refugees for a period of two years. In addition an amount has been provided in the 1969-1970 budget of UNESCO mainly to cover the expenses related to expert advice given by UNESCO on refugee education.

27. While the World Food Programme (WFP) continues to provide a considerable amount of food supplies for refugees in Africa, increased support for the rural settlement of refugees is being given by the ILO, FAO, WHO and UNICEF through availability of experts, other consultative services, and the provision of equipment, supplies and training facilities. Thus, for example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, preliminary interagency missions consisting of representatives of the Government and UNHCR and experts from the ILO, FAO and WHO investigated the situation of Sudanese refugees in the Province Orientale and of Zambians in Katanga. Equipment and supplies were provided by UNICEF for several rural health centres and primary schools in various countries of asylum. FAO is advising on land settlements whenever need arises, as does the ILO in respect of training problems, UNESCO in respect of education and WHO on the health component of refugee projects.

28. Good progress may also be reported with regard to the inclusion of refugees in zonal development programmes after the UNHCR programmes have come to an end. As indicated in the High Commissioner's report to the Assembly at its twenty-third session, an integrated rural development project was to be put into effect in the Mosso/Cankuzo area in eastern Burundi in 1969 for the benefit of refugees and the local population alike. Under its preliminary operations, UNDP contributed an amount of $200,000 in 1968. As indicated in more detail in chapter III, section B (Burundi ), the request submitted by the Government of Burundi for an integrated rural development project in the Mosso/Cankuzo area was approved by the governing Council of UNDP and the project was launched in March 1969 by the FAO, which sub-contracted the Association internationale de développement zonal outre-mer. Additional similar zonal development projects assisted by UNDP are now being elaborated or are under consideration in the Central African Republic and other African countries.

D. Co-operation with other intergovernmental organizations

29. Various other intergovernmental organizations interested in the work of international assistance to refugees, mainly of a regional character, have continued to support the work of UNHCR and/or to co-operate with it in one or more fields of particular interest to them.

30. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) is closely following the work of UNHCR, particularly in Africa. In response to an invitation from OAU, the High Commissioner made a statement on the work of his Office at the meeting of heads of States and Governments members of OAU, held in September 1968. Furthermore, as indicated in more detail in chapter II, the Council of Ministers of OAU adopted a draft convention governing specific aspects of the problems of refugees in Africa. The Bureau for the placement and Education of Refugees, established in 1968 within members of the United Nations system represented in Addis Ababa, has become operational. It is appointing correspondents in a number of African countries where refugees might be resettled and a number of individual cases have already been processed by the Bureau.

31. In Europe, close relations have been maintained with the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration which is instrumental in the resettlement of refugees through migration. Other European organizations, such as the Council of Europe, the Commission of the European Communities and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development played their part in supporting the work of UNHCR. In addition to the continuing interest it takes in the work of assistance to refugees in Europe and elsewhere, the Council of Europe, during the period under review, has paid special attention to the final integration of refugees within the competence of UNHCR in member countries of the Council.

32. In Latin America, the Organization of American States has been most helpful to UNHCR by advising on certain problems of international protection in respect of refugees from the Caribbean and on the health aspects of the assistance programme for non-settled refugees in certain Latin American countries.

E. Relations with non-governmental organizations and social welfare agencies which are participating in or contributing to UNHCR programmes

33. As members of the General Assembly are aware, the many non-governmental and semi-governmental organisations and the large number of social welfare agencies interested in the work for refugees constitute an indispensable element in the international mechanism for assistance to refugees. These organizations represent many layers of the population in a large number of countries throughout the world. During the period under review, the number of those concerned with the work of UNHCR increased from some ninety-five to over 130 (see annex III).

34. As heretofore, the support of these organizations has taken a variety of forms, including promotion of international protection implementation of material assistance projects in the field, financial participation in UNHCR activities and co-operation with UNHCR in the important fields of public information and fundraising.

35. The International Council of Voluntary Agencies, which groups about a hundred of these organizations, has continued to play an important co-ordinating role. It works in close co-operation with UNHCR and also makes its voice heard at meetings of the Executive committee of the High Commissioner's programme, where it has had occasion particularly to stress the humanitarian and social aspects of assistance to refugees. The theme of the 1968 General conference of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies, held in London in June 1968, was "Human needs and social justice", under which the main subjects discussed were refugees and development.

36. The International Year for Human rights has, of course, given many of the non-governmental organizations a welcome opportunity to promote the international protection of refugees through conferences and the publication of relevant information material.

37. A number of organizations, including OXFAM, the League of Red Cross Societies and the Lutheran World Federation, continued to implement important UNHCR assistance projects for refugees in several countries in Africa. Special mention should also be made of the Association international pour le Développement rural outre-mer and the Bureau de Développement pour la Production agricole which act as sub-contractors for the implementation of the zonal integration and development project in Burundi and for the assistance programme in the Central African Republic, respectively. Many other agencies continue to assist in the implementation of projects for refugees in various other parts of the world in the connexion with local settlement or resettlement, whether through counselling or otherwise. In Europe, local agencies continued to take over certain responsibilities previously borne by UNHCR.

38. Many non-governmental organizations have continued to participate in the financing of UNHCR programmes through contributions in cash or in kind, as in the past. A number of agencies have also co-operated with UNHCR in the raising of funds through the promotion of the sale of the new record entitled "World Star Festival", the details of which are given in chapter IV below.

CHAPTER II INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION

A. General remarks and main developments

39. In reporting to the General Assembly on the protection of refugees, the basic function of his Office under the Statute, the High Commissioner would like to re-emphasize that all refugees within his mandate may call upon him for protection at any time and that it is therefore difficult to give a detailed account of the work done in this field during a given period, particularly in assisting individual cases. This report is therefore confined to the most important developments of the past year. In addition to the activities of general scope described in this report, the High commissioner has constantly had to intervene, in Europe, Africa and elsewhere, on behalf of refugees facing problems of various kinds, either by giving them his recommendations or advice, or by interceding on their behalf with the competent authorities or the voluntary agencies in a position to assist them.

40. The General Assembly adopted resolution 2312 (XXII) on 14 December 1967, which constitutes the Declaration on Territorial Asylum, and, during the same year, the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees entered into force. This instrument enabled the 1951 Convention to be applied to new categories of refugees. In 1968 the High Commissioner therefore sought to promote the world-wide acceptance by States of the principles embodied in the Declaration on territorial Asylum, as well as their early accession to the 1967 Protocol, particularly in areas where new refugee problems have emerged. In this connexion, it is interesting to note that the number of accessions to the 1967 Protocol (thirteen in May 1967) had risen to thirty-two in April 1969, little more than two years after the signature of the Protocol.

41. Since fifty-five countries are at present parties to the 1951 Convention and thirty-two to the Protocol, a procedure similar to that laid down in article 35 of the Convention has been worked out in co-operation with the ILO in order to enable the High Commissioner to fulfil his duty of supervising the application of these two international instruments. This procedure will make it easier for the States parties to these instruments to report on their application in their respective territories

42. The particular interest shown by African states in refugee protection has been reflected in the preparation of a new international instrument under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity. This instrument which is complementary to, and embodies the main principles of the 1951 Convention, contains important provisions on other aspects of the international protection of refugees. It was adopted by the Council of Ministers of OAU in draft form in February 1969 and is to be submitted for approval to the Heads of States and Governments in September 1969.

43. Another important feature of UNHCR's activities connected with the international protection of refugees was its participation in the world-wide effort to promote human rights during the International Year for Human Rights. The resolution on refugees adopted at the Teheran Conference in April-May 1968, with whose work UNHCR was closely associated, stresses the significance of UNHCR's protective role and, in particular, affirms the importance of the principle of non-refoulement in the case of refugees.

44. In its resolution 2294(XXII), the General Assembly requested the High Commissioner to pursue his activities of protection and assistance, bearing in mind the ever-increasing number of refugees in Africa. As has been emphasized elsewhere, this upward trend was accentuated during the period covered by this report, during which the number of refugees in Africa rose from about 860,000 to some 950,000. UNHCR has continued to afford protection to refugees, in Africa in particular, by helping Governments to establish procedures for the determination of refugee status and by facilitating the admission to other African countries of refugee who, for one reason or another, have been unable to obtain long-term asylum in their country of first asylum.

45. Finally, UNHCR has also continued to afford international protection to refugees in other regions, paying particular attention to the means whereby their legal integration can be accelerated, especially where they have been residing in a country for a number of years and are already settled form and economic and social point of view. In accordance with the Statute, which provides that the High Commissioner shall promote "through special agreements with Governments the execution of any measures calculated to improve the situation of refugees and to reduce the number requiring protection",⁶ UNHCR is making fresh efforts to promote the acquisition of the nationality of the country of residence by refugees who do not wish to return to their own country.

B. Asylum

46. The right of asylum is still the cornerstone of international protection. During the period under review, many countries continued to pursue a generous policy with regard to the granting of asylum. The application of the principle of non-refoulement, which is the basic element of the right of asylum, has been one of the High Commissioner's main concerns during the period. He has had occasion to intervene in cases of expulsion on a number of occasions to uphold this principle and ensure its application. In most cases, he succeeded in obtaining a stay of execution until another country of asylum had been found for the refugee affected by such a measure, or even in securing its revocation.

47. Various international bodies have shown their desire for a strengthening of the principles of asylum, particularly the International Conference on Human Rights and the International Law Association.

48. The International Law Association, which held its fifty-third conference at Buenos Aires, examined two draft conventions relating to diplomatic asylum and territorial asylum respectively. These two draft conventions provide, in particular, that the parties shall grant asylum to persons who would be persecuted of a particular social or economic group or on account of their political opinions if they were returned to the country from which they had fled. The conference decided to proclaim these two draft conventions the "Buenos Aires Declaration" and to request the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the High Commissioner for Refugees, among others, to submit their comments on the subject; the two drafts in question will form the basis of a convention on asylum which will be examined at the Association's next conference.

49. The draft OAU Convention Governing the Specific aspects of the Problem of Refugees in Africa, adopted by the OAU Council of Ministers in February 1969, also emphasizes the right of asylum among other highly important matters. In particular, this draft clarifies the concept of asylum and defines the conditions under which it is applicable. The draft also provides that the granting of asylum shall not be regarded as an unfriendly act by any State. Finally, it is established that no person shall be subjected by a member State to measures such as rejection at the frontier, return or expulsion, which would compel him to return to or remain in a territory where his life, physical integrity or liberty would be threatened.

50. In connexion with extradition, which is closely linked with the question of non-refoulement, reference should be made to the extradition laws promulgated by Zambia and Swaziland. The entry into force of these laws brings the legislation of these countries into line both with the recommendations made by the Meeting of Commonwealth Law Ministers in London in 1966 and with various legislative provisions already adopted in several other Commonwealth countries. These legislative provisions prohibit extradition in cases where the person concerned might be prejudiced at his trial or be punished, detained or restricted in is personal liberty for reasons of race, religion, nationality or political opinion.

C. Recognition n of refugee status

51. The procedure for the determination of refugee status has continued to operate smoothly in the countries which have already established eligibility procedures under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. The High Commissioner continues to give the fullest possible attention to the problem of the practical implementation of these procedures and, in general, encourages the authorities of the countries concerned to improve the application of the legislative measures taken for the implementation of the Convention and the Protocol.

52. The question of drafting legislation on the determination of refugee status is receiving particular attention in the countries of Africa. Laws on this subject have already been enacted in some of these countries, while in others they are still in the drafting stage. It should be noted in this connexion that Senegal, after obtaining certain information from UNHCR, has drawn up and enacted legislation for the implementation of the Convention and the Protocol. This legislation governs the status of refugees coming within the definitions of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. It provides that decisions on eligibility shall be eligibility shall be taken by a commission, which is presided over by a magistrate and on which the High Commissioner's representative is to sit as an observer. This Commission will also be competent to take decisions on the withdrawal of refugee status and expulsion. In Zambia, the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to establish at Lusaka a committee to consider the status of persons applying for asylum and requests for admission to a transit centre or settlement zone. This committee, which has an advisory character consists of four members, including the deputy representative of the High Commissioner. The Central African Republic, for its part, has decided to establish a procedure for the issue of identity cards to persons regarded as having refugee status.

D. Intergovernmental agreements concerning refugees

53. The High Commissioner has continued his approaches to many governments with a view to persuading them to accede to the various instruments governing the rights of refugees, where they have not already done so, or to withdraw certain reservations they may have made on their accession to these instruments. Several States parties to these instruments have responded favourably to the High Commissioner's representations.

54. With the accession of Botswana and Finland, the number of accessions to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951⁷ has risen to fifty-five. These have been major advances with respect to the range of application of the Convention. For example, Denmark has withdrawn its reservations concerning paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of article 24 relating to labour legislation and social security, as well as those concerning article 27 relating to wage-earners. Ireland has also withdrawn one of its reservations concerning article 29 which refers to fiscal charges.

55. There were many further accessions to the Protocol relating to the Status of refugees of 31 January 1967.⁸ The following countries acceded to it during the period covered by this report: Belgium, Botswana, Cyprus, Ecuador, Finland, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom the United Republic of Tanzania and the United State of America. These accessions have brought the number of parties to the Protocol to thirty-two. In certain other countries, discussions are in progress or parliamentary procedures have been initiated with a view to eventual accession to the Protocol.

56. There have also been recent accessions to other international instruments relating to the rights of refugees. For example, Tunisia was the thirty-first State to accede to the United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance of 20 June 1956⁹ The United Kingdom has acceded to the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees of 20 April 1959¹⁰, thus becoming the twelfth Party to this Agreement. Finland and Botswana have acceded to the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless persons of 28 September 1954¹¹ The application of this convention has been extended as a result of the withdrawal of the reservations made by Denmark and Italy. The Norwegian Government has also informed the ILO that it will apply the Hague Agreement relating to Refugee Seamen of 23 November 1957¹² to refugees covered by the Protocol, in accordance with the recommendation made to that effect by the Joint Maritime Commission of the ILO in 1967. This recommendation requested member States to extend the application of the Agreement to refugees covered by the 1967 Protocol as well as to those coming under the 1951 Convention. During the period under review, Sweden acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 30 August 1961¹³ This was the second accession to the Convention, six being required for its entry into force.

57. To conclude this survey of the international agreements relating to refugees, mention should be made of the recent draft Convention of the Organization of African Unity governing the specific aspects of the problem of refugees in Africa. After final approval by the Conference of Heads of States and Governments to be held in Addis Ababa in September 1969, this new Convention will constitute an international instrument complementary to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. It refers, inter alia, to such matters of importance for the protection of refugees in Africa as the right of asylum and the principle of non-refoulement, as we have already seen, as well as to the problem of voluntary repatriation and the prohibition of subversive activities.

58. A list of the countries which are parties to the various international agreements affecting refugees may be found in annex I to this report.

E. Participation of UNHCR in the International year for Year for Human Rights

59. At its eighteenth and nineteenth sessions, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme stressed the importance to refugees of the International Year for Human Rights.

60. The High Commissioner submitted a report to the International conference on Human Rights at Teheran in which he drew attention to the question of asylum and the principle of non-refoulement. He emphasized that the granting of asylum by a given State could not be regarded as an unfriendly act towards any other State and also stressed the need for States to incorporate the principle of non-refoulement in their domestic legislation in order to give it legal force. As was stated above, the Conference adopted a resolution on co-operation with the High Commissioner's Office, which called upon Governments to accede to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol and affirmed the importance of the principle of non-refoulement.¹⁴

61. The High Commissioner's Office has also participated in many meetings organized at the regional level, during which subjects of importance for the protection of refugees were discussed in the context of the protection of human rights.

62. The High Commissioner's Office was also present at the International Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations for Human Rights Year, held at Geneva in January 1968. Its general conclusions and recommendations stressed several matters of importance to refugees, such as the right of asylum, the right to travel, economic and social rights, and the promotion and acceleration right to travel, economic and social rights, and the promotion and acceleration of the reunion of refugees with members of their families. The conference also adopted a recommendation aimed at encouraging governments to take the necessary steps to apply the principles laid down in the United Nations Declaration on Territorial Asylum.

F. Economic and social rights of refugees

63. The High Commissioner's Office has continued its efforts to facilitate the integration of refugees in their countries of residence. Effective protection of the rights of refugees, especially in economic and social matters, is particularly important, since, unlike ordinary aliens, they frequently have no other option, apart from repatriation, than to remain in their country of residence

64. Article 17 of the Convention lays down the rights of refugees with respect to access to wage-earning employment. Several State signatories to the Convention have already taken steps to bring their labour legislation into line with the provisions of this article of the Convention.

65. In the federal Ordinance of 5 June 1968, the Federal Republic of Germany has decreed that all refugees within the meaning of the 1951 Convention who were resident in the country before 30 June 1950 have the same rights as nationals to exercise the profession of pharmacist. It is heartening to find that, in this particular case, a legislative provision has gone further than the requirements of article 19 of the Convention. In Australia, the Ministry of Immigration has announced the establishment, at the federal level, of an advisory committee to evaluate, in the light of national standards, professional qualifications obtained abroad by refugees and will enable them to become more effectively integrated in the country's economy. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government has decided that, as from 1969, all refugees granted asylum in the Congo will be treated on an equal footing with Congolese as regards labour legislation.

G. Issue of documentation to refugees

66. In order to enable refugees to derive practical benefit form the provisions of the convention and the Protocol and thus to exercise their acknowledged rights, the authors of the Convention thought it necessary to provide for various measures of administrative assistance. The most important document is the travel document provided for by the 1951 Convention, because it enables a refugee to travel almost as easily as an ordinary citizen outside the frontiers of the State in which he is resident. This document has continued to be widely issued by the countries in which there are refugees.

67. In this connexion, it should be noted that the Austrian authorities have enacted an ordinance under which refugees will be exempted on a basis of reciprocity from the payment of visa fees, provided that they are in possession of a travel document issued by one of the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway.

68. As indicated in paragraph 52 above, the Central African Republic has decided to issue identity cards to refugees, attesting to their refugee status and allows them virtual freedom of movement within the country. The High Commissioner's Office is giving financial and technical assistance for this purpose.

H. Acquisition by refugees of the nationality of their country of residence

69. The status of refugee is a provisional one which should not continue indefinitely. It should be possible for this transitional period in the life of a displaced person to come to and end either through voluntary repatriation to the country of origin or through full integration in the host country. The nationality of the host country is acquired by naturalization or as a result of marriage and, in countries where the jus soli is in force, the children of refugees acquire the nationality of those countries at birth.

70. The question of natualization is one of the High Commissioner's major concerns, especially as regards refugees who have been living for a considerable time in the same country. Various States have taken steps to facilitate the naturalization of refugees who are living in their territory and have abandoned all idea of returning to their country of origin. In Greece, for example, an amendment to the Nationality Act of 1955 was passed on 22 July 1968. Article 3 of the 1968 Law amended the 1955 Act to the effect that the requirement of three years' residence subsequent upon the application for naturalization is waived in the case of persons who have resided in Greece for at least eight years during the ten years preceding the application. These provisions make it possible for persons of non-Greek ethnic origin who fulfil the conditions to be naturalized immediately. A large number of refugees have thus been naturalized in Greece,2,475 refugees having obtained Greek citizenship in 1968, 212 of whom were of Greek ethnic origin and the other 2,263 mainly of Armenian origin. Australia is considering reducing the compulsory period of residence prior to nationalization to three years for applicants who can prove that they read, write, speak and understand English well and are in other respects qualified for Australian citizenship.

71. However, in countries where there are no obstacles to naturalization, many refugees fail to take advantage of the possibilities open to them in this respect, often because they are not aware of them. The High Commissioner, who is anxious to help refugees to acquire a new nationality, is co-operation with voluntary agencies providing refugees with financial and legal assistance so that refugees can assemble the necessary documents and comply more easily with the naturalization procedure. Lastly, the High Commissioner maintains contacts with Governments both individually and through the appropriate regional organizations, such as the Council of Europe.

I. Indemnification by the Federal Republic of Germany

72. During the period covered by this report, the High Commissioner has continued his negotiations with the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany on this subject. During his mission to Bonn on 7 and 8 may 1968, he discussed with the competent authorities of the Federal Government various questions relating to the problem of indemnifying refugees who suffered persecution under the national-socialist régime. The authorities assured the High Commissioner that the Government of the Federal Republic would make every effort to ensure that applications for indemnification which were still outstanding would be settled as expeditiously as possible, priority being given to persons who suffered in concentration camps.

73. A circular issued on 18 May 1969 by the Ministry of Finance of the Federal Republic specifies the rules to be followed in implementing article VI of the Indemnification Act.¹⁵ This circular, which relates to the indemnification of persons who suffered persecution under the national-socialist régime by reason of their nationality, is of major importance for the settlement of a large number of applications for indemnification which have not yet been met.

74. The German authorities have continued the implementation of article 1 of the Indemnification Agreement concluded between the Federal Republic of Germany and UNHCR in October 1960. By 31 March 1969, of 36,409 applications received, 22,066 had been settled; the number of favourable decisions as 2,021 and payments made mounted to approximately DM 93 million.

75. As the High Commissioner pointed out during the twenty-second session of the General Assembly, the Federal Republic of Germany has made available to UNHCR a supplementary indemnification fund of DM 3.5 million ($ 875,000), which is intended to finance measures of assistance to persons who were persecuted under the national-socialist régime by reason of their nationality, but who did not qualify for indemnification from the Fund established under the aforementioned Agreement of 1960. The administration of this Fund is now drawing to a close. By the end of April 1969, 2,572 applications had been examined; 675 favourable decisions had been taken, resulting in allocations amounting to DM 3,279,660($819,915). Thirty-two applications were still pending at that date.

CHAPTER III MATERIAL ASSISTANCE

A. General review

76. During the period under review, UNHCR, in addition to dealing with newly emerging refugee problems, has continued its efforts to consolidate the economic and social position of refugees to enable them to reach a stage where they can support themselves and become integrated into the life of the communities in which they are living. UNHCR's task of material assistance to refugees has been affected during 1968 by two developments, firstly, an increase in the influx of refugees belonging to categories which UNHCR was already assisting and secondly be requests from governments for assistance to new categories of refugees, particularly in Africa.

77. While primary responsibility for assistance to refugees continues to rest with the governments of the receiving countries, UNHCR was called upon to contribute towards the needs of over 260,000¹⁶ non-settled refugees in fifty-seven countries. This was mainly done through projects already started under previous programmes, the current programme for 1968, whose target had been fixed at $4,631,600 and the UNHCR Emergency Fund from which an amount of $321,770 was expended on some of the new refugee problems referred to above, as shown in annex II, table 2. Many more refugees were assisted through complementary projects outside the programmes, financed from an amount of $926,453 made available by governments or private donors, of which $291,936 was committed under the education account, as shown in table 3 of annex II. The 1968 programme again attracted supporting contributions in an amount of approximately $5,427,000, much of it from governments of the countries of residence of refugees, which does not include the value of land placed at the disposal of refugees by countries of residence and of the services rendered by the authorities of these countries. Food supplies in a value of over $1.5 million were committed by the World Food Programme for assistance to various groups of refugees in Africa. Bilateral aid to governments of countries of residence again made an impact on the provision of assistance to refugees.

78. Among the main criteria which UNHCR continues to apply to material assistance programmes are the urgency and extent of the problems and the capacity of the host countries to deal with them. In spite of an influx of new refugees into various European countries, it was sufficient for UNHCR to continue to make only a limited contribution under its 1968 programme to supplement the assistance provided on an increasing scale by the governments and voluntary agencies concerned, with the exception of two countries, where more substantial UNHCR assistance was required. In Latin America, considerable further efforts have been made to streamline the programme so that a situation could be reached where local governmental and voluntary agencies would share between them the major part of the burden involved in assistance to those refugees who, mainly because of age or ill health, cannot provide for themselves. Africa, new problems have emerged and, at the same time, measures have been taken to consolidate and stabilize the work already done. In some cases, as for example in Burundi, a point has been reached where the refugee settlement can be included in a zonal development plan put into effect by UNDP and other United Nations agencies for the benefit of the refugees and the local population alike.

79. As indicated in chapter I above, an important development in connexion with the local settlement of refugees in Africa has been the increasing co-operation between UNHCR and other agencies members of the United Nations system, both in the first emergency phase of refugee settlement, in the second initial rural settlement phase and in the third, that is, the consolidation and integration phase.

80. Three solutions are open to refugees: voluntary repatriation, resettlement in another country or local integration.

81. While detailed statistical information is not available in respect of voluntary repatriation, the total number of refugees who returned to their homes is estimated at over 20,000 including approximately 15,000 Congolese. A sum of $70,352 was committed by UNHCR to facilitate the repatriation of 1,330 refugees mostly Congolese who left Burundi for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who could not be helped to this end from any other source.

82. During 1968, UNHCR contributed to the promotion of resettlement through counselling, language training and resettlement grants, as well as towards certain emigration costs which could not be met through any other source. A total of 11, 838 refugees were thus resettled at a cost to UNHCR of $253,629. A further amount of $305,000 has been allocated for the same purpose in 1969. Thanks to the response of the immigration countries, many refugees were able to emigrate without cost to UNHCR. Thus, although in certain European countries the number of refugees within the competence of UNHCR rose in 1968, it has been possible with the co-operation of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration, to avoid an accumulation in the countries of first asylum. Resettlement opportunities also had to be sought for individual African refugees and for refugees from the Caribbean. The Bureau for Placement and Education of Refugees, established in Addis Ababa under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) has already succeeded in placing some refugees in other countries. When the functioning of the Bureau is fully developed, these opportunities will increase and will enable more individual refugees, mostly of non-agricultural stock, to find a new home and a job.

83. A major part of the funds, that is, some $3,640,000 under the UNHCR programme for 1968 and over $321,000 from the Emergency Fund, was committed to assist the local settlement of over 222,000 refugees, of whom some 217,000 were in Africa.

84. In Europe and Latin America, the integration projects again consisted mainly of the provision of housing and establishment assistance, vocational training or rehabilitation, and the placing of the handicapped in suitable institutions. In Africa, and in Asia to a large extent, the emphasis was upon establishment agriculture.

85. The stage of settlement of refugees in nine African countries varied form the provision of basic needs while settlement plans were elaborated, as in Botswana, to the implementation of integrated rural development projects such as is now being put into effect in Burundi for the benefit of refugees and the local population alike.

86. Owing to a continuing influx of new refugees in a number of areas, where refugees are already being settled, settlements at various stages may be found within the same country.

87. The first or emergency phase of land settlement was implemented in 1968 for Sudanese refugees in the Congo, for refugees form Ethiopia and from the Congo in the Sudan for a number of Sudanese refugees in Uganda, and of Mozambican refugees in the United Republic of Tanzania and for new Angolan refugees in Zambia. In Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia, the emergency phase was implemented parallel to later settlement phases in the same area. Under the emergency phase, the refugees were provided with food, clothing, shelter, seeds and simple tools, together with essential medical and educational services.

88. The second phase i.e., the initial land settlement, was to be seen during 1969 in the land settlement of Sudanese refugees at M'boki in the Central African Republic and in Uganda, and of Mozambicans in the United Republic of Tanzania and in Zambia. In this phase, the refugees are clearing land and planting crops and support is given to their efforts in agriculture by expert advice and through measures such drainage, tsetse fly eradication and afforestation. If the area permits the raising of domestic animals, veterinary services are provided. At this stage, the supporting infrastructure of the settlements is established, through the provision of roads, bridges, water supplies and settlement buildings. Health services are set up and primary schools are provided.

89. In several countries the stage has been reached where preparations are mode for a zonal development plan for the whole area in which the refugee settlements are located. Thus, in the central African Republic, plans for the inclusion of the settlement area in a future zonal development project are under active consideration. In Burundi, a UNDP zonal development project was started in March 1969.

90. In addition to the groups of refugees who are being settled in agriculture, there are, in various countries, groups who settle spontaneously among the population and who receive only marginal assistance from the international community. Such are the Congolese refugees remaining in Burundi and in the Central African Republic, various groups of refugees in Uganda and the majority of Angolans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

91. There are in Africa a growing number of individual refugees who are in need of assistance in some of the larger cities. This is a problem which affects not only refugees, but the local population as well, and for which a solution is not always easy to find. A project for individual counselling, set up in Dakar under the UNHCR programme of 1967, was continued through 1968. A number of refugees are being assisted to find resettlement opportunities in other countries in Africa, places in educational institutions and employment upon the completion of training, through the Bureau for the Placement and Education of Refugees of the organization of African unity.

92. The emergence of new refugee problems in Africa brought an increase in the number of young refugees in areas where governments were already facing a problem in providing adequate educational facilities for their own young people. As a result, it was necessary for UNHCR to give increased attention to the question of education and training for refugees.

93. During the period under review, UNHCR assistance in this field was stepped up. More than 11,000 refugees benefited from educational assistance in an amount of $740,000, of which $448,000 was for primary education under the UNHCR programme, and $292,000 mainly for secondary and higher education, from the Education account. The Office has continued to co-operate with the United Nations Training and Education Programme for southern Africans in as far as it was concerned with refugees with refugees within the competence of the High Commissioner.

94. The Office has also continued its co-operation with the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa. In 1968, UNHCR channelled an amount of $52,000 to a voluntary agency for the relief of refugees from South Africa who had been given asylum in various African countries.

95. As indicated in chapter I above, close co-operation was developed during the year with other United Nations agencies concerned with education and training. This is particularly true of UNESCO, whose expert advice given under the terms of a memorandum of understanding concluded with UNHCR in 1967 has proved valuable.

96. An amount of $70,922 for legal assistance committed under the 1968 programme assisted 5,340 refugees in solving their legal problems and in taking advantage of the benefits available to them under national legislation.

97. Individual supplementary aid and other forms of immediate relief also had to be continued for the neediest refugees. An amount of over $121,000 was committed under the 1968 programme and benefited some 22,900 refugees during the period under review.

98. At its nineteenth session in October 1968, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme adopted a target of $5,681,000 for the UNHCR programme for 1969, approximately 1 million higher than that for 1968 as shown in more detail in annex II, table 4. The increase has been found necessary because of newly emerging problems in different areas of the world and because of the necessity of following up the action already taken for refugees in a number of areas where the second phase of rural settlement has been reached with the considerable expenditure which this entails.

B. Assistance to refugees in Africa

Burundi

99. The number of refugees in Burundi decreased during 1968 from about 76,500 to approximately 72,200 largely because often voluntary repatriation of some 5,000 Congolese. This total included 52,200 Rwandese and 20,000 Congolese.

Rwandese refugees

100. Following the implementation of the interim project referred to in paragraph 97 of the High commissioner's report the Assembly for 1967¹⁷, UNDP, at the request of the Government, launched in 1968 preliminary operations in the four Rwandese refugee settlements (population: 34,200) leading to an integrated rural development project. In addition to contributions to the preliminary operations from the Government of Burundi ($30,000), UNDP ($200,000), and OXFAM ($55,000), UNHCR contributed $209,000, including $188,000 under its 1968 programme and $21,000, which were transferred form the UNHCR project for 1967.

101. Marked progress was made in all four centres in agriculture and in improving the infrastructure. The centres are self-supporting and 3,290 hectares of new land have been made ready for cultivation, 740 of them by reclaiming marshland. As a result, 800 families have been transferred to better land. An improved water system has been provided for Muramba and that for Mugera will shortly be completed. An additional fifty kilometres of roads have been built.

102. Experiments have been carried out to improve cash crops and a successful harvest has been obtained. In Kigamba, the tree nursery has been expanded: trees have been planted to prevent soil erosion and the spread of tsetse fly. Provisions have been made for the purchase of cattle at the suitable season and veterinary centres will be set up. The medical centres staffed by government nurses proved their worth and a number of difficulties in the fields of health were overcome. A recurrence of Kwashiorkor, discovered late in 1968, was rectified by proper dietary control and emergency measures were taken to control the typhus epidemic which broke out in one of the centres during the year.

103. Six hundred and eighteen refugees benefited from a grant made by the Swedish Government for the promotion of post-primary education for Rwandese refugees in Burundi. The St. Albert Secondary School in Bujumbura, established by the refugees themselves and staffed by refugee graduates, was also assisted and 205 refugees benefited accordingly.

Congolese refugees

104. The 20,000 Congolese remaining in Burundi are mainly fishermen and small farmers who have adapted themselves in some measures to local conditions. They continue, however, to live in precarious circumstances and stillness the marginal assistance given to them by the voluntary agencies.

Prospects for 1969

105. In January 1969, the Governing Council of UNDP approved the request submitted by the Government of Burundi for an integrated rural development project in the Mosso-Cankuso area in north-east Burundi. The project, to be implemented by the Association internationale de development rural outre-mer under a sub-contract from FAO, was launched on 1 March 1969 following the completion of the preliminary operations. Burundi thus became the first country where operations initiated by UNHCR in favour of refugees have been embodied in the larger context or a rural development scheme financed by the UNDP (Special Fund) and implemented with the participation of a number of agencies of the United Nations system. No allocation has been requested under the UNHCR programme for 1969 for the Rwandese refugees in Burundi.

Central African Republic

106. The number of refugees in the Central African Republic feel during 1968 from 35,000 to 23,000, owing to considerable numbers of Congolese having returned home voluntarily. Of the 23,000, some 18,000 are Sudanese and the rest Congolese.

107. An amount of $626,749 was committed under the UNHCR programme for 1968, mostly for rural settlement. The Governments of the Central African Republic and the United Stated of America, the League of Red Cross Societies and other voluntary agencies made considerable contributions, totalling $668,000. Special mention should be made of the $422,500 worth of food committed by the World Food Programme at the end of 1967, from which the refugees benefited during 1968.

Sudanese refugees

108. The main event in 1968 was the move of the Sudanese refugees from Bambouti, near the Sudanese frontier, to the resettlement area in M'boki. The transfer of approximately 7,000 people was organized by the League of Red Cross Societies who provided care and first aid on the way.

109. Throughout 1968, the League of Red Cross Societies acted as UNHCR's operational partner in the new settlement area, in co-operation with the Government of the Central African Republic.

110. The technical organization of the settlement area was entrusted by the League of Red Cross Societies to the Bureau pour le développement de la production agricole, a French corporation specializing in rural development. The area was divided into sectors, each containing a number of villages. The area of effective cultivation, estimated at 2,500 hectares, yielded an initial crop of 1,875 tons of foodstuff during the year. Experiments were also carried out to discover the most suitable cash crops.

111. The infrastructure, including roads and bridges continues to be improved with the help of the refugees. Early in 1969, the French Fund for Aid and Co-operation agreed to finance the rebuilding of a section of the road from M'boki to Bangui.

112. The settlement is served by a hospital and eight dispensaries located throughout the area. Medical care was assured throughout the year by a team organized by the League of Red Cross Societies, which included over fifty refugee medical auxiliaries. In the leper colony, over 200 patients were treated. The League of Red Cross Societies has agreed to continue to supervise the medical programme in M'boki until the end of June 1969.

113. By the end of 1968, 1,011 children were attending primary school, while some forty-four children were enabled to continue secondary school studies in Bangui through a contribution from a Swedish voluntary agency. Meanwhile, work has started on the construction of a secondary school in M'boki itself, financed by UNHCR and the United Stated Agency for International Development. Vocational training classes have also been organized. In addition, scholarships awarded by the World Council of Churches have enabled some twenty refugees to continue their studies outside the Central African Republic, mainly in Liberia.

114. By the end of 1968, the main objectives of the rural settlement scheme Sudanese refugees at M'boki had been achieved. The refugees will soon be able meet their own essential needs and the rural, medical, educational and social infrastructure is sufficient for existing requirements and provides a basis for future development.

115. At the end of the reporting period, the Government of the Central African Republic was expected to request assistance from UNDP in the preparation and financing of a project for the integrated rural development of Upper M'bomou, which includes the M'boki settlement area. Thus it is to be hoped that the refugee settlement in M'boki will become an integral part of the economic and social life of the Central African Republic.

116. At its nineteenth session, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme approved a UNHCR contribution of $300,000 under the 1969 programme towards the 1969 phase of the project. It is expected that UNDP will contribute financially to the project in the second half of the year, when preliminary operations leading towards the rural development project will start.

Congolese refugees

117. Of the 14,000 Congolese refugees who were living in the Central African Republic at the beginning of 1968, a large number, estimated at about 9,000, returned to their own country.

118. The remaining 5,000 Congolese refugees at Zémio, in the Upper M'bomou area, seemed to want to settle permanently in the Central African Republic. They were provided with food, clothing and simple agricultural implements. Following a satisfactory harvest, they have become self-supporting.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

119. Taking into account natural increase and death, indications of an influx of Angolans, the arrival of new Sudanese refugees and of several thousand of them from the Central African Republic, the total estimated number of refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rose by 41,000 during 1968 to approximately 475,000, of whom 370,000 were Angolan, 66,000 Sudanese and 24,000 Rwandese. This number also includes 15,000 Zambians who had been in the country for a certain period and for whom the government requested UNHCR assistance for the first time in 1968.

Angolan refugees

120. The Angolan refugees reside mainly in the Kongo Central, although there are groups to be found along the Angolan border in the provinces of Bandundu and Katanga. Although most of them continued to meet their own essential needs in 1968, aided by the Congolese Government and the local population, and, taking into account the considerable assistance given by the voluntary agencies, UNHCR was called upon to provide marginal assistance in the fields of health and education. Angolan refugees in the Congo estuary area were also assisted in their integration.

121. UNHCR contributed to the construction of new classrooms in Songololo and in other places in Kongo Central. A total allocation of $15,504 from the education account was used to improve primary education in the Lower Congo area, and to equip the secondary school at Sona Bata. Over 2,400 Angolan refugee children have benefited.

Rwandese refugees

122. The winding-up operations of the ILO/UNHCR integration and zonal development project for Rwandese refugees in the Kivu Province of the Congo, which had concentrated mainly on co-operatives and community development in Bibwe and Ihula, were completed during 1968. The development of the co-operatives, which have proved valuable for the settlement of refugees, will be continued during the next few years with expert advice from the ILO.

123. An amount of $9,000 from the education account made it possible for 300 Rwandese refugees to benefit from secondary education.

Sudanese refugees

124. The Sudanese refugees are located mainly in the Province Orientale. Emergency assistance to this group from an Emergency Fund allocation in 1966 was interrupted by events in the east of the Congo during 1966 and 1967. The project was, however, completed during the period under review.

125. The Government of the Congo has decided that the refugees should be settled on the land in the north-east province of the country, provided that a favourable report is received from an interagency mission, composed of representatives of the Government, UNHCR, the ILO, FAO and WHO, which investigated the area early in 1969. To facilitate the work of settlement, UNHCR opened a sub-branch office in Isiro in February 1969.

126. Progress has been made in the establishment of a secondary school near Isiro for which a Swedish voluntary agency made available $65,000. About 132 pupils are already receiving instruction in this school.

Zambian refugees

127. Over a period of time, a group of Zambian refugees belonging to the Lumpa sect entered the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In November 1968, when the group numbered some 15,000, the Congolese Government requested assistance from UNHCR for these refugees. The question of their settlement on the land will depend on the recommendations of an interagency mission consisting of representatives of the Government, UNHCR, the ILO, FAO and WHO, which was to visit the Province of Katanga in April 1969.

Joint education and training projects

128. Out of a contribution made by the Swedish Government to the education account for the scholastic year 1967-1968, $12,159 were earmarked for the promotion of post-primary education for Sudanese and Rwandese refugees in the Democratic Republic or the Congo, which benefited some forty refugees.

Prospects for 1969

129. From an allocation of $876,000 under the UNHCR programme for 1969 it is hoped to implement rural settlement projects for the Sudanese and Zambian refugees and to strengthen services, such as primary schools and medical facilities, for the Angolan refugees, particularly those living in the densely populated area of the Kongo Central.

Senegal

130. According to a census undertaken by the Government of Senegal, there were in that country, on 31 December 1968, an estimated 57,500 refugees from Portuguese Guinea, of whom 54,000 lived in the region of Casamance and 3,500 in urban areas, mainly in Dakar.

131. The limited but steady decrease in the number of refugees in need of assistance in the Casamance area in due to the voluntary repatriation of some of them to Portuguese Guinea and the economic integration of many others, which has been such that many refugees have been applying to the local authorities for identity cards or taking the initiative in paying taxes.

132. From a total allocation of $125,500 made under the UNHCR programme for 1968, $112,000 was used for rural settlement and $13,500 for assistance to individual refugees in urban areas.

133. Under a bilateral agreement between the Governments of Senegal and the United States of America, food continued to be distributed to the refugees throughout 1968 by the Catholic Relief Service/United States Catholic Conference. The cost of transportation and of the purchase of foodstuffs not obtainable under the agreement was met, where necessary, from funds made available under the UNHCR programme. Owing to the increasing yield in crops, it was possible to reduce the quantity of United Stated food distributed to 800 tons, 200 tons less than in the previous year.

134. Six further culverts were built over streams to facilitate access to villages, and twenty new wells were drilled, bringing the total number of wells financed by UNHCR in Senegal to 150.

135. The activities of the mobile medical units, established in 1966 with the assistance of the Government, the League of Red Cross Societies and the Senegalese Red Cross, were continued in 1968. Although UNICEF made generous supplies of pharmaceutical products available to the medical units, there was still some shortage of medicaments. A dental care unit has been based in Kolda and is serving the surrounding areas. An operating block in a recently constructed hospital at Kolda was equipped through a UNHCR contribution.

136. A rural promotion campaign, which had proved successful in the past, was continued in 1968. Its aim, achieved through information seminars, was to facilitate the integration of refugees into their new environment and to make them aware of the importance of their activities to the local economy.

137. By the end of December 1968, fourteen primary schools had been constructed and three more were nearing completion. UNHCR also made a financial contribution towards the construction of an agricultural training centre in the Sibanté-Belante District. In the course of the year, six university scholarships were awarded to refugees in Senegal by the International University Exchange Fund.

138. The social services administered by the Senegalese authorities continued to grant assistance in kind to needy refugees in urban areas and to provide for the hospitalization of the sick. In some cases, employment has been found for the refugees.

139. The substantial progress made in the rural areas has made it possible to raise the standard of living of the refugees to a level close to that of the local population, although health and education will continue to require special attention. Greater difficulties were, however, encountered in the urban areas, particularly in Dakar, where a certain number of individual refugees of non-agricultural stock are having difficulties in becoming settled.

140. An allocation of $100,000 has been made under the UNHCR programme for 1969 to improve medical and educational facilities in the Casamance region and give marginal assistance to the individual refugees in urban areas. It is proposed to strengthen the structure of the social service to facilitate the settlement in rural communities of those refugees who cannot easily be fitted into the economic life of the cities.

Sudan

141. The total number of refugees in the Sudan at the end of 1968 was estimated at 38,300, of whom 31,000 were from Ethiopia and 7,300 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Plans are being made to transfer both groups away from the border and to settle them on the land.

Refugees from Ethiopia

142. The High Commissioner made available $150,000 from the Emergency Fund in 1967 for refugees from Ethiopia at present residing near the town of Kassala in the Sudan; this amount was to cover the local purchase of food commodities and their distribution pending the arrival of World Food Programme supplies. A further amount of $300,000 was budgeted under the programme for 1968 towards the cost of settlement for this group.

143. The original plan to settle the refugees at Abu Sabeka was abandoned as the territory proved unsuitable, and a new area was selected at Umm Seqata in the Qala En Nahr district. The soil is fertile and suitable for the cultivation of sorghum, cotton and sesame.

144. Under the new plan, the refugees are to be settled in some fifteen villages of approximately 2,000 persons each where every family will be allocated a farming plot. The World Food Programme is to supply food for the initial settlement period and the health component of the project will be implemented by the Sudanese Red Crescent with financial and other assistance mainly from the Swedish Red Cross.

145. While the provision of water will be a costly operation, it will benefit the whole region, as will the health and education measures to be taken in the settlement.

146. The first refugee group should be transferred to the settlement area in mid-1969 to work on arrangements for the reception of the remainder.

Congolese refugees

147. Some 2,400 new Congolese refugees entered the Sudan in late 1967 and early 1968. An allocation of $30,000 made by the High Commissioner from his Emergency Fund permitted the local purchase of food for the refugees who had settled provisionally near Tambura in the Equatoria Province.

148. The Sudanese Government has decided to transfer all Congolese refugees to a settlement area situated on the White Nile between the villages of Mogalla and Nyangala in the Juba District. The area is lightly wooded with an annual rainfall of approximately 1,000 mm and can be reached by an all-weather road from Juba, while Mongalla is a river port served by steamers of the Sudanese railways. The site consists of good agricultural land suitable for subsistence and cash crops. It is foreseen that the first group will be transferred to the area during the first half of 1969.

Prospects for 1969

149. Under the UNHCR programme for 1969, an allocation of $820,000 has been foreseen for rural settlement in the Sudan, $650,000 for refugees from Ethiopia and $170,000 for those from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Uganda

150. At the end of 1968, Uganda still had one of the largest refugee problems Africa and the largest number of refugee settlement within its borders. Taking into account natural increase, an influx of approximately 8,550 Sudanese and 300 Congolese refugees, and the voluntary repatriation of a few hundred, the number of refugees in Uganda rose by some 10,000 to an estimated 173,000, of whom nearly 58,000 are accommodated in eleven established rural settlements, while the rest live scattered among the population.

151. In addition to $19,000 made available from the Emergency Fund, a total amount of $482,492 was committed for assistance to refugees in Uganda under the UNHCR programme for 1968. An amount of, $24,500 was allocated from the Education Account, while private donations, totalling $13,175, were used to provide additional assistance.

152. The Government continued to allocate from five to ten acres of land to each refugee family unit in the settlements. On an average, refugees cultivated two to three acres, which is sufficient in general to meet their food requirements and to allow the production of some cash crops, the balance of the land permitting rotation of crops. The High Commissioner participated financially in a project of the YMCA for the promotion of agriculture in the settlements.

153. UNHCR assistance in Uganda in 1968 was designed to strengthen the economic and social viability of the settlements with a view to their inclusion in one or more possible zonal development schemes. The report of a UNDP preliminary investigation mission resulted in a visit, in October 1968, of a Preparatory Assistance to Governments Mission consisting of representatives of UNDP, FAO, the UN, the ILO, UNESCO, WHO, UNHCR and the voluntary agency OXFAM. The mission recommended zonal development in southern Bunyoro and Acholi, where refugee settlements are located.

Rwandese refugees

154. An amount of $362,000 was committed under the 1968 programme to assist approximately 35,800 Rwandese refugees living in seven rural settlements in Uganda. In the period under review, refugees were transferred from the Kinyara settlement, which was overcrowded, to Kyangwali, the population of which rose from about 5,500 to over 8,000. A number of refugees living on their own also moved into the settlements, in particular a group of 600, who entered the settlement at Oruchinga Valley.

155. During the year, the Rwandese refugees became self-supporting as far as their food production was concerned, many reaching a standard of living comparable to that of the local population. In Kyaka and Nakivale, cattle-breeding has proved a source of income for the refugees. In Kyaka, the cultivation of crops has been expanded. An adequate water supply has been provided in Rwmwanja.

156. Health facilities have been improved in a number of centres. Dispensaries have been constructed in Cruchinga Valley and in Kinyara, and a health centre is nearing completion at Kahunge, where a vocational training school is also under construction.

Sudanese refugees

157. There was a continuous influx of Sudanese refugees into Uganda during 1968, amounting to 8,550 during the year. An amount of $19,000 from the Emergency Fund was made available and $44,350 were committed under the UNHCR programme for 1968 to cover the transportation of food, the purchase of seeds and tools, medical supplies and other necessities, as well as the transfer of the refugees from the border to the settlement in Nakapiripirit for settlement there and in Agago/Acolpii.

158. During 1968, settlement activities in the above-mentioned three settlements were continued and extended, as were operations in Ibuga. The constant arrival of new refugees somewhat slowed down progress and further difficulties were caused, particularly in Nakapiripirit, by a drought which struck the whole of Karamoja in mid-1968. However, some of the inhabitants who have been longer in the settlements can now supply their own food.

159. In Nakapiripirit, where the population rose by about 2,000 to 8,500, the Government obtained more and better land for the refugees. A sub-dispensary and a primary school were completed and plans were made for an extension of the health facilities, to be financed by the Swedish Red Cross in conjunction with the Uganda Red Cross.

160. The Sudanese settlement of Agago and the adjacent Congolese settlement of Acolpii were merged administratively to form one Sudanese/Congolese settlement. The main income of the refugees came from cotton grown as a cash crop. While the refugees' health has been good, medical facilities are insufficient and will be extended. In Onigo, progress was satisfactory.

161. From an amount of $24,500 form the Education Account, some 150 Sudanese refugees received secondary education and technical training.

Congolese refugees

162. Of the same 34,250 Congolese refugees in Uganda, only 1,581 live in settlements, for the most part in Agago/Acolpi. Certain of the Congolese living outside settlements benefited from small cash grants made under the programme for emergency needs.

Joint education and training projects for Sudanese and Rwandese refugees

163. Out of a contribution made earlier to the Education Account, over forty scholarships for secondary education were granted to Sudanese and Rwandese refugees in Uganda for the scholastic year 1968, while a few refugees were enabled to continue their university studies.

Prospects for 1969

164. To consolidate the land settlement of refugees in Uganda and to improve the facilities for primary education inside and outside the settlements, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, at its 19th session approved an allocation of $523,000 under the UNHCR programme for 1969.

United Republic of Tanzania

165. The number of refugees in the United Republic of Tanzania rose by some 6,500 n 1968 to approximately 44,500. The increase in due to the continuous new arrival of Mozambiquan refugees, whose numbers grew from 23,400 to 29,400 during the year. In addition, there are 14,000 Rwandese, 600 Congolese, and 585 Malawian and other refugees in the country. Some 38,800 of them live in settlements. The repatriation of some Congolese refugees and the departure of Malawian refugees for neighbouring countries in assumed to have occurred during g the year, which slightly reduced the number of these groups.

166. Under the 1968 UNHCR programme, $335,569 were committed for continued assistance to refugees in the United Republic of Tanzania. In addition, a total of $114,770 was made available from the Emergency Fund and contributions from Special Trust Funds amounted to $16,900.

Mozambiquan refugees

167. The influx of new refugees from Mozambique during the year put a severe strain on the accommodation available in the settlements of Rutamba and Muhukuru. In Rutamba, a new village was established to accommodate a population which had increased to some 10,400 refugees. An allocation from the Emergency Fund was used to cover primary education, port handling charges for World Food Programme supplies, and the purchase of material for hut-building. By the end of the year, 500 families had cleared much of the bush from the new plots of land allocated to them and had started to cultivate crops. As a result of substantial progress made in food production by certain groups, rations could be reduced. A second primary school unit is under construction and the refugees themselves have helped to construct a communal centre.

168. In Muhukuru which has a population of 10,900 refugees, an amount of $67,700 from the Emergency Fund was added to the $124,000 allocated under the 1968 programme, to meet the requirements of the increased population. Supporting contributions were also made by the Government, the Lutheran World Federation/Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service and the World Food programme. Because of the fertile soil and hard work, the refugees made good progress in agriculture. More land is being allocated to prevent overcrowding in the villages and refugees are being encouraged to reside over a more extensive area. The facilities foreseen for the settlement are practically completed. School facilities have been provided and the health centre was officially opened in November 1968.

169. In the Mozambiquan settlement at Lundo, the refugees grew maize, rice, sweet potatoes and cassava and more land was cleared for the cultivation of rice as a cash crop. The agricultural yield has made it possible to reduce the amount of rations issued. Fishing activities on Lake Nyasa have expended and there is now a fleet of some eighty canoes shared by refugees and the local inhabitants. Almost all the building work has been completed and a water supply system has been installed.

170. As regards health services, the dispensary is in full operation and an extension, consisting of a store-room, a maternity ward and a clinic is nearing completion.

171. The primary school, opened in June 1968, is attended by 340 pupils, while a community centre and a carpentry workshop are under construction. The resisting of the villages over a wider area has encouraged the refugees to build houses of a higher standard.

172. It is hoped that the refugees in all three Mozambiquan settlements will become self-supporting as far as food production is concerned in the course of 1969. Meanwhile, in view of the increased numbers, plans are being made to establish a new land settlement for Mozambiquan refugees at Mputa.

Rwandese refugees

173. In the Rwandese settlement of Mwesi, UNHCR contributed to the maintenance of the communal services, such as health facilities, primary schools and settlement vehicles. Certain groups of refugees, for whom the isolated location of the settlement is a problem, have not co-operated as well as they might have done, so that progress in agriculture has been slow.

174. The Government is interested in moving some 2,000 Tanzanian families of the Wachagga tribe from the north-eastern section of the United Republic of Tanzania to Mwesi and may then request UNDP to elaborate a zonal development plan for the area. Meanwhile, a pilot scheme to improve cultivation and marketing, drawn up with OXFAM's support, has been submitted to the Government for approval.

175. In the old established Rwandese settlement of Muyenzi, an amount of $11,000 form the UNHCR programme for 1968 was used to meet the running costs of the primary schools and to purchase banana suckers, and a contribution of $3,216 from the Education Account permitted the payment of tuition and boarding fees and other expenses for fourteen Rwandese refugee students attending secondary schools.

Other groups of refugees

176. Assistance continued to the 485 Congolese, Malawian and other refugees in the land settlement at Pangale. Due to crop failure, the distribution of food had to be maintained during 1968. Some refugee families have joined the local tobacco growing co-operative, others obtained additional income through the sale of charcoal. About eighty refugee children attended the local primary school extended with funds provided under the UNHCR 1968 programme.

Prospects for 1969

177. Of the eight organized settlements in the United Republic of Tanzania, three Rwandese settlements will require only marginal help in 1969. The remaining five major agricultural settlements will require more substantial aid to bring them to the same level. An allocation of $235,000 has therefore been foreseen under the UNHCR 1969 programme for assistance to refugees in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Zambia

178. Taking into account the arrival during 1968 of some 1,700 new Angolans and about 1,050 new refugees form Namibia and over 200 refugees belonging to other groups on the one hand, and on the other hand, the voluntary repatriation of over 800 refugees, mainly Congolese, the number of refugees in Zambia had risen by 31 December 1968 to about 12,800, the majority of whom were Angolans, the others Mozambiquans and small groups from various other countries.

179. An amount of $207,267 was committed under the UNHCR programme for 1968 for assistance to refugees in Zambia. A further $29,000 was made available from the Emergency fund. Allocations from Special Trust Funds amounted to $83,740.

Angolan refugees

180. New Angolan refugees who arrived in the Barotse Province of Zambia during 1968 were accommodated in the existing land settlements of Lwatembo and Mayukwayukwa. In both settlements, the population is now too large for the area available. A survey will therefore be undertaken to decide whether a new settlement should be established.

181. In Lwatembo, under the direction of the Lutheran World Federation/Zambia Christian Refugee Service, 373 acres were cultivated and a further 600 acres were cleared. A detailed study of the soil is to be carried out in 1969 in co-operation with FAO.

182. Staff houses, an office and a dispensary are nearing completion. The refugees are making the necessary furniture in a carpentry workshop which they have established in the settlement. The primary school was attended by some 150 refugee children.

183. In the Mayukwayukwa settlement, good progress was made in spite of the arrival of new refugees. Some 200 acres of land were cleared and planted with maize, beans and groundnuts. Houses for staff and teachers and the rural health centre were nearing completion. By the end of the year, there were some 430 refugee children in school.

184. In addition to the communal cultivation of food in the settlement, the Government agreed to allocate individual plots of land of a quarter of an acre to permit the refugees to grow corps of their choice.

Mozambiquan refugees

185. Towards the end of the year, the Government entrusted the agricultural exploitation of the land in the Nyimba settlement to a special governmental agency and about 176 acres have been brought under cultivation. It is anticipated that the settlement will be self-supporting in food production by 1969 and will also obtain income form the sale of cash crops. Here, too, in addition to communal farming, the refugees cultivated small individual plots, and have started a carpentry workshop and a smithy.

186. The ILO is investigating the possibility of promoting a cottage industry in the settlement.

187. The local dispensary in the neighbourhood has been enlarged to meet the needs of the refugees. Similarly, the local primary school has been extended so that some 160 refugee children can attend.

Joint education and training projects

188. From a total allocation of $77,480 from the Education Account, refugee students form some thirty families attended the Mkushi Agricultural Training Centre, while fees and expenses at universities or technical colleges were paid for six students.

Prospects for 1969

189. An allocation of $266,000 has been made under the UNHCR programme for 1969 partly to continue assistance to Angolan refugees in Zambia, which will include the establishment of a new settlement. Such assistance as may be necessary for Mozambiquan refugees in Zambia during 1969 will be provided under a Fund for permanent Solutions, which is included in the above allocation.

Other African countries

190. It will be recalled that an allocation of $272,000 was made by UNHCR in 1964, under the terms of general Assembly resolution 1672(XVI) to the Government of Algeria to provide school units and a medical centre in Algeria for the benefit of former Algerian refugees. \Three school units were completed in the course of 1968 in the south of the country and the medical centre in the west.

191. By the end of 1968, the number of Angolans who had entered Botswana had risen to nearly 3,500. An amount of $79,000 was made available from the Emergency Fund to provide basic necessities for these refugees, whom the government plans to settle on the land in 1969. The land settlement project will be carried out on the basis of a tripartite agreement concluded by the Government, UNHCR and the World Council of Churches.

192. In April 1969, an allocation of $50,000 was made from the Emergency Fund to assist a group of 20,000 Sudanese refugees who had found asylum in Ethiopia. It is expected that UNHCR programme funds will have to be made available in 1969 and thereafter, to consolidate the settlement of this group at Gambela until they are self-supporting and can be considered as integrated into the local community.

193. Some 100 individual refugees benefited from supplementary aid in Algeria, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, Sierra Leone, and Tunisia at a cost to the 1968 UNHCR programme of $7,385.

C. Assistance to refugees in the Americas

General

194. During 1968, as in previous years, Canada and the United States of America admitted large numbers of refugees as permanent residents. The authorities and the voluntary agencies in these countries continued to provide considerable financial assistance for refugees.

195. In Latin America, as a result of a review made of the UNHCR Programme, the UNHCR presence in the area has been strengthened so that solutions may be provided more rapidly for those European refugees who, owing to old age and disability, cannot take care of themselves and require international assistance. Efforts are being made to associate local authorities and voluntary agencies to an increasing degree in the work of assistance to these refugees.

Assistance to refugees in Latin America

196. The total number of refugees within the high Commissioner's mandate in Lain America fell during 1968 from 115,000 to approximately 110,00, mainly due to natural decrease and naturalization. In 1968, over 2,000 refugees form the Caribbean area were assisted in Mexico, Jamaica, Curaçao and the Bahamas while awaiting resettlement opportunities through an allocation of $50,000 under the UNHCR programme for 1968. Special appeals have been made to a number of countries to find resettlement opportunities for some among these refugees for whom the only solution is speedy emigration from the area.

197. At a cost of $165,811, UNHCR facilitated the integration during 1968 of 378 refugees, mainly in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela. Owing to UNHCR's financial participation, an increased number of places became available for refugees in homes for the aged or handicapped. More refugees chose this solution than in previous years, thus causing a decrease in the number of annuities requested under the UNHCR programme. Other measures of assistance taken included the provision of housing, establishment of refugees in crafts and trades, and rehabilitation.

198. In Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela, UNHCR also supported local counselling services and provided legal assistance for 1,620 refugees at a total cost to UNHCR of $17,927. Supplementary aid was granted through five voluntary agencies in these countries and Peru, to provide medicaments, food, rent and clothing to needy refugees at a cost to UNHCR of approximately $5,000.

199. A concerted effort is to be made in 1969 aimed at solving the remaining problems of refugees in Latin America. In addition to the strengthening of the UNHCR staff in the region, co-operation is being intensified with other United Nations agencies active there, and with local services and organizations. An allocation of $315,000 had been foreseen under the UNHCR programme for 1969 for assistance to refugees in Latin America.

D. Assistance to refugees in Asia, the Far East and the Middle East

Far East

200. The number of refugees of European origin on the mainland of China remained practically unchanged throughout 1968 at about 1,000 people, very few having reached Hong Kong during the year.

201. Of the amount of $55,000 committed by UNHCR under its 1968 programme, $25,000 was used for care, maintenance and medical aid to refugees in transit in Hong Kong, and the balance for the administrative costs of the joint office in Hong Kong of UNHCR and the Inter-governmental Committee for European Migration which will be required as long as there is hope that further European refugees may be granted exit facilities form China. A further amount of $20,711 was committed, from the 1968 over-all allocation for the Promotion of the Resettlement, towards the resettlement in Australia, Belgium and Switzerland of refugee families from Hong Kong.

202. The Chinese refugees in Hong Kong continued to benefit from the considerable economic and social development aid given by the local authorities and funds amounting to some $47,900 from private sources were channelled through UNHCR to give them further assistance.

203. The UNHCR programme for 1969 includes an allocation of $55,000 for European refugees in the Far East.

India

204. The number of Tibetan refugees at present in India, Sikim and Bhutan is estimated to be 55,000. As in previous years, UNHCR assistance to Tibetan refugees in India was limited to specific projects in view of the fact that considerable assistance continued to be given by the government of India, the Central Relief Committee (India) through which voluntary contributions from abroad have been channelled, as well as by the various voluntary agencies represented in India.

205. In addition, considerable funds raised by national committees through the European Refugee Campaign of 1966 are being used to assist an estimated 24,000 refugees through projects designed to settle them in agriculture, handicrafts or industry.

206. There remain, however, aged, infirm and destitute refugees who are facing acute hardship. From the UNHCR programme for 1968, $91,750 were made available towards the construction of accommodation for 1,100 of these refugees who live in inadequate shelter, many of them in the road camps of north India, while an equivalent amount was channelled through UNHCR by the Netherlands Committee for the European Refugee Campaign.

207. A further amount of $19,000 was committed form the 1968 programme to provide medical care for Tibetans in the Simla and Narkanda areas of northern India and to ensure the continued functioning of the hospital in the Mundgod settlement. It is planned that the State Governments will gradually assume responsibility for the medical programme.

208. After consultations with the Government of India, a UNHCR representative was appointed to New Delhi on 1 February 1969 for an initial period of one year, to co-ordinate UNHCR assistance to Tibetan refugees. In view of the continuing needs of aged and handicapped refugees and of other groups, such as a community of some 980 lamas, many of whom are suffering from tuberculosis, an allocation of $340,000 has been made under the UNHCR 1969 programme for assistance to Tibetan refugees in India.

Macao

209. At the end of 1968, there were an estimated 70,000 Chinese refugees in Macao. During the year, local conditions in the area became more settled and the implementation of UNHCR projects financed from earlier programmes and held in abeyance was resumed.

210. The construction of 200 housing units on the island of Taipa was completed and now accommodates some 732 refugee tenants. The unspent balance of $29,452 for this project, together with $200,000 allocated for housing in Taipa under the 1966 and 1967 programmes, and an earlier allocation of $16,830 for housing in Macao, is now being utilized to build 322 apartments and eighteen shops for an estimated 240 needy refugee families at present living mainly in squatter huts. A matching contribution of over $209,000 will be made available by the Macao authorities. Construction has already started on the first block of seventy units.

211. In the field of education, the extension of a school started towards the end of 1967 with a contribution of some $23,000 from the UNHCR programme for that year, was completed by September 1968, and is now accommodating 259 refugee pupils, some sixty-five of who have been given board and lodging in the new wing.

212. From a revolving fund of $10,000 made available under the UNHCR programme for 1966, sixteen loans have been made for the promotion of small industries and handicraft enterprises. An estimated 657 refugees have benefited from these loans.

213. Although encouraging progress has been made in the completion of previous projects, the needs of the refugees in the area continue to be considerable. An allocation of $47,000 has therefore been foreseen for Macao under the UNHCR programme for 1969.

Middle East

214. The approximately 10,500 refugees within the High Commissioner's mandate in the Middle East consist mainly of a variety of small groups of refugees from the Middle East and Europe who live principally in Lebanon and the United Arab Republic. There are also small groups of refugees of various origins in Cyprus, Iran, Jordan and Syria. In addition, there is, in the United Arab Republic, a group of refugees from South Africa, Namibia, the territories under Portuguese administration and other African countries. A small group of Arab refugees from Zanzibar is living in the Trucial States.

215. An amount of $163,600 was committed under the UNHCR 1968 programme to assist these refugees, many of whom continue to require substantial help to enable them to overcome the difficulties resulting from changed economic circumstances. Through granting aid to refugees awaiting resettlement, UNHCR contributed during 1968 towards the successful emigration of about 250 persons.

216. With regard to local settlement, annuities, establishment assistance and medical aid were given to aged and needy refugees. This group also benefited from assistance through housing and annuities provided out of private donations channelled through UNHCR. The refugees were helped to acquire education and training or rehabilitation and to establish themselves in trades.

217. A total of $15,902 was spent by UNHCR to meet the urgent personal needs of 786 refugees who could not be otherwise assisted. Of this number, 290 were in the United Arab Republic, and 496 in Lebanon and a few other countries in the Middle East.

218. An allocation of $123,500 has been foreseen under the UNHCR programme for 1969 for assistance to refugees in the Middle East. This allocation includes $57,000 for the United Arab Republic, $10,000 for the Trucial States and $56,500 for Lebanon and other countries.

Nepal

219. There were an estimated 7,900 Tibetan refugees in Nepal at the end of 1968, of whom some 400 had arrived in the winter of 1967-1968 and 200 more during the last four months of 1968. An amount of $66,888 committed under the UNHCR 1968 programme was designed to consolidate the settlements, to facilitate the integration of new refugees and to improve employment possibilities.

220. The general economic situation of the settlements improved during the year and they have become largely self-supporting. All construction of UNHCR-financed buildings was completed and encouraging progress made in the medical and educational fields. With financial aid form UNHCR, a mobile clinic at Kathmandu and a dispensary at Tashi Ling, Pokhara continued to be run by the Nepal Red Cross Society. A school constructed in the Dhorpatan valley has been recognized by the Government.

221. The development of handicraft industries and other self-help projects has continued. The officially registered co-operatives, of which there is one in each settlement, earned a certain amount of foreign currency through their sales. Through the efforts of the Swiss Technical Co-operation, new markets have been found in Europe for the carpets produced by the refugees.

222. Through a Fund for Permanent Solutions, refugees were trained in appropriate crafts and trades, many of them in the technical and multi-purpose centres established in Pokhara and Kathmandu. The Fund was also used to purchase material and equipment for the production of handicrafts and to stimulate trading activities.

223. The management and counselling project assisted refugees in Kathmandu and in the other settlements in finding employment and placement in educational and training institutions.

224. By the end of the year, the economic life of the settlements had been strengthened through the creation of wider employment opportunities and consolidation of existing institutions in the settlements which provide employment, such as the handicraft centres. Support will be needed, however, in the future, particularly in the medical and educational fields. A start has also been made in identifying the problems of the refugees living in very precarious conditions scattered in the northern regions, with a view to planning assistance for this group in the future. An allocation of $49,000 has therefore been foreseen for Nepal under the UNHCR programme for 1969.

E. Assistance to refugees in Europe

225. The total number of new refugees of concern to UNHCR in Europe in 1968 amounted to over 22,500, compared to less than 15,000 in 1967. However, there was a rise in the number of refugees naturalized, as indicated in more detail in chapter II above. The well-established mechanism for emigration again proved its worth, while over a thousand refugees returned voluntarily to, or claimed the protection of their country of origin. It was thus possible to offset the increase in new arrivals and, on 31 December 1968, the number of refugees within the High Commissioner's competence in Europe was approximately 730,000 - about the same as on 31 December 1967. The great majority of these refugees are satisfactorily settled.

226. In France and the Federal Republic of Germany, funds allocated under the Major Aid Programme continued to be used to complete measures initiated at an earlier date. In France, refugees benefited from housing measures, establishment assistance and other aid financed from this source. In the Federal Republic of Germany, establishment assistance continued to be provided for refugees receiving accommodation under a German Government programme for refugee families living in sub-standard dwellings. In the course of 1968 some eighty-one families received accommodation and equipment in this way, while thirty-five unusually large families received suitable flats. In Greece also, satisfactory progress was made under the last outstanding housing projects of the High Commissioner's Major Aid Programme.

227. An amount of $570,000 was committed under the UNHCR programme for 1968 for refugees in Europe for whom assistance from local sources had to be supplemented. The measures taken included the provision of accommodation and furniture, medical rehabilitation, vocational training and establishment in crafts and trades. In Yugoslavia, for which there was an allocation of $200,000 under the UNHCR programme for 1968, 283 refugees were individually established in agriculture and, in some few cases, were settled in urban areas through the provision of housing and employment.

228. With regard to resettlement, the international co-operation established between governments, UNHCR, the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration and international and local voluntary agencies has again proved its worth during the period under review. As a result, an increased number of newly-arrived refugees who wished to do so could emigrate without much delay. UNHCR continued to further the emigration of handicapped and some severely handicapped cases. A total of 7,701 refugees presumed to be within the UNHCR mandate emigrated from Europe in the course of the year with the assistance of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration. An estimated 319 of them were handicapped (twenty cases of forty persons being in the severely handicapped category).

229. The Counselling Services administered by governmental and local authorities or by the voluntary agencies again played a vital role in the settlement of refugees in Europe, and UNHCR again supported this work. Counsellors advised and assisted refugees in emigration or in finding suitable local settlement opportunities and taking full advantage of them.

230. Counsellors have been successful in ensuring that accommodation which falls vacant in housing projects financed under earlier UNHCR programmes is re-occupied by refugees. In a number of countries, families were re-housed in this manner, while aged refugees were enabled to take advantage of vacancies in old people's homes, thus freeing amounts of money under the current programme for other refugees.

231. Governmental and local authorities and voluntary agencies have largely taken over responsibility for assistance to refugees in Europe. On the whole, therefore, the Commissioner's Material Assistance Programme in this area was confined to a modest financial contribution to these local efforts. Thus in Austria, the local settlement programme is implemented by the Austrian United Nations Refugee Fund, which was transformed into a foundation with legal personality on 1 January 1968. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the local settlement measures were implemented by voluntary agencies and their banking institution, Hilfskasse. Negotiations have been undertaken with the Refugee Ministries of the German Länder with a view to their ensuring that vacancies occurring in UNHCR co-financed housing will be filled by refugee families. In Italy, the government-sponsored agency, Amministrazione per le Attività Assistenziali Italiane e Internazionali (AAI) has taken over many tasks formerly performed by UNHCR and now contributes more than 65 per cent of the total expenditure for the local settlement of refugees in Italy. Under a tripartite agreement among AAI, UNHCR and the International Social Service, ISS has undertaken the administration of the Protected Community in the Capua Refugee Centre. UNHCR no longer has any financial or administrative responsibility for the community.

232. The liberal attitude of the authorities of a number of European and other countries towards persons who were outside their country or left it following the events of August 1968 made it possible for immediate measures to be taken to assist them where necessary. Countries of immigration responded generously and many of those persons, whether they applied for refugee status or not were enabled to leave for other countries. Assistance was given by governmental and local bodies and by voluntary agencies in the countries concerned. The High Commissioner made an allocation of $50,000 to the Austrian Government from his Emergency Fund to assist in providing temporary assistance and in meeting emigration costs which could not be paid from any other source.

233. Through a special effort made in the summer of 1968, the backlog cases in Spain desiring to emigrate to the United States was reduced to 300. This was followed immediately, however, by the coming into effect of new immigration legislation in the United States of America, with the result that a new backlog had built up by the end of the year. The Spanish Government, UNHCR and other bodies continued to assist this group in Spain during the period of waiting for visas, while those desiring to remain in Spain were helped to achieve local integration.

234. UNHCR contributed a total amount of $57,316 for legal assistance measures to refugees in Europe unable to obtain this aid from any other source. The legal assistance projects proved particularly valuable in enabling refugees to obtain all benefits to which they were entitled under national legislation. As in the past, UNHCR provided supplementary aid in cases of special gravity and committed some $52,602 for this purpose.

235. An allocation of $513,500 has been foreseen under the UNHCR programme for 1969 for assistance to refugees in Europe, representing a substantial decrease as compared with the amount of $789,700 under the UNHCR programme for 1968.

CHAPTER IV FINANCIAL QUESTIONS

236. The High Commissioner has continued to appeal throughout 1968 and in 1969 to Governments, States Members of the United Nations or members of its specialized agencies, to increase the levels of their annual voluntary contributions to the UNHCR Material Assistance Programmes. These appeals have been made in keeping with resolutions of the General Assembly which, out of concern for past difficulties in the financing of UNHCR Programmes, have urged Governments to provide the High Commissioner with the necessary means of accomplishing the task incumbent upon him, and in particular to enable him to reach the financial targets established with the approval of the Executive Committee.

237. It has been of great encouragement to the High Commissioner to be able to report that a growing number of Governments have responded to his appeals for increased financial support and that the over-all number Governments making voluntary contributions to his annual programmes has also significantly increased. Growing support from an increasing number of Governments is felt to be due, in no small measure, to the real achievements of the UNHCR Programme and to the major role which it has played year by year in meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of refugees scattered throughout the world.

238. Despite substantial increases by a number of Governments in the level of their annual contributions to UNHCR, the financial targets established by the Executive Committee as the minimum requirement for material assistance to refugees under the UNHCR Programmes, cannot yet be entirely covered by Governmental contributions. Contributions from non-governmental sources have therefore continued to play a vital role in completing the financing of the current UNHCR Programmes, as well as in financing complementary measures in addition to the essential ones covered by the Programme.

Financing of the UNHCR current programme for 1968

239. As shown in annex II, table 5, a total of $3,553,705 was contributed by sixty-seven Governments towards the UNHCR Programme for 1968, thereby financing over 76 per cent of the target of $4,631,000 established for that year. This represented a substantial improvement in comparison to the previous year, when only some 64 per cent of the target had been financed by contributions from fifty-four governments. The systematic appeals to Governments Members of the United Nations and of its specialized agencies carried out by the High Commissioner pursuant to General Assembly resolution 2294 (XXII) and recommendations off the Executive Committee, brought about a wider geographical participation in the financing of the UNHCR Programme and significant increases in the level of annual contributions by number of countries.

240. Contributions from non-governmental sources towards the financing of the 1968 programme totalled $614,623, an amount understandably lower than in 1967 when substantial proceeds from the European Refugee Campaign 1966 became available.

241. These governmental and non-governmental contributions, together with other miscellaneous income of $17,563 and transfers form programmes of prior years, allowed the UNHCR Programme for 1968 to be completely financed, with a balance of some $143,000 to be carried forward into 1969.

Financing of operations outside the 1968 programme

242. During 1968, contributions earmarked for essentially complementary assistance projects for refugees which could not be included in the 1968 programme, were received in an amount of $810,617, of which $494,409 came from Governments and $316,208 from non-governmental sources. Of the total, $204,723 was allocated for the High Commissioner's Education Account.

Use of the Emergency Fund

243. In the course of 1968, a total of $321,770 was drawn form the Emergency Fund to meet six refugee emergency situations in which assistance was given to Czechoslovak refugees in Austria, Angolan refugees in Botswana and Zambia, Congolese refugees in the Sudan, Mozambican refugees in the United Republic of Tanzania and Sudanese refugees in Uganda. In accordance with the terms of General Assembly resolution 1166(XII) the fund was restored to its $500,000 ceiling by the reimbursement of loans previously granted to refugees under various projects.

Financing of the UNHCR current programme for 1969

244. At its nineteenth session, held in October 1968, the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, confronted as it was with the financial requirements of the 1969 programme for assistance to several new groups of refugees in Africa, approved a target of $5,681,000 for that programme, which represents an increase of over $1,050,000 as compared with the 1968 programme.

245. The Executive Committee again urged Governments to increase their contributions in respect of the 1969 and subsequent programmes. It further expressed the hope that Governments which had not yet participated in the financing of UNHCR Programmes would do so regularly, so that the programmes might be financed to the fullest extent possible from governmental contributions.

246. At the earliest stage, in letters of appeal sent in early November 1968, the High Commissioner brought the increased needs for 1969 to the attention of States Member of the United Nations or members of its specialized agencies and urged that increased financial support be given for the coming year. In view of the fact that the target for 1969 was established by the Executive Committee at a level 23 per cent higher than that for 1968, Governments were asked to consider the possibility of making additional or special contributions.

247. At a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, held on 6 December 1968, forty-six Governments pledged a sum of over $2,900,00 towards the programme. As indicated in annex II, table 6, the amount had reached $2,903,169 paid or pledged by fifty-four Governments by 30 April 1969. As this amount covers only slightly more than half the programme target, considerable efforts must still be made to ensure that adequate resources are available to the High Commissioner in 1969, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 2399(XXIII).

Sale of a new long-playing record "World Star Festival"

248. The High Commissioner informed the Assembly at its last session of the results achieved through the sale of the first two records for the benefit of the refugees. After presenting this report, the time seemed opportune for the launching of a third long-playing record of popular music. The High Commissioner duly informed the Executive Committee, at its last session, that he had been fortunate in obtaining the benevolent co-operation of twenty artists for the American and Canadian version of "World Star Festival". Sixteen of these artists also appear on the version available in all other countries of the world. Once again, the record industry and the music publishers have generously co-operated in this venture. In response to the Decision of the Executive Committee, recommending to Governments to give sympathetic consideration to the possibility of waiving duties and taxes on the sale of "World Star Festival", a number of Governments have agreed to do so or, where the waiver proved legally impossible, to make a special contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees equivalent to the amount of taxes levied. In some countries, private committees have, once again, agreed to promote sales of the record. Although the launching of "World Star festival" took place in March 1969 only in a few countries, and sales elsewhere began in the following months, the number of records sold at the time of writing has already reached one million. As with the first two records, the proceeds of the sale of "World Star Festival", which will not be available until 1970, will be used for financing assistance projects which cannot be entirely financed from funds made available from other sources, as well as essential projects of complementary assistance which cannot be financed from the UNHCR material assistance programme.

CHAPTER V PUBLIC INFORMATION

249. One of the essential aims of the information policy of the Office is to enlighten policy-influencing circles and, to some extent, the public at large of the changing nature of today's refugee problems. It is particularly important that those who are in a position to assist the Office in its work are given evidence of the positive contributions that are being made to economic and social development, particularly in Africa, through the projects designed to re-establish rural populations in new agricultural settlements.

250. With this in mind, and in response to a request from the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, following its decision to reduce the number of its sessions to one year, the Office decided to start a new quarterly publication entitled UNHCR Bulletin, the first issue of which appeared in the spring of 1968. In this quarterly, details are given of developments in the various phases of the work of the Office in the field of protection, material assistance, interagency co-operation, and the co-ordination of UNHCR activities with those of the interested regional and non-governmental organizations.

251. Apart from its direct interest to Governments, the publication also provides useful information to national refugee councils, voluntary agencies and other bodies who concern themselves with the mobilization of private support for refugee work.

252. For the wider public, however, reports and statistical information have to be enlarged to include descriptive and visual material that will bring in a vivid manner an account of the work in the field. On this depends largely the degree of interest that can be aroused for the programme of the High Commissioner. The various non-governmental organizations, for instance, who seek to enlist the support of the public, need to convince donors of the practical approach towards refugee situations and of the beneficial and constructive results achieved. For this reason, UNHCR was pleased to be able to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the encouraging development of the project in the Central African Republic for the benefit of Sudanese refugees, to present a comprehensive picture of a resettlement operation, which is a typical example of its work in Africa.

253. In co-operation with the Swiss Television, a half-hour colour TV programme on the refugee situation in the Central African Republic was produced during 1968. This programme was first broadcast over the Swiss Television and has since been distributed throughout the world. France and the Scandinavian countries have already broadcast the programme, and with the co-operation of United Nations Information Centres, the English and French versions are reaching the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and many countries in Africa and Asia. The fact that this film was made in co-operation with the League of Red Cross Societies opened up additional distribution possibilities which will continue to be exploited during the next two years.

254. The same mission resulted in the preparation of a fifteen-minute radio programme in French made by the League of Red Cross Societies in co-operation with UNHCR and United Nations Radio, which was warmly welcomed and broadcast by almost every French-speaking radio station in the world.

255. The story of M'boki, tracing its history, describing the technical effort and the psychological and social background of the resettlement operation, was the subject of an issue of "UNHCR Reports..." printed with several colour pages. Twenty thousand copies in English and 5,000 in French were distributed. The editorial by the High Commissioner under the title "The partnership", stressed the beneficial results achieved through the co-operation received from the other members of the United Nations system and organization and bodies, governmental, and non-governmental. Considerable interest has been shown in this publication and perhaps it is of some importance to mention that, in Denmark, it has been decided to take the M'boki project as an example for use in secondary schools to demonstrate development techniques in Africa.

256. Similarly, a mission was undertaken by a member of the Information Section, accompanied by a professional photographer, to provide information media and donor organizations with a rich choice of visual material, as well as written information. Colour diapositives and black-and-white photographs were taken of projects in the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, covering all aspects which included emergency aid, medical services, land clearance, rural development, education, and highlighted the parts played by governmental services, voluntary agencies and other United Nations bodies. These photographs were extensively used in connexion with the launching of "World Star Festival" early in 1969. These, together with the films at the disposal of the Office, form a reserve of factual up-to-date audio/visual material which is now being distributed to discussion groups, schools and voluntary agencies, as well as to the periodical Press and television. In this connexion, the film "Today Africa", made in 1966, is still serving many United Nations Information Centres; in the United States, it has been accepted for telecasting by over 150 different television stations to date.

257. A pilot project was initiated concerning approaches to schools with the printing of a small booklet called Twenty questions and answers, which was distributed to French-speaking schools in Switzerland. This operation revealed that young people in secondary schools are a particularly receptive audience when it concerns the problems of refugees and this experience will be taken into consideration in planning the information work of the Office.

258. In 1968, the International Year for Human Rights offered an exceptional opportunity for explaining in greater detail the nature and essence of international protection for refugees. "UNHCR Reports..." devoted a special issue to the subject "Human rights protect refugees", which included a leading article by the High Commissioner in which he appealed to Governments - as he did during the Conference on Human Rights in Teheran - for the acceptance of the important principles of asylum and non-refoulement and for the establishment of uniform procedures for safeguarding the rights and interests of refugees. A series of sixteen photo posters on the same theme relating the activities of the Office to various pertinent articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was produced in some thirty he rights and interests of refugees. A series of sixteen photo posters on the same theme relating the activities of the Office to various pertinent articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was produced in some thirty languages and distributed with the help of United Nations Information Centres and Resident Representatives of UNDP throughout the world.

259. Several articles were prepared and published under the signature of the High Commissioner in specialized periodicals and reprints were sent to organizations interested in international law and current affairs.

260. The High Commissioner had many opportunities during the year of meeting the Press and granting interviews to radio and television services in connexion with official visits and missions. Many leading and feature articles appeared in this connexion.

261. The launching of "World Star Festival" in 1969 offered another opportunity to approach the information media on refugee problems and to make extensive use of the material prepared in 1968. Some of these approaches were made by the organizations in charge of sales, others directly by the Information Service, the Information Centres and UNDP Resident Representatives. In many countries, editors-in-chief of the daily and periodical Press were contacted, as well as programme editors of radio and television, which led to a unique coverage. The results once more showed the public relations value of the record schemes of the Office, not the least as a means for establishing personal contact with the media on a national plane, thus forming a basis for expanded future co-operation.

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

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1 Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-third Session, Supplement No. 11 (A/7211).

2 For the final act of the conference, see United Nations publication, Sales No.: E.68. XIV.2.

3 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-first Session, Supplement No. 11A (A/6311/Rev.1/Add.1), part one, para. 2.

4 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189 (1954), No.2545.

5 E/4668, paras. 11-14.

6 General Assembly resolution 428 (V), annex, chapter II, para. 8 (b).

7 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, p. 137.

8 Official Records of the General Assembly. Twenty-first Session, Supplement No. 11A (A/6311/Rev. 1).

9 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 268, p.3.

10 Ibid., vol. 376, p. 85.

11 Ibid., vol. 360, p. 117.

12 United nations, Treaty Series, vol. 268, p. 3.

13 A/CONF.9/15.

14 See United Nations publication, Sales No.,: E.68. XIV.2, resolution XIII.

15 Federal Gazette, No. 95, 18 May 1968.

16 Including over 235,000 assisted in their voluntary repatriation, resettlement or local settlement, as shown in annex II, table l.

17 Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-third Session, supplement No. 11 (A-7211), para. 97.

18 These States extended application of this Convention to various overseas territories, in accordance with article 40 of the Convention.

19 The United Kingdom extended application of this Agreement to various overseas territories, in accordance with article 18 of the Agreement.

20 The United Kingdom extended application of the Convention and Protocol No.1 to various overseas territories.

21 The United Kingdom extended application of this Convention to various overseas territories, in accordance with article 36 of the Convention.