Mr. Chairman,

1. From the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the International Conference on Indochinese Refugees, the Holy See has participated and offered its contribution toward a fair solution to the complex issue of Southeast Asian refugees. Tens of thousands of people have left their own countries exercising a prerogative recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 13.2 and 14. 1). In fact, over two million people have left Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia since 1975. Most of them have found a new home in other countries or have returned to their homelands . The international community and the UNHCR have written a notable chapter in the history of humanitarian assistance, protection and human solidarity.

2. As consensus has been reached that the activities envisioned by the 1989 Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) should conclude, it seems important both to evaluate if all the commitments and objectives of the CPA have been achieved and to bring to an end the CPA's program of action in such a way that it will not mar the outstanding results obtained by the international community in the fast twenty years. The concern is for the approximately 31,000 people still in first asylum camps in the region.

3. "Since life in camps is artificial and imposed, even traumatizing" notes a document of the Holy See, Refugees: A Challenge to Solidarity (1992), "a long stay in them makes refugees still more vulnerable. Camps must remain what they were intended to be: an emergency and therefore a temporary solution" (n. 15). The sooner the camps are closed, the better. However, the human rights and dignity of all asylum seekers have to be respected. To quote again from the same document: "Scrupulous respect for the principle of voluntary repatriation is a non-negotiable basis for the treatment of refugees. No person must be sent back to a country where he or she fears discriminatory action or serious life-threatening situations. In cases where the competent government authorities decide not to accept asylum seekers arguing that they are not true refugees, these authorities are duty-bound to make sure that such people will be guaranteed a secure and free existence elsewhere'' (n. 14).

In the light of these statements, recognized refugees still in first asylum camps, in the spirit of burden sharing, should be accepted in resettlement countries without further delay, even if some immigration requirements will have to be waved or modified to keep the commitment made to resettle refugees under the CPA. The number is small, and resettlement should be directed with preference where there are family links. In particular, unaccompanied children should be moved out of detention centers and camps and, where it has been determined as the best course of action, returned to their countries with priority. The reintegration of these children requires special monitoring and the special attention of the receiving government and of social agencies.

4. In the process of bringing to an end the Indochinese refugee situation, the international community should not lose sight of the greatest need of assistance of other vulnerable people, for example, single women, the elderly, those with medical or mental health needs, who should be provided a network of assistance and support upon return.

Among such vulnerable people in the camps are found several hundred stateless or possibly stateless people. The right to a nationality is recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this delicate and complex master, a convergence of efforts of countries party to the CPA and to the Convention on Statelessness together with the UNHCR could cooperate in a humanitarian spirit in considering these people's claims and determining a durable solution.

5. Most of the remaining asylum seekers in Southeast Asian camps have been determined to be non-refugees although some Cambodians, for example, may have valid refugee claims which should be heard. Return to the country of origin is the reasonable alternative and on-going bilateral and multilateral government and international organization cooperation should be supported. After the close of the CPA, any person that might remain in the camps will fall under the immigration laws of the respective countries and may be classed as undocumented migrants. In this new situation, nonetheless, international conventions and human rights standards still apply in the treatment of these people. In the 1995 message for World Migration Day, Pope John Paul II stated: "One's irregular legal status cannot allow the migrant to lose dignity, since everyone is endowed with inalienable rights, which can be neither violated nor ignored" (n. 2).

The implementation of voluntary repatriation and of the Orderly Return Program (ORP) should not be carried out without the UNHCR assisting governments in upholding these rights and exercising an active protection role in the camps, including taking steps to remedy and prevent abuses.

International agencies, churches and human rights organizations can play an active role as well in monitoring and assisting return operations. While proportioned measures should be taken to prevent coercion by some asylum seekers against others, other practices are not acceptable: harassment, coercion, and deliberate deprivation of services and assistance, for example, by limiting food and access to medical care, applied with the aim of making asylum seekers consent to return home.

6. With the ending of the CPA, some countries in the region may agree to accept some asylum seekers for local integration, which, together with resettlement and repatriation, constitutes the established practice of the international community in addressing crises of refugees and displaced people. Such an option can be viable for at least a limited number of the present camp population that find it impossible to repatriate after a long period of life in the camps, lack of adequate information and a frame of mind and psychology developed in these circumstances. Where this option is possible, governments should take the concrete steps that facilitate local integration, such as granting of legal residence status or even citizenship. The UNHCR and non-governmental organizations should accompany negotiations to this end. If local integration is not a possibility, prolonged detention, which is so dehumanizing, should be ended through the cooperation of the countries of origin and of first asylum, the UNHCR and the appropriate intergovernmental agencies by taking speedy measures to repatriate non-refugees in safety and dignity.

7. The pressing demand for allocation of the UNHCR's available resources to new and more urgent situations does not take away the fact that the people remaining in Southeast Asian camps, especially women and children, still need protection from abuse in every form—and protection is a primary role for the UNHCR Of course, the protection role of the UNHCR and the responsibility of the international community cannot stop at the end of the CPA for the remaining recognized refugees, stateless persons, and screened out vulnerable groups.

8. The boat people exodus had caught the heart and the imagination of the world and, in turn, created expectations among the refugees. The end of the CPA is evidence that history moves on, but not without teaching some lessons about cooperation and suggesting further reflections.

In accord with the UNHCR Statutes (n. 1), which state that its mandate is to "facilitate the voluntary repatriation" of refugees, we feel that its efforts to provide even more systematic procedures for monitoring the reintegration of returnees and disseminating its findings even among refugees deserve full support.

From the Indo-Chinese refugee experience, the international community can see the opportunity to examine two issues that go beyond the mandate of the CPA. The first is one of international law, namely the definition of refugee in the UN instruments of 1951 and 1967. The UNHCR clearly acknowledges that this definition does not adequately protect all those who have felt obliged to leave their countries of origin or habitual residence. There is furthermore a tendency on the part of many governments towards a continually more restrictive interpretation of these instruments. The recent appeals of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on this subject need to be taken seriously (See, "Information Note on Article I of the 1951 Convention." Geneva, March 1995).

The second issue is the question of causes of refugee flows and their prevention. Indispensable in this regard are the actions and policies of the international community to strengthen respect for human rights and to quickly resolve the conflicts that force people from their homes. As Mrs. Ogata has noted on various occasions, the changes in humanitarian action have led from preventive diplomacy to peace-keeping and to increased involvement in counties of origin and collaboration with a wide range of actors from the political and development arenas.

9. The concerns expressed, Mr. Chairman, reflect the close contact with asylum seekers, the field experience and the extensive collaboration with UNHCR, governments and NGO's of many Church communities and agencies. Justice and compassion have guided the important work of the members of the Steering Committee of the International Conference on Indo-Chinese Refugees. No doubt, the same spirit will inform the search for solutions to the outstanding problems and ensure a successful and durable result.

Geneva, 5 March 1996