1/3) A/AC.96/863: THE UNHCR'S COMPR

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Subject: 1/3) A/AC.96/863: THE UNHCR'S COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH

UNHCR DOCUMENT: A/AC.96/863 - 1 JULY 1996 (PART 1/3)
NOTES ON INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION
http://www.unhcr.ch/refworld/
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S PROGRAMME
Note on International Protection
I. INTRODUCTION

1. In a year when the protection problems of massive refugee populations
continued to dominate UNHCR's agenda, the fact that global refugee numbers
have reduced to an estimated fourteen and a half million is a striking,
but incongruous, development. The d ecreased numbers have not been
accompanied by a positive change in perception regarding the scope of the
refugee problem, however; popular impressions are still of an inexorable
rise. The pressure to identify solutions to the refugee problem is more
acute than ever, with reduced numbers failing to make solutions more
accessible. Many refugees have not been able to repatriate voluntarily;
neither have they been enabled to integrate locally; nor have they been
resettled. Formidable crises and emergencies ha ve hardened into
impenetrable and seemingly deadlocked dilemmas, resisting - or failing to
attract - determined and concerted international efforts at resolution. In
many such cases, the prospects seem forlorn, as the quagmire in question
waxes and wanes in world attention, as in Angola or Chechnya; or takes
centre stage only to slide away, as in Afghanistan and Somalia; or
threatens to remain at the periphery of global concern, as in Liberia.=20

2. The concurrent increase in the estimated number of internally displaced
persons, including those for whom UNHCR has a protection and assistance
responsibility, reflects the rise in internal conflicts. In some
instances, it may also illustrate the growi ng obstacles to obtaining
asylum. Over the past year, hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers have
been admitted and given refuge, in many parts of the world. Elsewhere,
however, attitudes to refugee protection and to refugees have ranged from
indifferenc e to active hostility, for different reasons. Failure to
address all aspects of refugee dilemmas has led to a range of problems,
from refoulement at the border of refugees who risk death on their return,
to elaborate institutional structures severely rest ricting admission. In
addition, some States have constricted the international standards for
refugees and asylum-seekers, and have curtailed the duration of their
stay. Some </FONT>countries and regions which have traditionally been
among the most generou s have in recent years adopted more restrictive
approaches, for which they are able to cite models of other regions. At
the same time, there have been renewed activities and assistance within
countries of origin in an effort to stabilize <FONT SIZE=3D3>move ments.
These developments reflect both a positive and activist approach to
upholding rights in the country of origin, and more restrictive efforts to
induce would-be asylum-seekers to stay home.=20

3. One of the positive developments in refugee protection in recent years
has been a willingness by States to try to address the needs of all
persons who require international protection. These broad groups are not
necessarily new or unprecedented; they i nclude persons fleeing
persecutory wars or collapsing States, internally displaced persons, and
persons fleeing persecution due to their gender. The international
community has acknowledged a responsibility<B> </B>to address the
international protection n eed of such groups, and to develop the
necessary tools for such protection. (In this connection see also Progress
Report on Informal Consultations on the Development of Guiding Principles
for the Provision of International Protection to All Who Need It, E
C/46/SC/CRP.34). In this context, the absence of adequate international
co-operation on a significant scale may have contributed to unilateral
actions which, by denying refugees and asylum-seekers admission and
protection in one country, casts the respons ibility onto others. Seeking
to transfer responsibility in this manner is obviously unlikely to ensure
international protection; at the same time there remains, nevertheless, a
strong international consensus in favour of providing international
protection to all who need it. The challenge is in reconciling these positi=
ons.=20

4. A review of the past year shows a number of other encouraging
developments. In South-East Asia, the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA)
an approach which included the screening of all asylum-seekers, the return
of non-refugees, and the resettlement of r efugees, comes to a formal
conclusion on 30 June 1996. In South and Central America, UNHCR
consolidated a number of its offices, which had, during the 1970s in
particular, been among the most active in the world. The world's single
largest unresolved refu gee problem - that of the Afghan refugees -
continues after seventeen years: most of the refugees continue to enjoy
relatively secure standards of protection, despite some negative
developments. On the African continent, dramatic failures of protection ha
ve tended to obscure the many instances in which asylum has been granted
unstintingly, including, for example, in Uganda, C&ocirc;te d'Ivoire, and
Guinea. Despite difficulties, nearly one million Bosnians and two million
Rwandans generally enjoy basic pro tection. In North America, the
Governments of the United States and Canada have issued detailed
guidelines clarifying the refugee protection to be provided to refugees
fearing gender-based persecution and fleeing situations of civil war
respectively. In e astern Europe, UNHCR has engaged in an in-depth and
productive dialogue on statelessness and nationality legislation, which
will, hopefully, be further promoted through the CIS Conference Programme
of Action.=20

II. THE UTILITY OF COMPREHENSIVE APPROACHES

5. Current developments suggest the likelihood of continued ethnic
regional conflicts. Preventing and containing such conflicts, and
protecting and finding solutions for the refugees and displaced persons
who result, will remain a major preoccupation for the international
community. The need to mitigate refugee-producing conflicts, and to put in
place preventive elements where possible, while ensuring the observance of
international standards in respect of persons in need of international
protection - esp ecially mass movements of persons who, as a group, may be
prima facie refugees - makes renewed analysis of comprehensive regional or
sub-regional approaches timely.=20

6. UNHCR's experiences in several major refugee situations prompted the
paper Comprehensive and Regional Approaches to Refugee Problems
(EC/1994/SCP/CRP.3), presented to the Sub-Committee of the Whole on
International Protection at its meeting in May 1994 . The previous year,
the Executive Committee had highlighted the importance of addressing
prevention, protection and solutions on a comprehensive and regional
basis, encouraging the High Commissioner to undertake consultations in
respect of such initiativ es. The conference room paper highlighted
protection elements within broad strategic approaches towards promoting
the overall stability of the society in question and involving diverse
actors and components. The Executive Committee, in its discussion, urg ed
UNHCR to develop further comprehensive and regional approaches, which need
to be consistent and based on recognized principles of asylum and
protection as laid down by the international refugee instruments and in
accordance with other human rights stan dards. Several delegations
stressed that such approaches could succeed only where sufficient
political will was to be found among the countries concerned. (EC/SCP/89,
Report of the 18-19 May 1994 Inter-Sessional Meeting).=20
=20
7. The fact that some of the world's major refugee situations remain
resistant to efforts to address causes, or to the creation of conditions
enabling large-scale voluntary repatriation, makes this an opportune time
to review comprehensive and regional ap proaches. Viewing displacement as
a human problem permits a range of solutions to be considered for the
victims of any given displacement: this differentiated approach will also
need to encompasses preventive elements where possible. A protection
perspect ive, which emphasises the basic human rights of individuals, is
UNHCR=92s starting-point for the identification of solutions which are just=
,
effective and permanent.=20
=20
8. Comprehensive approaches do not necessarily overcome the need for
refugee protection; rather, they place the problem of lack of national
protection - the hallmark of the refugee regime - in its broader context.
This examination of multidimensional appr oaches to situations of mass
displacement seeks to highlight the manner in which a legal framework, or
a framework of basic principles, may make some situations more tractable,
and encourage just and lasting solutions. At the level of the individual,
it w ill seek to ensure that a solution is found, in the form of
integration or re-establishment and national protection. As the 1990-1991
Working Group on Solutions and Protection (an open-ended working group
composed of Executive Committee members) recalled,
 solutions are the final purpose of protection, and protection should gover=
n the entire process towards solutions.=20
=20
9. Seeking peaceful solutions is, of course, the raison d'&ecirc;tre of
the United Nations, whose Charter recognises the intimate link between
peace and human rights. The Secretary-General has defined the defence of
human rights as an essential element of United Nations peace operations.=20
UNHCR, for its part, has consistently highlighted the link between
non-observance of human rights and refugee flows. In the forty-six years
since UNHCR=92s creation, the codification and strengthening of human right=
s
standa rds and mechanisms of direct relevance to refugees and individuals
threatened with involuntary displacement has added impetus to holistic
approaches to protection.=20
=20
10. The move away from compartmentalization of the issues that provoke
involuntary displacement - breaches of peace, abuse of human rights, the
re-emergence of ethnic tensions - has also drawn UNHCR closer to the
source of population flows. Prevention, wh ile manifestly the ideal, is
often diffuse and difficult to secure. Just as focusing entirely on asylum
may not be adequate, however, efforts to promote solutions entirely within
the country of origin may also be unrealistic. Regarding voluntary
repatriat ion as the most desirable solution should not obscure the fact
that some refugee-producing situations may be of a long-term nature. The
identification of solutions must accommodate this reality.=20
=20
11. UNHCR remains willing to provide its support and expertise in
formulating such responses and assisting States in identifying more
systematically where such responses might be appropriate and feasible. The
international rule of law - including relevant human rights and refugee
law principles - should be seen as a positive and enabling component,
within a broader mosaic of interrelated and to some extent interdependent
elements, of any comprehensive approach. Experience has demonstrated, as
with the Com prehensive Plan of Action in South-East Asia, that unless
there are clearly formulated and agreed basic guidelines for humanitarian
action in charged political environments, it is unlikely to succeed. The
agreed legal framework for the screening of Vietna mese boat people was a
sine qua non for the resolution of that problem. While only part of a
wider package of measures in comprehensive approaches, such elements often
go to the heart of the underlying and complex human rights issues.=20
=20
/end part-1/3.